Let's Make a Deal

Chen Yutong showed little reaction and merely fell into deep thought, but the young man sitting beside her blushed involuntarily. "A g-girl I like? Why talk about that?" Lao Bai chuckled teasingly. "Nothing in particular. If you're shy, we can talk about something else." Seeming reluctant to admit he was embarrassed, Zhao Xiao stayed quiet for a moment before opening up. "I... come from Town No. 13." "What's that?" "An autonomous region managed by the Science Committee. Each autonomous region is different—some are tribal, some are kingdoms. We belong to the former, with about one or two thousand households." Lao Bai nodded. "That's pretty big." Ordinary survivor settlements only had one or two hundred households, and smaller ones had only a dozen or so. It seemed the Wandering Marsh was not as desolate as he had imagined. "Yeah," Zhao Xiao said, pausing briefly as if wondering where to begin. After a moment, he continued, "Every December, the Science Committee holds a thirty-day assessment to recruit apprentices who have reached twelve years of age and meet the criteria from each autonomous region." Lao Bai pondered for a second. "Apprentices... like interns?" "Interns?" Zhao Xiao blinked, then nodded. "I suppose so... Usually only one or two make the cut from each autonomous region. Once you become an apprentice, you can enter the Academy, leave behind the harsh life in the marsh, and your family and town receive a sum of money." "Then you stood out among thousands of people. Not bad." Pleased by the praise, Zhao Xiao rubbed his nose sheepishly with his forefinger. "It was alright... But after entering the Academy, it wasn't as perfect as I'd imagined. Living conditions are definitely much better than in the marsh, but because we have to assist official researchers with dangerous subjects, only about seventy-three percent of apprentices survive each year to advance to Grade G. And reaching Grade G is what truly makes you a student of the Academy." "A brutal selection process." "Yeah..." Zhao Xiao sighed wistfully. "Sometimes when I think about how I made it to Grade E, it really wasn't easy." "For the girl you like?" "Partly. We were apprentices selected in the same batch. I promised her I'd become a researcher... and then bring our parents into the Academy too." Lao Bai asked curiously, "Aren't you already a researcher?" Zhao Xiao smiled bitterly. "How could that be? I'm just a prospector... A researcher has to be at least Grade D. To advance to Grade D, you need to master at least one specialized skill, pass the assessment, and obtain a mentor's recommendation. But in reality... mastering just one skill isn't enough. With so many apprentices advancing every year, most mentors demand proficiency in more than three disciplines." Lao Bai quipped, "Credential inflation, huh?" Zhao Xiao nodded and sighed. "Yeah... And prospectors work on the front lines, so it's nearly impossible to carve out enough time to study all that." Lao Bai asked, "Why not consider living somewhere else? The wasteland is a big place." Zhao Xiao curled his lip and muttered, "It's the same everywhere. Besides, despite all my complaining... I think the Academy is pretty good. Just like you said, at least here I can find a purpose in life, instead of muddling through existence like other survivors, wallowing in self-degradation among the ruins." Lao Bai's expression turned a bit strange, and he asked curiously, "Why are you so sure other survivors are wallowing in self-degradation?" "What else? Do you think the Enterprise and the Legion have any future?" Glancing at the Enterprise pilots sleeping like logs not far away, Zhao Xiao made no attempt to conceal his contempt and spoke without hesitation. "One is a fool obsessed with pleasure, the other a warmongering madman. If the future of this world is left in their hands, that'll be true doom!" Clenching the spoon in his hand, he added, "One day... we will recover all the ruins before the legacy of the old days is squandered away. When that time comes, we will no longer need to yearn for the past. We will write new history and venture into more distant worlds to explore mysteries never even conceived of in the old days." Holy crap. What kind of "farsighted idealism" was this?! Lao Bai looked at the youth with mild surprise. These grandiose philosophies didn't seem like something he had come up with himself. Then again, perhaps it was precisely because he was young that he could utter them without inhibition. Of course, what surprised Lao Bai even more was the Academy. When he first learned of it, he had assumed it was merely technocratic governance, never