The Envoy from Boulder City

In the distance. Swirling snow filling the sky and a dozen rifle shots lent a mournful air to the funeral. Three fallen marines were placed into cold storage as the crew of the Pioneer held a simple funeral for them. To prevent their fallen comrades' remains from being eaten by mutants, they froze the bodies and stored them in the morgue, intending to bring them back to Ideal City for burial once the expedition returned triumphant. The Pioneer had set out with a hundred crew members, but now only ninety remained, with another three lying in medical pods receiving treatment and awaiting prosthetic implant surgeries. Looking upon the remains of his comrades, Lu Yang felt a heavy weight in his heart, and even a sliver of bewilderment. He did not doubt the decisions of the Enterprise executives, nor did he fear dying on the road to finding Shelter 0. What grieved him, however, was not knowing how many more would die if they kept pushing forward like this. They had only just reached River Valley Province, and casualties were already at ten percent. If they continued westward, deeper into the wasteland... Just then, his adjutant Yi Hai walked up beside him and said in a low voice, "We should increase our munitions reserves—by at least five hundred tons. The further west we go, the greater the likelihood of encountering the Legion. I'm worried... there will be new complications by then." Lu Yang nodded. "I discussed this with Section Chief Li from the Logistics Division last night. On one hand, we need to bolster our weapon reserves; on the other, we must actively request reinforcements from Enterprise headquarters. I plan to help the residents of Shelter 404 reinforce their operational camp. If reinforcements from headquarters arrive later, they can resupply from here." This was not the only consideration. What Lu Yang worried about was General Klaas of the expeditionary force finding out that Shelter 404 had received the title of 'Permanent Enterprise Partner' shortly after his thousand-man battalion was wiped out. That would undeniably signal to them that Shelter 404 had played a decisive role in the outcome of that battle. Perhaps General Klaas wouldn't lose his head over a single chiliarch and forget his purpose in River Valley Province. However, there was no telling whether they might take other retaliatory measures. After all, those marauders were all 'number one fans' of the Legion; quite a few marauder organization structures and slave-taming techniques were copied straight from the Legion. Yi Hai gave a slight nod. "I was thinking the same thing." ... Dawn began to break. Over at the distant operational camp, the hardworking residents of Shelter 404 had already begun lighting fires and cooking meals. Sitting in the camp, Fang Chang—his left arm wrapped in bandages and a bowl in his hand—took a sip of noodle broth and said with feeling, "Sigh, thank goodness Brother Scrambled Eggs survived. Otherwise, we wouldn't even get to eat these noodles." His bow and his life were both preserved. The only pity was that Brother Ye Shi had been sacrificed, Old Bai had real-life matters today and couldn't log in, and Brother Gale Force 8 was missing an arm, undergoing treatment aboard the Pioneer. He had to sit here and eat this bowl of noodles all by himself. "I'm a Constitution-type, you know. How could I bite the dust that easily?" With a medicinal plaster slapped across his face, Brother Scrambled Eggs, who held the ladle, didn't forget to shout, "Next!" Even though over a hundred people had died the night before, those still alive seemed completely unfazed, only letting out an occasional soft sigh during casual conversation as though regretting the casualties. Leaning against a water truck and eating a freshly bought steamed bun, Yuan Hao watched the wisp of white smoke rising in the distance and couldn't help marveling, "Maybe we should learn a thing or two from their optimism." "Yeah..." Victor nodded, his eyes full of admiration and awe. "Perhaps that's why they've managed to survive in this miserable world." "Speaking of which, today's soy milk is pretty good." "It really is! To be honest, I almost wish we could just leave the hydroponics module to them... Letting the freeze-drying workshop and mobile kitchen handle those precious ingredients is an outright waste." At that moment, a pitch-black transport craft flew in from the direction of Ling Lake to the south. Its shape closely resembled a dolphin, with a broad nose and a slender fuselage. Two engines mounted front and back beneath the cabin spewed eerie blue arcs of fire, propelling the aircraft forward. The electromagnetic point-defense system atop the Pioneer tracked it, slowly traversing along its profile for a moment before firing two kinetic penetrators as a warning. The sonic boom breaking the sound barrier forced the aircraft to halt. Showing good sense, it stopped advancing and touched down smoothly on the open terrain south of the Pioneer. The engines shut down, and four men in exoskeletons hopped