*Verdict in the Printing Factory Arson Case*
[The suspect, surnamed Sun, pleaded guilty in court. Given that no severe consequences resulted and the victim granted forgiveness, he was sentenced to three years of fixed-term imprisonment under the Alliance's penal code. In accordance with his personal wishes and the recommendation of his unit, the court has assigned him to serve his sentence in the Southern Construction Corps, dispatching him to the Alliance's frontier for development...]
Zhang Hai's Ramen Shop.
Patrons flipping through newspapers buzzed with discussion, all talking about the high-profile case that had unfolded in court the previous day.
Also sitting in the ramen shop, browsing *Survivor Daily*, Big Eye felt a lingering dread creeping up, a cold chill running down the back of his neck.
Even though he hadn't been the loudest voice in the protest, he had definitely tossed a stick of firewood onto the blaze.
Slurping noodles beside him, Elaina teased with a comical smirk.
"Think how nice it would've been if you hadn't fired that shot back then."
Construction Site Youth and Brick sighed as well.
"Yeah, seriously. You got a perfectly fine young man thrown in the slammer."
Guiltily, Indebted Big Eye defended himself.
"I already told you, those were blanks! Besides, I wasn't even the first one to start hyping the crowd up."
Honestly, this game was ridiculously impressive.
A short three-page newspaper had triggered such an intricate chain reaction that he could actually follow the aftermath of that arson case right in the pages of *Survivor Daily*.
Incidentally, perhaps provoked by the *Qingquan City Daily*, today's *Survivor Daily* had run a special column dedicated to Xiao Yu, debunking a whole series of sensational rumors that had stirred up a storm across town.
The writer was none other than Dolly, formerly of Boulder City's *Survivor Daily*, who boasted quite a following in both Boulder City and Dawn City.
Once the public learned that Xiao Yu had lived in Dawn City for quite a long time before becoming a broodmother, had never harmed anyone, and that its primary body was kept under strict containment on Floor B6 of Shelter 404, the vast majority tossed their misgivings aside.
It was common knowledge that the Administrator resided in Shelter 404.
If even their esteemed Administrator wasn't worried about it suddenly running amok, why should people living up on the surface lose sleep over it?
Just as before.
Those admirable shelter residents continued, as always, to walk ahead of everyone else, confronting the most perilous abyss head-on.
Since the people standing closest to danger weren't afraid, the folks behind them had even less reason to fear.
Not many people in the ramen shop were talking about the column on Xiao Yu. In contrast, most focused on the arson case from two nights prior, expressing sympathy for the young man shipped off to the frontier.
Indebted Big Eye felt quite guilty himself.
If only he'd kept a cooler head that night...
Watching Big Eye's brooding face, Zhang Hai smiled as he pulled a batch of noodles.
"You guys just have too much free time! Whenever an event isn't running, all you do is plot trouble. Why not learn from yours truly and find something meaningful to do?"
Indebted Big Eye curled his lip.
"...Tch, what's so great about pulling noodles?"
Zhang Hai chuckled.
"Hey, don't look down on this craft of mine. Once I pull ten million bowls here, I'll be able to save up for something way more badass than a photolithography machine."
Something way more badass than a photolithography machine?
Indebted Big Eye stared blankly, having no idea what kind of nonsense the guy was spouting.
Then again, that was normal.
Every player understood the game differently, so their playstyles naturally varied wildly.
Having finished his meal, Indebted Big Eye tallied up the bill. Two large bowls of beef ramen came out to exactly ten silver coins, so he grandly slapped ten coins onto the table.
"Check, please. Keep the change!"
"Much obliged!" Zhang Hai grinned cheekily as he swept the silver coins into a drawer. "Come back next time, eh? I'll cook you some noodles down below."
Elaina, in the middle of slurping noodles, snorted with a pfft and nearly sent them shooting out his nose, quickly breaking into a couple of dry coughs.
Feeling taken advantage of, Big Eye rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Piss off!"
Construction Site Youth and Brick: "Pfft!"
Makka Pakka: "Bwahaha!"
The ramen shop filled with cheerful banter. The NPCs, unable to understand Mandarin, looked over with curious glances, not knowing what was so funny.
Yet even without shared words, joy wasn't something that relied solely on language to travel. Watching those amusing folks, genuine smiles broke out on many faces.
Come to think of it, today truly was a day worth celebrating.
To honor the victory against the Tide and commemorate the end of a two-century struggle, grand celebrations were being held across all Alliance settlements.
Rumor had it that the esteemed Administrator would make an appearance at the upcoming award ceremony.
Many patrons instinctively quickened the pace of their noodle slurping, planning to squeeze into a prime spot on the square so they could catch a glimpse of the great man up close.
...
Nine o'clock.
