"Spring, you dog, give me your life!"
"Damn it! I rolled so many times... Why can't I hit the jackpot just once?! Let me go! I've served the Alliance with distinction! I demand to see the Administrator!"
"Come on, give me a hand!"
"I've got the left leg!"
"???"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! This ocular is amazing! All the little figures I see are glowing! Tsk, what a pity—if only it had X-ray vision!"
"Ahhh, Tail, don't run! Let me take a look too!"
"No, no, your head is too big! You'll stretch it out and break it!"
In the square before the sanatorium above Shelter 404, the scene was as bustling and festive as a holiday. The players who had logged in had all received their campaign rewards.
Among them was Brother Spring's portable shield backpack.
There was also Tail's thermal imaging ocular.
And a whole assortment of other novel gadgets.
Carried and dragged toward a large tree by his good brothers, Brother Spring let out tragic wails, repeatedly shouting, "Battlefield, you dog!" and "Where is my son?!"
Unfortunately, that valiant commander under his banner had already followed the Legion into the desert; by now, he was probably shaped entirely to the Legion's liking.
Wearing blocky, square glasses and giggling mischievously, Tail was chased all over the square by Rou Rou, while Sisi and Sesame Paste sat leisurely on the sidelines, watching.
"It feels like that ocular... is meant to attach to a helmet. Isn't it weird strapping it on directly with rubber bands?" Sisi asked, looking slightly concerned.
The cat ears atop her head twitched gently as Sesame Paste replied with a smile, "Well... don't sweat the small stuff."
At the edge of the square.
Lao Bai held a short axe in his hand, scratching the back of his head with his left.
"How... do you use this thing?"
The axe handle was orange-red.
The blade didn't look sharp at all; in fact, it was rather blunt. The side of the head, however, was polished bright like a mirror, reflecting his completely bewildered face.
Brother Chicken Slayer walked over out of curiosity, took a glance, saw that the axe was blunt enough to serve as a hammer, and walked away in utter disinterest.
Lao Bai's face remained a picture of confusion.
This...
Wasn't this just a fire axe?
"Why don't you try chopping something with it?" Standing beside him, Ye Shi couldn't figure out what was special about it either.
Kuang Feng stroked his chin in thought for a moment. Just as he was about to offer his opinion, a familiar, reliable voice spoke up from the side.
"Thermal fusion cutting axe."
"Although its intended application is firefighting, unlike ordinary fire axes, it utilizes a special effect to compress gas across the blade edge. The instant it impacts a target at high speed, it generates a directional jet of thermal cutting airflow."
"The charging port is at the bottom of the handle. Two inches above it is a button—press and hold to charge the capacitor."
Nearly all gear appearing in the game could be looked up in the official website's database, and equipment produced by the shelter came with especially detailed technical data.
Even if there was only a single piece.
Before logging in, Fang Chang had already skimmed through all the new equipment introduced in this lottery draw, gaining a general understanding of these weapons.
After all, shelter weaponry was lore-wise from the pre-war era rather than proprietary to players. If it showed up in player hands, it could naturally appear in the arsenals of other factions as well.
Yet...
What surprised the group was not Fang Chang's explanation, but his presence.
"Physical armor penetration—it's a Black Cleaver for sure—holy crap! Fang Chang?!"
Watching Fang Chang approach from the direction of the base gate, Ye Shi's eyes widened instantly. Even Kuang Feng, standing nearby, showed an expression of surprise.
"You're up?"
"Yeah... Sorry I'm a bit late. I was just reading through the update notes."
Dark circles hung beneath Fang Chang's eyes, likely from a lack of sleep. Unlike usual, a windproof scarf was wrapped around his neck.
Even though the area was surrounded by dense trees, with not a speck of windblown sand to block.
"Aren't you hot?"
"I'm fine."
A rare blush crept onto that calm face.
Clearing his throat, Fang Chang somewhat stiffly changed the subject, putting on a serious expression. "...Set my stuff aside for now. What did you guys pull?"
