Floor B6 "Biology Lab" Now Open!

It was the penultimate day before the celebration. The assimilation went unexpectedly smoothly, finishing in just a single night. Stepping into the broodmother, Yu had merged into that sea of slime mold, becoming the new Empress presiding over it. The sea of slime mold rolled and churned like boiling water, every single cell hailing its new master. With control of the broodmother changing hands, the murderous crimson faded slightly, losing some of its bloodthirsty ferocity and gaining a touch of pleasing, tender pink. The creature had contested against the shelter for two centuries, evolving extreme capabilities for surviving in deep space within a near-vacuum environment. Given enough time and space, it might have even taken down that monster in downtown Qingquan City, developing into the most colossal broodmother across the Mid-Continent with the broadest self-limiting range. Yet deep down, it probably understood that the humans would never let it out. Even if it devoured the little guy, what awaited it would only be another round of attacks. If that little guy was interpreted as a signal of "reconciliation," it wasn't unacceptable either. This war had lasted two centuries. Those short-lived creatures didn't live long, but their offspring were endless... These beings simply could not be wiped out. Then let it be together. It was tired anyway... ... "Yiwu!" "Yiwu!" Outside the server room on Floor B6 of Shelter 404, a cacophony of "yiwu, yiwu" filled the air. Looking at the cluster of light-pink "humanoid slimes" crowded before the door, Luo Yu was dumbfounded, his head buzzing. One, two, three... Holy crap, ten of them?! After counting them all, he was utterly bewildered. Which one of them was Yu?! "Strictly speaking, they are all Yu's fruiting bodies," Heya, standing nearby, explained succinctly, seeing the confusion in his eyes. "A fruiting body has no individual consciousness. All the slime molds share a unified mind, so you can also understand it as... they are all Yu." Looking at the "Yus" constantly nuzzling against him, Luo Yu patted their heads and asked Heya, caught between laughter and tears, "In other words... they're avatars sharing a single consciousness?" "Yes, you can look at it that way." "But... how do they communicate?" "By sound, of course, just like us," Heya looked at him quizzically. "Isn't that how you've always communicated with it?" The slime mold from the desert lacked the ability to release spores on a large scale; over long eons of evolution, it had discarded that method of information exchange. Instead, like humans, it transmitted messages through sound. Luo Yu paused. "Then if they leave the range of hearing, wouldn't they...?" "They'll go dormant," Heya said, looking at him. "Isn't the mother in Lost Valley the same? Fruiting bodies remain dormant most of the time unless actively awakened by the mother's vocalization. The two communicate via specific sound frequencies. "Outside acoustic range, the fruiting body will likely keep executing the broodmother's last command. Once all orders are carried out, it will either return to the broodmother to report back, or go dormant on standby right where it is." Luo Yu recalled carefully. That really seemed to be the case. Although he had no memories from after the nuclear explosion, according to the descriptions posted on the official forum by Tail and the others, that mother accompanying White Dove—which in retrospect was probably a fruiting body of the broodmother—seemed to have simply let out a cry to summon the slime mold-corrupted Titan. Later, the aircraft Yu sent to help him was the same; not long after executing its orders, it crashed... But if that was so, didn't that mean Yu could only stay on Floor B6 of the shelter for the rest of its life? After all, sound couldn't travel out of the shelter— "That's simple," Chu Guang, who had remained quiet while watching the noisy little creatures, spoke up. "Just equip them with a headset and a mic." His understanding was that Yu had evolved with human assistance, so its functionality was imperfect and required help from humans acting as "hosts." For example, helping them transmit sound much farther. This was actually a good thing. If Yu didn't need human tools and could complete all stages of its life cycle entirely on its own, the symbiotic relationship would be weakened. Hearing Chu Guang's words, Luo Yu froze on the spot. Holy shit? You can do that?! This was probably the first time he felt an NPC had a wilder imagination than him... Heya glanced at Chu Guang in surprise, appreciation surfacing in her eyes. "Mm... That really is a good idea. Since they can't convert radio waves to sound waves on their own, there's no way they can break free from our oversight and spiral out of control." Chu Guang nodded. "A controlled-evolution broodmother must remain under our supervision. At the same time, we have to prevent it as much as possible from differentiating new mothers... especially mutated mothers." Heya nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed. So we need to limit the number of fruiting bodies... How about ten?" Mothers arose by chance from tens of thousands of fruiting bodies. As long as the number of fruiting bodies was kept low, new mothers could be effectively prevented from emerging. However, completely banning the production of fruiting bodies wasn't feasible