On a street not far from the square, Mosquito—who was selling fireworks from the bed of a truck—was caught red-handed by patrolling players wearing armbands that read "Celebration Autonomous Management Committee."
Passing pedestrians crowded around, packing the street to watch the commotion with curiosity.
"Fuck! What's wrong with me selling a few fireworks?! Why can everyone else sell them, but not me?!" Mosquito yelled, trying to exonerate himself as he was grabbed.
The two players holding his arms didn't give him any face at all, barking back without mercy:
"You've got some nerve!"
"Is that shit you're selling even fireworks?!"
Elaina rummaged through the stall, picked up a rocket with a caliber as thick as a calf, and clicked his tongue.
"Hail 1.0 rocket... Hasn't this thing been retired yet?"
A Katyusha rocket with distinct Alliance characteristics.
He remembered using this very weapon back when they fought the Bone Chewer tribe. Who would've thought that here in Wasteland Era 213, it would still be around?
Mosquito gave a chuckle. Far from being embarrassed, he looked rather proud.
"Damn right! Simple, crude weapons are the best. Tweak the propellant a bit, and it'll last into the next century."
Building a Pigeon missile required hundreds of supporting industries, but building a luck-guided rocket only took a small workshop.
Of course, that obviously wasn't the issue.
Elaina rolled his eyes and tossed the rocket back onto the stall, giving the watching crowd a fright.
And that wasn't all.
Construction Site Boy and Bricks rummaged through the truck bed for a moment, then suddenly widened his eyes in shock and emerged shouldering a launch tube.
"Holy shit, you even have a recoilless rifle?!"
The players wearing armbands that read "Celebration Autonomous Management Committee" immediately glared at Brother Mosquito with hostile eyes.
Elaina stared in disbelief, then turned to Mosquito.
"Good grief, man. Are you clearing out an arms stockpile here?!"
Sweating bullets under all those piercing gazes, Mosquito coughed dryly and hurriedly explained:
"Ahem... That's just the launch tube! Try it and you'll see—it actually fires festival fireworks! How the hell could I be selling real weapons here?!"
Of course...
It wasn't as if he hadn't toyed with the idea of taking advantage of the celebration to promote Goblin Tech's munitions.
What if?
What if someone saw the Alliance's overwhelming firepower during the fireworks show and suddenly took an interest in Goblin Tech weapons?
Surely someone would!
However, Brother Mosquito's excuse failed to convince everyone—or at least, it failed to convince the two players wearing the Celebration Autonomous Management Committee armbands.
The two Strength-type beasts grabbed his arms from either side and, ignoring his wildly flailing mechanical arms, hauled him off toward the police station.
"Explain it to the guard!"
"Take him away!"
"Let me go! I've done meritorious service for the Alliance! I've shed blood for the Alliance! I want to see the Manager—!"
"Behave yourself!"
Watching the guy get carried away while howling at the top of his lungs, Dolly, walking through the crowd, whispered in mild surprise:
"What did he... do wrong?"
Her gossip radar pinged!
She smelled news!
Seeing curiosity twinkling in Dolly's eyes, Fang Chang coughed softly and tightened his grip on the small hand tucked into his arm.
"Who knows... Alright, alright, let's leave him be. The fireworks show is about to start. You don't want to miss it, do you?"
He wasn't the least bit surprised by Brother Mosquito's antics. If that guy ever spent a day behaving himself, that would actually be news.
"It's starting?! Where, where?"
Hearing about the fireworks, Dolly instantly lost interest in the commotion and looked up at the night sky, excitement flushing her cheeks.
To her, the fireworks of Dawn City held a special meaning.
That had been the happiest moment of her life.
Seeing the blush spreading across her cheeks, Fang Chang smiled knowingly and gently squeezed her hand.
"I'll take you somewhere with a better view... Come with me."
...
At eight o'clock, the cannons of the Heart of Steel pointed toward the night sky, signaling the start of the fireworks display with an illumination flare.
