Looking at the crudely made press card in her hand, Dolly felt completely dazed as she stepped out of the newspaper office.
Ten minutes ago, Hal had helped her complete the onboarding paperwork, after which she was told to report here promptly at seven tomorrow morning.
It had all happened so suddenly that she still hadn't fully wrapped her head around it.
Looking at Fang Chang, who walked half a step ahead of her, she suddenly raised her head and pressed, "...Wait a minute. Why do I have to be a reporter?"
Facing the girl's question, Fang Chang replied in a casual tone, "Because I feel like you've got quite a knack for digging up information."
"But... I've never done this kind of work before." Dolly's expression was a little uneasy.
In her eyes, the only reason she had landed this job was purely out of a favor owed to this guy.
What if she messed it up?
Wait...
Dolly's heart gave a sudden thump as everything that had happened today abruptly connected in her mind.
Could it be...
He took that twenty-five chip commission not to get close to the bank president's daughter, but to earn a favor from Hal and help me get this job...?
When this startling thought flashed into her mind, she felt as if her brain had turned into a boiling cauldron.
Hot, churning, and utterly blank.
"Isn't everything new the first time you do it? The first time I used a bow, I nearly missed a hyena that was standing dead still."
Fang Chang didn't notice the swirl of thoughts in the girl beside him, merely continuing with a smile, "...Besides, didn't you say the world is the same everywhere? You might as well try a change of scenery. Maybe life will give you a different answer.
"With a steady job, you'll also have time to pursue some healthy hobbies... like keeping a potted succulent? That's how the word is pronounced, right?"
His command of the Human Alliance language was still far from fluent. Often, what he intended to say sounded completely different in someone else's ears.
Still, after spending enough time together, guessing the general gist shouldn't be much of a problem.
Fang Chang believed the girl ought to understand the meaning conveyed in his words.
The salary offered by the newspaper followed the New Alliance's standard: a minimum hourly wage of 1 silver coin. Working 12 hours a day brought in 12 silver coins. Converted into chips, that was 180 chips a month.
That was nearly double the income of factory work in Boulder City!
This money was more than enough to cover her monthly loan repayment of 50 chips and her rent of 52 chips.
Once the probationary period ended, her pay would increase further. If she gathered important news, there would even be additional bonuses.
However, Hal's definition of "important news" was rather vague, only saying "things people care about."
Clearly, that rookie editor-in-chief didn't quite know what people cared about either.
Never before had there been a newspaper designed for the ordinary folk of the outer city.
Everyone was exploring.
Both the newspaper and its staff.
Yet Dolly wasn't thinking about work matters at all right now, nor the future life Fang Chang had painted for her, nor the potted succulent that hadn't yet been placed by her window.
Dolly stared blankly at Fang Chang for a while. Listening to him ramble on vividly in his broken Human Alliance language for so long, a mischievous grin suddenly spread across her face.
"I get it. You just don't want me working in a bar, right? Worried someone will take advantage of me?"
Before the dumbfounded Fang Chang could speak, she went on by herself, "Don't worry. Aside from weirdos like you, no one's interested in a girl who smells like machine oil."
Fang Chang stared at her, flabbergasted. After a long moment of stunned silence, he said between tears and laughter, "Did you even listen to a word I just said?"
To be fair, seeing this young girl working in a bar was indeed somewhat worrying.
After all, none of the bars on that street were wholesome places.
Yet that clearly wasn't the main reason.
Among everyone he knew, it seemed only that punk Ye Shi had the potential to become a lolicon.
For an adult like himself, a bit more mature—and endowed—fit his aesthetics much better.
Dolly, however, didn't care about Fang Chang's reaction.
The corners of her thin lips curved up. Walking behind him, she reached out both hands and pushed against his back.
"Let's go!"
"Go... where?"
"To eat, of course! To celebrate me finding a new job—aren't you going to have a drink with me?"
With a brilliant smile on her face, Dolly said cheerfully, "My treat! Stop dragging your feet; I know just the place!"
Watching the girl trot ahead with light steps, Fang Chang paused slightly, and a smile couldn't help but creep onto his face.
Looks like I did a good deed.
In an equally cheerful mood, he joked with the NPC before him, "Then I won't hold back."
