Clearly Not the Work of a Human

Had he not verified multiple times that he was holding the right map, Wulun would have sworn he had taken a wrong turn. After a long silence, he spoke in an uncertain tone. "...This is Xizhou?" "It should be." Dimitri nodded, squinting toward the distance. "The southern outskirts of Xizhou City. Before the war, it was supposedly called Qingshi County." The county town was flanked by mountains to the east and west, nestled right beneath the ridgeline amid dense, tangled vegetation and overgrown trees. There were no towering skyscrapers here, only garden estates, row houses, and villas. It was obvious that the pre-war residents had enjoyed a rather high standard of living. To the east lay an expressway and a maglev station connecting Xizhou and Qingquan. Today, however, those pieces of infrastructure had long since been pushed up by rampant vegetation into heaps of concrete rubble and debris. Back in the convenient travel networks of the Prosperity Era, this had been nothing more than an unremarkable little county seat. Now, it had become the southern gateway to Xizhou City. Evidently, the Fang clan stationed in Xizhou City had realized this as well. If they couldn't deal with their neighbors to the south, they at least had to guard their own front teeth. Peering through binoculars, Wulun noted a substantial number of marauders garrisoned here—at least one or two thousand-man regiments. Not only that, but they had also heavily fortified their positions. The gaps in semi-collapsed row houses and villas were sealed with timber and aluminum sheets. Concrete structures three stories and taller had been converted into bunkers and pillboxes. The streets were choked with barricades made of concrete rubble and wooden stakes, and every window seemed to conceal a sentry post, whether in plain sight or hidden in the shadows. The entire town had been transformed into a fortress. To think this rabble had such capability. Dimitri couldn't help but look at them with a newfound measure of respect. "How do we contact them?" "With this." Wulun answered tersely, drawing a flare gun and firing a shot into the sky. A red flare shot upward. Before long, more than a dozen figures appeared ahead of them. These men were clad in animal hides, many of them bare-chested and savage in appearance. Yet, without exception, their hands gripped the deadly tools of civilized warfare—automatic or bolt-action rifles. Warily eyeing this squad of soldiers encased in matte-black exoskeletons, the lead decurion fixed his gaze on Wulun, who walked at the head of the group, and called out cautiously, "Who goes there?" His helmet visor turned toward him, Wulun produced an iron token to verify his identity, waved it, and answered deadpan, "Torch." *Torch?* A stir ran through the marauders behind the decurion. Surprised expressions broke out across their faces, and they began whispering among themselves. The decurion's face was likewise etched with shock, though it quickly morphed into sheer delight. "Please follow me!" Once the two parties met, the group continued on their way. The decurion took the lead, quickly guiding Wulun, Dimitri, and the others past the checkpoint at the county town's entrance. However, upon stepping inside the fortress, Dimitri immediately retracted his earlier evaluation of these "allies." The sanitary conditions here were abysmal, resembling nothing so much as a giant refuse heap. A foul stench of decay hung heavy in the air. Corpses and excrement were dumped carelessly along the roads, while fist-sized rats darted brazenly through the streets, treating the place as if it were their personal playground. Dimitri lowered his voice, murmuring over the comms channel, "A rat plague might have broken out here." Wulun's gaze drifted across the street as he replied quietly, "That much is obvious." Noticing Wulun's eyes lingering on a corner of the wall, the lead decurion offered an obsequious chuckle. "Pay it no mind, just a few rats... We're almost there." The Fang clan's command post was located in the Qingshi Department Store on the west side of the county town. The five-story cylindrical building stood out like a crane among a flock of chickens across the low-rise settlement. From the standpoint of concealment alone, placing a command post here was an atrocious choice. However, the structure's outer walls were built with heavy reinforced concrete, and it boasted a two-level underground commercial area with direct access to an above-ground garage. From a defensive standpoint, it was practically ideal. On the ground floor of the department store, Wulun and Dimitri met the supreme commander stationed here—Lion Fang. "Welcome! Friends from afar! I am Chiliarch Lion Fang of the Fang clan. Make yourselves at home!" Lion Fang approached with an overjoyed expression, opening his arms wide for an embrace with his allies. Seeing the other party stand completely motionless, however, he awkwardly turned it into a handshake. Wulun extended his hand and gave it a brief shake. "Wulun, apostle of the Holy Son." "May the venerable Holy Son enjoy good health. Please pass along my regards to him..." Sensing a sliver of coldness in the man's eyes, Lion Fang hastily halted his clumsy pleasantries, coughing lightly to pivot the subject. "So, Lord Apostle, what brings you all this way?" Refusing to bicker over the man's irreverence—now was not the time for unnecessary complications—Wulun spoke concisely. "The blue coats in the northern outskirts of Qingquan City took something that belongs to us. I need you to help us take it back." "Took... something of yours? From the Death Coast? That's quite a trek." Lion Fang looked at him, utterly bewildered, and pressed on, "May I ask what it is?" "A case, and a suit of power armor. We only need the former. As for the latter, you can keep it." *Power armor!