After the meeting.
Including reporters from Ideal City, Li Ke from the Academy, and other people who had nothing to do with the ceasefire negotiations, almost everyone left the meeting room contentedly.
Except for the representatives of the Legion.
Cohen sat motionless in his seat, staring angrily at Chu Guang who was sitting across the negotiation table.
Including the Weilant officers standing behind him, their angry expressions were as if they wanted to eat him.
Only Chu Guang was confused, not knowing how he had offended these big noses.
Fortunately, Cohen did not let him guess, and vented his anger directly.
"I am very dissatisfied with your wording. We have an unconditional ceasefire. There is no winner or loser in this war. You shouldn't use the word victory!"
That's it...
Chu Guang sighed in his heart.
Everyone agreed to win their own battles. What's wrong with me saying something to my subordinates?
And it's not like I didn't give you a chance to speak.
It was you who insisted on showing off. Who can you blame for dismissing this opportunity with a sentence "You talk too much nonsense"?
If I had known that you were so petty, I should have taken 19 pens, changed a pen after writing a stroke, and tortured you for a few more minutes.
The extra ones can be used for the lottery.
What a loss!
"This is indeed not appropriate," Wu Changnian coughed, glanced at Chu Guang next to him, and said indifferently, "This is a ceasefire negotiation. Using the word victory... will cause misunderstanding."
Looking at the hostile eyes shot across the negotiation table, Chu Guang didn't take it to heart and said indifferently.
"What does it matter? Does the Ideal City media have a branch in Triumph City?"
Wu Changnian thought about it and nodded.
"That's true."
He was also a little surprised that Cohen would react so strongly to that sentence. It was obvious that he was talking to his subordinates. It would be a bit too much to get angry.
However, from the perspective of the company, he still had to say something to smooth things over. After all, the ceasefire agreement had been signed, and it would be bad for no one to cause trouble at this time.
Cohen looked at Chu Guang coldly, and finally snorted, stood up with his hands on the table, grabbed his own ceasefire agreement, and left the meeting room with a group of officers without looking back.
The players who were eager to try showed disappointed expressions, especially a few guys who were watching the fun.
It seems that the gold coins of these old guys will not explode...
Watching the desolate backs of those people leave, Chu Guang looked at Wu Changnian who was sitting next to him.
"Have you got the coordinates of the Pioneer crew?"
Wu Changnian nodded.
"They have already given it to us. The 26th Commando has arrived near the target area under the leadership of Yunsong. The entrance to Shelter No. 0 is also there. There is a mutant tribe nearby. The Corps has terminated the mercenary contract with them, and we can deal with those mutants at will."
Chu Guang said with a subtle expression.
"I was wondering before that the mutants in the Great Desert... would actually trade with humans."
Aren't humans just pure breeding tools and food in their eyes?
This sounds as strange as negotiating with the takeaway you ordered.
Wu Changnian shrugged his shoulders.
"I also find it strange, but according to the Corps' own explanation, General Kraus, the previous commander-in-chief of Luoxia Province, may have reached some agreement with those mutants. There were also mutant mercenaries in the expedition a year ago."
"And according to the intelligence we have obtained, the fearless attack method and terrifying self-healing ability of those mutant mercenaries are difficult even for soldiers wearing power armor."
But it's just difficult.
The Death Corps had fought with those mutants.
According to Edgewater's own evaluation, those guys were just a group of elite monsters with slightly thicker health bars, not even as difficult as the group of elite Willant people they encountered on Hill 330.
After a pause, Wu Changnian continued.
"Cohen claimed that the marshal was not aware of this. Joseph should know something, but he is unwilling to talk about it... In any case, Kras is dead, Griffin is dead, and McLen is still alive, but he probably doesn't know much. This is not a glorious thing. They can't investigate it just for your curiosity."
Chu Guang raised his eyebrows.
"Does that mean we have to help them clean up their asses?"
Wu Changnian nodded.
"Yes."
Chu Guang said with a smile.
"Haha, they did a good job of cleaning up this pile of shit. What the previous term did is no longer the business of this term."
Wu Changnian nodded again and looked at the young ally seriously.
