On the official Wasteland Online forum, a sudden post ignited a flurry of heated discussion.
Kuangbiao de Niuniu: "Breaking news! A batch of discounted second-hand machinery has appeared in Boulder City! Life-profession players who are interested, keep your eyes peeled! Anyone needing a purchasing agent, PM me quick! Great prices, first come first served!"
The poster was a traveling merchant player who spent most of his time hanging around Boulder City. His favorite games were business simulations like Patrician and Port Royale. He had no other hobbies and especially hated leveling up, preferring instead to run between two markets and pocket the price difference.
Buying goods cheaply with silver coins and transporting them to Boulder City to earn chips offered genuine arbitrage opportunities. This was normal gameplay, hardly an exploit.
However, it was also a fact that Boulder City's purchasing power was deteriorating by the day. Goods often sat in inventory for long periods; only luxury items like bionic prosthetics moved with any ease.
Months ago, he could directly convert the chips he earned into silver coins. Later, once the loan agreement was signed between the Alliance and Boulder City Bank, the bank's printing presses passively switched on to inject liquidity, leaving the Alliance swimming in chips. By now, the Alliance Bank offered only one chip for two silver coins, while trying to exchange one chip back into two silver coins was completely out of the question.
On the black market, the exchange rate between silver coins and chips had inverted entirely, requiring two to five chips just to exchange for a single silver coin.
Before long, the Alliance's official exchange rate would likely adjust as well. The only reason it had not yet changed was that they probably did not want to take in so much "junk."
Left with no alternative, the merchant player had to use his depreciating chips to buy goods in Boulder City whose prices had not risen as quickly, then ship them back to the Alliance to sell.
Strangely enough, even though the prices of various goods and real estate in Boulder City were climbing across the board, production equipment had barely increased, with some even being discounted.
Kuangbiao de Niuniu immediately smelled a business opportunity.
Wasn't the Alliance pursuing an industrial transition lately?
If he bought up the equipment and machinery the Alliance happened to need, brought them back, and sold them for silver coins, wouldn't his chips be smoothly cashed out?
Attached to the post was a detailed catalog.
It spanned durable consumer goods such as plastics, home appliances, leather, and furniture, as well as fast-moving consumer goods like food processing, papermaking, chemicals, and cleaning detergents. It covered nearly every industry where the Alliance was deficient or still operating out of small workshops.
In truth, second-hand equipment from Boulder City was not entirely new news.
Even before the war ended, second-hand machinery rarely seen on the market had begun appearing in auction houses, almost all in like-new condition.
Back then, quite a few life-profession players had discussed it on the forum. While those machines did not look like hyper-advanced black tech, some of the bizarre, seemingly impractical design concepts felt like they might actually work if adapted to reality.
Many industry specialists and students had marveled at them and even drawn inspiration. Meanwhile, the unfathomable depth of Wasteland Online's world-building sparked endless imaginative theories among the popcorn-munching spectators.
Yet for most players, the main focus remained on the game itself.
Shortly after the thread went up, nearly all the life-profession players on the forum piled in.
Jieyan: "Why did so many second-hand machines suddenly hit the market?"
Tengteng: "Weren't they still expanding production a few months ago? 0.0"
Yaya: "Is something big about to happen?"
Fang Chang: "Maybe it's overproduction. A small place of over five hundred thousand people—how large an industrial scale could it possibly support?"
Makabazi: "Sigh, I really don't get it. Theoretically, before the Human Alliance formed, there was a long era of international history, right? With you guys fleecing it this aggressively... can't they tell?"
Fang Chang: "Look at what you're saying. Just because something happened in history means it won't happen again? If that were true, the people of the world would've been living in paradise eight lifetimes ago."
Kuang Feng: "History doesn't simply repeat itself, but people always find identical postures to fall into the same pit. (Side-eye)"
Ye Shi: "Still, wouldn't the City Lord see it? And even if the City Lord is blind, shouldn't the bank president or other higher-ups realize something's off?"
