At the subway station near the former resettlement site...
Flanked by five young mutant warriors, two hunched mutant elders stood at the entrance to the subway station. Holding a white flag, they stared at the armored vehicles and mounted machine guns lined up not far away, their faces etched with anxious dread.
Those two ancient relics were priests of the Qi Tribe. One was Gomo, while the other was Henke, a representative of the Progenitor Faction.
Unlike the Secular Faction, the Progenitor Faction was among the earliest batch of mutants in Singularity City. Relative to Singularity City a century and a half ago, their ideology had undoubtedly been fanatically radical, but relative to the present Qi Tribe, they were undeniably conservative to the point of trying to turn back the wheel of history.
Rather than hunting humans as game, they preferred keeping the portion born in the ranches penned like livestock, while turning the remaining freefolk into slaves.
Most plantation owners across these lands did the same thing anyway; settlements like Hope Town, where more than half the population were free citizens, were exceedingly rare.
They were even opposed to cannibalism. After all, there was food that was far more nutritionally efficient to produce, and they had once promised those unwilling to mutate that they would at least not be baked into meat pies... Though that promise was essentially meaningless, seeing as the moment they triumphed, the residents unwilling to become mutants had effectively lost all rights.
Without external intervention, the conservatives of any society would eventually age out, and the Qi Tribe was naturally no exception.
Although the Progenitor Faction possessed a series of "advanced technologies," including midwifery, it still could not change the fact that the younger generation in the tribe was growing ever larger, nor that the Secular Faction—which "focused more on mutant rights"—was stepping into the center of power.
Yet now, every single warrior in the Qi Tribe personally named by Gahn had fallen in battle. All that remained were the old, the weak, the sick, the disabled, and young boys who had only just learned to snore.
As a result, the "Progenitor Faction," which advocated living in harmony with humans, had regained power.
Albeit in a thoroughly ironic fashion.
"...It's useless. They won't spare us." Looking at Henke, who was still hoping for peace talks, Gomo sighed.
While the fog had yet to disperse, slipping out of the city might have offered a slim chance of survival. But fantasizing that those humans would let them off was simply too naive.
Yet no sooner had he spoken than Henke glared him down with sheer venom.
"Shut up! If that reckless fool Gahn and you lunatics hadn't driven us into the ditch, how would we ever have ended up in such a dire state?!"
Gomo held his tongue as Henke wished and closed his cloudy eyes. There was no point in saying anything now.
Perhaps too much time had passed, and that fellow had forgotten how they had once forced the surviving humans to choose—
Either willingly become mutants, or become livestock in the breeding pens.
Once you set foot on that path, there was only darkness to the very end. At the very least, they never had any chance of turning back.
Over on the Alliance's side, a decision seemed to have been reached.
A high-ranking officer walked up to the frontline position and gave a few brief instructions to an officer wearing an exoskeleton.
The exoskeleton-clad officer nodded, watched his superior walk away, then drew a cigarette, stuck it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter.
Seeing that, a flicker of panic rose in Henke's eyes.
What kind of decision required smoking a cigarette first?
He hastily took half a step forward, crying out in alarm as he looked at the warning rifles leveled in his direction.
"Wait, wait! You might not understand—we were once human, too! We all worked toward the same goal! It was just that things here... ran into a minor issue, but it wasn't entirely our fault! For the sake of our past service to the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, please at least spare our lives! We beg you, we're willing to accept whatever arrangements you make—"
To survive, he had discarded virtually all dignity. The young mutant lads beside him breathed heavily, their faces full of struggle and hatred.
Yet the officer in the exoskeleton paid them no mind. He calmly finished his smoke, dropped the butt on the ground, ground it out beneath his boot, and waved his hand in irritation.
"Fire."
He had given them the time it took to smoke a cigarette to pick up their weapons and keep fighting. If they wouldn't pick them up, they could just die.
Negotiations?
What was there to negotiate with beasts?
The guns of the Chimera armored vehicles spat jets of fire, and thick, searing tracers instantly tore through Gomo, whose eyes remained shut.
