The Embryo of a Chamber of Commerce and News from Red River Town

"Since when did a survivor settlement pop up in the northern suburbs?" "No idea. Haven't heard Voice of Boulder City mention this place in a month. I thought the country bumpkins up north didn't survive the winter." "Wasn't this just a patch of woods last year? I remember there was a marauder stronghold to the north, and mutants had the territory to the east." "You've been here before?" "Just once." Near the south gate of the outpost base. A few mercenaries slinging rifles curiously eyed the little town tucked away in the woods, passing the time by guessing how many people lived here. Some said a hundred, some said a thousand; no consensus was reached. Not far from them stood two men in formal suits. Though they didn't make a fuss like the mercenaries, their faces still showed some surprise. Of course, that trace of surprise could not entirely conceal the arrogance beneath their brows. Even if their suits were washed faded and the buttons resewn again and again, they still considered themselves far nobler than these wastelanders dressed in furs. The blue coats, however, were another matter. Those shelter dwellers born with silver spoons in their mouths were the exception. Even the citizens living within the great mega-walls had to admit that the blue coats residing in those iron cages were upper-class people who could stand on equal footing with them. "Have you ever seen blue coats build houses on the surface?" "Never. Though the fact that they actually let wastelanders live right over their heads is strange enough on its own." The two engineers whispered quietly to each other. For the sake of twelve hundred chips a month with room and board included, they kept their voices low, exchanging words only they could hear. One simply couldn't offend the patron who signed their paychecks. On the other side, Qian Lai walked up to Liszt and spoke respectfully. "Boss, I've brought everything you asked for!" Two engineers, along with the complete set of equipment needed to manufacture solid-state hydrogen batteries, had all been hauled to the outpost base's south gate by ten two-headed oxen. Though the method of transport was a bit crude and brute-force, it was already the best choice. Conditions inside the city were far worse than in the suburbs. Buckled asphalt and deep craters often formed abrupt sheer drops across local stretches. Compounded by collapsed elevated roads and building wreckage, most routes marked on maps were utterly impassable. As for the slightly smoother roads, four-wheeled vehicles struggled to push through, making them far less reliable than beasts of burden that could go ten kilometers on a handful of grass. Yet despite the many difficulties along the way, their return trip had enjoyed good luck. Aside from encountering a cave beast and a few birds of unknown species, they ran into virtually no other incidents, nor did they cross paths with any marauders. Even so, factoring in the three-day stay in between, the round trip had taken a full week. Not far off, warehouse workers were already stepping forward to unload the cargo. "Well done." Liszt patted Qian Lai on the shoulder, gave him an encouraging look, and then continued. "Now I need you to head back once more. Take a ton of spirit leaf to our warehouse in Boulder City, then go to the Pirate Ship Tavern and find the bartender there. You can negotiate upward starting from sixty chips per kilogram. No need to be polite with him—he'll definitely be interested in this batch. If he isn't, just leave it there for me to handle personally when I return." "In addition, I need ten Iron Horse 60 locomobiles. Remember to get the stock from my old friend. Our order is large, and their inventory is high; you know how to haggle with him. Try to have these goods delivered here within a week. Don't make our friends wait too long." A ton of spirit leaf?! In the dead of winter? Surprise was written all over Qian Lai's face, but he didn't pry further, merely nodding earnestly. "Understood, Boss. Any other orders?" "Yes," Liszt nodded, glancing toward the young man beside them, and patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "This gentleman, along with several shelter residents, will be traveling with you." "My name is Shuyu." The young man's expression looked somewhat tense—not out of shyness around strangers, but rather as if he were trying a bit too hard. Qian Lai sized him up from head to toe. The first impression was youth. The second was that he came from a fairly well-off background; though one could tell he had suffered life's beatings, his temperament remained visibly distinct from other wastelanders. Judging by his accent, he seemed to hail from the northern part of River Valley Province, and he had likely dealt with traveling merchants before, just without much polish. Having made a rough guess, Qian Lai smiled, extended his right hand, and shook his. "Qian Lai." "I'm sure we'll get along splendidly!" … To provide players with a better gaming experience and prevent those visiting the new map from scurrying aimlessly around someone else's home like headless flies causing trouble, Chu Guang intended to establish an office in Boulder City to receive players traveling there from the shelter. At the same