Dolly gave a sly smirk.
"Please, don't hold back at all! It's a dirt-cheap place anyway!"
...
At the same time, north of Dawn City.
In Yumu District, treated by players as a prime grinding spot, flames from an explosion surged toward the sky.
A multi-legged beast flailing its tentacles was blown to pieces by an RPG high-explosive grenade, crashing down heavily at the edge of the forest and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Watching from far away, Jiu Jiu clapped her hands with sparkling eyes and cheered, "Ooooh, Bro, you're awesome!"
Her ID was the same as her handle, [Jiu Jiu Loves Eating Pineapple]. She had applied for the Intelligence-type branch and was extremely lucky to get the very last Intelligence-type sequence of the current version, without suffering any "summoning accident" that turned her into a rat or something else.
Lowering the launcher tube that was emitting wisps of blue smoke, Ye Shi raised his eyebrows cockily.
"Basic gameplay. Hold your applause."
The commotion of the explosion drew nearby players over.
Many unawakened rookies, seeing this guy use an RPG to farm mobs, shouted in disbelief at how wasteful he was.
"Damn, blasting wild mobs with high-explosive rockets... and using two of them, is he insane?"
"The crafting materials blew up right along with the monster."
"What a spendthrift! It'd be a miracle if he even made his costs back!"
"By the way, who's that female player?"
"Never seen her before. New face."
"Holy crap, wait, could she be an RNG god?!"
Holding a hoe beside the farmland, Makabazi couldn't help sighing and complaining, "Damn Europeans! Blatant shady dealings! Is this the distortion of human nature or—"
Shangshan Da Laohu couldn't listen anymore and rolled his eyes.
"What kind of fart are you letting out? Aren't you a closed-beta player yourself?"
Makabazi froze for a second, quickly caught on, and put on a silly grin.
"Oh right, I guess I am too... Hahaha! Never mind then!"
Shangshan Da Laohu: "..."
Ignoring the shouts of the salted fish, Ye Shi was about to take the opportunity to brag, only to find his little sister standing more than a dozen meters away, hiding at a distance and doing nothing but clapping.
"Fuck! Don't just watch, hit it yourself!"
Jiu Jiu said with an aggrieved look, "But that monster is so ugly... and those tentacles look terrifying. Can we grind mobs somewhere else?"
Ye Shi snapped in exasperation, "This is already the best grinding spot for rookies! Besides, what the hell is being scared gonna do? You have to kill them to get stronger!"
Jiu Jiu pouted in protest.
"Aren't we in a party, though? If you grind the mobs, shouldn't I get EXP too?"
Watching the bickering siblings, Kuang Feng sighed and explained, "...It doesn't work that way. All we can do is bail you out when you're in danger to safeguard today's EXP gains. As for gaining EXP, you have to participate in the battle yourself."
Nearly three days had passed since Jiu Jiu came online. By rights, she should have reached Level 3 long ago.
However, because Ye Shi was overly protective of her and kept jumping in, her EXP couldn't rise.
This was precisely where the game was at its most realistic.
If one merely stood in the back row as an observer, they could still leech quest rewards like money and contribution points, but the sequence progress that served as "EXP" wouldn't increase at all.
Unless one was a Perception-type.
As the only sequence capable of leeching EXP, Perception-types could obtain modest growth just by scanning for enemies with their minds.
All of this was wisdom they had gathered since Alpha 0.1. Although many versions had come and gone, these core mechanics had remained unchanged.
Of course, Kuang Feng felt part of the reason might also be that conditions in the Beta version weren't nearly as harsh as in Alpha.
Back when they had just joined the game, there was no such thing as Ripper rifles or PU-9 submachine guns; a bolt-action pipe rifle was considered end-game gear.
Tier 1 players were still fighting with axes and spears, and even besieging a small squad of mercenaries required the Administrator to step in personally.
Assault rifles?
Rocket launchers?
What the hell were those?
Experiencing trials of life and death every day, the leveling speed back then was naturally much faster than now.
Jiu Jiu nodded half-understandingly.
Even if she didn't quite get it, it sounded pretty impressive.
Especially since in the game, she was five centimeters taller than in real life, with a slender figure that looked like a model's.