"Yes. Although you may know this, I still have to give you a piece of advice. Be careful of them, be careful of all of them. Regardless of the episode just now, they will not forget today's "shame". Once you show weakness and can be bullied, they will not hesitate to show their fangs and then be ready to move... They are a race designed for fighting. Griffin is, Cohen is, and everyone who comes here is."
This is also the reason why the Enterprise Support Alliance took over Bicester Town.
They need a trustworthy friend to help them watch over those dishonest Willant people.
The noise made by those guys has alerted the Council. The Great Desert cannot stop the ambitions of the Willant people. Even if it is just for the peace of Yunjian Province, they can't stay out of it completely.
Chu Guang curled his lips.
"No wonder they can get along with mutants."
"That's a different matter... But then again, I was also surprised when I came here. There are actually gray-black mutants in this wasteland."
Wu Changnian sighed and continued with emotion.
"I thought the blue mutants with gills were outrageous enough... How many secrets are there in this world that we don't know?"
Chu Guang disagreed with his words.
Whether it's green or blue, gray-black or colorful, as long as it's a mutant, he doesn't intend to keep any alive.
This kind of monster that ties plunder and reproduction together and writes it into its DNA along with hatred for humans should not exist in this world from the beginning.
They are like goblins.
Every mutant cub carries a blood debt behind him.
After seeing the hellish misery in the mutant nest on Street 76 in Qingquan City, he didn't intend to negotiate with any mutants.
Chu Guang couldn't help but clench his fists on his knees when he thought of his old friends on the Pioneer staying with those beasts.
"I have a small request."
"What request?" Wu Changnian's eyebrows twitched. He had a headache when he heard this guy say the words "request" and "suggestion".
However, to his surprise, this guy didn't say anything embarrassing this time.
"Before withdrawing from Oasis No. 2, I want to drive my Iron Heart a little further west to pick up our old friends home."
Wu Changnian was stunned, with a strange expression on his face.
What kind of strange request is this?
Although it was a bit strange, he certainly wouldn't refuse.
"No problem... I'd rather say thank you. The air flow environment in the Great Desert is very unstable, and the performance of the killer whale and the dragonfly is said to be very bad."
Chu Guang also smiled.
"Then let's put it this way."
...
Shortly after the ceasefire agreement was signed, the Enterprise troops stationed in Falcon City released the "migratory birds" to give wings to the news of victory.
The drones flew over the desert, over the river valley, through the mountains and rivers along the way, and finally arrived at the city-state located on the east coast shortly after dark.
Holographic fireworks were set off in the sky above Ideal City, and the Council Building in the center used an entire wall as a screen to show this historic moment to all the residents of Ideal City.
Including the speech of Wu Changnian, Deputy Minister of the Comprehensive Management Department.
Also including the words of his allies - the Alliance and the managers of Shelter No. 404.
"...I am honored to witness this moment with you."
"This is our victory!"
Yes.
This is victory!
The Weilants on the west coast were ashamed to admit the military failure in Luoxia Province. The euphemism was just a fig leaf for the losers. The expressions of those big noses signing the ceasefire agreement were the best proof.
For the spectators on the endpoint cloud, compared with the lengthy speech of Vice Minister Wu Changnian, Chu Guang's concise victory was obviously more popular.
Chu Guang didn't expect it.
He would become popular in Ideal City again because of a big truth without bragging.
The discussion area of "Battle Royale" operated by Skull Studio.
Because the identity of the developer of this game is too hardcore, it has attracted countless netizens who are not interested in virtual reality games but are very interested in the alliance.
The CEO named Xue Hongliang is also very good at dealing with things. He changed the title of the virtual community to "This is our victory!", which attracted the cheers of countless players and passers-by.
On this day worth celebrating, no one here is discussing the game. Almost everyone is cheering for the victory that has just arrived.
A group of weird virtual images cheered in the square.
"This is our victory!!!"
"Wake up, brother. The ground forces we sent out are only a commando and an experimental android force. What does the victory or defeat of this war have to do with us?"
"Doesn't this just show the wisdom of the Council? No resident of the ideal city sacrificed for this, and the final victory was won effortlessly!"
