Expansion Settlement! Trade and Foreign Reserves!

[Server Announcement: The "Swords into Plowshares" expansion pack has officially concluded!] [Total server participants for this event: 1,100 players. Total land reclaimed: 21,211 mu. Basic agricultural tool sets produced: 1,700 sets. Mechanized agricultural equipment converted: 17 units...] [Farmer profession gameplay is now unlocked: Accept the Farmer profession from Luka at Changjiu Farm and complete the initiation quest to receive a system-granted "Pioneer Starter Kit." At Planting Skill Level 1, players may apply for 3 mu of arable land; at Level 3, 10 mu; at Level 6, 100 mu will unlock along with an additional 15 mu of construction land; at Level 8, land limits are removed, and players may advance to "Farm Owner," opening a brand-new career path!] [Players who cleared 66 mu or more during this event will automatically receive the title "Pioneering Master," and their Planting Skill will be automatically upgraded to Level 6.] [Event point settlement statements have been dispatched to individual accounts. The lucky draw and reward redemption functions will open today at 18:00. Thank you all for your enthusiastic participation! The test data from this expansion will provide an invaluable foundation in reality for the open beta of Wasteland OL!] As usual, the announcement had been timed precisely for the peak hour when players logged off. Within less than a minute of its posting, the entire forum burst into a frenzy. Tail: "Shocked! The expansion actually ended already?!!!! ∑(°Д°ノ)ノ" Sisi: "Eeeek! I thought it would last until the end of the month... Dammit, I was just one point short of trading for another lottery ticket!" Jieyan: "Sigh, an unlucky scrub like me expects nothing. Just give me the pity pull. T.T" Edge Slacker: "Speaking of which, what's the pity prize this time?" Elaina: "Didn't check. Dude, could you have a little more ambition? Checking the pity pull before you even roll—how are you any different from a salted fish? (smug)" I'm the Darkest: "The grand prize is a... Holy shit! Heavy Cavalry exoskeleton?!" Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "How much did the Type 5 Light Cavalry exoskeleton cost again?!" Lao Bai: "Ten thousand silver coins... and you have to be an Intermediate Citizen." Ye Shi: "Sweet mother of god... Then wouldn't this bad boy go for fifty thousand silver coins and up?!" With the prize pool revealed, the gaze of almost every player and stream watcher locked firmly onto that single, exclusive Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry" exoskeleton! A single unit in the entire reward pool! God-tier gear ahead of the current version! Whoever drew it kept it! Even though it was police-grade gear, this thing was genuine pre-war hardware. Whether judged by its background lore or in-game stat sheet, it reigned supreme in its class! Even the guard team's "Type 5" looked like a little brother in comparison. Who would become the ultimate luck-god this time turned into the biggest suspense of the lottery! As for the 10, 50, and 100 silver coin vouchers, or the PU-9 submachine guns and Ripper rifles quietly slipped into the prize pool, hardly anyone paid them any attention. ... "Not bad." Inside the Administrator's office of Shelter 404. Chu Guang sat before his monitor, observing the excited banter of the little players on the forum, an indulgent, fatherly smile spreading across his face. The "Swords into Plowshares" expansion pack had come to a perfect close, and the spring plowing plan had successfully cleared its most crucial and difficult first step. Counting the land reclaimed by the NPCs, Shelter 404's total arable land had reached an astounding 35,101 mu, vastly exceeding Chu Guang's initial target of 30,000 mu. With this farmland, under optimistic circumstances, Shelter 404 could not only settle over ten thousand displaced wastelanders, but also recruit another ten thousand players and provide them with a baseline gameplay experience. "This should be the very first expansion since launch to finish completely smoothly!" At the very least, there hadn't been any game-breaking bugs like being "unable to revive." Furthermore, it had filtered out a batch of little players who genuinely loved farming. As a game designer juggling multiple roles, Chu Guang was reasonably pleased with his work. Crouched in the corner charging, Xiao Qi stealthily tilted its camera lens, stealing a peek at Chu Guang's profile. *Master seems to be in a good mood?* *In that case, sharing a bit of bad news shouldn't hurt, right?* "Master." Hearing Xiao Qi's voice, Chu Guang glanced over toward the wastebasket in the corner. "What is it?" Xiao Qi continued in a quiet tone. "Well... our budget for this month is a little over." Chu Guang asked, "By how much?" Xiao Qi said, "Um, on spring plowing alone, you invested 2.21 million silver coins. According to your preset algorithm, this not only far exceeds our fiscal revenue for this month, but it also surpasses the shelter's total social output value this month... Is that really okay?" *Huh?