* A flash of greed flickered through Lion Fang's eyes, though he swiftly regained his composure. "They have power armor?" "Yes," Wulun continued, reading the hesitation in the marauder's eyes. "No need to worry. That suit doesn't have an energy shield; it's merely a moving target with slightly tougher armor. If it appears on the battlefield, leave it to us." Hearing that, Lion Fang finally let out a sigh of relief, a relaxed smile spreading across his face. "Splendid, my friend! Though we captured a few yaoguai and mutant brown bears using the gear you provided, going up against power armor... I really wouldn't have fancied our chances." "It isn't power armor you need to worry about. It's the fact that these blue coats have an airplane." "An airplane?!" Those blue coats had an airplane?! Could Boulder City have sold one to them? Lion Fang's eyes went wide with astonishment, his face plastered in disbelief. That was impossible... Just like power armor, any tech handed down from before the war was a prized treasure in every survivor settlement. Not to mention that the people of Boulder City had acquired their arsenal straight from the Post-War Reconstruction Committee. "Indeed," Wulun said, watching Lion Fang's stunned expression, practically grinding out the second half of the sentence through his teeth. "Granted, it's just a laughable propeller plane, but it's mounted with two machine guns all the same. You would do well to stay sharp." Lion Fang looked entirely at a loss. He had no idea what a propeller plane was supposed to be, but if these people weren't joking, those blue coats in the northern outskirts of Qingquan City were bound to be far more troublesome than he had imagined. "Thank you for the warning. In a moment, I will confer with my staff officers on countermeasures... and how to reinforce our defensive perimeter." "Reinforce your defensive perimeter? How much more do you intend to reinforce it? This place is practically already a tortoise shell," Dimitri interjected from the side, looking at him incredulously. "Do you even plan on continuing south at all?" "Of course we do! That juicy piece of meat is right on our doorstep! But we never anticipated that things in Xizhou City would get this tricky." With a helpless shrug, Lion Fang continued, "The survivors here are no match for us, but the wily bastards hid in the subway tunnels. Using their familiarity with the terrain, they've been waging guerrilla warfare against us. On top of that, a rat plague broke out recently. Those rats have gone berserk, gnawing on everything in sight. Right now, we even have to lock our boots in footlockers before going to sleep... We simply don't have the spare energy to push south." Wulun's expression soured. "How long until you resolve these troubles?" Lion Fang spoke in an uncertain tone. "Before winter sets in this year, probably." "Too long!" Wulun shook his head. "We cannot wait that long! Those blue coats are absorbing refugees from all around. Once they establish a firm footing locally, they will only become harder to deal with! Concentrating all your forces to wipe them out now is your only chance. You won't make it to winter." A trace of displeasure surfaced on Lion Fang's face. At the end of the day, they were mere allies, not superior and subordinate. The only reason he showed them such deference was that the missionaries of the Church of the Torch possessed the ability to control mutants, and those yaoguai, brown bears, and even Deathclaws charging the front lines had helped them dispose of many a difficult foe. In exchange, the Bone Chewer tribe permitted them to proselytize across their territory, spreading their faith among marauders throughout River Valley Province and neighboring regions. Yet that hardly meant he took orders from them. *Won't make it to winter?* What a joke. What was there to fear from a bunch of wandering vagrants? He admitted the blue coats' combat prowess was formidable, but their numbers were limited. In just a few short months, marauders coming to pledge allegiance had already doubled the size of the Fang clan. Come autumn, when their tens of thousands of troops advanced in unison, spitting all at once would be enough to drown those blue moles! "We have our own timetable. I'm not going to lead my men to their deaths just because you want to fetch some beat-up case. Winter only ended a couple of months ago, and their wheat has barely sprouted green shoots. If we charge down there now, what are we supposed to eat? Graze on turf?" "Besides, Black Snake already met his end at their hands. Those people aren't someone I can take on alone. If you're in such a rush, go find our chieftain. Lord Gold Fang is inside Xizhou City proper. I'm garrisoned here on his orders, and he is the only one authorized to command me!" The negotiations had fallen through. Lion Fang flatly rejected the Torch apostles' recommendation to march south immediately. He would continue strengthening the defensive works here, working alongside his staff officers to turn the entire county town into an impregnable bastion. However, the chiliarch also indicated that if he received an order from the chieftain, he could