Mole: "In theory, yes—assuming Boulder City's upper echelon consists entirely of superhuman Intelligence-types who have passed IQ and aptitude tests, hold zero disagreements on any issue, and take exams exclusively formulated and administered by an aloof AI... then deceiving them would be tough. (Funny)"
Fang Chang: "It's actually not that complicated. Simplest example: drinking ruins your stomach. Do you still drink?"
Makabazi: "Well, I still have to drink a little."
Fang Chang: "Did you consider your stomach's feelings?"
Makabazi: "Huh? What feelings can a stomach have? (Blank)"
Fang Chang: "That's just what your brain thinks, isn't it?"
Jieyan: "Holy crap, that actually makes some sense."
Makabazi: "Like hell it makes sense!"
Fang Chang: "See? Humans aren't animals that put health at the absolute top of their priorities. How can you imagine a group of people huddling together will suddenly turn into a gestalt hive mind? When an addict sees opium, the last thing on his mind is quitting. Without external intervention, he'll crave another hit right up until his dying breath. Just like brother Jieyan over there—he's used that handle for years, and eighty percent chance he hasn't quit smoking either. (Side-eye)"
Jieyan: "Damn it! Caught a stray bullet!"
Yaya: "Hahahahaha! o(*≧▽≦)ツ"
Jieyan: "I'm quitting, I'm quitting... Dammit, ever since I got the helmet, I haven't smoked in ages. Fang Chang, you bastard, bringing it up makes me want one again. T.T"
Ye Shi: "Put your helmet back on right now. (Funny)"
Fang Chang: "Blaming me for that too? Anyway, I'll never get what's so great about the stuff. (Sweat)"
In a sense, debt was far more dangerous than narcotics, precisely because of its immense deceitfulness.
The accumulation of a bubble was a slow, sweet process, but its bursting often struck in a single instant.
Boulder City did not lack intelligent people. Whether profound visionaries or petty schemers, they abounded, and it was impossible that no one saw the danger.
Otherwise, who was dumping chips on the black market?
Long before the war concluded, the black market exchange rate had inverted relative to the Alliance's official posted rate; this was by no means a recent development.
Judging by superficial logic alone, the Alliance was the party required to repay money at year's end, and the payment had to be in chips. If Boulder City Bank could wield that debt to pressure the Alliance, chips ought to be more expensive, not less.
Fang Chang: "I looked over the catalog. The items are pretty solid, but my advice is to wait a bit longer to get them cheaper. Honestly, the most worthwhile industry to import from Boulder City is Boulder Military Industries. Aside from power armor, which they can't make, they can produce everything from exoskeletons down below to phased-array radars up above... If we can hollow them out, it'll fill a massive blank in our arms industry."
WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "That sounds like no small feat."
Fang Chang: "Not impossible, though. Boulder City is going through a phase of deindustrialization, and no single factory can remain unscathed. What's more, Boulder Military Industries isn't just one plant; it has dozens of subsidiaries. They take both military and civilian orders, which shares similarities with our economic model. From frontline workers to assembly line machinery, we chip away at their foundation bit by bit, and gradually we'll have it all."
WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Damn, you're wicked! (Smirk)"
Fang Chang: "How is this wicked? It's just a game... Besides, trace back a dozen generations, and aren't we all descendants of the Human Alliance? Leaving those things in their hands is a pure waste. Better to hand them to us so we can grow bigger and stronger. (Side-eye)"
Jieyan: "Brother Fang Chang is a beast!"
Ye Shi: "I call it efficiency. (Funny)"
...
Dawn City Hall.
While discussing the budget for the Corn Building project with Luka, Chu Guang suddenly let out an unprompted sigh.
"To be frank, the problems in Boulder City are likely far worse than I originally anticipated. I somewhat underestimated them."
Luka blinked in mild surprise.
"Boulder City... Weren't we discussing the Corn Building project?"
Chu Guang nodded.