There was still an hour before the much-anticipated celebration officially began, but Dawn City's main thoroughfares were already packed shoulder-to-shoulder.
Standing on the edge of the crowd and looking outward, the entire road from the commercial street to the square was jammed with a dense sea of people, leaving barely an inch of open ground.
Among them were local survivors from Dawn City, visitors from Boulder City over a dozen kilometers away, and even travelers who had taken flights all the way from distant Yunjian Province.
The settlement's actual population far exceeded the registered figure of one hundred thousand; factoring in the floating population pushed the total to at least double that number.
"Holy crap! Look at all these people!"
Squeezed in the middle of the crowd, Yaya's face flushed with excitement. She repeatedly rose onto tiptoes to peer toward the front of the line.
At 1.8 meters tall, seeing over the crowd was fairly easy for her. As for Ms. Tengteng, who had come along with her, she had given up all hope, casually sipping from a cup of pearl milk tea as she followed behind Hua Hua in her maid outfit.
"Seriously. Dawn City keeps getting livelier... It was just a tiny village back then, and in only two years it's blown up into this."
Come to think of it, real-world milk tea shops had even expanded into the game lately.
Those newbies were real geniuses.
Why hadn't she thought of milk tea as a moneymaker before?
Drinking that stuff in the game meant you could chug as many cups as you wanted without worrying about excessive sugar intake. After all, dying once refreshed the character's body anyway.
"By the way, Tengteng, can you even see where you're going?" Yaya asked with concern, noticing Tengteng's field of view was entirely swallowed by the crowd.
Tengteng replied with complete indifference.
"Doesn't matter. You and Hua Hua are paving the way ahead anyway."
Yaya blinked in wide-eyed astonishment.
"Eek! You woman, you're using me!"
Tengteng countered with utter righteousness.
"How can you call it using? It's called making optimal use of resources..."
Yaya: "That makes it sound even worse!"
"Oh, please, go complain to the damn devs then. And while you're at it, ask them to transfer half your meat over to me, thanks."
With that, Tengteng cast a casual glance at Yaya's absurdly oversized character model. Though she silently told herself there was nothing to envy, she still couldn't help clicking her tongue in her head.
It wasn't out of jealousy or envy, nor was it nitpicking. It was a heartfelt complaint from the standpoint of realism—
How could anyone be that big in real life?
It makes zero sense!
Thinking about her own game avatar, Tengteng, who normally didn't care much, couldn't resist gnashing down vindictively on the tapioca pearls in her mouth.
Yet Yaya completely failed to grasp her feelings and chuckled sheepishly.
"I'll pass on that... Hehe, I'm pretty happy with my avatar. It feels totally different from real life."
"Tch, thirst-trapper."
"!!! That's uncalled for!"
Unable to tell that the two were merely bantering, Hua Hua turned back toward her employer, Miss Tengteng, with a worried look. Assuming Tengteng was upset about not being able to see, she said in a hushed voice:
"Miss Tengteng, how about... you ride on my shoulders? That way you should be able to see."
Picturing that scene, Tengteng's brows twitched violently.
"Ugh!"
"Bwahaha!" Seeing Tengteng look as though an arrow had pierced her chest, Yaya clutched her stomach and laughed until it hurt.
Looking at Yaya's exaggerated reaction in bewilderment, Hua Hua thought she had made a fool of herself and turned back to Tengteng at a loss.
"...Miss Tengteng?"
"Sh-shut up!"
Slurping up the last drop of milk tea with a loud hiss, Tengteng turned her head away stubbornly.
"I like it down here... The air is fresher below."
Yaya: "Bwahaha—ouch! Why'd you hit me?!"
Flustered and exasperated, Tengteng thrust her tiny clenched fist forward again.
"That's for laughing at me!"
The playful scuffling on the street was just a brief interlude, an inconspicuous ripple amidst the surging ocean of people.
It wasn't just NPCs gathering toward the square; players were also flocking in droves toward the bustling city center.
Watching Ye Shi peer into the crowd, Jiang Xuezhou, standing beside him, couldn't resist giving him a poke.
"Hey, what are you looking for?"
"Nothing. Thought I heard someone I know." Ye Shi scratched the back of his head and withdrew his gaze from the packed street.
Probably just his imagination.
Sometimes having high Perception wasn't an entirely good thing. For instance, walking down the street, he often felt like someone behind him was calling him handsome.
Seeing his distracted demeanor, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help reminding him:
"Don't forget your assignment! You're my bodyguard right now, so you should pay more attention to me. If something happens to me—"
"How could anything happen?" Ye Shi chuckled. "This is Dawn City. There are at least a dozen drones with wide-angle cameras buzzing around overhead. If anyone makes trouble, they'll be taken down in minutes."
He certainly hadn't forgotten his mission: serving as guide and bodyguard during the Academy researcher's visit, while gathering intel on the Academy on the side.