"A big sniper!" Ye Shi chuckled, his tone laced with bragging rights. "A Type 15 'Python' Gauss rifle! Your granddaddy finally had some luck!"
Fang Chang glanced at him with mild surprise.
"So you're the one who pulled that gun... By the way, why didn't you bring it out?"
Ye Shi smiled sheepishly. "We're heading into the downtown ruins today. Bringing that would be useless."
Kuang Feng teased, "More like the ammo is hard to come by."
Ye Shi scratched the back of his head. "Ammo is a minor issue; the main problem is the barrel..."
Unlike the Administrator's barrel-less Type 20 'Sting' Gauss rifle, the Type 15 was a long-range Gauss rifle fitted with a rifled barrel.
Because the projectile relied on rifling to spin-stabilize and possessed a high muzzle velocity, the wear and stress on the barrel far exceeded that of standard small arms.
However, compared to the Type 20's fin-stabilized rounds, the Type 15's ammunition was vastly cheaper—it could even be hand-crafted at the weapons shop workbench.
Most Gauss rifles produced by the Enterprise utilized a similar rifled-barrel design and incorporated quick-detach barrels for easy replacement, largely out of cost considerations and the need to source materials locally.
Fang Chang nodded in understanding.
"...I saw the stats for your weapon. At full capacitor charge, it can accelerate a 65-gram 7mm projectile to Mach 5. Its lethal performance against long-range and extreme-range targets is outstanding. It should come in very handy once we reach the desert map."
After offering a sound assessment of Ye Shi's weapon, he turned to Kuang Feng.
"What about you?"
Kuang Feng replied, "AlphaDog."
Fang Chang was momentarily stunned. "What?"
Kuang Feng elaborated, "A mechanical dog. That's the name he gave it."
"A mechanical dog... You mean the A-1 Ground Weapon Platform?" Fang Chang nodded in comprehension.
He had seen that weapon on the official website as well.
It took the form of a four-legged robot 1.5 meters long, capable of carrying a standard payload of up to 2.7 tons. It could serve as a mobile resupply station, a battlefield signal relay, or even a charging dock for drones.
At the same time, it could function as a weapons platform, mounting 12mm machine guns, 40mm grenade launchers, smoke generators, and more.
Whether running dungeons or team fights, the machine was immensely useful—essentially god-tier gear tailored specifically for Intelligence-type players.
Within five seconds, Fang Chang had already conceived more than six operational scenarios for it. As far as he knew, only one had dropped across the entire server so far.
Lao Bai looked at Fang Chang. "What about you?"
Fang Chang smiled. "A powered wingsuit! I'm just about to head into the shelter to retrieve it. According to the manual, it can be carried like a backpack or detached to serve as a fixed-wing drone. But once you wear it, you can't equip heavy exoskeletons... Plus, I've never tried wingsuit flying before, so I'll need some practice."
Ye Shi: "Holy crap, awesome!"
Kuang Feng: "It matches your bow and arrows quite well."
"It's alright," Fang Chang said modestly, before turning toward Lao Bai. "Speaking of which, Lao Bai, did your contribution points hit Knight rank?"
"Yeah, 100,125 points—just unlocked the Knight title!" Lao Bai grinned broadly. "That power armor was pretty steep, though. Cost me a million silver coins."
Hearing that, everyone around looked on in envy.
The very first power armor on the server!
The server's combat ceiling had been raised once again.
Fang Chang couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Being able to buy it for one million silver coins is already a steal. Count your blessings."
Ye Shi also couldn't resist calling him out. "Way too humblebrag!"
Lao Bai let out an embarrassed chuckle.
To tell the truth, he had initially worried whether the suit would have any flaws. But the moment he actually donned the power armor, he instantly understood why the Administrator was always wearing his and refused to take it off.
Heavy and bulky as it appeared, it was far more agile than imagined. With the output dialed up, one could barely feel a shred of weight.