"Uh... a few people died on the way."
"Administrator, come and kick out this guy who can't read the atmosphere."
"Hahaha! I like their administrator! Compared to that guy... "I'm more attracted to the young handsome guys than the talkative middle-aged men in the room!"
"Wow, when will the flights to the Alliance be opened? I've never been to places outside the Cloud Province!"
"That might be a little difficult. I heard that the River Valley Province is the home of the Deathclaws. Even if the Alliance is our ally, it's a little dangerous to go to such a place."
"Anyway, thank God... our boss can finally come back to make games!"
"Look forward to it!"
"I hope he comes back alive."
...
"Night City" bar.
As the theme party of Victory Day, the BGM played today is a song "created" by the residents of Dawn City.
Figures swayed in the dance floor, and flashing and changing smiley symbols jumped on the LED masks. Under the flashing red, yellow and blue neon lights, the retro music rhythm unexpectedly matched the atmosphere of the carnival.
Sitting in the corner of the bar, Fang Chang quietly looked at the figures not far away, and couldn't help feeling a little regretful.
He probably missed the expansion pack of "Ten Thousand Miles of Yellow Sand".
However, he didn't waste these few months.
During the time of training and recharging at Yunjian University, he learned a lot of things that opened his eyes, including the popular business model in this city, including the common management methods here.
He can now be sure that among the developers of "Wasteland OL", there is at least a consulting team composed of experts in multiple fields such as politics, economy, military, history, culture, and religion to be responsible for modifying those details.
For example, the currency of the enterprise.
At first, he thought that the credit points abbreviated as Cr were just a game currency with a different skin, but after a deeper understanding, he found that the core of this thing actually coincided with the concept of "DeFi (decentralized finance)" in reality.
No.
This description is obviously an insult to Cr.
In reality, DeFi is still in the exploratory stage and is far from stable. Most digital currencies issued based on this theory are tricks of flying kites and cutting leeks, but in this virtual game, decentralized finance in the true sense has been realized on a small scale!
At least it has been realized in Ideal City and Cr.
For example, the most basic one is that every resident of Ideal City is the subject of credit currency issuance and also the guarantee of currency issuance.
In the traditional sense, central banks need to use various financial instruments to release money into the market. But whether it is lending money to enterprises to expand production or lending money to residents for consumption, the beer and foam poured on the top of the pyramid cannot benefit everyone on the pyramid equally.
It may even happen that some people don't drink beer, but drink a belly full of foam, and some people drink beer until they vomit and don't taste the foam at all.
But the ideal city based on the credit point framework is another situation.
The smart contract based on quantum algorithm programming guarantees the fairness of transactions, and the inherent properties of its credit currency and a series of financial rules determine that all people involved in production will benefit equally from the prosperity of production.
This system certainly has its shortcomings. Equality does not mean average. It is impossible for everyone to live in a room with windows and live on the upper floors of a building.
In addition, due to the limitations of this set of rules itself, it not only does not restrict monopolies, but even encourages mergers between "production departments" within enterprises.
So in places like ideal cities, the monopoly that has been formed is more difficult to break, and there is no force outside the rules to correct it.
Unless the monopolist itself is eliminated by the market due to an operational crisis or an accidental event, but this is basically difficult.
The council, whose seats are determined by shares, cannot promote laws to restrict monopolies. At most, it can only restrict the "production sector" that has already formed a monopoly through checks and balances, making it difficult for it to benefit by squeezing employees living in this system.
After all, in this peculiar economic system, every resident is the subject of currency and has become a part of currency.
From a philosophical point of view, although this has led to people being highly "monetized" by things like credit points and losing their human attributes, it can also be interpreted in another way as "liberating ordinary people from the debt relationship of the old era."
Everyone is his own creditor and will no longer be a slave to money, or a slave to others because of money.
In addition to the side effect of causing monopoly, the overly conservative credit expansion strategy has made it difficult for start-ups such as "Skull Studio" to stand out, and people who don't like to play by the rules or are not familiar with the rules find it difficult to adapt to life here.
But in contrast, the risks of the entire economic system have also been compressed to an astonishing degree.