expecting it had such a profound spiritual core. Seeing that Zhao Xiao was getting increasingly carried away, Chen Yutong gave a soft cough, interrupting his monologue. "Doctor Conclusion's theories do say as much... but I never thought that far ahead. When I was twelve, I was lucky enough to pass the assessment and entered the Academy. Frankly, I think your way of life seems quite nice—without our rigid hierarchy, and with more than one path in life. Even if you don't become a prospector or researcher, you can still live well." "No such survivor settlement exists. Wherever there are people, there are hierarchies—at most, they're just more subtle," Zhao Xiao argued dismissively. "I think it's better to lay out the ranks and paths of advancement clearly, so everyone competes on their own merits." Lao Bai smiled. "You have a point. It's much like a game—as long as the server keeps running, veterans and newbies will naturally emerge. Hierarchy doesn't disappear just because people choose to ignore it." "Server? Running?" Zhao Xiao asked curiously. Lao Bai coughed softly and explained, "I mean that even the Alliance has ranks, such as contribution levels... somewhat similar to your grading system. Grade G, F, and E researchers roughly correspond to the three tiers of citizens, and above that are Knights and so forth." "See?" Zhao Xiao looked triumphantly at Chen Yutong. She remained silent, though disappointment was plainly written across her face. Evidently, her admiration had only been a fleeting misunderstanding. Lao Bai paused, then continued, "However, we don't feel superior to others just because our contribution level is higher." "Impossible. Anyone can talk big," Zhao Xiao said without hesitation, disbelief etched across his face. Chen Yutong looked down at the lunchbox in her hands. Unlike Zhao Xiao, she did not reflexively doubt the claim, asking instead, "Why?" This was a tricky question to answer. Lao Bai fell into thought. From a real-world perspective, it was just a game. Games that deliberately manufactured player conflict to provoke competitive spending certainly existed, but Wasteland OL was clearly not one of them. It didn't even have a top-up portal, not to mention it was still in closed beta. Even if such problems existed, they were by no means widespread. Most veteran players were quite willing to shepherd newbies. Even if newcomers were a bit clumsy at times, everyone had been through that stage, so people understood. As for the relationship between players and NPCs, it was fairly harmonious. NPCs didn't care whether players were "Citizens" or "Knights," nor did those titles grant vault residents privileges that placed them "above others." And on the players' side, even Mosquito, who had rendered great service to the Alliance, would still be sent to the penalty box to cool off if he broke server rules. Lao Bai had sensed it long ago. Rather than a social status, those titles were more like an honor—a form of recognition from the collective. "Subjective questions don't have standard answers, so I can't answer for you. Everyone sees it differently. If you ever get the chance, you can see with your own eyes what kind of place the Alliance really is." Putting away his finished lunchbox, Lao Bai smiled and continued, "By the way, here's some good news. It seems your teammates haven't given up on you—they're trailing about five kilometers behind our tails." This was intel Kuang Feng had shared with him before logging off. Chen Yutong looked at him nervously, while Zhao Xiao smirked with satisfaction, taking it as a matter of course. "Of course! I told you, the Academy wouldn't abandon us!" Lao Bai smiled and continued, "Then how about a bet?" Zhao Xiao asked, "On what?" Lao Bai said casually, "Let's bet... whether the Academy will come to rescue you before we cross these mountains and enter the desert." Zhao Xiao countered, "Haven't they already come?" "Trailing behind our backs doesn't count," Lao Bai said with a chuckle. "To an outsider, it would look like your people are seeing us off." Zhao Xiao stared at Lao Bai. "What are the stakes?" He was naturally not naive enough to believe that if the Academy attacked, the man before him would simply release the captives. Just as their sniper had said, they still needed him as a human shield. Yet to his surprise, Lao Bai merely shrugged and said nonchalantly, "If they charge in, I'll let you go." Based on his experience, if neither side wanted to acknowledge the clash, denying casualties and captives was almost a certainty. Having traveled this far without encountering Academy pursuers, they were unlikely to run into any for the rest of the journey. Even if his judgment was wrong, it didn't matter. Release one captive, and they could just capture two more. Zhao Xiao looked at him in surprise. Seeing that Lao Bai didn't appear to be joking, his expression turned serious. "Then what do you want from me..." "'What do I want from you' sounds pretty grand," Lao Bai chuckled heartily. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Hmm, let's see... If I win, buy me a beer and we're even." A beer?! Zhao Xiao froze, his face flushing slightly. That utter disregard made him feel a pang of humiliation. Still, knowing better than to pick a fight he couldn't win, Zhao Xiao gritted his teeth and nodded. "Deal... but you have to keep your word." Lao Bai replied calmly, "Rest assured. Like I said, we don't need those tricks with you." ... In northern River Valley Province, on the wasteland near the nuclear crater, stood rows of shabby, haphazard tents. The camp had no name, and it might not even be in the same spot next year. The scavengers living here were like nomads following grazing pastures—wherever salvage was to be found, their tents and campfires followed. If someone met with misfortune, the ghouls prowling near the nuclear crater would naturally see to the unlucky fellow's post-mortem arrangements. Having chosen to "degenerate" into scavengers, they didn't care much whether their corpses ended up in the bellies of ghouls or mutant beasts. Either way, the table manners of both were equally unrefined. Buyers interested in their junk or their scavenging skills naturally had ways of tracking them down. One early morning. Guste, who was over fifty, woke up early as usual, preparing to drive his "Excavator No. 1" to the nearby ancient battlefield to unearth some valuable treasures. Just as he slung his basket over his back and prepared to head out, Bald A-Qiang from the Burrowing Knights next door dropped by. "Some big spenders showed up at the settlement, saying they want to hire hands." Hearing of a big job, Guste narrowed his eyes, sat down on a stool by the door, and tapped his pipe against the sole of his shoe. "What kind of job?" "A salvage job." "Location?" "North of the northern mountains in Sunset Province." Hearing this vague description, Guste frowned. "Why didn't you just say the Wandering Marsh?" Digging up Human Alliance relics right under the Academy's nose was practically begging for death. In the eyes of those folks, scavengers were barely better than marauders—and often considered worse. Even with ten thousand times more courage, he wouldn't dare expand his business into the Academy's territory. The bald man chuckled. "Not inside the marsh, just on the edge." Guste eyed him suspiciously for a moment before asking, "How many people do they need?" The bald man held up five fingers. "At least five hundred, and they must have professional equipment and experience dismantling heavy machinery." "Five hundred?!" Old Guste's eyes widened, and he smacked his lips. "That must be a massive beast... What on earth are they planning to take apart?" The bald man shook his head. "No idea... but they promised that as long as we dismantle it and haul it to Xizhou City, they'll pay us a total of one million silver coins." One million silver coins?! At that number, Guste's heart skipped a beat. That was no small sum—converted to wheat, it came out to nearly a thousand tons! Of course, nobody would spend silver coins on wheat; heading west to Oasis No. 8 in Sunset Province offered far cheaper prices. What really made hearts race were the Alliance's KV-1 exoskeletons, metallic hydrogen batteries, "Electric Mule" light trucks, and heavy engineering equipment. For people who made a living scavenging, the simple, rugged, cost-effective industrial goods produced by the Alliance were exactly what they needed. "Sounds interesting..." Guste stroked his chin, clear temptation showing in his eyes. "Are those folks still in camp?" Noticing the old man's interest, the bald man smiled. "Still here. Let's go together. This isn't a job a single salvage team can handle anyway; teaming up will earn us both more." Guste glanced at him and grunted noncommittally. "We'll see when we get there." ... In the center of the scavenger camp. Looking at the dense crowd of tattered figures resembling beggars, Lost Noob, standing next to Corner Camper, couldn't help muttering, "Can we really rely on these beggars?" Baigei Sniper whispered in agreement, "+1. I'm just afraid when they dismantle one plane, they'll end up with parts for two." Corner Camper paused. "Wouldn't that be great?" "Great my ass," Baigei Sniper rolled his eyes. "Can it still