dispatch a century to support them. A century... Wulun merely smiled when he heard the offer. What could a hundred savages accomplish? On a real battlefield, those men were nothing more than cannon fodder, though they seemed utterly oblivious to that fact. Still, having learned that these people were holding their ground strictly due to their leader's orders, Wulun knew he would likely have to meet their chieftain in person to persuade them to act. Emerging from the department store, Dimitri glanced at his companion. "Are we heading into the city now?" "Yes." Wulun nodded, tracing an idle line in the air with his index finger. "It's only thirty-some kilometers from here to Xizhou. We'll advance along the corridor beneath the mountain ridge... If we move quickly, we should arrive before tomorrow evening." Bringing his foot down, he crushed a rat that had scurried past his boots. Disgustedly rubbing the sole against the pavement, Wulun knitted his brows tight. *These damned rats...* *Where on earth did they all come from?* *** Where on earth did these rats come from? Qiangren Suonan was just as baffled. He admitted he might have acted as a slight catalyst, but that was all. Frankly speaking, rats and cockroaches were already ubiquitous across the wasteland. Any filthy, neglected corner could serve as an incubator for their breeding. Unburied corpses and a severe lack of natural predators were the true root cause of the rat plague. Compared to mutant cockroaches, rats—being mammals—were slightly inferior in reproductive speed, but their intelligence and combat capability far outmatched the bugs. Before long, they had become the true masters of Xizhou City. They moved in packs, gnawing on anything and everything they encountered. Above ground or below, neither marauders nor survivors could do a damn thing about them. It wasn't as if Qiangren Suonan hadn't tried to rein in his subordinates and instill some discipline, but he found the methods he envisioned completely unworkable. First of all, they didn't speak the same language. Second, rats were cunning by nature and lacked even an ounce of loyalty. Even the underlings he had beaten into submission didn't always obey his commands, and feigning compliance while doing their own thing was practically routine. The wood-burning generator hummed as it spun, the wiring beside it patched and spliced several times already. These blasted rats constantly gnawed on the wire ends while he slept. Several had been electrocuted to death, yet they never seemed to learn their lesson. Fortunately, the radio and the hibernation pod were impervious to chewing, or he would have suffered a devastating loss. The only ones showing any semblance of devotion were the female rats. Having secured abundant food and living space through Qiangren Suonan's "artificial intervention," the females lined up to breed, madly swelling the population. It was just that the tender, affectionate gazes they gave him genuinely freaked Qiangren Suonan out. Thank the heavens! Good thing he didn't have that tackle. For the very first time, the thought crossed his mind that not packing heat down below wasn't such a bad thing after all... "R-Respected Lord Administrator... The rat plague in Xizhou City really wasn't my doing!" Inside the nest beneath the ruins. Standing beside the radio, Qiangren Suonan trembled in terror upon hearing the Administrator's inquiry. Though he had been regularly reporting the situation in Xizhou City to the rear, he had selectively omitted any mention of the rat plague, whether on the forum or over the phone. He didn't fear other NPCs, but the Administrator was the Administrator. In terms of game lore, this guy possessed GM privileges and could physically discipline players for illegal gameplay. Who wouldn't panic at that? Besides, ghost knew what kind of punishment logic the AI operated on. Ah Guang had emphasized on the forum more than once that the closed-beta server had plenty of bugs, and players who had their beta access revoked by the GM had no customer-service appeal channel. Any reclaimed access would simply be passed on to a new applicant. A stern voice sounded from the other end of the line. "I do not mean to blame you. I merely expect you to report the situation there truthfully." Qiangren Suonan knew he couldn't keep it hidden any longer. After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately decided to come clean, blurting out everything he had previously concealed in one breathless dump. Listening to Qiangren Suonan's vivid description, Chu Guang was left somewhere between laughter and tears. This guy was a genuine prodigy, coming up with the idea of artificial breeding. No, more like a rat prodigy. After all, this definitely wasn't something a human would do. "...Lord Administrator?" Seeing silence from the other end, Qiangren Suonan felt his heart jump into his throat. "...Ahem. Nothing. I was merely surprised. Allow me a moment to reflect." The seconds ticked past. To Qiangren Suonan, every second dragged on like an entire year. Finally, the Administrator on the other end spoke again. "...You did very well. The rat plague has bogged down the Fang clan's southward advance, buying us precious time to develop. On the other hand, you indeed failed to keep your subordinates under control; this indiscriminate plague has severely disrupted the local survivors' resistance movement." Qiangren Suonan replied dejectedly, "You really can't pin this on me. I tried to rein them in, and every single one acted obedient to my face... but the moment my back was turned, they did whatever they pleased." "I understand. That is why I am not blaming you, though I cannot commend you publicly either," Chu Guang paused, then continued. "The New Alliance will remember your contribution, but we will not officially acknowledge your merit. We will reward you through other means. Do you understand what I mean?" *Whew.