Not only that, but the armor's comfort level had received meticulous attention, featuring an integrated air filtration system and air conditioning. The lifespan of the portable reactor providing power and its fuel rods was measured in years and months respectively, eliminating any worries about operational endurance.
Such a flawless piece of equipment was clearly worth far more than a million silver coins. Even with an extra zero tacked on, the nobles of Boulder City would undoubtedly scramble to snap it up for tens of millions of chips without a second thought.
Precisely for this reason, the armor required a specific contribution rank to purchase. Furthermore, once bought, it was bound to the user; if discarded, it could only be resold to the shelter at a ninety percent discount.
At this point, some armchair players would surely wonder: what if someone simply ignored the rules and laws and insisted on selling bound gear to other survivor settlements?
That was an excellent question.
Once they got their hands on a helmet, spent nearly a year grinding their contribution points to Knight, and possessed an account worth tens or hundreds of millions loaded with countless memories and emotions, they could try it out for themselves.
Of course, if they couldn't even stomach a temporary mute from a tyrannical group admin, they had better not overestimate their blood pressure and mental resilience.
Having gotten a general grasp of his teammates' gear, Fang Chang asked, "So what's our plan for today?"
"A Scientific Expedition quest into the inner Second Ring of the downtown ruins. We'll grab some research specimens for our boy Yin Fang and test out our newly acquired gear while we're at it," Lao Bai teased, looking at Fang Chang. "Though seeing how eager you are to run quests, aren't you going to spend time with your little girlfriend?"
"Oh, right! I almost damn well forgot to ask—how far along did you two get?" Ye Shi's gossip radar blazed instantly, his eyes glittering.
Though Kuang Feng said nothing, he too looked over with keen curiosity.
Fang Chang's eyes darted evasively to the side. His idle thumb and forefinger nervously pinched the sideburns of his hair.
The group waited for a good while.
In the end, all they got was an ambiguous brush-off.
"...This game is just too realistic."
A brief silence fell over the group.
Ye Shi abruptly turned to Kuang Feng. "How about we send this guy over to keep Brother Spring company?"
Kuang Feng nodded with a subtle expression. "Yeah... I think that works."
Fang Chang: "...?!"
...
[ID: Chu Guang]
[Genetic Sequence: Administrator (Stage 4)]
[Level: LV.27 → LV.30]
— Basic Attributes —
Strength: 25 → 33
Agility: 20 → 25
Constitution: 22 → 27
Perception: 21 → 26
Intelligence: 24 → 29
Inside Floor B3 of Shelter 404.
Lying on the examination scanner bed in the medical bay, Chu Guang checked his updated stat panel on the tablet handed to him by Heya.
Twenty-eight attribute points gained in total.
More than half had come from his genetic sequence development progress breaking past thirty percent.
Compared to other players, his attribute growth was relatively balanced. While no single stat stood out above the rest, the grand total was absurdly high.
In addition, following Primal Instinct, Psychic Deterrence, and Hive Mind, Stage 4 of his genetic sequence granted him a new Talent.
["Call to Victory": The vocal cords vibrate at a unique frequency, infusing shouts and rallying cries with courage, filling those who resonate with the determination to conquer all.]
The new talent was likewise an aura.
At Heya's suggestion, Chu Guang tested it on her.
According to her feedback, her heart rate and adrenaline levels increased slightly, and other parameters saw minor fluctuations, but the overall effect was not particularly pronounced.
Perhaps the application context was wrong, or the volume was insufficient, or perhaps her bionic organs dampened the resonance between living organisms...
In short, the effect was nowhere near as noticeable as Hive Mind.
After all, when Chu Guang activated that talent while standing in the command post, he could distinctly sense that the officers' thinking speed accelerated considerably.
He wondered when the system might give him something like a "+8 Combat Power to All."