Just for that alone, she would praise it to high heaven, okay?
This game was simply awesome!
The only pity was that there was no character customization slider, so she couldn't show off her art skills.
"By the way, do you guys always play together?" Jiu Jiu's gaze shifted back and forth between her brother and the player who was said to be a physics professor as she asked curiously.
Kuang Feng nodded.
"We've been in the same group chat for a long time."
"A group chat?" Jiu Jiu's eyes lit up, and she asked eagerly, "Can you invite me in?"
"Sure, once we log off—"
"No! NO! You can't let her in!" Before Kuang Feng could finish, Ye Shi let out a shriek from nearby.
Seeing her brother's fierce reaction, Jiu Jiu frowned.
"Why can't I join?"
There was no way Ye Shi could mention the matter of handles. Frantically scratching his head and ears, he coaxed in earnest, "Jiu Jiu... um, listen to me. Everyone in that inner group is an adult, and people usually talk without filters—"
"You mean it's all pretty lewd, right?" Without even listening to the rest of what her brother had to say, Jiu Jiu's eyes sparkled. "No worries, I'll just lurk and not say a word!"
Fuck!
Ye Shi clapped a hand over his face.
Seeing Ye Shi's constipated expression, Kuang Feng cleared his throat.
"It's not that exaggerated... We rarely even post lewd pictures."
Ye Shi glared at him fiercely.
"Think about your fucking ID before saying that!"
Kuang Feng froze, his deadpan face suddenly flushing red, and he cleared his throat and looked away.
"...I was just meming."
"ID?" Jiu Jiu asked curiously. "Isn't it Kuang Feng?"
"...Kids shouldn't ask so many questions," Kuang Feng coughed, glancing toward the corpse emitting blue smoke to change the subject. "The grinding efficiency is too low. We can't keep going like this."
Ye Shi sighed.
"If only Brother Fang Chang were here. He always has plenty of rotten ideas."
"Indeed." Kuang Feng nodded in agreement. After a brief pause, he said, "Though... I do have a suggestion."
"What suggestion?"
"Besides combat, Intelligence-types can also choose life professions... I heard your sister majors in art in real life?" Kuang Feng looked at Ye Shi. "Why not have Teng Teng mentor her?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Shi, whose voice had been quite loud just moments ago, instantly dropped several decibels.
"Ah... well, that's not great, is it? I already took the mentor quest, and having someone else train my apprentice for me..."
"Doesn't matter, does it? We help each other out all the time anyway."
"But..."
Seeing her brother suddenly get so sheepish, a gleam of cunning flashed in Jiu Jiu's eyes, and she spoke in a pitiful, pleading tone, "Bro, I suddenly find myself pretty interested in life professions too..."
Are you actually interested in life professions, you brat?!
Not buying her act at all, Ye Shi rolled his eyes.
Yet in the end, unable to resist his sister's pleading, he sighed with a headache.
"Fine... I'll ask for you."
Jiu Jiu flashed a victory sign in excitement.
"Yay! Bro, you're the best!"
"Then you take out my trash later."
"Hehe, piece of cake! I'll do it as soon as I log off!"
Watching the lively brother and sister, Kuang Feng couldn't help showing a faint smile.
It's great to be young.
...
"Achoo!"
Tengteng's Cottage, the old shop in Wetland Park.
Sitting behind the counter, Teng Teng sneezed, rubbed her small nose, and muttered under her breath, "Who's badmouthing me again?"
Looking at Xiao Yu, who wore a concerned expression in front of the counter, she straightened her petite frame so her warm, gentle smile rose above the counter.
"...The clothes you ordered are finished. I'll grab them for you right now."
A delighted smile broke out on Xiao Yu's face.
"Fank you!"
"...You're welcome. If anything, I should be thanking you for being such a frequent customer."
Fetching a package of clothes from the back, Teng Teng handed it to Xiao Yu with a gentle smile.
"I've finished Boss Xia's clothes as well. Could you take them over to her together?"
"Mm!"
Watching Xiao Yu take the clothes, Teng Teng suddenly remembered she hadn't seen her at the bank in quite a while, so she asked curiously, "Speaking of which, why haven't I seen you at the bank lately?"
"Xiao Yu is going to study abroad!"