"Indeed. The two aren't unrelated. The newly developed Corn Community is largely prepared for refugees from Boulder City."
Luka looked at Chu Guang with astonishment, his expression quickly turning solemn.
"...How many do you anticipate?"
Though he did not know what the Administrator had done, he harbored no doubt that whatever the Administrator predicted would come to pass.
Chu Guang pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Originally, I expected just over forty thousand... a figure well within our society's capacity to absorb. But now, it looks like it might exceed that."
There was no helping it.
Events did not always unfold entirely within his projections. He truly had not expected the noble lords of the inner city to take their revelry to such extremes.
In his initial roadmap, Chu Guang had prepared three cards for them.
The first card was the loan agreement. With a two-hundred-million loan, he let them taste the sweetness of a trade surplus.
In doing so, nobles and merchants reaped profits, while ordinary survivors gained jobs to feed their families. Then the Alliance's debt gradually swelled to 510 million—instigated by Melvin and other vested interests drunk on their initial gains, and tacitly permitted with Chu Guang's full awareness.
Next came the second card.
As the volume of debt ballooned, the handful of clever minds in Boulder City would gradually grow vigilant. They would realize that risk was an undeniable cost, prompting them to use their creditor status to force concessions from the Alliance on trade matters.
When that moment arrived, all the Alliance had to do was prove that its finances were completely sound, that the situation was better than ever, and that the risks had nowhere near accumulated to an unimaginable level. Then everyone could keep playing the music, keep dancing, and let the party rage on.
Melvin was a sharp man. He might have wanted to step on the brakes, but deep down he knew he could no longer do so.
From the start, this vehicle had never been designed with brake pads. Either everyone kept their feet off and let it glide forward slowly, or it would take a catastrophic collision to bring it to a halt so they could begin anew.
As a mere bank president, all Melvin could do was install a spring under the accelerator, grandly dubbing it a "kinetic energy recovery system," so those greedy nobles might press down just a fraction lighter.
Therefore, when Chu Guang played his second card—offering that "the Alliance will help create a reservoir for the excess currency generated by surplus debt" and "fully opening the exchange rate between chips and silver coins within five years to allow free conversion"—Melvin agreed almost without hesitation.
He held many cards, but precious few he could actually play.
And the spring the Alliance offered was vastly superior to the fraudulent "kinetic energy recovery system" he had devised himself.
In the final analysis, including the third card that had yet to be played, the Alliance's series of proactive borrowings was fundamentally a matter of wrenching open the tap of Boulder City Bank and plugging the printing press into the power grid of a fusion reactor.
Under an optimistic scenario, even if Boulder City went bankrupt, it would be a gentle bankruptcy. Over three to five years, they would slowly shed the wealth accumulated over a century and a half. Most people's lives would be altered, but the process would not be too prolonged, nor excessively agonizing.
What Chu Guang had not anticipated was that his plan had already drifted off its original course. Those noble lords were far more reckless and brazen than he had imagined when they should have been conservative.
He had barely laid down his second card when those fools eagerly turned their own pockets inside out and played the third card he still had tucked away themselves—swapping the century-old foundation Boulder City had amassed for the sweet scent of fleeting beer froth.
Debt had already flowed directly into production!
That was the most terrifying part!
Normally, before Boulder City's economy reached its final stage, it should have undergone at least two accelerations and one last bout of madness.
Yet perhaps driven by the inner-city nobles' greed, the crisis had very likely been pulled forward.
The hot money spinning aimlessly on the ledgers differed from the actual capital circulating through production by several zeros.
The survivors of Boulder City were separated from paying five hundred thousand chips for a loaf of bread by nothing more than a final spark of value correction. The crisis could detonate at any moment...
"...A few tens of thousands of refugees are temporarily within our society's ability to shoulder. But over half a million permanent residents, plus a swarm of wastelanders living off the city's scrap outside the walls... Once the Great Wall collapses, if we don't handle it with utmost caution, we could be dragged down by this bloated, decaying giant."