The old thing turned into a pile of minced meat on the spot, collapsing without a sound. Next to fall was the kneeling Henke, followed by the defiant youngsters behind him.
The battle at the subway entrance was over in moments.
Having finally waited through the end of the cutscene, the players, who had long been champing at the bit, snatched up their gear and charged into the subway station, beginning the final mopping-up operation.
The quest panel on their VMs stated plainly:
Leave none of the Qi Tribe remnants alive.
And they had planned on doing just that anyway, especially after witnessing the "magnificent achievements" of those beasts...
"Who the fuck ever worked toward the same goal as you?"
Giving the mangled corpse a kick, a player who strode past spat coldly on it, clutched his rifle, and pressed forward...
***
While the various corps pushed into the underground transit network of Jinhe City from the subway entrances, the First Millenary of the Alliance's First Corps had already arrived on the city's eastern outskirts.
To house the survivors rescued from the Qi Tribe and accommodate those liberated from Church rule, the Alliance needed to expand Pinecone Farm and rename the expanded facility Singularity City.
A ready-to-use mental interference device was located there, which would help those penned-up wretches integrate into human society as early as possible.
According to the agreement reached between Chu Guang and Frost, administration of Singularity City would be handled by the AI, while the Alliance would only be responsible for defense and security.
Until the local survivors had thoroughly kicked their Na fruit addiction and regained full legal and practical competence, Chu Guang had no intention of incorporating Singularity City as the Alliance's sixth settlement. The mode of cooperation between both parties would follow the current model used with the states of Sunset Province.
Although both the Enterprise and the Academy urgently wanted him to take over this mess entirely and immediately, Chu Guang naturally would not agree to their terms.
He didn't know what the Academy was thinking—those people loved backroom politics, and their true intentions were hard to pin down. But Chu Guang understood the Council's motives with absolute clarity.
Once the Alliance took full control of the settlement, everything that transpired here would become the Alliance's internal affair. The Council would be able to wash its hands completely of its responsibilities from over a century ago, and even Frost would become an employee working for him, leaving them plenty of room to retreat should anything go wrong.
At least until the Council cleaned up its own mess, Chu Guang was not about to use the fruits of the Alliance citizens' labor to pay for their past mistakes.
Only by uniting your own people could you unite others; any coalition gained by sacrificing the interests of your own people was doomed to be fleeting.
After all, both the dependents and the providers knew in their hearts that unconditional charity never lasted.
And things doomed not to last held no value in maintaining.
At the north gate of Pinecone Farm...
Not long after the sign for Singularity City was erected, a dark mass of people appeared to the north, the long column winding like a serpent.
Some carried bulging rucksacks on their backs, while others drove several two-headed ox carts. They had come from the direction of Hope Town, looking like refugees fleeing disaster.
The centurion on duty here was named Zheng Liushu. Seeing the crowd of displaced people, he immediately led his men forward to meet them.
Before he could even ask a question, the man leading them, Mayor Ma Hechang, volunteered his identity, then grabbed his arm and tearfully recounted how the Church of the Torch had collaborated with the mutants to persecute them.
"...The soil of Hope Town can no longer grow grain. We heard you are willing to take in people oppressed by the Torch—please take us in as well!"
Ma Hechang was not telling the whole truth. His reason for leading the townsfolk here as refugees was certainly not merely because the soil contaminated by the Na fruit could no longer yield crops.
Even though that was indeed true.
The only ones in Hope Town who actually farmed were Master Kong's plantation and a handful of freeholders. His decision was largely an opportunistic gamble.
The fog outside had already cleared, and the morning artillery fire had ceased.
Anyone with eyes could see that the Alliance had prevailed in the clash with the Church of the Torch, becoming the new masters of this land.
Unlike the Church of the Torch, which let plantations run wild, the Alliance planned to rebuild Singularity City and remediate the Na-fruit-corrupted soil outward from it.
Hope Town was a fair distance from Singularity City; who knew how many years it would take for Alliance relief to reach them? What if they slapped him with charges of being a Church accomplice and put him on trial by then?
