Three sets of power armor remained at the north gate.
As for their squad leader, Lu Yang, he followed Chu Guang into the outpost.
It was evident he was confident in his own strength, not in the least worried that any unexpected mishap might occur.
Of course, Chu Guang had no intention of looking for trouble either.
Inviting Lu Yang into the sanatorium's reception room, Chu Guang originally intended to offer him some refreshments, but when he brought out a drinking glass, Lu Yang hurriedly waved his hand to stop him.
"I appreciate the kind gesture! But I'm still on a mission and cannot drink alcohol."
"How about milk?"
"Truly, there's no need. Our armor stores fresh water and liquid rations. While on a mission, we can only consume our own supplies—it's a matter of discipline."
"Then a chair—"
"No need. It'll collapse under the weight."
"All right, then."
He hadn't expected to encounter such a disciplined unit on the wasteland.
Though, it might just as well have been out of caution.
Chu Guang didn't insist further and put the things away.
"Speaking of which, I'm rather curious what that SC-500 crawler transport platform of yours actually looks like, and what you meant by piecing them together... Could you satisfy my curiosity?"
Lu Yang nodded.
"Certainly."
With that, he reached up and tapped his helmet. A button-sized integrated light at his collar projected a beam of illumination over the burning brazier.
Looking closely, the light was composed of numerous beams as slender as cilia. Soon, those "cilia" swayed gently, weaving a transparent, three-dimensional holographic image above the flames.
"A holographic projection?"
"Yes," Lu Yang nodded, pride showing on his face. "This is our Pioneer! Isn't it magnificent?"
Four crawler tracks, each nearly twenty meters long, supported a square platform fifty meters on each side. Rectangular modules were stacked on the platform, joined and piled like shipping containers; from a distance, it resembled an uneven Rubik's Cube, or a three-dimensional mosaic.
There were four identical platforms in total, arranged in a grid across four corners and linked by conduits and piping in between, appearing modular enough to decouple.
Rather than a cruiser driven onto land, it was more like a four-legged fortress!
"It is indeed magnificent... Do you have a photograph? I mean, an actual photographic picture, not a wireframe-like hologram like this."
Lu Yang paused, then nodded.
"A photograph? We have some... If you need one, I can send it to your VM."
"Please send me one!"
Though bewildered as to what Chu Guang wanted the photo for, Lu Yang selected a less sensitive picture and transmitted it over.
Hiding the delight on his face, Chu Guang gave a light cough and looked at Lu Yang with a solemn expression as he continued.
"Thank you, that's a huge help. Aside from that, I have a general grasp of your request. Simply put... you need a hundred laborers to handle resource gathering and material transport, correct?"
Lu Yang nodded earnestly.
"Exactly. If we could have even more people, that would be even better! We need a large workforce to collect vehicle wreckage and other metal scrap, haul it back to our production workshop to be melted down, resmelted, and manufactured into the steel and other alloy materials we require.
"As for technical matters, you needn't worry; our engineers will handle them! Your people only need to perform simple manual tasks.
"In return, we are willing to provide room and board for every worker and pay them an hourly wage of 1 CR, settled daily."
Chu Guang asked, "What is a CR?"
"...I almost forgot, it's this!" Lu Yang slapped his forehead, drew a banknote with a face value of 100 CR from his waist, showed it to Chu Guang, and explained with a smile, "Bonds issued by the Enterprise, which also serve as currency. The full name is credit, abbreviated as CR! You can use it at any survivor settlement on the East Coast to purchase anything you want... as long as they have it.
"Moreover, all caravans hailing from the East Coast recognize its value. You can use this bill to trade for any goods they carry. A single banknote like this is enough to cover an Enterprise employee's expenses for a week—and if you stretch it, it can easily last two weeks!"
Chu Guang chuckled and quipped, "So an hourly wage of 1 CR is the Enterprise's minimum wage?"
"We don't have a concept like a 'minimum wage,' but basic manual labor is standard at this rate. At 1 CR per hour, working twelve hours a day comes to 12 CR. Isn't that enough? We'll be providing room and board for your workers, after all!"
"This is River Valley Province, not the East Coast. Tell me, do you have chips?"
Lu Yang looked completely blank.
"...Chips?"
"Yes. Around Qingquan City, people mainly use these plastic pieces as currency. Any merchant who visits knows this; I assumed you'd know a bit about it." Saying this, Chu Guang took a white chip from his pocket and waved it gently in front of Lu Yang.