crisply out of the cabin, walking over toward the Pioneer from a distance. Many players in the operational camp caught sight of this, their faces instantly showing surprise. "Holy crap?" "A helicopter without rotors!" "Those blue-flame engines look sick..." "Man, I wish I could buy one!" "Sure, one million silver coins each. Go ahead and buy it." "Shut up already, what if the devs hear you?" Facing these uninvited guests, although the Pioneer didn't sound an alarm, it entered Condition 1 readiness. The Logistics Division staff took the elevator back inside the fortress, replaced by four marines in power armor descending on the lift. Leading three squadmates forward, Captain Lu Yang locked his gaze on the four men, furrowing his brows slightly. "Who are you?" The man in the lead stepped forward and said politely, "We are with the Boulder City Militia. My name is Li Hua." Lu Yang stared at him. "Lu Yang, Silverwing Group First Pioneer Corps. State your business." "Cleanup. We have no desire to meddle in your dispute, but this clash did take place on our turf..." Glancing out of the corner of his eye at fixed-wing drones taking off from the fortress, Li Hua raised his hands helplessly. "Don't be nervous, friends from afar. Since you're done fighting anyway, why not let it rest here? You might as well hand the captives over to us. We can pay a ransom for them... Keeping them isn't of any use to you anyway, is it?" "Are you here on behalf of the Legion?" Lu Yang's tone darkened. Li Hua replied, "A neutral third party. Of course, if you refuse, we won't press the matter. He is your captive after all; you have every right to dispose of him as you see fit." Lu Yang pondered for a moment before saying, "The matter of the captives isn't mine to decide alone. I must consult our ally." "Ally?" The man paused, exchanging a surprised look with his teammates before finally looking back at Lu Yang with a helpless nod. "Fair enough... We can wait." Someone actually dared to interfere in the Legion's affairs? What a brave soul! Watching those men return to the aircraft, Lu Yang led his subordinates back aboard the Pioneer and placed a call to Chu Guang. When the call came through, Chu Guang happened to be at the temporary office, receiving the compensation payment statement from Luo Hua. 117,000 CR and a magnetic confinement plasma processing machine tool. Yes, the latter was free of charge. After this battle, the chief of the Logistics Division had completely changed his prior attitude and decided to repair that machine tool for them free of charge as a repayment for Shelter 404 lending a hand in the skirmish. However, the machine tool's technology was rather complex, and repairing it completely would take roughly a week, requiring a bit of patient waiting. Luo Hua assured Chu Guang that they would definitely deliver it before departing. Chu Guang naturally didn't mind waiting; he was in no hurry. Saving a hundred thousand CR was an absolute steal, wasn't it? The price he paid was merely 117 points of active substance. Thanks to the more than two thousand corpses left behind by those clones, rounding it off meant practically zero cost. On top of that, there was 117,000 CR in compensation money. Whether used to buy guns or grain, it was fantastic! Of course, because tens of thousands of CR involved an enormous volume of supplies, Luo Hua also reminded Chu Guang that the Pioneer's production capacity had limits. If he needed to purchase massive quantities of goods, he'd best place orders in advance; their inventory didn't hold huge reserves, and scheduling production took time. For example, assault rifles. Or agricultural produce. If items could not be delivered before departure, they could only hand over the cash and let them buy from Enterprise caravans instead. Naturally, in Chu Guang's eyes, none of these issues were problems. Once Shelter 404 became a Permanent Enterprise Partner, even unspent CR would be fine—it would find a use eventually. Chu Guang was ecstatic right now, but he couldn't act too thrilled, feeling as though all sixteen points of his Strength attribute were being spent on stifling a grin. However, before he could bask in his joy for long, Lu Yang's call came in... "Boulder City? They want to ransom him back?" Chu Guang was momentarily stunned upon hearing Captain Lu's words. Just a couple of days ago he had wondered why Boulder City hadn't made a peep, and now here they were, bright and early. "Yes," Lu Yang nodded in the holographic projection. "Their people just arrived at the northern outskirts." Chu Guang followed up immediately, "How did they get here?" In this heavy snow! The road from the northern outskirts to the Third Ring Road was completely snowed under. This wasn't merely a matter of ten or twenty kilometers; it required crossing several mountains and passing through multiple tunnels! Crucially, they hadn't even passed through the northern outbound elevated highway. The Hummingbirds patrolling the area hadn't spotted a trace of them. Could they have crossed over the