Surrendering now was without doubt the best move.
To be fair, Ma Hechang had no other choice anyway—he was an addict himself. If the Alliance banned the cultivation of Na fruit on this land going forward, even if he could endure it, the other residents might not be able to quit.
Since Hope Town was already a ruined mess, selling it out to the land's new overlords before it rotted away entirely was the best outcome for both himself and the townsfolk.
Naturally, convincing the town's residents to abandon their homes had not been easy; it had taken a great deal of effort to get them on board.
Zheng Liushu felt a mounting headache listening to his bitter pouring of grievances, and finally waved his hand to let them through.
Although the settlement had not originally been meant for them, the Administrator's orders stood firm:
Anyone who felt they needed shelter was a candidate for admission, and anyone who left of their own accord would not be taken back.
Perhaps once they had enough of life here, they would leave on their own.
"Think carefully before going in. This settlement is essentially an AI-managed shelter. Its purpose is to help rescued survivors gain the ability to support themselves and to help those unable to quit Na fruit on their own to kick the habit... If you're capable of quitting on your own, that's for the best; you don't have to come here."
Watching the survivors head toward the main gate, Zheng Liushu gave a dutiful word of warning.
Hearing this, quite a few hesitated. After a long moment, a hesitant hand went up from the crowd.
"Do you provide meals?"
Zheng Liushu nodded.
"Yes, but you have to work every day."
Immediately someone else asked, "Does it cost money?"
Zheng Liushu shook his head.
"No."
Hearing that there was such a good deal, the survivors broke into relieved smiles and made their way toward their prospective new home.
By contrast, Mayor Ma, who had begged so tearfully for so long, lingered behind. Clutching a round bundle wrapped in burlap, he wore an obsequious grin.
To be honest, Zheng Liushu did not like the man.
Having only just arrived here, he did not know the specifics of Hope Town, but he had heard that most settlements in the area had collaborated with the Church of the Torch.
Still, there was no need to make things difficult for a pathetic refugee, so he adopted a businesslike tone.
"Is there anything else?"
Ma Hechang nodded repeatedly, smiling.
"Yes, yes, my lord! I have something to present to you!"
Hearing this, Zheng Liushu turned stern. Thinking the man wanted to bribe him, he took a step back at once.
"I don't want your things. Put it away!"
"No, no, no, you must take this." Refusing to back down, Ma Hechang took a step forward and untied the bundle in his arms.
The moment he saw what was inside, Zheng Liushu instinctively held his breath, as did several soldiers nearby.
Wrapped within the burlap was a bloody, severed head.
Frowning slightly, he looked at Ma Hechang and asked in a grave tone, "...What is the meaning of this?"
Seeing that the officer hadn't recognized it, Ma Hechang hastily used his sleeve to wipe the blood from the head, explaining, "My lord, th-this is a mutant child."
Zheng Liushu froze, his brow furrowing deeper.
"Why do you have a mutant child?"
Ma Hechang continued tremulously, "It... it's not like the other mutants. It's a half-breed... Occasionally a mutant whelp inherits more human blood, like a mule born of a horse and a donkey. We used to let it trade in our town, but circumstances are different now. We've drawn a clean line between ourselves and them."
The only point he really wanted to make was that last sentence.
Yet the severed head was apparently so shocking that he seemed to have overdone it...
"...All right, we understand."
Zheng Liushu looked at the bloody head. In the end, he said nothing more, merely jerking his chin toward a soldier nearby.
"Bury it."
He had no right to judge the feud between the locals and the Qi Tribe, but they certainly had every right to carry out such deeds.
Besides, it was a mutant; he had no interest in discerning the specific differences between a half-breed and a pureblood.
It was already rotting anyway.
It had likely been dead for days.
The soldier nodded, stepped forward, and took the head.
Seeing this, Ma Hechang looked startled and said hurriedly, "My lord... aren't you going to string it up?"
Zheng Liushu replied impatiently, "We usually only hang ringleaders for public display, and once the corpses begin to rot, we take them down and burn them. What's the point of hanging it up?"