time, it would gather intelligence on Boulder City. Actually, his initial thought had been to set up an embassy or something similar, but after reading Brother Fang Chang's post, he abandoned that notion. For one, it was pointless; for another, it was simply asking for a snub. The city lord was indifferent to civic affairs, and the autonomous town hall had little real power. Rather than pressing a warm face against a cold behind in confusing diplomacy, bribing a few influential local natives was far more practical. Their words might hold even more weight than those of the gentlemen in the town hall; behind many industries sat the big shots of the inner city pulling the strings. The young man named Shuyu had been handpicked by Chu Guang from the logistics department. Initially, his job was managing sanitation at Changjiu Farm. Later, he was put in charge of eradicating illiteracy among the refugees, teaching reading and arithmetic. Finally, he returned to Changjiu Farm to assist the warehouse with issuing quests related to Yumu District. He was considered one of the rare educated men among the refugees, and he possessed a certain understanding of the "players'" language and mannerisms. After learning from Jiu Li that the young man's family had once operated a trading post in the north, Chu Guang gave it careful thought and decided to appoint him as the very first civil servant of the Shelter 404 Boulder City Office. Although the young man seemed a bit nervous and inexperienced, Chu Guang believed he was worth cultivating. No one was born fully qualified for their work. Since his previous record had been quite decent, it proved he had the capability. While Luka harbored doubts about the refugees coming from the north and felt they were untrustworthy, Chu Guang did not share that view. Standing on the third floor of the sanatorium and looking down at the south gate, Chu Guang listened to Old Luka's counsel, thought for a moment, and said in a relaxed tone: "They are people without homes; they crave acceptance more than anyone. We need to promote capable individuals from among them and give them role models for advancement. That will not only ignite their enthusiasm for work, but also secure their loyalty." "I am not questioning your decision, my Lord. It's just that, regardless of his background, he is far too young. I worry his resolve is not firm enough, and that Boulder City will corrupt his loyalty," Old Luka said cautiously. "Perhaps you should choose someone more grounded." That sounded like a fine idea. Steadfast, exceptionally capable, well-educated, and richly experienced in management. If Chu Guang had such a person on hand, he would have entrusted them with heavy responsibilities long ago. Like Old Charlie from Bet Street. Though he only managed a village of a hundred households, that place was the pilot test for the neighborhood office, a truly crucial post. The old man not only had to oversee literacy education for the local residents, but also had to train civil servants for Chu Guang on the side. As for the shelter residents—the players—that was simply unrealistic. Even taken literally, the word 'player' could hardly be associated with 'steadfast.' Instability was the nature of players. They were born adventurers and inventors, whereas long-term, highly repetitive positions requiring steady presence were destined to be filled by NPCs. This was a lesson Chu Guang had derived from practice in the early versions. Very few players could stick with guard duty or warehouse management that required standing or sitting all day. In most cases, frequent shift rotations were needed just to keep the post staffed. Not to mention, having one group of players issue quests to another was an experience killer for both sides. Of course, this didn't mean players were completely unsuited for managerial work; it just had to take another form. For instance, the guild systems found in most MMORPGs: far more flexible in rules and features, capable of strengthening social ties, boosting user stickiness, stimulating spending, and increasing daily active users. It was an operator's best assistant, well worth borrowing. He didn't need much. An epoch-making game had no need to worry about user retention. Those who couldn't accept it wouldn't choose it in the first place, and those who chose it naturally embraced it. Boosting daily actives and stimulating consumption was more than enough for him. Looking at the worried Old Luka, Chu Guang gave a faint smile. "When a coin drops to the ground, it can land on either side, to say nothing of a human being. Even a master coin flipper can't land heads ten thousand times in a row." "What we must do isn't to guarantee heads every single time, but to promptly pick up the coin and flip it again whenever it lands tails." "Trying more often is always better than doing nothing at all." On the other side. Just as Liszt was introducing that promising young man to Qian Lai, Fang Chang finally reunited with his buddies. The moment they met, Ye Shi grabbed Fang Chang's arm and said excitedly, "Bro, you're finally back!" Standing nearby, Jieyan couldn't help sighing with emotion. "Power-leveling newbies is way too hard!" Lao Bai: "…" Kuang Feng: "…" "Missed your daddy that much? You're making me blush." Fang Chang chuckled, then