The anti-counterfeiting lacquer printed on the chip showed no sign of fading even after two centuries, appearing as though fused into the material itself.
Lu Yang looked troubled.
"Unfortunately, we aren't merchants... To be frank, we're heading west on an extremely important mission, one tied to the fate of everyone on this planet. Could you accommodate us for the sake of civilization's future? As far as I know, River Valley Province falls within the Enterprise's business scope as well. I stake my credit score to guarantee you that these bills can be spent!"
"'For the future of civilization'—people wore that line out a century ago. It's already the year 211 of the Wasteland Era, and nothing has changed."
Pocketing the chip, Chu Guang looked at Lu Yang and continued, "You must have something tradable, don't you? You couldn't have survived on thin air all this way, could you? Whether it's food, weapons, or production tools and methods, we have a great need for them here. Giving me these scraps of paper is completely meaningless—heaven knows when an East Coast caravan will pass by our doorstep. And even if they can be spent, what good is that? Even if 100 CR could buy a set of power armor on the East Coast, it might not even buy a cow here!"
Even in a civilized society with convenient logistics, the purchasing power of different currencies varied by region, let alone on the wasteland.
Would a caravan travel a physical distance of over ten thousand kilometers to get here, just to exchange their cargo for a stack of paper bills that couldn't even be spent locally?
They were doing business, not running a delivery service.
They had to carry something back!
Lu Yang cleared his throat lightly and said, "...No matter where you go, 100 CR couldn't buy a set of power armor, not even a decommissioned one. But I think I understand what you mean. What you need is food, weapons, and production tools, right?"
"Spot on!" Chu Guang's eyes gleamed as he looked at him and continued, "If you want to hire my people, you'll have to pay them in silver and copper coins. And if you want silver coins, you trade for them with the things we need!"
Lu Yang nodded.
"Understood. That is a reasonable request. However, I'm not skilled at this kind of thing. As for trade matters, I'll have someone from Logistics come speak with you; he will arrive tomorrow morning. Additionally, if it's convenient, I would like to establish an office here so we can communicate in a timely manner. The office won't be large—probably staffed by just two people. How does that sound?"
Chu Guang nodded gladly.
"That is exactly what I was hoping for!"
A smile finally spread across Lu Yang's face.
Communicating with civilized people was, after all, far more straightforward than dealing with natives. Although trade was a bit of a hassle, he could just leave that headache to the Logistics Department.
The Pioneer lacked neither food nor fresh water, and could manufacture its own daily necessities; it only lacked ore and electricity. With laborers to do the heavy lifting, the ore problem was resolved. Now only one last issue remained.
"...Next is the matter of a guide."
Chu Guang looked at him. "No problem. My people know this area very well. The key is: what exactly are you looking for?"
Lu Yang said, "Controlled fusion fuel rods! Of course, I'm not talking about the fusion batteries used for power armor, tanks, or small workshops, but fuel rods with a helium-3 reserve exceeding five kilograms and a power output between 100 MW and 1 GW—ones capable of getting the Pioneer moving! The model of these fuel rods is somewhat specialized, but our people can identify them."
Chu Guang asked, "And do you know where to find such things?"
Lu Yang nodded with confidence.
"Of course. According to our analysis of pre-war map data, there is a carbon dioxide capture station near the Fifth Ring Road in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City. Such public facilities were very common in densely populated cities, mainly used to utilize off-peak electricity to absorb carbon dioxide accumulated across urban clusters—maintaining what was known as carbon balance.
"The backup generators in carbon dioxide capture stations used fuel rod models similar to ours. The tricky part, however, is that they weren't usually marked separately on civilian maps; instead, they were integrated into high-rise buildings like office towers or apartment complexes, typically located between the twentieth and thirtieth floors. We can only deduce their approximate location based on limited data."
Hearing this, Chu Guang couldn't help but interrupt.
"Are you sure that place hasn't already been searched?"
"We aren't sure. That's why we need a local guide to coordinate with our marines to find one that hasn't been looted yet."
Pausing for a moment, Lu Yang offered his terms for the trade.
"If we're fortunate enough to find it, we only want the controlled fusion fuel rods from the site. As for other by-products, such as long-chain alkanes, alkenes, or ketones and esters, you may take them as you please—whether you burn them as firewood or process them into other materials."
Burning them probably wouldn't happen. Chu Guang felt he wasn't reckless enough to commit such a waste of heaven's gifts.