either. Laissez-faire and total prohibition—neither extreme aligned with the Alliance's needs. He needed Yu to use a limited number of fruiting bodies to replace more aggressive slime molds, deepening the symbiotic relationship with humanity along the way—finding a path beneficial to both sides. Chu Guang would appropriately select some players to cooperate with it within a restricted scope. "Ten it is. Any more and he won't be able to handle it." Constantly going *yiwu, yiwu* every day—if it didn't drive him deaf, it would drive him mad. Chu Guang looked at Luo Yu. "You go on back first. I'll arrange the procedure to fit them with headsets... That way, they can move around outside the shelter." Moved, Luo Yu said, "Thank you..." Chu Guang wore the smile of an affectionate father. "You're welcome. I'm counting on you to keep taking care of it." Slime mold couldn't wipe out humanity, and the reverse was equally true. Even the People's Alliance during the Prosperity Era couldn't eradicate every mosquito, fly, and cockroach across the planet, let alone the far more tenacious slime molds. The Post-War Reconstruction Committee had tried for half a century; there was no need for him to step into a pitfall his predecessors had already proven futile. If something was objectively difficult to eliminate, minimizing its risks and ultimately rendering it harmless was the more materialist approach. Yu, born of chance, possessed the potential to be "domesticable" and "nearly harmless." This creature was like the brain slugs in *Stellaris*—a bit intimidating at first glance, but properly utilized, it might serve as a decent buff. The broodmother was right on Floor B6 of the shelter. Even if trouble arose, it could be brought under control in the shortest possible time. Chu Guang turned to Heya beside him. "I'll leave the follow-up research to you." Heya's eyes sparkled with keen interest; this was precisely her field of fascination. "No problem! Leave it to me!" ... "Wasteland Online" Official Website: [Floor B6 "Biology Lab" Partial Access Open: "Slime Mold Symbiont" Buff Now Available] ["Slime Mold Symbiont": The "Slime Mold Symbiont" can be regarded as a specialized biological prosthetic, essentially a fruiting body of the Floor B6 broodmother with no individual self-awareness. Players implanted with the symbiont gain a 100%–500% increase in regenerative ability, as well as the capacity for partial cornification and mutation of body structures; duration is permanent. Upon death, this buff will reset, the spent symbiont will be deleted, and a new application must be submitted.] [Note 1: Because repairing wounds causes somatic cells in the injured area to be replaced by slime mold cells, each injury will increase the degree of "slime-moldification," which cannot be surgically removed. Experience gain rate will decrease as slime-moldification increases; once slime-moldification exceeds 50%, experience will no longer accumulate, and save file functionality will be disabled. Additionally, to avoid causing discomfort to friendly NPCs, anyone exceeding 50% slime-moldification or exhibiting mutations beyond ordinary reason must equip full-protection armor or clothing when entering public areas within safe zones—refer to "NPC Bucky."] [Note 2: Under normal circumstances, this buff is only available to players who have reached Citizen contribution rank and Sequence Level 10 or higher.] [Note 3: Slime molds have no concept of gender, and Yu's mind is still that of a child. When receiving a symbiont, please do not express strange desires to it. Furthermore, even though direct communication cannot be established between the symbiont and the mother, please refrain from using it for strange activities.] Tail: "!!! Wait a second, meaning... as long as you implant a symbiont, there's a chance you can turn into a tentacle monster?!" Sisi: "Calm down, Tail. You're going to scare Rou Rou like that." Meat Mountain Steamed Bun: "(shivering in terror)" Sesame Paste: "Ahaha... I feel like if it's Tail, turning into a tentacle monster wouldn't be too scary." Tail: "Eh?! Why?!" Sesame Paste: "Because Tail doesn't seem like the type to hurt anyone... Wait, why do you sound a little disappointed? 0.0" Sisi: "Ummm... knowing Tail, she'd probably prank you first." Sesame Paste: "???" Tail: "Ehehe! (///ω///)" Sisi: "A little disappointed myself. (side-eye)" Tail: "Waaa, but scaring Sisi is way too hard!!!" Sisi: "...Ah, so terrifying, I can't move." Meat Mountain Steamed Bun: "Way too half-assed!" Tail: "Right, right?! Even Rou Rou can tell! In the end, that's definitely how it'd go!" Sesame Paste: "Ahaha... haha..." WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Gagaga, the era of Goblin Tech has finally arrived! (evil grin)" Ye Shi: "If it's Mosquito, the guards will probably haul him off on the spot. (funny)" WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Damn it! You dare look down on me! Just wait, when I become a tentacle monster, you'll be the first bastard I tie up!" Ye Shi: "Holy shit! Don't you dare do anything weird!" In Debt God: "Bro, your tastes are pretty perverted. (funny)" Construction Site Boy and Bricks: "Hahahaha! I'll take photos for you!" Commander Spring: "By the way, why is everyone assuming you'll definitely turn into a tentacle monster... Right now, I'm only curious about one thing: after symbioting with the slime mold, will you still be attacked by other slime molds' fruiting bodies?" Midnight Chicken Slaughter: "If they won't attack, doesn't that mean we can solo downtown?! (excited)" Brother Mole: "They probably will. 