Observing the concern etched onto Chu Guang's face, Luka asked in confusion,
"...I don't understand. We defeated an enemy more than ten times our size on the battlefield. Can this hurdle... really be that troublesome?"
Not surprised by Luka's bewilderment, Chu Guang looked at him.
"Have you ever heard of an exploding whale?"
Luka blinked.
"...Exploding whale?"
What was a whale?
"Yes."
Chu Guang nodded and continued,
"When a dead whale beaches ashore, the accumulation of decomposition gases inside causes its body to rupture violently. The flying debris can scatter as far as a kilometer, and the stench won't disperse for months... Dealing with the carcass of a beached whale is vastly harder than hunting a living one in the ocean."
Luka tried to picture some mutated beast even more gargantuan than a sandworm, his brow furrowing deeply after a long pause.
"You mean... Boulder City is that whale, and its fall will spawn a host of new troubles."
Chu Guang nodded again.
"Last year, an exploding whale occurred in River Valley Province. The Legion's expeditionary force collapsed southward, carving out the bloody chaos of the Bone Chewers. The central region of River Valley Province was left barren, most survivor settlements were wiped out, and more than ninety percent of our Alliance's current residents are survivors of that calamity. You should remember it."
Hearing that the consequences could be so dire, Luka's expression grew markedly graver.
"Then what do you propose we do?"
"If something is bound to happen sooner or later, all we can do is prepare for the rainy day," Chu Guang said after a pause, letting out a sigh. "Use the loans from Boulder City Bank to commission their factories for more cotton quilts and winter coats."
He could not abandon excising the tumor simply because there was a risk of it metastasizing.
They were too close to the Alliance.
Even if Chu Guang had no desire to clean up after the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, he had to plan prudently for the future.
Ultimately, if Boulder City had done everything the Alliance had, uniting the survivors around Qingquan City, there never would have been a Bet Street, a Brown Farm, or a Bloodhand Clan, let alone an Alliance. The migration triggered by the Bone Chewer turmoil would have infused fresh blood into the outer city. Even if they had an unpleasant history with the Production Department of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, that was long in the past... They truly had possessed the opportunity to step into the new era on their own.
If that had been the case, whether Shelter 404 existed or not wouldn't have mattered much; Chu Guang might have considered going back to his old trade.
Doing business with civilized people wasn't difficult for him; he had done quite well at it before his transmigration.
Yet standing on this wasteland, the moment he raised his eyes, he saw Old Leech's face, surrounded by hyenas and vultures wherever he looked.
If one did nothing, one became prey for the mutated beasts. If someone had to lose everything, let it be those who never deserved to hold it in the first place.
Still, everyone was a child of the Human Alliance in the end. Even if Boulder City had once shut its gates against the vast majority of survivors from southern River Valley Province, he would not go so far as to leave them to perish like the Legion did.
Having roughly grasped Chu Guang's intent, Luka said earnestly,
"I will order the preparations immediately."
Chu Guang nodded.
"Go on."
When it came to resettling refugees, Old Luka was arguably the most experienced veteran in the entire Alliance...
...
Early morning on the fourth day after the celebration.
The sky outside the window was faintly brightening. Bleary-eyed, Dolly stretched, yawned, and slid out of bed. After washing up, she set breakfast on the table.
As usual, a certain mischievous scoundrel was still sound asleep. Until his designated waking hour, no prank could elicit the slightest reaction from him.
Kind-hearted Miss Dolly, however, had no intention of arresting the scoundrel before he woke.
After gazing at that serene sleeping face for a few moments, she leaned in, planted a quiet kiss on his cheek, and slipped out the door with a blush.
Two days ago, the Alliance's Survivor Daily had indeed accepted her submission. Not only had they devoted a full page to her column, but they had also included an employment offer with their reply.
According to the editor who wrote back, the editor-in-chief was full of praise for her meticulous investigation and had even instructed the paper's reporters to learn from this contributing citizen: when it was time to open their eyes wide, they needed to open them wide.