This was Xiao Qi's show.
Bursts of shimmering sparks spread vibrant colors across the night sky, weaving into a brilliant sea of blooming flowers under her direction.
Even though tonight would burn through hundreds of thousands of silver coins, Chu Guang didn't feel the least bit of heartache. The smiles on the people's faces were worth far more than that.
Countless survivors had been drawn to settle here by Dawn City's prosperity—a wealth that could never be measured in currency.
Besides, seeing Xiao Qi have so much fun brought him joy as well.
Money only had meaning when it was spent, and Chu Guang was more than happy to spend some to make his little players and NPCs happy.
Looking up at the fireworks flashing across the night sky, Xiao Yang, standing in the crowd holding a stick of cotton candy, was filled with wonder.
"What is that?"
"Those are fireworks."
Beside her stood her father, Yang He, watching the sky with a smile.
Xiao Yang gave him a puzzled look and blinked.
"Why do they set off fireworks?"
Yang He pondered for a moment before answering gently:
"One legend says that the Alliance was born in fire, like a phoenix rising from the ashes... So whenever the people here overcome a great hardship, they celebrate their victory with flames."
Xiao Yang nodded, only half understanding.
"So that's why..."
"It's just a rumor," Yang He smiled, looking down at his lovely daughter. "Of course, there's another explanation: that it's a custom brought from the Era of Prosperity by the blue coats, commemorating an era that was as brief and beautiful as fireworks."
Xiao Yang took a bite of cotton candy, curiosity and confusion still plain on her face; clearly, at her age, she couldn't grasp such words.
She had grown up on Pinecone Wood Farm and had never seen novelty like this before.
Though she had lived in the Alliance for less than two months, she could already sense that the things people talked about and thought about here were entirely different from back home.
And there was so much delicious food.
No wonder her father hadn't wanted to go back, and had always thought of taking her away from the farm.
Xiao Yang couldn't help thinking of Yinyin, wondering how she was doing now, and then wishing she could share this white, fluffy sweet treat with her.
Looking at the innocent child, Yang He smiled with relief and gently ruffled his daughter's hair.
"You don't need to think so much about it. Just standing under the light and enjoying the view is wonderful enough."
Children weren't supposed to know so much anyway; some things should only be understood naturally as one grew older.
He felt no pride in early maturity—only guilt that he owed her far too much...
Not far from them, Shuanghe held her little sister Shuangye's hand, excitedly counting the sparks trailing down from the sky.
Shuangxue gazed up at the Heart of Steel, faint blushes coloring her cheeks, lost in thoughts of her own.
Meanwhile, upstairs in the embassy building of the Honey Badger Kingdom, Avni sat by the window, likewise gazing at the starlit, flashing sky.
Her eyes, reflecting the fireworks, held admiration and yearning for such beauty and prosperity, but also a faint trace of wistfulness.
If only I could stand beside him to enjoy this sight...
Beside the highway in the eastern suburbs of Dawn City, a Titan overgrown with pale-red slime mold and mottled rust stood tall, lifting travelers and children high into the air with its massive palms. From time to time, it let out metallic chirps and hums, having the time of its life without a shred of its former ferocity.
The one controlling it was Xiao Yu, while Luo Yu stood not far away, tossing candies into its mouth now and then with a knowing smile.
Having just climbed down from its palm, Dolly beamed with astonished delight and hugged Fang Chang, who had helped her down, planting a fierce kiss on his cheek.
"Eewoo! (Me too!)"
Seeing Xiao Yu stir restlessly and try to lean in, Luo Yu hastily soothed it:
"No, Xiao Yu, this fruiting body is too big. You'll hurt someone."
"Eewoo..." Xiao Yu whined aggrievedly, but obediently went back to acting as an elevator for the children.
Catching sight of this scene by chance, envoys from other settlements were frightened out of their wits.
Especially the delegation from the Bugra Free State.
They had come bearing gifts, intending to offer congratulations while sounding out the Alliance to see if they could fulfill the mission assigned to them by the Great Rift Valley. They never expected to witness something so shocking!