"...It seems my previous hypothesis was correct. Your genetic sequence absorbs evolutionary elements from the development progress of other individuals, thereby accumulating your own development progress. Like you said, leeching experience... Though the underlying mechanism remains unclear, the overall effect is similar."
Staring at the DNA sequence drifting across the screen and the 3D human anatomical model, Heya folded her arms and murmured thoughtfully, "If you continue developing at this pace... before long, you'll turn into a monster."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Having put his shirt back on, Chu Guang's gaze drifted toward the nearby terminal screen, his expression turning slightly awkward.
Even though it was just a 3D structural model, and even though this was a medical bay, still...
Having someone stare at him intently like that was somewhat uncomfortable.
Noticing Chu Guang's gaze, Heya raised an eyebrow slightly. "Is there anything else?"
"Nothing."
"Then get out quickly. I need to get back to my research," Heya urged, a look of excitement flashing across her face.
Evidently, the research material she had just extracted from him had provided significant inspiration for her research subject.
Hopefully, she would conclude her project soon.
Chu Guang was equally perplexed by what was occurring within his own body, especially when he recalled the dream he had had the previous night.
In the dream:
He had returned to that desolate wilderness where it all began. But instead of heading south toward Bet Street, his body had walked uncontrollably toward the sparse, flickering lights of 76th Street to the east.
That was a mutant lair.
The hulking, green-skinned brutes sat by the entrance gorging themselves, wolfing down chunks of rotting flesh and humming apocalyptic tunes in coarse, guttural voices.
He clearly "saw" himself—the man in the blue jacket stepping backward with a pale face, inadvertently tripping a landmine's tripwire, and collapsing beside a wrecked vehicle amidst a cloud of smoke.
The dream ended there.
However, there was a slight difference: that night had not been clear, nor were there any drooling two-headed hounds; instead, heavy goose-feather snowflakes were falling from the sky...
Emerging from the medical bay, Chu Guang happened to bump into Yin Fang walking out of the warehouse. The man looked deeply troubled, muttering under his breath, "What a waste..."
Still pondering the nightmare from the previous night, Chu Guang looked up and asked in confusion, "A waste?"
Yin Fang let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah. That black box for producing coffee beans."
On the way back from the front line, Chu Guang had conveniently brought back the black boxes from Shelter 79, leaving behind only the one that manufactured blue jackets for newcomers and the massive one producing portable reactors, which was simply too large to haul away.
The "Champion" stimulant injections were great buffs for players and could be used by shelter researchers to stay sharp; the "Cookie" assorted biscuits could earn foreign exchange; and the "Asteroid" canned meat served as military rations.
Chu Guang had made proper arrangements for every single black box, except the one producing coffee beans, which seemed rather useless, so he simply tossed it to Yin Fang to study.
When he first received the box, Chu Guang had seen him look as if he had stumbled upon a priceless treasure. Less than a day had passed, and he was already tired of it?
Chu Guang's expression turned odd. "...Is there something wrong with the black box?"
"Nothing is wrong! It is a magical technology, so perfect it's mesmerizing, and the coffee beans grown under simulated conditions of 1,500 meters altitude are undoubtedly top-tier among top-tier..."
As he spoke, Yin Fang's face suddenly burned with righteous indignation. "But why did it have to roast and dehydrate them! Couldn't it have omitted that last redundant step?!"
Chu Guang blinked. "...Are roasted beans no good?"
He didn't know much about coffee, nor did he drink it often.
"...Can husked white rice sprout into paddy plants?! And those identical, cookie-cutter beans—even if ground into powder, it can't hide the fact that they have no soul! I'd rather drink instant coffee!"
Muttering incomprehensible complaints, Yin Fang shook his head and walked off toward the elevator under Chu Guang's bewildered gaze...
...
The distant morning light had long climbed past the treetops. Midday sunlight shone down upon the northern outskirts of Qingquan City, noticeably calmer than the day before.
Yesterday was a celebration.
Today was the funeral of the honored fallen.