Lately, the Alliance seemed interested in establishing a special economic zone in or near Binghai City under the Science Committee. The Administrator had dropped more than one hint for him to chat with her about that settlement to see if he could fish for inside information.
Still, truth be told, this girl was ridiculously timid. She hadn't seemed this panicked while delving into ruins, yet she had turned paranoid the moment they entered a safe zone.
"What if something does happen?! Even with cameras, they only help after the fact!" Jiang Xuezhou flushed, arguing back. "I-I'm an Academy researcher after all! Do you know how many people on the wasteland covet the treasures we carry? Could you take this a little more seriously?"
"All right, all right, esteemed Miss Researcher..." Ye Shi looked at her helplessly and continued, "Where would you like to stroll next?"
Jiang Xuezhou lowered her head in thought for a moment before looking aside and murmuring:
"Let's head to the square first... Isn't there an award ceremony?"
"Oh, that..." Ye Shi registered what she meant and grinned. "That's fine. I can just have a buddy pick it up for me."
The digital medals highlighted on the official forums had already been distributed when the expansion concluded.
Although game custom called for a more formal award ceremony where the Administrator personally presented physical medals to outstanding players, attendance wasn't mandatory. Given the sheer number of decorated players, not everyone would get much time in the spotlight. Those who found it troublesome could simply have an NPC deliver it to their "coffin."
It was remarkably user-friendly.
Ye Shi had attended every single award ceremony before, but this time he was genuinely too lazy to bother, preferring to leave the bragging rights to the newbies.
Yet seeing his careless attitude, Jiang Xuezhou knit her brows.
"How can you do that?! You barely escaped with your life from that broodmother's digestive tract! How could you surrender such a great chance to stand out to someone else?"
"Uh, the situation back then wasn't really as perilous as you think..." Seeing her furrowed brow, Ye Shi muttered with some embarrassment, "Of course, a lot of that was thanks to the gear you gave me... It worked great, so thanks!"
Jiang Xuezhou's lips curved slightly.
"Hmph, naturally. I'm a genius who earned researcher status before turning twenty! Even across the entire Academy, I'm practically one in a million."
Seriously?
Ye Shi glanced at her in surprise, but didn't pursue the topic.
Her expression was looking increasingly smug.
"Do you really want to see me go on stage and receive that medal?"
Jiang Xuezhou took it as a given.
"Of course! It's not just your honor—part of it belongs to me too, you know!"
Met by those bright eyes staring straight at him, Ye Shi felt his heart rate suddenly pick up, and he hastily shifted his gaze away.
"Fine, fine, fine... I'll go, okay?"
Sheesh!
It was just going on stage to pick up an award.
What was the big deal?
At any rate, Ye Shi didn't consider it anything major, but seeing him agree, Jiang Xuezhou curled her lips into a delighted smile.
"Now that's more like it! You need to seize opportunities like this in the future! Honestly, can't you show a little ambition? Having me worry about this for you!"
Ye Shi gave her a helpless look.
"Does it even do anything?"
"How could it not?!"
Jiang Xuezhou stared at him earnestly, rambling off like a machine gun.
"Do you want to spend your entire life taking on such dangerous missions? Life is fragile, and good luck runs out eventually! Take advantage of your youth to rack up merits so you can work your way into management later. Then you won't have to handle all that dangerous, dirty, exhausting grunt work... Hey, I'm talking to you completely seriously here! Would it kill you to listen to my advice for once?"
Ye Shi had originally wanted to explain that he was actually quite content with his current lifestyle. But thinking it over, it wasn't easy to articulate, so he gave up on convincing her and sighed.
"Right, right, right... you're totally right."
You couldn't describe ice to a summer insect.
To players, adventure was a reward, and death was merely a respawn.
He figured even if he somehow climbed into the so-called "management," he probably wouldn't abandon this thrilling, heart-pounding lifestyle anyway.
Still, for NPCs, life came only once; he could fully understand their worry and fear toward death.
Furthermore, people from the Academy were different from wastelanders elsewhere. Not only did they suffer from severe paranoia because their "implants were expensive," but they also harbored an almost fanatical obsession with K points, G points, and promotions.
In layman's terms, they were hyper-competitive grindaholics.
Come to think of it, it made sense.
With the way they operated, low-ranking D-tiers were treated like cannon fodder. Without clawing their way ashore, they could never gain true security.
They had to either break out or climb up. Being ordered around by supervisors to plunge into tombs would get them killed sooner or later.
Watching Jiang Xuezhou looking inexplicably thrilled that he had finally "matured," Ye Shi scratched the back of his head in bewilderment.
Had he just been shown genuine concern by a fictional character?
To keep players from slacking off, Brother Guang had truly pulled out all the stops...
Chapter 653