fly?" While the players quietly conversed, the old man named Guste was discreetly appraising the three outsiders. Three sets of Type 5 "Light Cavalry" exoskeletons. Such gear wasn't entirely uncommon in urban ruins, but looking this pristine meant only two possibilities: either they were replicas, or they came from a vault. After scavenging for so many years, he could tell replicas at a glance. Without a doubt, these three were soldiers of the Alliance! Detecting the reservations on two of their faces, Guste grinned and said respectfully, "Honored sirs, don't let our rags fool you. When it comes to scavenging... every single person here is an expert." The bald man beside him chimed in, "That's right! Generations of our families have been scavengers. From Human Alliance aerospace corvettes down to popsicle cans, if it can be traded for money, we've tinkered with it!" Aerospace corvettes, really now. Reading the translated subtitles projected onto his tactical visor, surprise flashed across Lost Noob's face. "Damn, what kind of wasteland Beggars' Sect is this?" "Hiss..." Baigei Sniper sucked in a breath of cold air and stroked his chin. "Framed like that, suddenly I think they might actually pull it off." "Who cares! We're already here, might as well try! Even if it doesn't work, it's not our fault." Cutting short his teammates' debate, Corner Camper stepped forward and addressed the seasoned scavengers before them. "We've already stated our requirements. We need at least five hundred experienced scavengers to help us recover a piece of disabled heavy equipment. We offer one million silver coins; how you divide it is up to you... I want you to nominate a representative who can speak for the group first." The scavengers exchanged looks, whispered among themselves, and seemed to reach a decision. The old man who had spoken first took the floor: "No problem, sirs. As long as you pay, we guarantee the goods will be delivered, and we won't utter a single word to anyone else. By the way... could you tell us what we're recovering? That way we can know what tools to bring." The request was reasonable. After a brief hesitation, Corner Camper nodded. "It's an aircraft." Guste hesitated. "What specific model?" "Over twenty meters long, six to seven meters high, weighing just over twenty tons, equipped with two plasma engines... That's all I can say. Knowing too much won't do you any good." Hearing these specifications, surprise registered on Guste's face. That description... The Enterprise's Orca transport?! Having pieced together a vague idea, the old man dared not inquire further. Hurriedly wrapping up the topic, he bowed his head respectfully. "Understood... So, sirs, when do we leave?" Affairs between major factions were not something lowly scavengers should meddle in. Just as the Alliance soldier said, knowing too much wouldn't do them any good. Seeing that the old man didn't pry, Corner Camper breathed a sigh of relief and said immediately, "Right now! The sooner the better!" Guste grinned and said respectfully, "Understood! I assure you, our service will leave you thoroughly satisfied!" Corner Camper nodded. "I hope so." ... Led by the three players, over five hundred scavengers set out from the camp, marching in a grand procession toward the mountains in northern Sunset Province. Some drove three-meter-tall front-end loaders, some led patched-up robots, while others led two-headed oxen or pushed rickety carts of their own... Their tools and gear were almost entirely DIY or second-hand wares bought from merchants, with hardly any two pieces matching. Watching this ragtag bunch, Lost Noob remained full of doubts, but having come this far, he could only choose to trust them. Meanwhile, after nearly five days of trekking, Lao Bai and his group escorting the pilots finally emerged from the mountains, greeted by the sight of endless yellow sand. "Eewoo..." Looking at the air distorted by heat haze in the distance, Yu, marching with the group, let out a slightly tired whimper. South of the mountain range, temperatures were noticeably higher than to the north, and the arid climate brought clear discomfort to a creature fond of moisture. Luo Yu patted its little head and comforted it, "Hang in there just a little longer. We're almost there." "Eewoo!" The comfort seemed to work; Yu let out a cheerful chirp, the tentacles on the back of its head rippling with joy like seaweed. A smile spread across Luo Yu's face. This kid was way too easy to cheer up. Ye Shi glanced at Yu and muttered under his breath, "Mama mia... Those tentacles give me the creeps." Luo Yu said sheepishly, "I felt the same way at first, but