* *Over by that much?!* A flicker of surprise crossed Chu Guang's face, though he quickly regained his composure. "It's fine. Just a bit of a deficit, no big deal." Mobilizing players to clear wasteland didn't come free. Between the quest rewards and the final lottery prize pool, it all cost money. On average, each player earned 2,009 silver coins from this expansion. However, looking at the average made little sense here. Some hardcore grinders had pulled in two or three times as much as everyone else, while players uninterested in farming had only done quests for the first couple of days before wandering off to do other things. What did 2.21 million silver coins actually mean? Given the differences in productivity and societal context, the sum couldn't be directly converted into RMB, but local prices offered a useful benchmark. Representing the price of Shelter 404's manufactured goods, an LD-47 assault rifle sold for 200 silver coins, and a 7mm bullet cost 1 silver coin. Meanwhile, the staple green wheat had a purchase price of 1 silver coin per kilogram and a retail price of 2 silver coins per kilogram. Potatoes generally bought and sold for twice that. Corn had originally matched potatoes, but recent discounts had lowered its purchase and retail prices by 20% and 30% from the baseline, respectively. Setting price fluctuations aside, 2.21 million silver coins could buy ten thousand assault rifles, or empty the granaries of the outpost and Changjiu Farm three times over! Yet Chu Guang wasn't worried. First of all, less than forty percent of those 2.21 million silver coins had gone directly to players' VMs. More than half had flowed into the corporate accounts of lifestyle players or been distributed as physical goods, which had a negligible impact on consumer prices. Furthermore, the use of funds in corporate accounts was subject to strict limits and auditing. Chu Guang had anticipated these problems several versions ago. Having players register companies and set up dedicated corporate accounts had been prepared precisely for a day like this! "...Moderate inflation helps promote social prosperity. You can think of it as me borrowing two million silver coins from my own bank to expand production. In the autumn, this farmland will turn into grain and fill our storehouses, so it doesn't count entirely as a deficit. "On top of that, trade routes to Boulder City and Red River Town are open now. Distant caravans will arrive here shortly, carrying off things we don't need to farther lands. As long as we manage our trade surplus and fleece those passing merchants reasonably, these trade routes will absorb a large portion of the inflation." Xiao Qi gave a semi-comprehending nod with its camera. Though it didn't entirely understand, seeing its master look so confident made it feel that it probably wasn't a big deal after all. "Right, Xiao Qi." Xiao Qi said, "Yes, Master?" Chu Guang asked, "When on earth will B4 unlock? Winter is already over." Earlier, when the population hadn't hit the cap, Chu Guang hadn't been in a rush. Lately, however, as fresh novices gradually turned into veterans, he had begun to feel the pinch. Low-yield, low-barrier daily activity quests were mostly handled by beginners; players like Midnight Chicken Slaughter who still loved chopping wood after awakening were rare exceptions. And according to Chu Guang's experiments, the actions of indigenous wastelanders were not counted toward daily activity quest progress. In other words, the number of novices was tied directly to how many reward points he could earn each day. Previously, he averaged around 15 points daily, but that had recently dwindled to 8 or 9. While a mature veteran was worth far more than a novice, certain basic chores still needed bodies. Only a steady influx of fresh blood could create a virtuous cycle. Just like population, growing too fast all at once or not growing at all were both unhealthy. Xiao Qi replied, "Um, I don't know. Xiao Qi's information is mostly stuff you already know... Could it be that the time condition hasn't been met? For example, is it set to open only after a certain year?" Chu Guang couldn't help but complain, "If it's set to the year 312 of the Wasteland Era, won't I be six feet under before I ever lay eyes on B4?!" Xiao Qi: "Huh? It probably won't be that long?" Chu Guang: "..." *Why the question mark???* Whatever. There was no point in giving an AI a hard time. Using his Administrator privileges, Chu Guang pulled up the shelter system's "Administrator Log" page, his index finger swiping across the screen. Yet after flipping through it back and forth for a good while, he saw nothing beyond that long list of daily activity quests—not a trace of B4 access. *Could this shelter really only have three floors?* *Impossible...