The Alliance could actually use mutant slime mold to control war machines from the Era of Prosperity!
Although they didn't know the exact combat capability of this Titan, this fact alone was enough to warrant their utmost attention...
And not far from the Titan, a group of gnawers dressed in bizarre costumes were performing human pyramids, stilt-walking, and juggling under the direction of In Debt God.
Looking at the mountain of silver coins tossed on the ground, Big Eye grinned from ear to ear, gradually losing himself amid the cheers and jeers of the crowd.
Relying on tips from the spectators, he had raked in several thousand silver coins at the very least. With just a little more effort, he could earn back all the money he spent buying these useless creatures!
I'm a fucking genius!
...
In the lobby of the Highway Town inn, cups and plates lay in disarray as glasses clinked together. People raised their drinks one after another to celebrate this momentous occasion.
"A toast to the Alliance!"
"A toast to the Manager!"
"Let's hope the next celebration this lively is for his child's one-month milestone!"
"Hahaha! That's probably a long way off!"
"To his health and longevity!"
Not everyone was interested in the fireworks outside. Single dogs like Lao Bai and Brother Edge, for instance, preferred sitting in the tavern drinking and shooting the breeze.
Looking at the bustling room, Sun Shiqi, tipsy in a corner of the lobby, sighed with emotion to his drinking companions at the table:
"The changes here are bigger by the day. You know what? My proudest deal wasn't buying the Mighty Strength Steelworks from Fred. It was using the first pot of gold I made as a caravan trader to buy a piece of land right by Dawn City's central square, where I built a building and a warehouse... Shame that warehouse is a bit far from the trading post. I'm thinking of turning it into storefronts."
Sitting across from him, Zhou Nan rolled his eyes.
"Quit showing off! If you're not happy with it, you can sell it to me!"
Sun Shiqi laughed. "Haha! Not a chance!"
The drinking buddies around the table all knew he was showing off, but aside from envy, there was nothing they could say.
The man's vision and guts were indeed undeniable.
Two years ago, if a traveling merchant made a bit of money, the first thought was always to exchange it for chips and buy property in Boulder City. Nobody would have dreamed of building houses in the desolate northern suburbs, even if those blue coats did seem different from the others.
The nobles of the inner city might play dirty, but at least their fists were hard enough, and compared to the slave traders and marauders of the wasteland, they were far more orderly.
Yet no one could have predicted that in just two short years, this settlement would develop into what it was today—turning heads even among residents of Ideal City!
At that moment, in an inconspicuous corner of the lobby, Sun Yuechi was flipping through the front page of today's latest newspaper with a thoughtful expression.
He had initially thought the Alliance would walk Boulder City's old path, but now it seemed they were not what he had imagined.
When choosing between the authority of individuals and the authority of the law, they had chosen the latter without hesitation.
Even more surprising to him, behind this incident, he saw not only immense cohesion, but also an incredible capacity for self-repair.
After learning what had happened to Shelter 117, he had studied Boulder City's society in depth.
That settlement had also been led by a group of heroes, using immense cohesion to attract countless visionary minds and forging a history that was nothing short of miraculous. Alas, in the end, those survivors still lost to time.
"They're like slime mold. When pierced by a bullet, they quickly repair the wound and evolve armor resistant to piercing damage... Far more incredible than sheer cohesion is their error-correcting capability. They are constantly evolving."
A smile touched Sun Yuechi's lips. He folded the newspaper, left payment for his bill, and got up to walk out of the inn.
This place was not as chaotic as he had thought, nor was that Manager merely a warlord dressed in borrowed robes as he had originally assumed.
Compared to the Era of Prosperity, there were obviously many shortcomings here, but they were willing to change, and willing to let people witness that change.
Perhaps...
Shelter 70 could give him a hand.
After all, he couldn't find a better candidate anyway.
...