Truth be told, Dolly felt a bit embarrassed. While she had written the column, many of the ideas hadn't originated from her alone.
As for the job offer enclosed in the letter, she had naturally accepted with delight.
Today was her very first day on the job.
Unwilling to leave a tardy first impression on her new colleagues, she set out bright and early.
The newspaper office was located on a street east of Dawn City near Embassy Street, an area featuring an eclectic mix of architectural styles. It took her some time following the address on the envelope to locate the building.
However, the Alliance's working hours caught her off guard. She had to wait quite a while before a security guard finally strolled over, yawning, to unlock the door.
"Good morning, little reporter lady. You're exceptionally early; our director probably just rolled out of bed."
"Good morning... Doesn't work start at six?" Dolly asked softly, looking at the guard who clearly seemed fresh out of sleep.
The guard paused, then chuckled.
"That was in the past. After the celebration, working hours across the board were shifted to eight. Just don't be more than half an hour late and you're fine."
Dolly nodded sheepishly. After thanking him, she slipped into the building and carried her letter to the HR office.
Her onboarding paperwork had been finalized the day before, though her employee badge had only been finished today. The HR staff had told her to pick it up on her way in.
Holding the badge, Dolly finally let out a sigh of relief. The anxiety fluttering in her chest dissolved, replaced by pure joy as she walked over to her workstation.
She had anticipated a maze of complicated procedures, never imagining everything would go so much smoother than expected.
Honestly, she had felt rather uneasy before this.
She had never stayed beyond the Great Wall for such an extended period, let alone dreamed of living and working outside it.
Until last year, the world outside the Great Wall had been synonymous with barbarism and wasteland. She had even tried several times to persuade Fang Chang to stay behind the walls with her.
Over the past few days, however, she had gradually realized that life here was nowhere near as harsh as she had envisioned. The people were polite, and the food was delicious. Though many aspects remained imperfect, things improved a little every single day. And that wasn't merely because they had a wise Administrator; it was because the people genuinely wished from the bottom of their hearts to contribute to the community.
At least, that was how it felt to her.
"From now on, it's a fresh start..."
The thought that she would no longer have to live apart from the man she loved brought a sweet warmth to her chest.
Right then, a soft cough sounded nearby.
"Are you... Dolly?"
Snapping out of her daydream, Dolly sprang up from her seat and looked at the senior employee standing beside her.
"Yes, that's me! Hello! I'm the new reporter."
"Yang Yan, editor for the news section."
Not at all surprised by the newcomer's overflowing enthusiasm, Yang Yan handed her an unopened parcel.
"This package was forwarded from Boulder City. Since you're here, you might as well open it."
Many workers in the Alliance hailed from Boulder City. Some had already relocated their families, while others had held back due to various concerns.
They often exchanged silver coins into chips to mail home, or bought daily necessities to send back. Consequently, the Alliance's embassy handled postal services on the side.
Curious, Dolly took the package and gave it a slight shake.
"Is it for me?"
Yang Yan gave a helpless shrug.
"No, but the sender wrote: 'To the former editor of Boulder City's Survivor Daily.' You're the only one here who worked there."
Boulder City's Survivor Daily and the Alliance's Survivor Daily shared only a name. The former had been run single-handedly by Hal, while the latter was established when the Administrator found Boulder City's newspaper impressive and gathered personnel to produce an identical one.
Neither shared any ownership structure or staffing. Yang Yan was equally mystified as to why someone would send a package here.
Suspicious, Dolly tore open the parcel. Inside was a stack of crumpled old newspapers. Looking closely, though, it didn't seem like returned goods; rows of crooked handwriting filled the blank margins.
She smoothed the papers flat on the desk and softly read the headline aloud.
"'Awakened Boer: The Story of a Slum Pauper Who Accidentally Found an Awakening Elixir and Beat Down a Suit of Power Armor in the Final Battle'... Seriously? Is there really an Awakened that powerful?"