Because most creatures surviving on the wasteland were not picky eaters, the vast majority of survivor settlements burned corpses to avoid attracting dangerous mutants.
Over time, cremation had become a custom.
The Alliance continued this practice.
However, for the honored dead who sacrificed themselves for the Alliance, the Alliance would preserve a gravestone for posterity to pay homage to, respecting the individual's wishes whether to bury their ashes beneath the marker or scatter them wherever they wished to go.
In addition, players had more options: they could be cremated, or they could lie inside the active matter conversion furnace to refine their own corpses.
The recovered active matter could offset resurrection costs.
Alliance propeller planes drew long trails of white smoke across the sky. Several ace pilots opened the funeral ceremony with an exquisite aerobatic display.
The planes touched down slowly onto the airfield runway.
Taking off his flight helmet, Luo Yu complained, "Damn it! Why is my plane called the Xiaochuan?"
Walking up beside him, Mosquito grinned cheekily. "You named it yourself! If you don't fly it, who will?"
Luo Yu: "@#%!"
At the cemetery east of Dawn City.
Slabs of grayish-blue stone were set into the verdant lawn, wrapped in a peaceful atmosphere tinged with subtle sorrow.
Dressed in formal attire, the master of ceremonies read the eulogy in a long, steady voice.
Many people stood inside and outside the cemetery.
There were Dawn City officials, First Corps officers, representatives from various industries, and soldiers of the honor guard. Outside the cemetery, people had also gathered of their own accord, including mercenaries who had fought alongside the Alliance.
To most survivors of the wasteland, funerals were an exotic novelty, especially a public funeral conducted like this.
Having one's bones exposed in the wilderness was the usual fate of wastelanders.
Standing in the middle of the crowd, Chu Guang quietly watched the funeral unfold.
Alliance protocol did not strictly dictate wearing a specific color for funerals; it only required formal and dignified attire.
The azure armor dubbed "Order" was undeniably the highest mark of respect for the brave souls who had fallen in the war.
Standing beside Chu Guang, Luo Hua looked downcast, his brow heavy with gloom. Though still recovering from his injuries, he had insisted on coming on crutches.
"I'm sorry... for causing you all so much trouble."
Chu Guang glanced at him and said softly, "Don't blame yourself. This wasn't your fault."
Whether Luo Hua was there or not, once the Legion resolved its issues in Luoxia Province, they would have marched here sooner or later.
The jackal's ambition knows no bounds—until they are beaten senseless.
Yet Luo Hua didn't see it that way. Still submerged in guilt, a complex look filled his eyes, lost in thought.
Halfway through the funeral, Luka stepped up beside Chu Guang and whispered, "The emissary from Boulder City has arrived in Dawn City. The delegation is led by the commander of the Boulder City Militia. He claims to represent the city lord of Boulder City and wishes to speak with you face-to-face regarding the establishment of an embassy, the Heart of Steel, and future cooperation."
Having listened quietly, Chu Guang nodded slightly and murmured in a low voice, "Have them come see me."
Luka asked softly, "Here?"
Chu Guang nodded. "Yes."
Without asking further questions, Luka bowed respectfully, turned back into the crowd, and hurried out of the cemetery.
About half an hour later, when Luka returned, two guards and the Boulder City diplomatic mission accompanied him.
There were six people in the delegation.
Chu Guang looked at the man closest to Luka.
He wore the uniform of the militia, with golden braided cords on his epaulets. His brow radiated authority and sharpness; he was presumably the commander of the Boulder City Militia.
If memory served, his name seemed to be Zhao Yongxu, a trusted confidant of the "Lord Fang Ming" mentioned by Mr. House.
Chu Guang's gaze lingered on him for two seconds before looking away, returning his attention to the master of ceremonies presiding over the funeral.
The militia commander looked slightly surprised, followed immediately by a flash of displeasure.
Noticing his expression, Luka said softly beside him, "Our Administrator is attending the funeral of the fallen soldiers. This is the most important item on his schedule today... Please wait a moment."