After watching Xiao Qi's fireworks show, Chu Guang went to the Alliance banquet hall to accept compliments from other survivor settlements across the wasteland on behalf of the Alliance.
In truth, he had little personal interest in showing off, and receiving delegations from other settlements could easily have been handled by the foreign minister. But considering this was an excellent opportunity to rally diplomatic support for the Alliance, he deigned to make an appearance.
Otherwise, with all the money spent on massive construction projects and fighting wars to the north and south, who was going to foot the bill?
Soon, the Alliance would have to march south again to deal with the malignant tumor festering across Jinchuan and Haiya Provinces—another considerable expense.
When doing such great deeds for the benefit of all humanity, he couldn't very well pay for it out of his own pocket, could he?
Rather than spending his own money to do good deeds anonymously, Chu Guang far preferred spending other people's money with great fanfare under the guise of charity.
The very first thing after establishing the cross-regional cooperation organization would be defining the division of labor among member states, as well as securing the Alliance's leading role in "slime-mold-related affairs."
Once that was done, he would immediately move on to the second task: declaring the Church of the Torch—which used slime mold DNA to create hell on earth—a cancer on human civilization, the crisis of this game!
This casus belli might not do much to unite the wastelander-founded settlements like the Red River Alliance, Junk City, and the various states of Sunset Province, but for the ancient survivor factions, it possessed an inherent, undeniable righteousness.
Even if a casus belli perched atop the moral high ground couldn't persuade the Academy and the Enterprise to commit fully against the Church of the Torch, it could at least mobilize a fraction of their society's power, which in turn could be leveraged to rally small and medium-sized settlements surrounding the River Valley Province.
When that time came, the Alliance's diplomats could go boast to other settlements: Look, even the Fallen Empires are joining in. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if you didn't even grab an assist?
At that point, the war between the Alliance and the Torch would no longer be a unilateral fight, but a confrontation between the entire camp of civilization and the anti-civilization camp.
Those with money would give money; those with muscle would give muscle. Not only would the colossal war expenditures be covered, but the Alliance's chariot would also gain a tech-providing ally.
To maximize the utility of the "Joint Processing Center" on floor B7, the Academy's technology was indispensable.
Just as Chu Guang expected, the moment he stepped into the banquet hall clad in power armor, he immediately became the center of attention.
Present here, aside from representatives of the Academy and the Enterprise, were envoys from many settlements Chu Guang had never even heard of.
Of course, what surprised him even more was that Xiao Qi had just whispered to him that the envoy from the Bugra Free State had actually arrived as well.
If the news was true, this would be the first time an envoy from the Free State had ever come to the Alliance.
Since neither side had established embassies yet, the envoy representing the Free State received the exact same treatment as envoys from other small-to-medium settlements visiting for the first time: entering the hall wearing a "temporary ID badge."
The Alliance's screening of banquet attendees was exceptionally lenient. Players who had earned merit in the expansion could enter, old friends with formal diplomatic ties could enter, and envoys visiting the Alliance for the first time could enter as well.
As long as the Alliance trading post's import-export records contained the name of that settlement, and the envoy could circle their settlement's location on a map, state how many survivors lived there, and bring along a courtesy gift, they were welcome to come in and enjoy the free food and drinks.
Although there had been cases of people posing as envoys before, or communities of a few dozen pretending to be settlements of tens of thousands, nobody cared.
Envoys in Dawn City were as common as ox hair; if someone wanted to pretend, let them pretend!
In Chu Guang's words: anyone who came was a guest. He wasn't hurting for the cost of a meal anyway, and trading a meal for a gift to put on display in a museum wasn't a loss.
Besides, this was the wasteland.
Though the Alliance had established order within a limited territory, most places remained in a state of barbarism. A settlement that existed yesterday might vanish tomorrow, and a settlement that didn't exist today might spring up tomorrow.
Therefore, Chu Guang had specifically instructed the Alliance Ministry of Foreign Affairs that if someone claimed to come from a certain settlement, whether anyone had heard of it or not, they should treat it as real for the time being.