lake? Lu Yang: "It's a twin-engine rotorless aircraft." Chu Guang: "..." Alright then. He'd wasted his breath worrying. Still, being able to afford flying in an aircraft meant they weren't ordinary mercenaries or hired guns—eighty to ninety percent chance they were Boulder City Militia. Looking at Lu Yang's hologram, Chu Guang's expression turned serious. Without even asking how much the ransom was, he spoke up: "We cannot take this ransom!" Lu Yang looked at Chu Guang and asked, "We haven't agreed to their proposal. Before deciding how to handle those captives, I wanted to hear your thoughts." Thoughts? What was there to think about? If they released the captives and let the expeditionary force up north find out he had ruined their plans, things would get ugly fast. While the Legion's expeditionary force would eventually learn he was behind it, finding out the same truth through different channels could lead to vastly different consequences. If Vannus didn't return, even if the expedition's general learned the truth, he might not bother sending troops south to track down a foolish failure. Marching in heavy snow was slow. By the time the snow stopped, the Pioneer would be long gone, and marching five hundred kilometers just to beat up a bunch of bumpkins wouldn't be worth the trouble. Send too few troops, and it was feeding kills; send too many, and they wouldn't recoup their costs. But if Vannus went back alive, all bets were off. What if the guy persuaded his general, gathered another thousand-man battalion, and came back to settle the score? That wasn't outside the realm of possibility. Considering this chiliarch's connections within the Legion and the expeditionary force, as well as potential family ties, Chu Guang could easily outline at least four distinct possibilities. Lu Yang pondered briefly before asking, "Then how do you think we should handle them?" "If you don't intend to take him with you when you leave, hand those captives over to us," Chu Guang said sincerely, looking at Lu Yang's hologram. "Once the northern expeditionary force is defeated, I'll give him a chance to ransom himself, but not right now." Releasing him was out of the question, and executing him wasn't ideal either. The best move was to hold onto him until the expeditionary force withdrew from River Valley Province, then decide based on circumstances whether to dispose of him or give him an opportunity to buy his freedom. Legion chiliarchs were all slaveholders; there was always a way to squeeze some profit out of them. If all else failed, selling him to Boulder City later would accomplish the same thing. At the very least, while the Legion's expeditionary force remained in River Valley Province, Chu Guang could not afford to send this loose cannon back. Lu Yang seemed to reach the same conclusion and nodded. "All right. Frankly, I don't support releasing him right now either. At least before our departure, we need to keep him under lock and key to ensure he doesn't wander off. Since we see eye to eye on this, I'll just send those envoys from Boulder City packing." Chu Guang breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slightly. "That works best." ... The pitch-black aircraft lifted off once more, heading back toward Boulder City on the edge of Qingquan City's Third Ring Road. Glancing back at the receding Pioneer, Li Hua wore a touch of regret. The militia soldier sitting beside him couldn't help asking, "Sir, are we just leaving like this?" Li Hua shot him a look. "What else? Got a better idea?" The soldier clamped his mouth shut immediately. What good idea could he possibly have? He was just worried the commander would place the blame on them for returning empty-handed. Then again, those northern outskirts bumpkins were certainly bold, meddling right in the middle of a conflict between the Legion and the Enterprise. Did they intend to dance in a minefield? He couldn't fathom it. At the operational camp not far away. The players, who had originally expected some new story event, dispersed dispiritedly and went about their business. "What on earth were those guys here for?" "No clue..." "Who do you think they were?" "Their gear looked different from Enterprise stuff... Could they be from Boulder City?" "Could be." At midnight game time—tomorrow noon in real life—the official website would host a spoils auction. Judging from the images posted in the announcement, plenty of good items were on the auction list. Many players still online decided to earn whatever coin they could during this window so they'd be ready to bid on gear they fancied when the auction rolled around. Meanwhile, aboard the Pioneer. Lying on a medical bed, Gale Force 8 stared at his right hand in astonishment, sheer disbelief written across his face. It was a mechanical hand. The gleaming steel casing looked remarkably solid and hefty, yet it didn't hinder its dexterity in the slightest. To be honest, it didn't look like a prosthesis at all. It was as if it had grown naturally from his own body! Back when he was lying in the