"Study... abroad?" Teng Teng looked at her in surprise. "...In Boulder City?"
Did the wasteland even have universities?
That was incredible.
"Nope," Xiao Yu shook her head and said crisply, "it's Camp 101 in Xizhou City! Big Brother Chu said I can learn amazing knowledge there, so when I come back, I'll be able to help everyone."
Looking at the sensible little girl, Teng Teng couldn't help reaching out and petting her hair affectionately.
"You've always been helping everyone, now and in the future... Go on, and be careful out there."
She suddenly felt like an old mother saying that. Even though her uncooperative height was about to be overtaken by Xiao Yu, making it look rather comical.
That was the one annoying thing about this game.
Not being able to transfer two centimeters of height over from reality was seriously bullshit!
Xiao Yu didn't mind, however; she was good friends with everyone in the settlement.
She looked at Teng Teng with a serious expression and said, "Mm! Xiao Yu will stay safe! Teng Teng, you stay safe too!"
"Of course I will. See you next time!"
Watching the little girl walk to the doorway, Teng Teng waved goodbye with a soft smile.
Next time they met, Xiao Yu's height might actually surpass hers.
Then again, would NPCs with near-human intelligence ever realize their world was virtual, and that players like them couldn't actually die?
A strange thought suddenly surfaced in Teng Teng's mind.
Maybe Xiao Yu actually knew that they were immortal beings.
Even if their heads were lopped off or they were blown to bits by shells, they would still climb out of incubation pods three days later as if nothing had happened.
Yet even so, she still treated them as her dearest friends, healing everyone with her warm smile, cheering them on, and worrying about their safety...
Was that really something game programming could pull off?
Teng Teng stroked her chin and muttered softly, "...How bizarre."
Though it wasn't really anything important anyway.
...
"I'm... heading off."
At dusk.
On the train station platform, Xia Yan stood beside the carriage door with a conflicted expression.
Boss Xia, usually so nonchalant and openly slacking off, had actually grown sentimental.
Seeing her acting so uncharacteristically, Chu Guang couldn't help teasing, "It's just over a hundred kilometers, and it's not like you aren't coming back. Why get so melancholy?"
Xia Yan's brows shot up. Just as she was about to snap back, she heard him change his tone and continue, "Be safe on the road. Slacking off at work is one thing, but don't go touching fish while studying."
"Yeah... got it. Nagging as always." Even as she grumbled, a warm feeling arose in her heart.
Being looked after like this didn't feel so bad after all.
"Touching fish?" Beside Boss Xia, Xiao Yu tilted her head, her bright eyes filled with confusion.
Chu Guang cleared his throat and explained, "It means slacking off."
"?"
With her head tilted, Xiao Yu was visibly even more perplexed, failing to understand why touching her meant slacking off.
However, there was no time to explain now; the train's whistle had already blown.
The train doors closed.
Leaning against the train window, Pai waved excitedly to Chu Guang on the platform.
"Goodbye, Mr. Administrator of Shelter 404! I'll take good care of Xiao Yu!"
Chu Guang smiled and said, "I trust you. And don't forget our agreement."
Full of spirit, Pai gave a thumbs-up and flashed him a reliable look.
"Leave it to me without a worry!"
Watching Pai lean half her body out the window, Xiao Yu, sitting opposite her, looked up curiously and asked, "What agreement did you make with Brother Chu?"
"Hehe, secret!"
Pulling herself back inside the window, Pai lowered her voice conspiratorially, unable to hide the smugness on her face.
The administrator of Shelter 101 was a "Pioneer," and by extension, the administrator of Shelter 404 naturally counted as one too.
Being involved in the affairs of the "Pioneers" gave her the feeling of helping the "grown-ups" with important business.
Even if it was just running minor errands.
Xiao Yu nodded half-comprehendingly and didn't press further, whereas Boss Xia, sitting beside them with crossed arms, kept shooting vigilant glances in their direction.
The train began to move forward.
On the platform outside the carriages.
Watching the chimney trailing white smoke recede into the distance, Chu Guang waved with a smile, bidding farewell to every reluctant face aboard the train.
There were thirty students traveling to study at Camp 101. Half were elites who had distinguished themselves across various industries in the New Alliance, between 16 and 30 years old.