suddenly noticed an unfamiliar player nearby, his expression dawning with recognition. "Is this that Apocalyptic…" "Gu Lang! I'm Gu Lang!" Terrified that Fang Chang would read out his full ID, Gu Lang hurried to cut in, smoothly changing the subject. "Big boss, I read your guide—it was insanely good!" Fang Chang chuckled modestly. "You flatter me! Brother, you're the real big boss. I heard our brick kiln's efficiency doubled after using your design." Even though he had been out in the game and hadn't returned, that didn't stop him from chatting in the group. Earlier, Kuang Feng had pulled this brother into the chat group. They had already known each other online; this was just their first time meeting in the game. Gu Lang smiled bashfully. "No, no, I just made a few minor tweaks. Doubling it is an exaggeration—more like seventy to eighty percent." Saying that, he couldn't help sighing with longing. "Too bad our industrial zone's foundation is still too thin. Otherwise, we could set up one of those massive rotary kilns where the brick molds run straight through the furnace on tracks. By the time the bricks behind have just entered, the ones in front are already fired. By controlling the kiln's temperature and throughput speed, you can even regulate output. At peak speed it could churn out over a million bricks a day, and even throttled down it'd do twenty to thirty thousand with just two operators. The efficiency would be worlds ahead of this!" Jieyan: "Awesome!" Too bad he lacked specialized skills; at this moment, "awesome" was all he could muster. After a round of mutual flattery. Fang Chang looked at his companions and got down to business. "The new map has quite a lot of content. Even after poking around for three days, my exploration rate only hit sixty percent. We'll be heading back there shortly." "Barring any surprises, this run should be to test the new version's trade caravan system… By the way, did you guys accept the quest?" Lao Bai said with a smile, "Got it. Took it first thing in the morning, and our gear is all packed." Ye Shi was already impatient and urged, "When are we setting off? Let's get a move on." Fang Chang cast his gaze toward the gate. Warehouse workers were unloading the delicate cargo from the oxen's backs, replacing them with bundles and crates retrieved from the warehouse. Those ought to be spirit leaf. The food of the devil moths and their larvae from the greenhouse ruins. Rumor had it that an ingredient within could dull pain and enhance focus, though it didn't mean much to players. Pain was already filtered out in this game anyway, so dulling it again with medicine was completely redundant. "Depends on the NPCs… By the way, what did you guys pack? You move so fast, at least give me a chance to catch my breath." Ye Shi chuckled and said, "Not much, not much. Clothes made by Little Sister Teng Teng, Boss Yaya's mushrooms, the Big Bird Vodka Brother Scrambled Eggs brewed with potatoes, trinkets from No. 81 Steel Mill, merch from Goblin Technology, and… a bunch of random miscellaneous junk." Fang Chang was dumbfounded. "Holy crap, that much?" Kuang Feng said, "Just a little bit of each. As the Administrator put it, this trip is to tap into new markets." Jieyan wore an envious expression. "Sigh, I'm crying from jealousy." "If you leveled up a bit faster, you could have come with us." Lao Bai clapped Jieyan on the shoulder and said with a grin, "Keep at it, bro. Focus on leveling up for now. Sure, LV8 to LV10 is only two levels, but grinding them out still takes some time." Although one could technically go without accepting the quest, going meant you couldn't take on any objectives—at most spending several days just to catch a glimpse of what had already been rendered in cutscenes, and with no guarantee you wouldn't run into bugs… Those were the exact words of a certain dog developer. Even if relentless bugs were the norm for closed betas, the little players who had already tasted bugs in the last expansion pack truly had no desire to experience them again. Jieyan looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh. "I'm grinding, I'm grinding!" This Boulder City quest required reaching LV10 and attaining Intermediate Citizen contribution rank. After all, it was testing a new system; the devs probably felt it was better to assign reliable players, which was why the threshold was set so high and the number of slots was strictly capped. The quest flow itself was simple: escort the cargo safely to Boulder City, and after delivery, serve as NPC bodyguards to ensure the smooth establishment of the Shelter 404 Boulder City Office. During this period, free exploration was allowed, and an NPC would accompany them to act as translator and handle communication with the locals. Incidentally, besides the office in Boulder City, the chamber of commerce at the outpost base was already under construction. A plot of land had been cordoned off by the north gate early this morning, just waiting for Daddy Dev to deliver on the contents of that "New Folder." Barring any surprises, these facilities were likely the embryo of Shelter 404's future "Merchant Guild." According to Ah Guang himself, they planned to implement an "interface" in the game, allowing players to recruit NPC employees in a way that better suited