* Judging by the layout of Shelter 117, tons of facilities hadn't even been unlocked yet! If the quest wouldn't trigger, worrying wouldn't help. Giving up his search, Chu Guang's gaze finally settled on the Administrator allowance entry. This month, he had accumulated 457 reward points. The canned food and chocolate in his fridge had never run out, so he hadn't opened any blind boxes in a while. He hadn't realized he had saved up so much. "Master?" Seeing Chu Guang rise from his chair, Xiao Qi tilted its camera. "I'm going to wash my face." Tossing out that remark, Chu Guang left the office, heading toward the residential area on B2 in high spirits. Four hundred and fifty-seven reward points! That could open plenty of good stuff! Perhaps washing his face beforehand truly did the trick, because the loot from this round of blind boxes turned out unexpectedly decent, giving Chu Guang a pleasant surprise. Four high-tier blind boxes yielded a Hummingbird drone, a set of Type 5 "Light Cavalry" exoskeleton, a set of Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry" exoskeleton, and a 1–6x magnification thermal imaging scope. The thermal imager was a weapon attachment, fitted with an adjustable mounting rail underneath. It was likely intended for the Human Alliance Army's Type 10 assault rifle, though mounting it on other guns wouldn't pose any real issue. Aside from variable magnification, it had three basic modes to cycle through—exceptionally handy. Chu Guang planned to host an auction before the next update, letting the players decide for themselves what it was worth. As for that "Heavy Cavalry" exoskeleton, it was arguably the most valuable item among all the prizes, and only the second one he had pulled to date. Having exhausted his luck on the high-tier boxes, the rewards from the other five mid-tier and seven low-tier boxes proved ordinary: if not bandages and sprays, then chocolate and lollipops. *Is there a candy factory hidden beneath this shelter?* Scooping the sweets off the conveyor belt, Chu Guang mentally grumbled. Oh well. He could just give them to Little Fish as snacks. ... The next day. The plaza at the outpost was packed with people, buzzing with chatter and commotion. Everyone was waiting for 18:00 sharp—which corresponded to 6:00 AM in-game time—when the lottery system, land claims, and title redemptions would unlock on the dot! Although the developers claimed that draw rates weren't affected by the number of participants, there was only one grand prize, locked the moment it was pulled. Consequently, everyone rushed to log on at the very first second, terrified that this once-in-a-lifetime chance might get snatched away by some lucky bastard. Silver Hand: "God bless me, I don't ask for much—just let me pull a set of KV-1!" Silver Father: "Developers above, my request isn't greedy either—just hand me a set of Miner Type I exoskeleton!" Silver Sword: "Fuck off! You call that not greedy?!" Elven King Fugui: "Exactly! That thing isn't even in the prize pool, okay?!" Silver Father: "Heh heh, a man's gotta dream. What if? What if there's a bug?" Elaina: "Guang: Hello, your equipment encountered a bug and cannot function normally. We have kindly exchanged it for a 10% off voucher for the KV-1 exoskeleton free of charge. Please leave us a five-star review... manual doge." Jieyan: "Holy shit, that's way too dirty!" Yaya: "Abba abba abba, I am willing to trade the lifelong bachelorhood of everyone present for the grand prize!" Elven King Fugui: "The hell would you even do with that thing!" Cut the Crap: "Right! Who uses an exoskeleton to pick mushrooms?!" Yaya: "None of your business, quack! Who says I only pick mushrooms? I want it!" The hour struck. Tens of thousands of blind boxes popped open simultaneously. The VM screens across the plaza flashed with bursts of light—some glowing green, some glowing purple, others dull and colorless, creating a spectacular sight! Players scrambled to check their prizes, some pumping their fists in triumph while others sighed in despair. Right at that moment, a burst of unrestrained laughter cut through the din. "Hahahahaha!" "I hit it! I hit it! I won!" Staring at the golden window popping up on his VM screen, Commander Spring began dancing around wildly like a man seized by a fit. Standing beside him, Battlefield Atmosphere Group instinctively took a step back to put distance between them. "Are you possessed or something?" "Piss off! I won the grand prize!" Battlefield Atmosphere Group froze, his expression transforming instantly. "Holy shit, could it be—" "What did you get? Let me see!" Before Battlefield Atmosphere Group could finish, I'm the Darkest leaned in eagerly. But the moment his eyes hit the screen, they bulged like copper bells. "Holy crap!" "Goddammit! Rigged! This is definitely rigged!" Peering at the VM, Battlefield Atmosphere Group fell silent for a moment, seemingly trying to protest destiny's injustice with silence. After a long pause, he looked solemnly at Commander Spring, placing both hands on his brother's shoulders. "Brother Spring." Seeing his envious look, Commander Spring grinned. "What?" Battlefield Atmosphere Group looked at him with profound pity. "Your ass