you get used to it." Walking not far away, Zhao Xiao stared in disbelief at the broodmother coexisting peacefully with humans, feeling his worldview shattered. However, he had no time to digest his astonishment right now. After five days on the road, they had reached the edge of Sunset Province; a few dozen kilometers farther and Oasis No. 8 would soon be in sight. Owing a beer was a trivial matter. What Zhao Xiao found impossible to believe—and even harder to accept—was that the Academy had actually abandoned him?! Noticing the NPC's utterly crushed expression, Ye Shi, who knew about the bet, walked over and teased, "Don't look so down. Look on the bright side... maybe the Academy didn't abandon you after all." Zhao Xiao looked up at the annoying fellow, not understanding why he was suddenly trying to comfort him. Soon, however, he realized he had given him too much credit. Ye Shi immediately continued in a mocking tone, "Maybe they just canceled your identity." "You..." Zhao Xiao gritted his teeth and glared daggers at him, but in the end, he swallowed back the "bullshit" on the tip of his tongue. When under someone else's roof, one must bow one's head. Zhao Xiao consoled himself internally. Just then, billowing dust suddenly rose from the sands in the distance. Watching the commotion far away, Zhao Xiao was slightly taken aback, and hope suddenly ignited in his chest. He recalled that the Golden Lizard Kingdom was a "candidate member state" of the Science Committee, practically a quasi-vassal of the Academy. Those people might well be reinforcements from the Golden Lizard Kingdom! Although the combat effectiveness of those feudal lords' armies was pathetic, their sheer numbers were nothing to scoff at—spitting together could drown this lot. However— That joyful feeling did not even last two seconds in his heart before trucks emerged from behind the dust clouds. It was clearly not the army of the Golden Lizard Kingdom. The ones whose hearts sank to rock bottom were not just Zhao Xiao, but also the Beacon squad who had trailed them all the way. In the rear row of the tracked vehicle. With her eyes tightly shut, Jiang Xuezhou moved her lips. "Alliance reinforcements! At least three hundred... no, maybe four hundred men." The medic sitting beside her smiled wryly. "Was that really necessary?" Zheng Hao, who had remained silent all along, spoke slowly. "They aren't here for us... Most likely, they're here to intimidate the Golden Lizard Kingdom." The Alliance couldn't possibly be unaware of the relationship between the Golden Lizard Kingdom and the Academy. Even if their precautions were completely redundant, the fact that the Alliance was prepared to go to war with the Golden Lizard Kingdom just to bring their pilots home made Zheng Hao's feelings somewhat complicated. Sitting in the driver's seat, Lao Song looked back at the captain. "What do we do now?" Rescuing those captives was out of the question now. They had truly watched these people stroll right under the Academy's nose and then march home in broad daylight. Zheng Hao stayed silent for a long time before finally saying, "Report the situation to superiors... and wait for orders." They were already outside the signal tower's coverage, but they could launch a drone to act as a signal relay to transmit the message. Jiang Xuezhou nodded. Just as she was about to launch the relay drone, her brow twitched, and she pressed her forefinger against her temple. "Incoming unknown communication request... It should be from those people." Zheng Hao said immediately, "Route it to me." The moment the order was given, a pale blue holographic screen expanded in his field of view, revealing an unfamiliar face before him. This was the first time Zheng Hao had seen this man. Yet looking into those eyes, he felt a strange sense of familiarity... Several days ago, their gazes had met across the battlefield! "I'm Lao Bai, commander of the Burning Corps," the man on the holographic screen said. Offering no introduction of his own, Zheng Hao stared at him and asked, "What do you want to say?" "Nothing much. Just thinking that as a bunch of archaeologists who aren't cut out for fighting, you guys were pretty unlucky to be ordered by your superiors to mess with us." Zheng Hao's heart sank slightly. It seemed those captives had confessed something. Still, he didn't understand why this man had contacted him, let alone why he was disclosing this. "Did you come just to mock me?" Zheng Hao frowned. "I'm not that bored." Lao Bai chuckled and continued, "I hear we're already outside the Academy's signal tower coverage, so let's cut right to the chase... Let's