* *Scared this rat half to death.* *Is that all?* Qiangren Suonan let out a massive sigh of relief. Public commendation didn't matter to him in the slightest. He couldn't understand what NPCs were jabbering on about anyway, and it wouldn't affect his quest rewards or his ability to brag on the forum. And from the sound of it, had he just triggered a hidden questline? Far from feeling dejected, Qiangren Suonan grew elated, swearing in an excited voice, "Rest assured, Respected Lord Administrator! My lips are sealed regarding what I've done! Where there is light, shadows must fall. I am willing to become the hidden blade beneath your cloak, sweeping aside every obstacle in our path!" Chu Guang's toes curled so hard in secondhand embarrassment he nearly dug a hole through the floor. Yet to preserve the player's gaming experience, he endured it, playing along with the performance and concluding the cutscene in a solemn tone. "...I am pleased you feel that way. Starting now, I need you to scout intelligence along our route of advance. Mark their ammunition depots, fire points, command posts, troop barracks, as well as hidden tunnels and trenches on your map to the best of your ability. Coordinate with our ground and air forces to purge the marauders entrenched in the region." "Can you accomplish this?" Qiangren Suonan said excitedly, "Leave it to me with absolute confidence! A little task like this is well within my grasp!" "Very well. I look forward to your good news!" After assigning the tasks, Chu Guang hurriedly hung up. The transmission ended. Qiangren Suonan let out a long breath. His previously troubled face was now plastered with pure joy. *It went up!* *It definitely went up!* Judging by the tone of the Administrator's final words, his favorability rating had undoubtedly spiked! The rat minions surrounding him squeaked and chattered. Though they had no clue what their boss was so thrilled about, that plump belly of his was bound to be brimming with wicked schemes. Turning to face his underlings, eager to show off his worth, Qiangren Suonan stood up straight and shrieked in a high-pitched voice, "Boys, rally your brothers!" "Follow your Granddaddy Rat to stir up some real trouble!" *** Although rats couldn't speak, Qiangren Suonan had his own ways. Living among them for so long had taught him their habits and how they communicated information. These crafty rodents might not follow his orders to march to their deaths, but helping him scout enemy activity posed little problem. Dangerous areas meant concentrations of people; heavy metal concentrations meant places where weapons or ammunition might be stored. Once a rough location was identified, he would personally follow the scent to inspect it with his own eyes. Even if he didn't uncover high-value intelligence every single time, he came away with something at least six out of ten times. Whenever he discovered a high-value target, he refrained from acting right away. Instead, he marked it on his VM map and quietly withdrew. Alerting the enemy now would only put them on guard. When the war officially erupted, the New Alliance's aircraft and artillery would give these marauders a tremendous surprise. Entirely oblivious to what was transpiring right beneath his feet, Lion Fang was working with his advisor Bernie to further fortify their positions in Qingshi County. They concealed stationary machine guns on rooftops, using water tanks, electrical junction boxes, and ventilation ducts as cover. They also mounted high-powered searchlights on select roofs to sweep the adjacent airspace and mountain ridges at night. Naturally, these ideas hadn't originated from Lion Fang himself. His ranks included advisors from the Legion. While Lion Fang didn't believe those blue coats would dare take the initiative to come looking for trouble, Black Snake's grim fate had taught him a thorough lesson. Even if there were only a one percent chance, he would strangle it in the cradle! *** Early April. A full week had passed since the high-level planning meeting for the Northern Expedition. Dawn City operated like a pump set in motion, voraciously drawing in resources from all directions along newly opened trade routes. Steel and aluminum formed the lion's share of demand. Not only were they required to manufacture light and heavy armaments, but the railway currently being laid was an absolute black hole for resources, showing virtually no bottom. A single steel mill could no longer meet the New Alliance's developmental needs. To satisfy the burgeoning demand for steel in the industrial zone, No. 81 Steel Mill not only opened a branch plant, but Chu Guang also signed administrative directives instructing the Logistics Department to establish the New Alliance First Steel Mill. This was the New Alliance's first steel plant managed by NPCs and collectively held by the Alliance. Unlike Plant 81, which focused on military production, the First Steel Mill produced steel primarily dedicated to infrastructure construction. A portion of its equipment was fabricated using machine tools, while another portion was procured from Boulder City. Its