must really hurt." I'm the Darkest snorted, "Pfft." Commander Spring barked, "Fuck off! I did two ten-pulls! Is it that outrageous for me to win? I'm an Intelligence-type who plowed sixty mu of land! Do you know how hard that was?!" To boost his clearing efficiency, he had even stripped the welded steel plates off his Miner Type I exoskeleton. How could anyone call this rigged? This was clearly the developers recognizing his hard work! Hearing that didn't help; it only made people angrier. Battlefield Atmosphere Group yelled, "Motherfucker! You pulled twenty times, but didn't I pull twenty times too?!" "Exactly! Why did I draw a mountain of garbage?!" I'm the Darkest protested as well, even though his event points had only been enough for six draws. "Rigged!" "Totally rigged!" "Unless you drop your pants to prove there was no behind-the-scenes dealing!" "What the fuck, are you guys perverts?!" With more and more unlucky players gathering around, Commander Spring didn't dare linger. Without even collecting his prize, he greased his soles and slipped away before he could be surrounded. Standing on the third floor of the sanatorium, overlooking the plaza, Chu Guang wore an expression of mild surprise as well. Less than ten minutes into the draw. Someone had already claimed the grand prize?! "Does that guy have god-tier luck or what?" In all honesty, the drop rates were completely public. Every player generated a random number mapped to the prizes; whatever came up was what they got. Chu Guang had never given anyone special treatment, nor did he have any reason to. Even for Lao Bai and the crew, with whom he was closest, Chu Guang had never secretly rigged the odds. Besides, why would he pull strings for a sneaky camper? If he had to play favorites, he'd definitely pick someone with a bigger chest. Xiao Qi tilted its camera. "Master, should we lower his drop rates next time?" Chu Guang shook his head. "No need for that. "We shouldn't do dirty underhanded things." After all, a lottery was just for fun. As long as the equipment was handed out, it didn't matter who got it. Being able to revive was the players' greatest advantage; the incubation pods and hibernation pods were their ultimate divine gear, with everything else merely serving as auxiliary support. This was also why Chu Guang gave priority to the guard team when assigning the Type 5 "Light Cavalry" exoskeletons he pulled. If functional NPCs holding key positions died, they were truly gone, and the cost of training replacements was enormous. Moreover, to the players, these NPCs were companions they saw daily, making extra protection well worth the investment. Either way, the gear had wound up in the hands of a combat-oriented player. That was far better than having it become a cosmetic skin for Yaya. ... "Holy crap, I pulled a tractor!" At Changjiu Farm. Standing before the save point, Bored Tiger Hunter scratched the back of his head, completely bewildered. "Uh, is this considered expensive or cheap?" Standing nearby, Makabazi overheard him, envy written all over his face. "Awesome! The price of a tractor has reportedly risen to five thousand silver coins!" Ordinary players couldn't afford heavy machinery like that; they mostly rented from Goblin Technology or No. 81 Steel Mill. Changjiu Farm had recently purchased a few units, but NPCs seemed to be operating them exclusively. Though it didn't match the ten-thousand-silver price tag of the "Light Cavalry," in the eyes of farming enthusiasts, this was vastly more appealing than any exoskeleton. Makabazi's ultimate dream was to own ten tractors of his own, a farm spanning tens of thousands of mu, a villa the size of a football field, and a dozen maidservants massaging his shoulders and legs while he sat by Ling Lake watching Cut the Crap bait fish. Now, someone had already realized one percent of his dream. Damn it. These newcomers were way too lucky! Hearing that the tractor was worth five thousand silver coins, Tiger's face instantly lit up with shock. "Holy shit! Can it be sold?" Makabazi offered at once, "I'll pay two thousand silver!" That was every coin in his pocket. Yet he considered it worth every cent! "Piss off." Tiger rolled his eyes. "If I'm selling it to you, I might as well use it myself!" Ignoring Makabazi, Tiger promptly headed over to Luka to take on the Farmer profession. After confirming the quest, he hopped onto the tractor and chugged off excitedly toward the fields. Working the soil in reality might sound dull, but could that compare to this? In reality, you worked for someone else; in the game, you worked for yourself! Reaching Planting Skill Level 1 let you lease land, and Level 8 made you a Farm Owner! You could buy a massive stretch of fields on the northern shore of Ling Lake! The mere thought filled Tiger with boundless energy. His future looked bright, and the dream of being a farm owner lay right within reach. Keep pushing! Just do it! Watching the puffs of smoke drift up as it chugged away, the players by the gate of Changjiu