'Mutant slime mold' is just an umbrella term. Different colonies prey on each other to absorb genetic material—hasn't that already been proven on Bucky?" Commander Spring: "I see... Looks like exploiting a bug won't be that easy, haha." Fang Chang: "Even without proof, logically speaking Brother Guang isn't likely to let you exploit such an obvious bug. (funny)" Brother Edge: "Symbiosis with slime mold causes an experience penalty... is that based on mutant players?" Fang Chang: "I feel it's more like bionic prosthetics. Wasn't it mentioned in an earlier update notice? Excessive use of bionics slows down genetic sequence development, which is another way of saying less EXP. Though the '50%' figure is a bit broad; I suspect the impact varies across different sequences." Kuang Feng: "Mhm... personally, I feel that without a neural implant chip, an Intelligence-type using a mechanical arm doesn't get an EXP debuff; on the contrary, frequent cranial nerve overload yields a slight Intelligence EXP bonus. Slime mold is probably similar. If symbiosis doesn't affect the brain, even if slime-moldification exceeds 50% and someone ends up looking like Bucky, sequence progress could still accumulate and save." Jieyan: "Holy crap! An epic buff for Intelligence-types?!" Kuang Feng: "Only a buff in theory. In practice, who knows? Either way, I can't really stomach biological prosthetics... feels creepy. (side-eye)" Fang Chang: "+1. I'm quite satisfied with my current character, no need to stack buffs." Ye Shi: "You're just afraid of scaring your Dolly. (funny)" Fang Chang: "I don't deny it. Although symbionts differ from ordinary fruiting bodies and lack real-time data exchange with the broodmother, having something that doesn't belong to you on your body still feels weird. I recommend anyone with a significant other consult them first. Ah, single dogs don't need to worry about that, of course. (side-eye)" Ye Shi: "Motherfucker! You can even flex on singles with this, huh?!!!" Elven King Fugui: "I'm gonna puke!" Elaina: "Am I the only one wondering if it tastes good? (funny)" Luo Yu: "Chao! What do you guys take my Yu for?! (rage)" WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Hahaha! It's everyone's Yu now! (evil grin)" Luo Yu: "%￥#@!" ... Research into mutant slime mold was merely one link in the Alliance's myriad affairs; more pressing matters currently awaited Chu Guang's attention. For instance, money. There had never been a war that didn't burn through money, especially against an opponent like the Legion. The Alliance's supplies had never once been interrupted, not only because the Enterprise helped manage transport, but even more so because the Alliance was willing to spend lavishly on logistics. During the war, the Alliance produced nearly three hundred Type No. 1 and No. 2 tanks, nearly a thousand "Electric Mule" transport trucks, dozens of "Dragonfly" transports, and nearly a thousand W-2 attack planes. And that didn't even account for the ammunition consumed or the small arms produced; those vehicles alone were enough to carry the Alliance's entire population! Producing all that equipment drained not only resources, but a massive portion of the Alliance's fiscal budget. Because of this, the Alliance's budget deficit had reached a staggering figure... After delegating partial clearance for Floor B6 of the shelter to Heya, Chu Guang followed the schedule Xiao Qi had prepared for him and headed to a conference room in the Alliance Administration Building, summoning Old Charlie, president of the Merchant Guild, along with the head of the Finance Department. During reforms long before, the Alliance had established twelve departments, including Internal Affairs, Industry, Economy, Diplomacy, and more. The Finance Department was one of them. Like other departments, all personnel were recruited through examinations. The objective questions were roughly at the level of high school mathematics—knowledge taught in both full-time schools and workers' night schools. As for the subjective questions, some were copied from the internet and voted on by players, while others were copied by Chu Guang himself based on his needs. He didn't need these people to be geniuses; mastering mathematics, respecting natural science, possessing a materialist mindset, and having general common sense were enough. Though called the Finance Department, the entire department currently occupied just one office, with fewer than ten people even including the file clerks. On one hand, few people in the Alliance were competent for the job; on the other, there was simply no need for so many staff. Auditing tasks, fiscal revenues and expenditures, and departmental budget reports were largely handled by AI. The department's staff mainly assisted Chu Guang with macro-level decisions, refined implementation details, and made specific adjustments according to his directions. Rather than decision-makers, their duties were closer to secretarial work. And that was indeed the case; some concrete decisions were even refined with the help of Old Charlie, president of the Merchant Guild. While Charlie was no seasoned economics scholar, he had dealt with wasteland merchants for decades and dipped into warehousing, logistics, and industrial