Such high-quality industrial raw materials, even if they couldn't be used immediately, could still be sold. A survivor settlement with industrial capacity like Boulder City would surely be eager to buy them.
Chu Guang recalled Old Luka once mentioning that every year, caravans from Boulder City came to Brown Farm to purchase the oil and resin produced by kam trees.
Looking at Lu Yang, Chu Guang nodded.
"No problem."
"I'm glad we could reach a consensus. That's all," Lu Yang said, a pleasant smile breaking out on his face as he extended his right hand. "Here's to a pleasant collaboration!"
Grasping the outstretched right hand and giving it a shake, Chu Guang smiled as well.
"A pleasant collaboration!"
...
Watching their squad leader emerge from behind the walls, the tense marines standing at the north gate finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The curious gazes all around made them feel thoroughly uncomfortable.
Haven't these bumpkins ever seen power armor before?
Fortunately, the people were restrained enough not to come up and start touching.
"It's getting late, so we'll head back first!" Stopping beside his teammates, Lu Yang looked back at Chu Guang and said with a smile, "Our people will be back tomorrow!"
Chu Guang nodded.
"Then I won't see you off."
Lu Yang was about to lead his subordinates away.
Just then, however, a teammate's voice came over the comm channel:
"Captain, there are flashes of explosions and gunfire to your east... My line of sight isn't great, but it looks like a firefight."
Lu Yang was slightly taken aback and turned to Chu Guang, asking,
"Are you fighting a war?"
Guessing it was probably the fellow they'd left outside who had spotted it, Chu Guang said calmly,
"You mean to the east? If that counts as fighting a war, then yes, our people are currently battling mutants."
"Mutants?" Lu Yang's expression shifted slightly. "There are mutants here?"
"Where aren't there any? Those green-skinned bastards are everywhere," Chu Guang smiled. "Of course, I'm not sure if the mutants in River Valley Province are the same breed as those on your East Coast. I've heard dark green and light green aren't the same kind."
"No matter which kind, they're a bunch of disgusting vermin! Those beastly freaks are like malignant tumors that can never be purged—a cancer on civilization itself!"
Lu Yang spoke through gritted teeth, his face twisted with venomous hatred. Chu Guang couldn't help sensing there was quite a story behind it.
His mind stirring, Chu Guang looked at him and said,
"Then would you be willing to help us eliminate this trouble? For the future of civilization."
Lu Yang froze, hesitating for a moment before saying,
"That... wouldn't be appropriate. Our discipline strictly forbids us from interfering in local conflicts."
If they intervened in local squabbles, troubles would follow one after another—he had all too much experience with that.
Not interfering in local conflicts, huh?
How come you didn't say that when you came begging us for help?
"Mutants can hardly be considered people, can they?" Chu Guang didn't give up, speaking patiently. "Furthermore, lending us a hand is effectively helping yourselves."
Lu Yang asked, "What do you mean by that...?"
Chu Guang said, "Think about it. If we're constantly forced to deal with mutant harassment, how could we possibly commit our full strength to helping you? I promise you this: as long as you take care of this mutant trouble for us, we can double the number of laborers assisting you... to two hundred people. Surely a fair and reasonable transaction doesn't violate your discipline, does it?"
Two hundred laborers...
Looks like the Alpha 0.7 version will have to be pushed forward.
Chu Guang pondered inwardly. The new version would be the perfect opportunity to open up a new map and send the players over to haul bricks. Of course, officially, this couldn't be called "labor dispatch"—it was an in-game limited-time event.
A limited-time event even during closed beta, and one where you can earn rewards without spending a dime—where on earth could you find such a conscientious gaming company?
Chu Guang was nearly moved to tears by his own generosity.
Meanwhile, Lu Yang, standing opposite him, was completely stunned.
Two hundred people?!
Does this survivor settlement even have two hundred people??
If one included that village outside, there might well be enough, but what he needed were able-bodied laborers, not the elderly, weak, women, or children.
Then again, it was possible there were still people underground who hadn't come up.
Weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Lu Yang ultimately gave a reluctant nod.
"I hope you keep your word."
With a few more hands helping, their progress would be faster. If possible, he didn't want to waste too much time here; their march had already been slow enough ever since entering River Valley Province!
"Of course. I'm a man of my word above all else!"
As he said this, Chu Guang smiled brightly.
He knew.
From the moment the man before him bowed his head, those mutants squatting on 76th Street were already dead...
Chapter 135