Farm looked on with intense envy. A mount. That had to count as a mount, right? ... Pulling his gaze back from the distant smoke, Indebted Big Eye checked his VM, his face contorting like a mask of agony. "This hurts!" "If I went to Africa, I'd probably be crowned chieftain on arrival." Construction Site Youth and Brick said, "Don't think too much about it. Just move bricks like a good boy." Indebted Big Eye asked, "Anyone want vouchers? I'll let them go at ten percent off." Edge Slacker glanced at him. "How many do you have?" Indebted Big Eye replied, "Ten!" Hearing that he had drawn ten vouchers, the other two were instantly floored. "Holy shit?! How unlucky can you get?" "That shouldn't happen, right? Wasn't there a pity pull?" Indebted Big Eye sighed. "There is a pity mechanic, but I only hit pity once... a Scythe assault rifle. Anyone want it? It's not like I can dual-wield them." Seeing Big Eye look as if he were on the verge of tears, Edge Slacker sighed and clapped him firmly on the shoulder. "It's fine. We landed a mercenary contract, so our luck isn't all bad." Construction Site Youth and Brick nodded in comforting agreement. "True. Look on the bright side, bro." The mercenary contract was a new gameplay feature updated into the quest system just this morning, seemingly meant to test a newly developed mercenary profession. In short, once a mercenary contract appeared on the quest board, players Level 10 and above could register as squad leaders and recruit teammates. Squads were capped at ten members with no level restrictions. After one hour, the total evaluation score of each squad was tallied, leaving the top five squads to roll dice and determine who won the contract. This particular contract was to support the defensive war of the survivors at Red River Town. The attacking force was their old adversary—the Snake clan of the Bone Chewer tribe. The employer was offering generous compensation: 50 silver coins per person per day, amounting to 500 silver coins a day for a ten-man squad. Killing a marauder yielded a 20 silver coin bounty, and wiping out a ten-man unit awarded a 500 silver coin bonus. They wouldn't need to hunker down in trenches like the mine owners' private levies; they only needed to leverage their mobility and execute assignments in coordination with local defense plans. These missions were typically fraught with danger, but the rewards were equally massive. A single deployment could easily net enough silver to buy the most expensive Type 5 exoskeleton in the NPC shop! Not a single player standing here showed any sign of fear. Instead, they were brimming with drive and excitement. After plowing fields for a whole month, their old bones would rust solid if they didn't get moving! Another squad that had secured a contract was the Mole Squad, led by Brother Mole, also known as Mole on the Run from the Canyon, an old acquaintance. Having wrapped up their pre-departure preparations, they walked over. "Departure is at nine in the morning. We're all set. How much longer do you guys need?" Watching the Mole Squad approach, Edge Slacker was taken aback. "Holy crap... You guys look so professional?" Uniform cement-gray overcoats, steel helmets strapped over their heads, identical holsters, ammo pouches, bandages, canteens, and entrenching shovels slung at their waists. Their weapons varied: some carried light machine guns on their backs, others had submachine guns at their waists, while some were bristling with grenades or hauling an absurdly long "Lance" anti-tank rifle. On top of that, improvised gas masks made from plastic bottles hung around their necks. Compared to these German-styled stormtroopers, Edge Slacker felt like his own side looked like a band of ragtag rebels. "It's called adapting to battlefield conditions, what do you know?" Mole grinned and held out a gas mask. "Sand and dust kick up bad out there. Want one? I happen to have spares. A hundred silver coins—can't get ripped off, can't be fooled." Edge Slacker rolled his eyes. "Get lost. Three plastic bottles, a piece of gauze, and some charcoal. The cost isn't even five silver coins. Why the hell would I waste my money?" Hearing that, Mole was genuinely stunned. He had spent quite a while studying tutorials online before figuring out how to craft those. "Holy crap? You know how to make them too?" Edge Slacker chuckled. "You act like you're telling a joke." ... Not far away. At the north gate of Changjiu Farm, the caravan had assembled at the unloading depot. Having arrived by vehicle from the outpost, the Administrator was overseeing the cargo handover with Liszt, the master of the caravan. The volume of goods in this trade more than doubled the previous shipment. To demonstrate his strength to potential allies, Chu Guang had rolled out a sizable portion of his stockpiled reserves. This shipment included 40 Death's Whistle rockets, 400 Scythe assault rifles, 60,000 rounds of 7mm ammunition, 15 "Lance" anti-tank rifles, and nearly 500 rounds of 20mm armor-piercing, high-explosive, and