Zhao Yongxu's voice carried a faint trace of displeasure. "Is there anything more important than our bilateral relations?"
In his eyes, those were just a few boxes of ashes; burying them anywhere would do, so why make such a fuss?
Usually, after a Tide ended, they would bundle the mercenaries' bodies together with mutant carcasses and hand them over to partner trading companies for processing. They never wasted time holding any funeral rites.
Luka's expression remained impassive, his tone calm and gentle. "The Administrator often tells us that respect for death is respect for life... You are in the prime of your life, sir, with plenty of time ahead of you. Why rush to compete for seconds against the deceased?"
Zhao Yongxu narrowed his eyes slightly, a flicker of ferocity flashing in his gaze, but he quickly reined it in.
Arriving unannounced without an appointment did put his side in the wrong.
Even so, the "pretentious" attitude of these people still made his blood boil.
They were practically treating them like air!
However, they were under someone else's roof right now.
Signaling his subordinates and the other emissaries to stay calm, Zhao Yongxu stood quietly outside the cemetery, intending to see what kind of game this Administrator was playing.
Before long, he heard the master of ceremonies speak in a solemn, grave voice:
"...In honor of the 2,934 shelter residents, 231 Dawn City residents, 71 Daybreak City residents, and 397 Boulder City residents who made the ultimate sacrifice."
"Your sacrifice has won us this hard-fought peace. We will carry your ideals forward."
The officer standing next to Zhao Yongxu raised his eyebrows and whispered to the emissary on his other side, "Residents of Boulder City? Could he possibly mean... those mercenaries who traded their lives for booze money?"
The noble from the inner city nodded with an odd expression. "Most likely."
These people were actually burying the ashes of mercenaries alongside their own?
The officer curled his lip. Though he said nothing, the contempt in his eyes grew even more blatant.
He didn't care who these bumpkins from the northern outskirts wanted to bury, but calling those mercenaries "residents of Boulder City" felt like an insult.
If the cockroaches begging for scraps along the base of the outer wall counted as residents of Boulder City, then their population would be far too bloated.
Zhao Yongxu frowned slightly.
What caught his attention was not the murmurs of his subordinates, but the mercenaries standing outside the cemetery watching.
The complex expressions on their faces stirred a twinge of unease within him, though he couldn't quite pinpoint where the unease came from.
Inside the cemetery, Chu Guang walked up to the monument, laid a bouquet of flowers, finished reading the prepared eulogy, and quietly returned to his spot.
At this point, the funeral was nearing its conclusion.
Chu Guang didn't expect the emissaries from Boulder City to choke up with emotion over this solemn funeral and make concessions during negotiations...
Such an idealistic scenario was entirely unrealistic.
However, if their commander were willing to step forward right now and lay a bouquet of fresh flowers before the monument, it might well transform many people's impression of them—whether they were people of Dawn City or Boulder City.
Unfortunately, the man did no such thing. He wasn't even willing to put on a hypocritical show, treating every second spent waiting as a waste of life.
If it had been Dulong, the man would probably have seized this opportunity to deliver an impromptu speech proclaiming friendship with the Alliance... After all, paying lip service cost nothing.
*Looks like he's a hawk,* Chu Guang thought to himself.
Dispatching the "supreme military commander" showed that they took this seriously, while the attitude of the delegation's head largely reflected the attitude of the city lord himself.
These negotiations would likely be tough.
Looked at from another angle, however, if they could file down the hawk's talons, the south might actually become the Alliance's sturdiest shield.
This could be an opportunity.
Already having a good idea of what the commander intended to discuss, Chu Guang was pondering how to approach the talk when Xiao Qi's soft voice chimed in his ear.
"Master."
"Planes are coming from due east!"
Chu Guang hesitated slightly. "Planes?"
Xiao Qi said with immense enthusiasm, "Yes! A whole lot of them!"
Chapter 410