the game's style and setting. Once that feature went live, all operations could be handled directly through the VM. Thinking of the sweet pies the developer had baked for him, Jieyan looked at the NPCs busy loading and unloading cargo by the gate, his heart instantly swelling with drive. Time to push harder and grind past LV10 before the new version dropped. That way, when the brand-new update arrived, he'd get to experience even more game content! "Brother Gu Lang, wanna hit the Fifth Ring Road to grind levels in a bit?" Jieyan looked at the newcomer beside him, a fired-up grin on his face. Gu Lang was slightly taken aback. "Me? No need. I've already finished the Passing the Torch quest and got my VM." Seeing this low-energy fellow, Jieyan said solemnly, "You only just hit LV3, how can you be such a salted fish! Once you get the VM, the game is only just getting started! Don't you want to see what higher-level zones look like? Don't you want cute little newbies clinging to your leg and calling you a big boss?" To tell the truth, Gu Lang truly had no such desire. Compared to flexing in a game, he enjoyed the gameplay process itself far more. Besides, in real life, plenty of people already called him a big boss… "Uh, I'll pass," Gu Lang smiled sheepishly. "I'm Intelligence-type. There are plenty of ways for me to gain EXP; I don't necessarily have to kill monsters to level up. I'm planning to look around the industrial zone later. Why not find someone else?" Jieyan: "Damn it!" Curses! This guy! Dumping him the second he got his hands on a VM. Where was the brotherhood? Fang Chang and Lao Bai were discussing whether to bring along any other local specialties; those chips might turn out to be critical quest items. Just then, a burly figure wrapped in a padded cotton coat with slimy green skin swaggered out through the south gate, letting out an exuberant roar. "Hahaha, spring! Spring is finally here! I survived it at last!" Hiss— Still a bit chilly! However, his level had risen, and his metabolism had increased along with it. Combined with the padded coat, it wasn't nearly as unbearable as those past days. Scavenger had his fun, but the people by the gate were scared out of their wits. In particular, several mercenaries near the caravan were so startled that they drew their weapons on the spot. Fortunately, nearby guards intervened in time, averting a bloody clash. "What the hell, where did you get such a massive lizard?! Is that a Deathclaw hatchling?!" "It speaks human tongue!" Looking at the two shaken mercenaries, Xu Shun gave a dry cough and explained, "That is our Administrator's pet… He has a special training method." The two mercenaries traded glances, pure bewilderment written across their faces. Blue coats had that kind of skill?! Never heard of such a thing! They had seen inner-city nobles dress up dogs, but dressing up a Deathclaw was a first. Was it really fine not putting a leash on that thing? "…I've never seen anything so absurd in my life." Hearing his companion's remark, the other mercenary swallowed hard. "I'd bet the lazy bums in the tavern haven't either." … Loading and unloading the goods didn't take long. Well before noon, a caravan composed of players and NPCs—carrying spirit leaf worth tens of thousands of chips, a radio for communication, goods intended to pioneer new markets, and the hopes of countless players—set out once again toward Boulder City. This caravan was far larger than the previous one, with both headcount and cargo volume multiplied several times over. Hopefully, they would bring back good news a week from now. Whether Shelter 404, already on the fast track of development, could step on the gas once more depended on how hard his little players and NPCs pushed. "May good fortune accompany you!" "Warriors pioneering the future." Standing upstairs, Chu Guang watched the caravan vanish at the end of the paved road beyond the south gate, sending a blessing after their silhouettes before turning to head downstairs. Having finally received the equipment, Liszt couldn't wait to lead his personnel and machinery to the industrial zone. Thirty workers were already prepped and waiting. According to Liszt himself, the equipment could be installed within a week. The engineers would complete on-the-job training for the workers within three weeks and begin overseeing production. Efficiency couldn't be guaranteed for now. After all, the educated workers Chu Guang had promised were, in reality, merely literate and capable of basic arithmetic. Yet Liszt was bursting with confidence. Because his costs were practically zero. Silver coins? Those were loaned to the enterprise by the shelter's bank. Whether paying wages or buying raw materials, he wasn't spending his own chips; to him, it was merely numbers on a ledger. Chu Guang had promised him that the factory's debts would not affect transactions between them. Even if it went bankrupt, at most the "factory's assets" would be liquidated, and any shortfall would not fall on his head. In Chu Guang's own words, it was a limited liability system: the legal person bore only limited liability. This was a novel concept in Boulder City, but perhaps it had been commonplace in pre-war times? Either way, this deal was impossible for him to lose. Liszt currently had only one