Dolly muttered in bewilderment, quickly realizing this wasn't a news submission, before her gaze locked onto the name.
Boer?
That sounded familiar... Wait!
A sudden jolt went through her. Wasn't that the novel previously serialized in Workers' Daily, the sub-publication of Survivor Daily?
Someone had written a sequel to their story?!
This unexpected delight felt akin to discovering that a seed casually tossed by the roadside had grown into a towering tree.
Noticing the sudden sparkle of excitement on Dolly's face, Yang Yan raised an eyebrow.
"You know something about it?"
"Yes! Give me a little time to read!"
Dolly nodded eagerly, sank back into her chair, and immersed herself in the pages with relish. Seeing her so absorbed, the veteran editor refrained from disturbing her and returned to his own tasks.
Roughly an hour drifted by.
With eyes shining bright, Dolly leaped up, clutched the old newspapers tightly, and marched over to the senior editor's desk.
"It's a novel! And it's brilliantly written!"
In her personal opinion, it was even better than the original author's work!
The writer, named Sberg, might not have used flowery prose, but he captured the intricate, conflicted emotions of an ordinary man climbing across social strata to absolute perfection. Forming the Workers' Union with everyone was an inspired stroke of genius.
If the former author had merely penned a tale of making a name for oneself, this continuing author had truly breathed life into that destitute boy fighting his way out of the slums.
She desperately wanted to know what came next!
That said, though the romantic subplot had remained a mere garnish drifting along the edges both before and after the continuation, she was actually far more curious about whom the Awakened Boer would choose than the Workers' Union storyline.
He had snapped the hard-won black card in two...
The noble lady who fancied him was bound to be heartbroken.
Would she be forced to end up with that sinister chiliarch?
As a devoted purist for true romance, she couldn't accept that!
"I think we should serialize this!" Shoving the old newspapers in front of the bewildered Yang Yan, Dolly declared with glowing eyes, "I can be the editor for this book!"
Yang Yan was caught off balance by the abrupt proposal.
"Wait... Serialize? A novel?"
Dolly explained patiently,
"It's a novel that was previously serialized in Boulder City's paper! It went on hiatus after the office was shut down, but now someone's willing to continue the story!"
Yang Yan chuckled wryly.
"But... we don't have readers in Boulder City."
The Alliance's Survivor Daily did run serialized fiction, but usually only short stories that occupied a modest corner of a page.
Unless they created a sub-publication.
Yet a decision of that magnitude was beyond his authority; only the editor-in-chief could make the call.
Dolly pressed her case earnestly.
"It doesn't have to be in Boulder City! The Alliance's Survivor Daily can serialize it too! We just need to launch a sub-publication. In fact, we can use this story to drive sales for the new paper—like running an excerpt in the main paper and publishing the full chapters in the sub-publication!"
"Except none of us have read the earlier chapters."
Looking helplessly at the overzealous newcomer, Yang Yan took the old papers, skimmed them briefly, and let out a sigh.
"If I'm being frank, my impression is the exact opposite of yours. Boer's story makes zero sense to me; I don't even know who he is... You think it's good because you read the beginning, right?"
Dolly scratched the back of her head, sheepish.
"Uh, that was an oversight on my part. But... I can contact my former colleague! He can compile the earlier plot, can't he? He definitely kept the original manuscripts. When the place was shut down, we hauled our desks back with us!"
She hadn't thought much of the original tale.
Yet after this Sberg fellow took up the pen, she had seen a completely different spark within it.
The senior editor, however, harbored different reservations.
"It's not just that..." Yang Yan sighed, tapping the paper. "Read that title again."
Dolly paused and recited instinctively,
"'Awakened Boer: The Story of a Slum Pauper Who Accidentally Found an Awakening Elixir and Beat Down a Suit of Power Armor in the Final Battle'... What's wrong with that? Aren't newspaper serial titles always this long?"