Ma Hechang nodded, finding the reasoning sound, yet lingering worry prompted him to urge the officer, "You mustn't go soft on those creatures. They caused us terrible suffering."
"Rest assured, our Administrator has his own arrangements."
"You could set up a frame, hang them up, drill a small hole in their skulls, insert a cotton wick, and light it so they burn slowly over several days."
"We will pass your suggestion to the Administrator."
"It would be wonderful if that rack could be hung right here... Of course, that's just a suggestion." Sensing the officer's growing impatience, Ma Hechang felt too embarrassed to ask if they needed extra hands to work. He quickly shut his mouth and scurried away.
Watching the man leave, a soldier standing guard nearby clicked his tongue.
"What's with that guy and his laundry list of demands? Why don't we build him a theater, set out two chairs, and invite him to sit there and enjoy the show to his heart's content?"
His name was Yang Gaoshan, a refugee who had survived the Bone Chewer upheaval.
Unlike Old Zheng, who was already a centurion, he had spent his time making bullets on the assembly line in the munitions factory before joining the First Corps a few months ago.
"Maybe his relatives died in this catastrophe?" the slightly taller soldier beside him said offhandedly.
His name was Wu Pangfei. Originally from the vicinity of Falling Leaves Ridge, he had been press-ganged by the Legion and joined the Alliance military after being rescued.
Yang Gaoshan looked at him in disbelief.
"And what did he do himself? Sit there and wait? Beg us to take them in after everything was over? And then start bossing us around? I'm not saying he isn't pitiful, but what gives him the right to make demands? Did he fight alongside us, or did he provide us with food or ammo? Or is he an Alliance citizen?"
He supported providing moral assistance to these wretches, but he detested that man's entitled attitude.
The two stances were not mutually exclusive.
Zheng Liushu glanced at his two subordinates and said casually, "People are just like that. If you're good to them, they expect you to be even better. The moment you fall short of the saint in their minds by an inch, they decide all your past kindness was just a hypocrite's virtue signaling. Pay it no mind. We didn't come here out of charity in the first place, even if we did end up helping some poor souls."
Whether it was to end the wasteland or ensure the Alliance's security, it was a far cry from pure benevolence.
Yet Yang Gaoshan remained somewhat indignant.
"Poor souls... I don't find them pitiful in the slightest, let alone innocent. It might look like they had no choice, but hasn't every single thing since a hundred and fifty years ago been their own doing? Leaving such a massive mess that you can smell the stench eight hundred kilometers away! If it were up to me, I'd leave them here to fend for themselves—we have mountains of our own problems waiting to be solved back home!"
Zheng Liushu sighed.
"You're taking it too far. If our Administrator really did that, their problems would become ours sooner or later."
Yang Gaoshan answered at once, "I'm not saying the Administrator did wrong. I'll always remain loyal to his decisions. I just think these people aren't worth saving."
"Xizhou City had guerrillas fighting shoulder to shoulder with us. The desert had rebels who fought to the death rather than surrender. The workers of Boulder City stood up. And what about them? They supplied slaves to the mutants on a regular schedule! They begged us to return the little princess to them! As if all of this were our fault!"
"The only one still putting up a fight was that Iron Tower fellow, and he was from the neighboring province to the south! How does that mayor have the face to represent his townsfolk and make demands of us?"
Zheng Liushu said nothing. Truth be told, he disliked Mayor Ma just as much. The veteran beside them gave a soft cough and spoke up.
"So we only do what we must. The Administrator didn't tell us to pamper them, nor did he bring them back to keep them fed. He had them rebuild their own home here. All right, let's leave it at that... I just have some doubts about androids. Are those things really that reliable?"
In his earlier years, he had been a mercenary in Boulder City. He had originally fought for the Alliance because they paid chips; what truly led him to join the Alliance and transfer to regular military service was a funeral.
Having lived in Boulder City for a long time, he was far more concerned about the potential risks of android technology than the survivors of Dawn City were.
Ibers was an android, and when that fellow acted as a noble's lackey, he had caused no small amount of harm.
The Dragon Blood Potion was his creation.