production, making him noticeably more experienced than the rookies brought in through exams. If the old man hadn't preferred to avoid the headache, wanting only to run the Merchant Guild well before retiring, Chu Guang had originally intended for him to serve as the Alliance's Minister of Finance. Watching Chu Guang walk into the conference room, Director Sun Ruicai's expression tightened visibly. Clutching his papers, he shot up from his seat with a scrape. Compared to Old Charlie beside him, he was far younger and lacked seniority, having previously worked as an ordinary employee at the mint. Before receiving his appointment letter, he had never imagined he would be chosen; he had simply seen everyone taking the exam and decided to give it a shot, never expecting to come in first. Having never held a managerial role, he frequently worried that he was unequal to the task. As a result, he was exceedingly cautious at work, terrified of failing the Administrator's trust and cultivation. Yet no matter how careful he was, he could not change the deficit on the financial statements. Those figures were calculated automatically by the AI, leaving no room for embellishment. Before the meeting started, he had already braced himself for a dressing-down from the Administrator. Yet things took an unexpected turn: the Administrator didn't scold him, offering him a reassuring look instead. "Sit down. No need to be so tense. I have a general grasp of our finances... I'm here today to solve problems." "Yes... sir." Seeing Chu Guang's calm, genial expression, Sun Ruicai breathed a quiet sigh of relief. His fingers loosened their grip on the papers, and he slowly sat back down. Seeing the young man regain his composure, Chu Guang continued, "Begin." "Yes!" Sun Ruicai nodded hurriedly, reading from his notes. "According to the consolidated reports from all departments, the Alliance's budget deficit this year has reached 1.17 billion silver coins. Military spending alone accounts for as much as 900 million, or 76.9% of the total budget..." 1.17 billion! For an Alliance with a total population of fewer than two hundred thousand, this number was truly alarming. It was equivalent to every resident of the Alliance shouldering 5,850 silver coins of debt. Spread across twelve months, that was 487.5 silver coins per month—surpassing even the Alliance's statutory minimum monthly income of 360 silver coins! Of course, that wasn't how the accounts truly worked. Chu Guang knew full well that of this 1.17 billion silver coin deficit, at least 70% consisted of payouts to players, and at least half of those rewards returned to his hands via "technology exports." This income was not listed on the financial report because "technology exports" were conducted in the name of the shelter collective, with funds temporarily held in Shelter 404's collective account. Building player save points, operating costs for those save points, paying salaries to NPCs who served players—all were drawn from this account. When accounts were settled at year's end, most of that money would enter the Alliance treasury under the guise of "Donations from Shelter 404." Though left and right were both his own hands, using the Alliance's treasury to fund benefits for the shelter's residents wasn't ideal. Even if nobody objected now, it could easily leave hidden liabilities for the future. As the Alliance expanded, many practices that were once slapped together haphazardly had to be gradually formalized. According to data provided by Xiao Qi, factoring in that year-end return of funds, the Alliance treasury's final deficit would be roughly 600 million. This was no small sum. Yet compared to 1.17 billion, it was substantially smaller. Watching Chu Guang lost in thought, Charlie cleared his throat softly and spoke: "...The war has placed far too much strain on our finances. Although you brought back abundant spoils from the front lines, it's hard to convert those goods directly into cash, especially for a figure this large." Pausing briefly, he continued, "...And that's only our domestic debt. Internal debt is relatively manageable; firing up the printing presses requires just a word from you. The real trouble lies in foreign debt. Take the debt to Boulder City: of the 200 million chips you originally borrowed, the principal and interest due at year's end alone amount to 5 million. "Add to that the medium- and long-term loans we took out later, and the total debt has reached 500 million chips. The combined principal and interest due at the end of the year exceeds 10 million chips." As he spoke, Charlie pressed his wrinkled brow, looking somewhat distressed. There were words he had wanted to say for a long time. Namely, the Alliance spent money far too fast! To impress the severity of the situation upon the esteemed Administrator, he unconsciously hardened his tone. "Unless you plan to completely default on this debt or dip into our Cr reserves to trade chips with the Boulder Bank... I recommend adopting a more conservative fiscal policy starting today. For the next three years at least, we must tighten our belts and do everything possible to reduce the debt load until our invested industries yield sufficient returns. "Otherwise, if every bit of foreign exchange earned from exports goes toward servicing debt, we won't be able to do a thing except print bills and watch the silver coin depreciate into nothing!"