thing on his mind: to be as fast as humanly possible! The sooner they began operations, the sooner that junk could turn into chips. And the closer he would be to his dream of climbing into high society. … That evening. After a busy day shuttling between the industrial zone and the outpost base, Chu Guang returned to the shelter, fired up the computer, and got to work on his duties as a game developer. The official website was as bustling as ever today. Brother Mole, who had gone to Red River Town, finally posted his guide, long overdue. In fact, he hadn't stayed off the forum these past few days; it was just that he had been grinding monsters the whole way without anything noteworthy happening, and the forum's entire spotlight had been hogged by Brother Fang Chang alone. Now that the Boulder City guide was fully posted, Brother Mole seized his chance and dropped his own guide thread immediately, drawing in all the players who were still craving more. "…Motherfucker, we had the worst luck on the road. Those mutants were like they were hopped up on drugs, each stronger than the last. Now I finally know why you hardly see anyone around here—eight out of ten were probably carried off by those monsters!" "Monster nests! I've marked them on the map, but this place is out of communication range, so it hasn't synced to the world map yet. Midway through, we also passed a survivor settlement. Looked like a small trading post, where two caravans were taking a break." "According to the leaders of those two caravans, the Snake Clan is expanding eastward, and the Bone Chewer tribe's territory is growing bigger and bigger, completely cutting off the northern trade routes. Business here is getting tougher by the day. Still, if you want to travel from the eastern provinces to the western provinces, River Valley Province remains the best-sounding among a bunch of terrible options… That might be good news for us." "Also, also! Today I finally reached Red River Town! To put it in one sentence: this place is so damn desolate!" "The soil is probably contaminated; you barely see any tall trees. The flowers, grasses, shrubs, and mushrooms that sprout from the ground are almost all poisonous! But on the flip side, there are tons of arthropods here, along with herds of two-headed oxen. They seem able to break down these toxins, and the survivors here eat them or process them into nutrient paste!" "The ones trading with us are the Horseshoe Chamber of Commerce—the same folks who bought prisoners from us before. Their compound actually has a few hydroponic boxes, but that tiny yield couldn't possibly feed everyone; it's probably reserved for the wealthy." "When I pulled out my dry rations, quite a few people's eyes practically glowed green. Hauling surplus food over here to sell should fetch a pretty penny." "Oh, right, almost forgot to mention! The people here don't use chips, nor gold or CR, but vouchers issued by the local Mining Guild." "Since most traveling merchants won't linger here anyway, the locals simply printed slaves and mineral resources directly onto the bills, complete with serial numbers. Red vouchers buy slaves, blue vouchers buy ore. The numbers correspond to mining sectors, redeemable either at the Mining Guild or directly at the mines… Rather than a guild, it feels more like a front for a few major slaveholders to rake in wealth." "Also, while this place is desolate, the population is sizable, mostly scattered across the settlements of various chambers of commerce. The demographics mainly consist of bounty hunters, mercenaries, cowboys herding two-headed oxen, plus their dependents or purchased slaves." "Perhaps because there's no Broodmother here, I haven't seen any slime-mold mutants like gnawers. But that doesn't mean it's safe. These folks have murky ties with surrounding marauders. The NPC named Qian Duo said we shouldn't trust them completely, but we can't refuse their business either. This might be the largest slave market in the southern suburbs. Whether captives or clones, they all get sent here. We even ran into a bounty hunter from the East Coast looking for an employer's lost relatives!" "Still, life hasn't been easy for the slaveholders lately. A while back, the rise of the Bone Chewer tribe let them make a fortune, packing every mine to bursting. But now those bloodthirsty barbarians have picked clean the bones of the central province and are dipping their toes south." "The chief of the Snake Clan seems intent on taking over this lucrative business himself, but the slaveholders have no intention of handing over their treasures. Those scrap heaps are said to be mineable for centuries—far more valuable than a gold mine!" "Bottom line: this place needs weapons, tools to boost slave efficiency, and food! In descending order of priority, with weapons taking top priority! Drew the illustrations myself—since I'm out of the coverage area, I had to take off the helmet and sketch them by hand, so just bear with them, haha." "[Image], [Image], [Image]." Unlike Brother Fang Chang, Brother Mole's writing was somewhat rough around the edges. Yet likely drawing inspiration from Fang Chang, he managed to cover the situation thoroughly. Not only that, the guy's hand-drawing skills were solid, and he had accompanied the post with several