make a deal." "What deal?" "We're very interested in your tracked vehicle." Zheng Hao blinked, then let out a cold laugh. "Oh? And then?" "Leave the vehicle behind, and you can take the captives." "Heh." Zheng Hao laughed out loud. Leave the vehicle behind, sure. He admitted his squad was no match for those well-trained soldiers, just as those soldiers might not be as professional as his team of specialists when dealing with mutant beasts. But asking them to leave this "Reindeer" tracked vehicle behind was nothing short of a pipe dream. Its off-road capabilities far surpassed anything those trucks could offer. Anticipating this reaction, Lao Bai smiled and continued, "Don't be so quick to refuse. I can throw in twenty rifles and a truck..." Zheng Hao's face darkened. "What use do I have for that junk?" Lao Bai smiled. "No use at all. But after following us for so long... are you really content going back empty-handed?" "Don't you want to win for once?" Zheng Hao gave a self-deprecating laugh and lowered his voice. "By winning for once, you mean leaving a tracked vehicle behind in exchange for a few Grade-E captives and some rifles?" "What if I add tissue samples from atypical mutant slime mold broodmother No. X-277?" Zheng Hao froze slightly. A spark of fanaticism flared in his eyes, yet he wasn't blinded by it. He stared warily at the man named Lao Bai. "You're willing... to give that to us?!" On the holographic screen, Lao Bai smiled and shook a test tube in his hand, where several tiny fragments of tissue floated. "Yeah. Our ally authorized me to provide you with a small sample of broodmother tissue. After all, mutant slime mold is our common enemy. If you make progress, it benefits us as well." The one who had authorized him was of course not the Enterprise, but the Administrator. And the tissue fragments in the test tube were certainly not freshly harvested, nor were they taken from Yu. They had been extracted from the broodmother on Floor B6 and airlifted near Oasis No. 8 via an Enterprise aircraft along with the rest of the Burning Corps soldiers. However, it was more than enough to hoodwink this prospector. Presumably, even the Academy wouldn't believe that the Alliance kept a captive broodmother that could be studied at will. One only had to look at the grand spectacle of the annual "Tide" in Qingquan City to know that such entities were monsters even the Post-War Reconstruction Committee couldn't subdue. Not to mention this was a desert—there were no broodmothers anywhere nearby. Zheng Hao fixed his gaze intently on the test tube, quietly initiating an image-recognition program. When the result yielded an eighty-seven percent match, his breathing quickened. Without a doubt, those were tissue fragments of a broodmother or parent body! He had thought he would never have a chance to advance to researcher in this lifetime, content just to keep his status as a Grade-D prospector. Yet now, the opportunity was laid right before him once more... The doors of countless biological laboratories would swing open for him. Hundreds of mentors would extend olive branches to recruit his entire team and project into their labs, and he and his squadmates would transfer from the dead-end Investigation Division to the promising Research Division! As for the loss of a mere "Reindeer," nobody would care—those academic luminaries would scramble to cover the cost for him! Most importantly, this was an unexpected gain outside the mission parameters! No one could take away their credit! "...How do we 'lose'?" Hearing this question, the corners of Lao Bai's mouth curled into a smile. "Very simple. We leave the captives, equipment, and the truck for your getaway at our camp. You send one person to drive the tracked vehicle over, and then drive the truck away from us." Zheng Hao asked cautiously, "How do I know you won't renege?" "We have no reason to. If we wanted to kill you, we would have done it long ago. Or do you doubt we have the capability?" Seeing that the man didn't reply, Lao Bai continued, "Besides, I should tell you: although I have authorization from my superiors, this is not a transaction between the Alliance and the Academy, but a deal between the Burning Corps and the Beacon squad. So I hope that tracked vehicle doesn't have any trackers or surveillance equipment on it... From your perspective, you wouldn't want anyone else knowing about today either, would you?" Zheng Hao remained silent for a long time before speaking slowly. "I hope you keep your word." Lao Bai nodded with a smile. "We will." "Besides, I have a feeling we'll have plenty more opportunities to work together in the future."