Still, recognition was one thing; settlements with which the Alliance actually established formal diplomatic relations were survivor factions that conducted a substantial volume of trade with the Alliance's settlements. They couldn't let random wastelanders from who-knows-where dupe them with nonsense.
Under these circumstances, the Bugra Free State envoy entering with a temporary ID badge was without question an oddity in the banquet hall.
Their monthly trade volume with the Alliance amounted to at least tens of millions of Cr, yet because they had no formal diplomatic ties, no one could confirm whether his identity was genuine or fake. Issuing him a temporary badge was the best they could do without being disrespectful.
In fact, not only did the master of ceremonies and the Alliance's foreign minister doubt the guy's identity, but even the envoys from small settlements didn't believe he was actually from the Free State.
Watching that lone figure standing in the banquet hall, a well-dressed, half-drunk man strolled over and teased with a laugh:
"Hey buddy, not bad! Everyone else makes up a name from some backwater corner to score free food and drinks, but you went straight for the Free State! Aren't you worried about the embarrassment if your cover gets blown?"
Noreg looked at the rude fellow with irritation, but recalling Mayor Otto's instructions, he suppressed his temper and calmly extended his right hand.
"I am Noreg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Free State. And you are?"
Seeing the man's drunken state, he certainly didn't look like anyone respectable, and Noreg's eyes couldn't help showing a hint of disdain.
Talking about freeloading—could anyone look more like a freeloading moocher than this guy?
"Pleased to meet you, pleased to meet you! Yours truly is from Ideal City. I'm Luo Hua, Chairman of the Enterprise's Council." The man grinned cheekily and shook his hand with a pump.
Watching this man lie through his teeth, Noreg rolled his eyes and yanked his hand back in a flash, as though he had touched something filthy.
He was the foreign minister appointed by Otto, belonging to the pro-Enterprise faction in the Free State. He had been to Ideal City countless times and understood Ideal City better than the people of Ideal City themselves.
He had only ever heard of a Council there; he had never heard of any "Chairman of the Council."
Who was he trying to fool?!
Luo Hua didn't care in the slightest, laughing heartily. After all, he truly had been joking—and he truly was here to mooch free food and drinks.
Right at that moment, Noreg spotted Chu Guang walking into the banquet hall entrance. His eyes instantly lit up, and he immediately pasted on a polite smile and hurried over.
"Greetings, esteemed Manager! A pleasure to meet you for the first time. I am Noreg, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Free State. I've heard so much about you!"
Chu Guang wasn't sure whether this guy was real or fake either, but he still extended his steel-clad hand to shake his.
"Welcome to the Alliance, Minister Noreg. I've heard of the Free State's prosperity and the commercial miracles of the Northern Corridor. We welcome all law-abiding merchants and travelers to visit us."
Though Chu Guang was merely reciting polite pleasantries, the words took on a completely different meaning in Noreg's ears.
Conditioned to reflexively think of the Sindisen case that had stirred up such a furor back in the Free State, his expression stiffened slightly.
Yet remembering the Great Rift Valley's instructions and Mayor Otto's orders, Noreg swallowed his emotions and forced an awkward yet polite smile onto his face.
"Of course... Our merchants are strictly law-abiding."
Chu Guang gave him an odd look, unable to fathom why the man was oddly emphasizing that point out of nowhere. But before Chu Guang could dwell on it, he noticed an old acquaintance standing nearby.
"Luo Hua?!"
"Chu Guang! Haha, my old friend, I knew you'd show up here! It's been too long! By the way, I brought you some good news—this time, you absolutely have to have a drink with me!"
Holding his glass, Luo Hua greeted him enthusiastically. Meanwhile, Noreg, standing beside them, was struck dumb.
That guy is actually named Luo Hua?!
Wait—
Could "Chairman of the Council" be real too?!
Watching the Alliance Manager smile, take a glass, and share a drink with that man, Noreg was utterly dumbfounded...
Chapter 655