technical staff comprised both lifestyle players and unemployed engineers hired from Boulder City. As for the A3 aviation-grade aluminum produced by the Bucky Aluminum Plant, most of it was funneled into the production line of the Electric Mule. The remaining output was largely absorbed by the Lister Factory to produce the reinforced KV-1 exoskeleton variant. Before the war commenced, Chu Guang needed enough trucks to deliver supplies and manpower to the front line, along with KV-1 exoskeletons to guarantee the players' mobility and operational effectiveness. By the end of the month, player numbers would surpass twenty-five hundred, but combat players actually heading to the front lines would number only around fifteen hundred. A disadvantage in numbers could only be offset by mobility and firepower. Aside from steel and aluminum, the New Alliance's second-highest resource demands were copper and sulfur. Copper was primarily used for manufacturing ammunition and laying power grids—that went without saying. Artillery shells could use steel casings, but bullets were best crafted from copper. Not only were they easier to store, but they offered superior ballistic performance, effectively reducing jamming and rifling wear compared to steel-cased rounds. Electricity was even more crucial; exoskeletons, trucks, and the players' respawn points all depended on the power grid for support. Sulfur, on the other hand, was used predominantly to produce sulfuric acid. This chemical didn't just affect a single assembly line; from steel mills to chemical plants, hardly any industrial chain could function without it. As the war machine sputtered to life and the industrial zone's capacity continually expanded, demand for nearly every resource surged dramatically. It was at this very moment that Old Charlie, head of the Merchant Guild, brought Chu Guang a piece of bad news... "While you've likely gathered as much from the inventory figures, I must report it to you just in case: our industrial expansion has outpaced our projections. We've bought up so much copper and sulfur from surrounding survivor settlements that prices have begun to spike." Inside the base's reception room. Having heard Old Charlie's report, Chu Guang pondered for a moment before looking up. "How much of an increase?" "Copper from Red River Town has risen by twenty percent, and sulfur prices have climbed by at least thirty percent. Those are the latest figures." Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully. "Roughly matches what I've seen." The players had discussed this very issue on the forum last night. It wasn't just copper and sulfur; certain rare metals had gone completely out of stock. Chu Guang had actually anticipated this scenario to some extent. The vouchers issued by the Red River Town mines were essentially futures contracts. This trading model not only facilitated their purchases of goods from other survivors, but also made it easier for them to coordinate their mines' output. In other words, they didn't stockpile massive piles of unusable ore in their warehouses; instead, they decided the next quarter's production based on the vouchers issued in the previous one. If someone suddenly demanded large quantities of spot inventory, price hikes were only natural. However... The speed of this price jump was somewhat abrupt. The Northern Expedition plan had only been launched a week ago. No matter how fast demand had grown, Chu Guang refused to believe Red River Town's warehouses lacked even this modest cushion of reserves. He had good reason to suspect that someone had pieced clues together from the market movements and was playing the game of hoarding stock to drive up prices. Old Charlie had evidently arrived at the same suspicion, remarking obliquely, "Our resources are at the mercy of others, and the repercussions of this issue will become increasingly pronounced. Either we open up more trade routes to reduce our dependence on a single raw material supplier, or we acquire our own sources to cover part of our resource needs ourselves." "My thoughts exactly. In fact, one of the primary objectives of this Northern Expedition is precisely to resolve our raw material dilemma." Chu Guang nodded, turning his eyes to the map on the wall. "The New Alliance's scientific expedition team investigated the historical records of Qingshi County. The Qingshi Geological Park in its western mountains was originally a mining zone owned by the Qingshi Mining Company. Beneath it lies a rich porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit, estimated to hold at least a million tons." Old Charlie's face registered surprise. "It was never mined?" "It was, but only a fraction was extracted. According to the records, the mine was shut down early in the Prosperity Era due to cost considerations. Afterward, it was converted into a geological park, with an adjacent training base and geological research institute established nearby." Offering a faint smile, Chu Guang continued, "In fact, it isn't just copper-molybdenum deposits. According to analysis by our expedition team, there are quite a few surveyed but untapped resources throughout the surrounding area. As long as we take Xizhou City, our resource woes will naturally resolve themselves." "What about our immediate problem, though? Even if we capture Qingshi County, extraction will take time—" The moment the words left his mouth, a sudden flash of realization dawned in Old Charlie's eyes. "I see..." "I believe I understand what you mean."