incendiary shells. In addition, there were two of Goblin Technology's latest creations—88mm mortars—along with 200 mortar shells. Totaling 45 tons, this cache of arms required eight tracked trucks to transport and carried an aggregate value of 500,000 silver coins! Naturally, that was the domestic price, or rather the cost Shelter 404 paid to procure them from the industrial zone. Even when sold in the NPC shop, goods weren't sold at baseline cost, let alone for export. The shelter had to make a tidy profit. Chu Guang's requirement was modest: a floor price of 1,000,000 silver coins. If the other party lacked silver reserves, paying in grain, minerals, or slaves was perfectly acceptable. At the shelter's purchase rate of 1.5 kilograms of ironware per silver coin, that was equivalent to 1,000 tons of steel! Of course, steel was merely an illustrative benchmark; plenty of steel and aluminum could be scavenged from the ruins near the new industrial zone. What the outpost truly lacked was phosphate and sulfur ore. The meager guano deposit by the lake barely sufficed for agricultural needs, falling far short of sustaining industrial demands. Gazing at the trucks crammed with cargo, Chu Guang smiled with satisfaction. Trade was where the real money lay after all. A single round trip would generate at least 1,000,000 silver coins in net profit, instantly patching the massive crater the spring plowing plan had left on the ledger. Inflation? Nonexistent. As long as abundant resources could be pulled from the outside and paper currency could be stuffed into foreign pockets, printing money would never drown his own purse. Right now, they were only dispatching caravans unilaterally. Once the people in Red River Town learned they could purchase arms in ample supply here, they would naturally send their own merchant convoys over. That region was home to more than just mine owners; merchant organizations doing business with them, like the Horseshoe Trading Firm, were just as prevalent. "Twenty Awakened. Where on earth did you get so many Awakened?" standing beside Chu Guang, Liszt remarked with open envy. Chu Guang smiled faintly. "That is a corporate secret." "Fair enough, I was just asking offhand." Not expecting Chu Guang to disclose such matters anyway, Liszt cleared his throat and switched the topic. "The caravan we previously sent toward Boulder City crossed the outer edge of the Fourth Ring Road just now. They'll reach the outpost by this evening at the latest. Time is money, so if possible, I'd like them to make another run. Do you have any other needs on your end? Daily necessities, for instance?" Chu Guang considered it, then replied. "I can provide you with another ton of spirit leaves. This time, settlement in chips will do." Liszt blinked, surprised, then smiled. "Chips? I thought you preferred bartering." Chu Guang said, "That was in the past. When trade was infrequent, bartering minimized risk. But circumstances have changed, and I intend to build a reserve of chips... You can think of it as a foreign exchange reserve." If the steel mill needed to import machinery or hire an engineer from Boulder City, they couldn't scramble to barter steel on short notice or trouble Liszt for assistance every single time. Establishing a foreign exchange reserve wasn't merely to cover rent for the liaison office; it was to facilitate business for the lifestyle players in the industrial zone. Whenever equipment purchases or the hiring of foreign talent arose, they could take silver coins directly to the shelter's bank to withdraw chips. Liszt remarked with keen interest, "Foreign exchange reserve? That sounds intriguing. It reminds me a bit of the currency exchange in Boulder City." Chu Guang asked, "A currency exchange?" Liszt nodded. "Indeed. Enterprise Cr and Legion dinars are both traded there, though prices fluctuate daily. Merchants visiting from elsewhere often stop by when leaving Boulder City to liquidate any leftover chips. If they head west, they convert them to dinars; if they head east, they swap them for Cr." Chu Guang rubbed his chin. "Sounds interesting." That was a valuable piece of intelligence. Chu Guang intended to have Shuyu keep an eye on it to see if silver coins could be listed for trading there, or what criteria needed to be met. If he could funnel silver coins into Boulder City's pockets, harvesting that crop would be gloriously profitable. "Interesting? Perhaps. Some people even make a living off it, though I don't think much of it. It's about as unreliable as the daily lottery in the *Voice of Boulder City*. The trading volume is too small; getting rich off it is practically hopeless." Liszt pulled out his pocket watch, glanced at it, and clicked the gold-plated lid shut. "It's about time. Five minutes to nine. If your side is ready, our caravan can depart at any moment." Chu Guang glanced at the twenty eager players assembled beside the convoy. "Right now is fine. "My soldiers have long been prepared. "In fact, they can hardly wait."