To produce more Awakened and reap greater economic benefits, he had tapped into users' awakening potential at the cost of crippling them. Up until Boulder Bank and its chips collapsed, countless people were saddled with crushing debts, struggling to survive in horrific conditions.
Zheng Liushu pondered for a moment and said, "He's hardly what you'd call reliable, but he's just right for them."
The veteran asked curiously, "Just right?"
"Yeah."
Recalling what he had heard at the briefing before setting out, Zheng Liushu continued, "The custom android from Kangmao Group will provide them with a regimented routine. They will get up at six every morning, start work at seven, take a one-hour lunch break at noon, keep working until five, attend a two-hour reading class after work, and lights out at ten sharp. They will do specific tasks at specific times, with penalties if they break the rules."
Though the penalties were not severe—just time in a dark cell.
Yang Gaoshan counted on his fingers, paused, and said, "...Why does that schedule sound pretty decent to me?"
Wu Pangfei was also taken aback.
"What if they slack off? Are our workers supposed to support them for free?"
"Support them for free? How could that be? We're not wishing machines," Zheng Liushu chuckled. "We'll build a railway here, supply materials needed for production, and help them clear out those green bastards, but they have to grow cash crops for us. What else did you think I meant by work?"
Yang Gaoshan couldn't help asking, "What if they loaf on the job?"
Zheng Liushu smiled faintly.
"Don't think an android won't see through those petty tricks. That thing is remarkably clever."
Although administrative work did not require their involvement, his superior had touched upon it during the briefing regarding Singularity City.
To incentivize production, the AI named Frost had set three tiers of living standards: the lowest tier was basic sustenance, meant for those who consistently failed KPI evaluations. The middle tier was adequate nutrition, while the highest was a prosperous living standard.
If trade between Singularity City and the Alliance ran a surplus, Frost would deduct the portion used for upgrading productivity and purchase consumer goods to improve quality of life, distributing them proportionally to residents in the middle and highest tiers to encourage production.
Yang Gaoshan pondered for a long while before remarking, "Why does that still sound a little too good to be true..."
Zheng Liushu shrugged.
"We'll see in time. It's too early to say."
The lad had clearly oversimplified the problem.
The survivors in this settlement were no ordinary people; they were Na fruit addicts who periodically slipped into a "trance."
Among them were ten thousand "primitives" who had just been rescued from cages.
To prevent collective withdrawal from bringing production to a complete standstill, Singularity City would partially lift restrictions on using the mental interference device on humans. It would also cultivate a small amount of Na fruit, supplying it to some addicts on a tapering basis until the Alliance's biological institute developed a medical treatment.
Due to the unique circumstances, Alliance law did not fully apply here, nor did they receive Alliance citizenship.
Wu Pangfei asked, "Is there no specific timeframe?"
Zheng Liushu thought about it and said, "No idea. At least until the trouble in Haiya Province is settled, I reckon we'll need a buffer zone like this... But the Administrator said that if someone wants to leave, log their biometric data and let them go. But once out, they can't come back."
In essence, Singularity City was a massive, AI-managed shelter. It prevented an influx of Na-fruit-infected survivors from disrupting the Alliance's existing order, while keeping the local survivors' resource demands down to an acceptable minimum.
The one-entry-only rule was necessary; otherwise, people might treat it like a sanatorium, dropping in for a few days of free vegetarian meals whenever they felt unhappy. That simply wouldn't do.
Yet frankly speaking, even though he trusted the Administrator's judgment and believed this arrangement was the best choice for those giant infants, a sliver of doubt lingered in his heart.
Having lived in Dawn City, he had no idea what kind of character Ibers was, but he knew Frost all too well...
***
At the former site of Hope Town...
The entire street was empty. Not a soul was in sight, and there was no trace of any living creature.
Judging by the state of the street, however, the inhabitants had not left in a hurry; they had scavenged everything they could carry before departing.
Clearly, they had no intention of returning.
The small town had been abandoned completely.
Yet at this moment, two uninvited guests stood at the entrance to the town.