sketches. Very likely, it was because of those sketches that this late guide had taken so long to drop. Jieyan: "Brother Mole is awesome!" Elven King Fugui: "Draw some other sketches! I want to see Heya!! I want to see Xiao Yu! (going crazy)" Ye Shi: "Boss Xia says screw you. (funny face)" Lightning King Professor Yang: "Feels like Boulder City is a budget Night City, while Red River Town is kind of like a deluxe Red Dead Redemption… (sweat)" Midnight Chicken Slaughter: "I feel like you're forcing connections, uh, but it actually kinda fits?" Drum Washing Machine: "Who would have thought that a tiny River Valley Province could gather so many blessed lands!" Lao Bai: "It's not small at all. That's only because it's in a game; in real life, what provincial division could encompass two massive plains sandwiching a mountain range? And each of those two plains even hosts a cluster of cities." Elaina: "Morrowind Province smiles without a word. (funny face)" Ye Shi: "Running mods? Without mods, that might not be true. (funny face)" Chu Guang browsed the thread, lightly tapping his mouse as he pondered. "Red River Town's specialties are manpower and ore; its demands are weapons and food." "They have a few production facilities capable of processing pipe weapons, and they even export signature revolving rifles. However, the slaveholders there have no incentive to industrialize, nor do they even have a stable currency, trading via vouchers instead." Strictly speaking, those vouchers couldn't count as currency; they were more like transaction certificates. Redeemed upon delivery, issued upon production—or issued even without production. In terms of attributes, they were somewhat akin to futures. The Mining Guild functioned more like a conventional underwriting agency. For example, if Party A couldn't honor a voucher today, Party B would cover it first, sparing everyone the risk of a single fool's minor default undermining general credit and rendering everyone's checks worthless. And that was precisely why mining sector codes were stamped onto the vouchers. Having received the voucher, Party B would use it as proof of debt to demand payment from Party A. If Party A dragged their feet, they would be stripped clean through civilized—or uncivilized—means. Counterfeiting? Nonexistent. Rarely did outsiders keep vouchers in their pockets; when leaving, they generally redeemed them, exchanging voucher for goods on the spot. Because local chambers of commerce dealt frequently with mine owners and slaveholders, they did hold onto some red and blue vouchers, but everyone knew each other inside out. Nobody would break the rules for petty gains. "Interesting." Chu Guang raised his eyebrows with intrigue. He first pinned the thread as a featured post, then copied the guide's contents into a text document. He planned to polish it slightly in a few days and update it into the official lore compendium for other players to reference. Finding that his wild brainstorm had coincidentally predicted the next patch, that little player would surely be thrilled. Predicting the meta. Wasn't that sense of achievement far sweeter than entering a hall of fame? Of course, those were minor details. "…If we can open up a trade route to this place, it should satisfy the industrial zone's ever-growing appetite for raw materials." Food was temporarily unfit for trade; his own demand for it was massive. An Awakened practically consumed the rations of three ordinary men a day, to say nothing of the refugees arriving from the north. Only by keeping people fed could they be put to work in the factories. Beyond that, more food allowed recruiting more players, and lightly processing it could empty the wallets of passing merchants. Weapons, on the other hand, were a fine choice. The wasteland was not antiquity; if they didn't buy from you, they'd buy from someone else. If they bought from others, going to war meant figuring out how to cut their supply lines. But if they bought from you, things were far simpler: choke off exports, and they could only stare helplessly at their dwindling stockpiles. Whatever bullets and shells remained would run out sooner or later, and if they couldn't take it, they'd have to try crafting them by hand. This was precisely why Chu Guang had halted weapon imports and made arms research and production a priority development project. Even if it was some eccentric contraption born from Mosquito's wild ideas, he was willing to fund it. Regardless of whether it was easy to use, it had to be their own. "…The only trouble is that Red River Town is too far away. The route is crawling with mutant nests, and marauders wage guerrilla warfare along it. At best, it takes two or three days on foot; at worst, it could drag out for a week." "Still, with Awakened acting as escorts, it shouldn't be a big issue!" "Besides, the destination lies outside the urban ruins, so trucks and tracked vehicles can both be brought into play. Scaling up trade volume will be far less difficult than doing business with survivor settlements inside the city." "This trade route can be arranged after spring plowing!" Chu Guang glanced at the calendar, a sudden thought striking his mind. "Come to think of it, it's been nearly three months." "Isn't the corn at the greenhouse ruins about ready for harvest?"