trench, he had thought he was about to join Ye Shi in the spectator lounge. To his surprise, a soldier in an exoskeleton rescued him, babbling incoherently before hoisting him onto a stretcher. In short, having escaped being finished off, he seemed to have become the only critically wounded casualty who survived. To save him, the Pioneer crew hoisted him onto an operating table and administered an anesthetic... and then Gale Force 8 had disconnected. After spending an unremarkable afternoon in reality, Gale Force 8 had put on his helmet that evening just to test the waters, only to find he successfully reconnected. And when he awoke from his coma, he found himself like this. Just then, the infirmary door opened. A doctor in surgical scrubs walked in. "You're awake. How do you feel?" Gale Force 8: "..." What is this guy saying? Not even any subtitles. Seeing that he didn't speak, the doctor sighed softly and continued, "I'm sorry, we did everything we could. Over ninety percent of the tissue in your right arm was necrotic, so we had no choice but to amputate. Later, when we checked your nervous system, we found your neurons were unusually active, perfectly suited for cybernetic implantation. So we fitted you with this mechanical arm. "Compared to bionic prosthetics, this mechanical arm might be a bit awkward for everyday living, but it's exceptionally practical for lifting heavy loads and operating machinery. We don't have the facilities here to manufacture bionic prosthetics. If you want that exact, original flesh-and-blood feel, keep an eye out for Enterprise caravans... With any luck, you might be able to buy one." Gale Force 8 couldn't understand a word the doctor said. He only thought this new arm was badass beyond belief, and he couldn't wait to run over and show off to his buddies— Oh no, break the good news to them! This was way better than breaking even. It was a massive profit! Once the doctor finished speaking, Gale Force 8 gave a sincere nod. "Thank you!" A smile appeared on the doctor's face. While he likewise couldn't understand what the patient said, he could easily read his expression. "You're welcome. It was our duty!" ... Taking the elevator down from the Pioneer and returning to the operational camp, Gale Force 8 overheard nearby players talking. "Looks like another gathering quest was added... hauling gravel from the construction ruins in the northern district. What's that for? Are they burning cement again?" "No idea, who cares! The quest payout is pretty high anyway. Let's go check it out." After this battle, the game seemed to have received a stealth update. Although the expansion's bugs were still unresolved, a flood of new quests had popped up, to the point that the operational camp was actually facing a labor shortage. Besides scrap-salvaging quests, Old Luka had also posted quests for gathering stone and driving trucks. Two of the trucks captured from the Legion earlier had been allocated to the operational camp. Meanwhile, their ally's fortress seemed to have made a new move as well—deploying a modular production unit beside the camp. Judging from the materials piled next to it, did that module seem to produce cement? Still, Gale Force 8 couldn't quite figure out what they needed cement for. Were they planning to build a permanent fortification here or something? Just then, Fang Chang walked over. He was about to greet him when his eyes landed squarely on his arm. "Holy shit?! What's the deal with your arm?" A sly, smug smile broke across Gale Force 8's outwardly quiet face. "I don't know either. Woke up and boom, like this." "Let's go!" Fang Chang reached out excitedly to drag him along. "For what?" "A pack of mutant snow wolves showed up over at the Yumu District battlefield. Don't know where they wandered in from, but they're interfering with our retrieval of clone corpses," Fang Chang said with a grin, shoving a bundle of javelins into Gale Force 8's hand. "I just picked up a quest to drive off the mutant snow wolves. Want to come give it a shot?" Gale Force 8 had been thinking the same thing—he wanted to test out the power of this mechanical arm. He weighed the bundle of javelins, which felt light as a feather in his hand, and nodded. "Sure... when are we heading out?" "Right now! The truck heading to Yumu District is about to leave. Let's hitch a ride quick—ten kilometers is no short walk!" Standing beside the cement production workshop, an engineer and a Logistics Division worker glanced up at the receding backs of the two players. "...Are they going hunting?" "Seems like it." "I feel like the guy carrying the javelins looks familiar." "I remember him! He's the one rescued from the battlefield yesterday—an entire arm blown off, leaving only half an empty sleeve hanging from his shoulder! Section Chief Li arranged the cybernetic implant surgery for him personally. Guess he woke up..." As they spoke, expressions of awe appeared on both their faces in unison. Fresh off the operating table and already heading out with weapons to hunt. Talk about hardcore!