"Is this village abandoned?"
"Looks like it."
"What a shame. There are so many cleared fields." Seeing the place where they had previously fought now deserted, Starry River couldn't help feeling a tinge of sorrow.
Beside him, Luo Yu felt the same, though he could understand the choices made by the people here.
"There's nothing much to lament. Until it's treated, these fields can't grow normal crops anyway... Anything that sprouts will be infested by Na fruit hyphae."
Starry River looked at him in confusion. "Hasn't the broodmother already been destroyed?"
Luo Yu nodded. "It has, but those hyphae don't just vanish into thin air. They merely regressed from the third stage to the second."
Starry River sighed. "Step on a cockroach, and its eggs scatter everywhere, huh?"
Luo Yu said, "On the bright side, at least it won't expand any further. As long as they plant enough Kamu trees and scorch the ground with synthetic fuel, the remaining ash might even serve as fertilizer... Just like soil rolled over by flame weeders."
"Is that so..." Starry River nodded thoughtfully, then looked at him with curiosity. "By the way, bro, what did you come here to look for anyway?"
They had bumped into each other on the airship, and Starry River had tagged along without asking questions.
Luo Yu scratched his head.
"A person... Well, strictly speaking, not quite a person."
Starry River blinked. "...Then what the heck is it?"
Not knowing where to start, Luo Yu pondered for a moment, sighed, and explained simply, "When I first arrived here, I took him for a mutant. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized he was just another poor victim... I wanted to at least apologize to him or something."
Who knew, maybe there was a side quest?
Like mutant treasure or something.
If possible, recruiting him as a companion wouldn't be bad either.
He had never been one for teaming up with other players, preferring to explore the wasteland alone. If Starry River hadn't insisted on repaying him for earlier help, he would have come quietly on his own.
Unaware that the man found him an annoyance, Starry River racked his brain to help him brainstorm.
"Do you remember his name?"
Luo Yu said, "I didn't ask at the time."
Starry River sighed. "Then we're out of luck. Hope Town's practically been wiped from the map. It's hard enough to find an NPC to ask. My condolences... How about tagging the developers on the forums to ask?"
Luo Yu thought about it and shook his head. "Forget it. No need to bother them over something so personal."
Perhaps it was merely an interlude on the journey of that hundred-thousand silver coin quest, or perhaps he had missed a side quest that might have yielded rewards.
That was how an RPG with no save files worked.
Once missed, it was gone for good.
Still, all things considered, he was quite satisfied with this adventure, and he had miraculously survived in the end.
Even though he had come within an inch of dying.
Though a deathless run didn't grant an extra medal, it gave him a real sense of accomplishment.
After all, death was the norm on this land, while staying alive was the anomaly.
"Give me a second."
Seeing Luo Yu draw a dagger and head toward the town entrance, Starry River paused and asked, "What are you doing? Relieving yourself?"
"Tch, mind your own business. Wait for me here."
Walking to the town entrance alone, Luo Yu paused in thought, then used his dagger to carve a line of text in a conspicuous spot.
Since it was intended for an NPC, he wrote in the Human Alliance language:
"You're the one who warned the people here that day, right? Thanks, friend. If not for you, hardly anyone would have survived, even if we made it in time.
"My name is Luo Yu. If you see this, could you leave your name next to it? Next time I pass by here, I'll come check."
Having just carved the words, Luo Yu suddenly had second thoughts.
He was willing to bet that if other players saw this, the next time he came back, the space underneath would be plastered with bizarre transliterated meme names.
Like "Xiaochuan was here" or something.
With a wry smile, he scratched out that line. After thinking for a moment, he wrote beneath it:
"Never mind. If fate allows, let's meet again, and I'll ask in person."
Sheathing the carving dagger, Luo Yu nodded in satisfaction, considering this a proper full stop to the adventure.
Once this year's Tide ended, he planned to head back to that tavern to pick up a new quest and see what lay farther afield.
Picking up the rifle propped against the side, he stepped across the rutted wheel tracks at the crossroads and went to rejoin Starry River waiting nearby.
Chapter 613