"It's not the length; it's the content." Yang Yan cast her a meaningful look. "Our Administrator wears power armor too. And this Boer intends to beat down a suit of power armor in the final battle... What is he trying to say?"
"Huh?!" Dolly stared at the veteran editor in shock, her mouth falling open. "Just because of that? But—"
She hadn't made that connection in the slightest!
Besides, this was clearly a story about Boulder City; what did it have to do with anything here?
Yang Yan shook his head.
"This matter can be made big or small. Nobody's explicitly forbidden it, but caution never hurts. The residents of the Alliance hold extraordinary affection for the Administrator; you have to consider their feelings. If we must publish it, I'd suggest at least modifying the title and content—"
Panicking, Dolly opened her mouth to argue further.
Just then, a hearty voice rang out from the side.
"I don't see any problem with it!"
Yang Yan whipped his head around, his eyes instantly widening in astonishment. Springing up from his seat, he eagerly spun his chair around.
"Lord Administrator?! What brings you here? Please, have a seat!"
Dolly turned around in surprise as well.
This wasn't her first time seeing the Alliance's Administrator, but it was certainly the closest she had ever been.
Chu Guang looked at the two of them with a smile, speaking in an easygoing tone.
"No need. I won't soil your newly purchased chair, haha. Don't be so tense; I came to talk to your director about expanding operations in Sunset Province."
This had been Hal's request.
To prevent his royal father from interfering with his venture, the dutiful prince had learned from his failure in Boulder City and decided to invite Chu Guang to become a shareholder in the press.
Chu Guang found it amusing and agreed.
Deep down, he enjoyed some fun himself—he just hid it better.
Yang Yan watched him cautiously and asked,
"Then you..."
"Official business is already concluded. I was just passing by and overheard your conversation—my apologies!" Chu Guang smiled and continued, "Since I heard it, I won't stand on ceremony. I believe this young lady is entirely correct. Boulder City's Survivor Daily had a whole fleet of sub-publications; why shouldn't we?"
Yang Yan offered a wry smile.
"My Lord... that was something created in Boulder City."
Chu Guang dismissed it nonchalantly.
"Forget Boulder City—even if a voice rises from rotten coffin boards, progress is progress! If they have it, all the more reason we should! In the future, you must establish Workers' Daily as well. Let Survivor Daily cover the concerns of all survivors, while Workers' Daily focuses on matters close to our workers' hearts! The night school has yielded fine results; don't assume our workers are illiterate and refuse to write for them."
Yang Yan hastened to reply,
"I never thought that!"
Dolly looked at Chu Guang with excitement.
"Thank you for your understanding! If you've read it, you'd know this novel has nothing to do with you at all..."
Chu Guang cleared his throat.
"Ahem... I don't care about such things anyway. Feel free to do as you see fit."
What a joke. He was an Awakened himself; why would he fear such an association?
Besides, power armor was hardly rare across the wasteland. Unless someone harbored malicious intent, who would waste energy drawing such far-fetched parallels?
Then again, Chu Guang wouldn't mind making a cameo appearance as an extra.
Serialized fiction from this pioneering wave often carried special significance; down the line, it might even be adapted into a film out of nostalgia.
As for whether it was cliché?
Such things were inherently unimportant.
The unadorned and straightforward often resonated deepest with people. Stripped to its core, Journey to the West was simply a story of a master and three disciples fetching scriptures.
The Alliance needed to export culture across the wasteland—not merely cultural artifacts borrowed by players from the real world, but stories closer to the lived experience of wasteland survivors.
The seeds he and his lovely players had planted across this barren earth were sprouting.
That was unquestionably a good thing.
"Then... should I consult the editor-in-chief?" Yang Yan asked softly.
"I'll just head over myself; I just stepped out of his office anyway," Chu Guang said with a grin. "A perfect excuse to drop by for another cup of tea."
Watching the Administrator turn and head down the corridor, Yang Yan let out a wry chuckle.
He truly hoped his boss had a strong heart...
Chapter 533