The remaining students were between 14 and 16 years old, top-performing pupils selected from full-time schools.
Once conditions permitted, even more people would arrive in batches.
Regarding this matter, Chu Guang had already communicated over the telephone with the mayor of Camp 101.
Upon hearing that Chu Guang was willing to pay 10,000 silver coins a year in tuition for each student, the old man named Horne had only hesitated briefly before agreeing to the proposal.
They had clearly looked into the New Alliance's prices and had a clear concept of the purchasing power of 10,000 silver coins.
Having witnessed the New Alliance's abundance of resources, their attitude had shifted somewhat from their initial vigilance.
As for whether this tuition fee was overly generous?
Clearly that was not an issue.
Not to mention that Chu Guang had just secured a loan of 200 million chips from the Boulder City Bank, and an endless stream of materials and consumer goods was flowing from Boulder City to the northern suburbs of Qingquan City. Even without solid financial backing, he would still squeeze this money out of the Alliance's fiscal budget.
Education was a long-term investment, whether basic or higher education.
A single technology related to lithium batteries had helped him recover a massive sum of 3 million silver coins. Spending this 300,000 silver coins would benefit the New Alliance far beyond what a single antique technology could provide.
Beyond talent cultivation, there was also the introduction of talent and technology.
In fact, this was already underway.
The drainage system for Daybreak City had been redesigned by that old man named Butan.
Electrical engineer Yuan Feng, who had visited Dawn City with Pai previously, also planned to stay behind this time to help them plan and build the power grid from Daybreak City to Dawn City, preparing for the repair of the controlled fusion reactor.
All work was progressing in an orderly manner.
Whether the construction of Daybreak City or the New Alliance's layout in Boulder City.
Watching the chimney disappear at the edge of the forest, Chu Guang pulled his gaze back from the distance.
"Aren't you going back with them?"
The featureless android stood quietly on the platform, its gaze still fixed toward the north.
Chu Guang remembered its name was Tianqin. It came from Shelter 101 and served as Pai's bodyguard.
Then again, it might also be there to protect the chip inside that girl's brain.
After all, each one used was one fewer left, far more precious than common wrist-mounted computers like the VM.
Hearing the voice from beside it, Tianqin turned its face and answered in an emotionless, synthetic voice, "Mr. Administrator instructed me to remain here. To observe, and to protect if necessary."
A flicker of surprise rose in Chu Guang's eyes.
"So you can speak."
Tianqin nodded.
"If I interfere with your work, please inform me. I will depart on my own."
Chu Guang: "No need for that. Do as you like, just don't terrify ordinary people."
Tianqin nodded, reached up to tug the brim of its hood, and concealed its face in shadow.
Chu Guang didn't inquire further. With his nearby bodyguards, he turned and left the station.
Anyway, he had nothing shameful to hide here. If it wanted to observe, let it observe.
He could just treat it as an extra moving statue in his territory that could occasionally help watch the house.
If this fellow truly intended him harm, it would have struck long ago.
In any case, the likelihood of a conflict breaking out between shelters was exceedingly small.
Intuition told Chu Guang that this guy's strength might be formidable; after all, he had never seen it recharge.
According to the intelligence Fang Chang had investigated and compiled, Boulder Military Industries suspectedly possessed a secret unit composed of Awakened and cyborgs, disguised as mercenaries and hidden in the city.
Just like his deployment of players into Boulder City, this force, broken down into small units hiding in the dark, might very well slip right under his nose.
Such things were not impossible.
However, this wasn't a problem he needed to consider right now.
This morning, Chu Guang had received a message from afar.
Later today, a caravan from Ideal City would arrive at the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.
Accompanying them were reinforcements dispatched by the Enterprise to the west.
They would make a brief stop here for a few days, and then follow the tracks of the Pioneer deep into the western wasteland.
Shelter 404 was a "permanent partner" of the Enterprise, and both sides had forged a deep friendship during their brief cooperation.
As the saying goes, is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar?
As the shelter's Administrator, Chu Guang naturally had to make preparations to welcome these friends from distant lands.
And, while he was at it, see if there were opportunities to deepen their cooperation...
Chapter 361