In the past century and a half, this small society with a population of millions or even tens of millions has not experienced a real economic overheating or depression!
The entire system is running steadily upward, slowly but surely.
He has never seen an economic curve with such a stable slope!
In reality, if an economy of medium or larger size had such strong certainty, it would have stepped on the accelerator and accelerated without even a trace of ups and downs.
The slope is not aligned with the Y axis, which is simply a shame for this investment opportunity that is sure to make money. This "certain but slow" situation will never occur.
The most outrageous thing is that this unique economic system can be seamlessly connected with a group of old-time economies that follow traditions, including the Alliance!
Whether it is import and export business or foreign aid expenditure, it has no effect on the smooth operation of the entire economy.
There is no doubt that this is a model that does not exist in reality.
If this game is really as real as it claims, I am afraid that this special model alone is enough to drive economists around the world crazy!
Of course, this system built on Cr as the cornerstone is already so complicated that it is outrageous. Even the residents living in the ideal city probably only know the tip of the iceberg.
Not to mention that he was an outsider.
But just knowing a little bit about it shocked him.
In this half-year study, Fang Chang even had an illusion that some not-so-"avant-garde" sociological knowledge or experience might work in the real world.
Even if it only works in theory.
Since he became financially independent, he became a professional gamer out of interest and rarely paid attention to things in the financial field.
However, this game made him interested in the major he had given up, and even went to college in the game.
Life is really full of surprises...
At this time, the electronic wind chimes hanging at the door of the bar swayed gently, and a tall beauty walked in from outside.
Although Li Shuyue's appearance is not the most outstanding in Ideal City, where there are so many handsome men and beautiful women, her straight-cut, monotonous-colored OL formal suit and her unique capable temperament make her look very special in this cyberpunk bar.
So much so that Fang Chang saw her at a glance as soon as she entered the door.
Li Shuyue also saw the existence that was out of tune with the surroundings at a glance, and walked straight to the opposite side of him and sat on the automatically pulled-out chair.
"... The company meeting delayed me for a while, I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long, I'll treat you today."
"It's okay, there are still two minutes before the agreed time," Fang Chang said with a smile after looking at the holographic clock on the wall, "I actually just arrived a few minutes ago."
"Is this the only thing you want to say when you see me?"
"Thank you, Mr. Li, for the treat."
Li Shuyue rolled her eyes.
At this moment, she suddenly noticed the "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence" and "Introduction to Economics" on the table, as well as the school uniform of Yunjian University on his body. She couldn't help but burst out laughing and said in a teasing tone.
"You are reading this in a bar?"
"Just came out of night school," seeing her strange expression, Fang Chang shrugged his shoulders indifferently and said in a half-joking tone, "There is no way, we wastelanders from the countryside don't know the rules, we can only learn more while you are relaxing after get off work."
Li Shuyue suggested seriously.
"We are used to leaving professional matters to professionals. If you want to recharge during your rest time, I recommend you to take management as an elective."
Fang Chang said with a smile.
"That, I also chose it."
Li Shuyue: "..."
Seeing that she didn't speak, Fang Chang continued.
"Speaking of which, how did you think of discussing business here?"
Originally, he was planning to go to the library for a while and then log off, but he was suddenly called out by this guy and said he wanted to discuss business.
After he agreed, he found out that the location was actually in a "Night City" bar not far from the Yunjian University Building.
Li Shuyue replied casually.
"You won't go to a cafe at night."
"So why must it be at night?"
"No one expected you to win today, you should have told me in advance!" Li Shuyue said with some complaints.
Fang Chang smiled, but didn't say anything.
Of course he knew that the Alliance would win tonight, even before the news was sent back to Ideal City - he knew it the second the ceasefire agreement was officially signed.
However, the information exchange between players is not shared with NPCs outside the Alliance. Considering that the other party may have a relationship with the Council, he did not mention it.
If the Council misunderstands that he has a channel for information transmission that they don't understand, it may be a bit troublesome.
When he is not sure whether the other party will care about this detail, his habit is to treat it as "yes".
Seeing that Fang Chang did not intend to explain, although Li Shuyue felt a little depressed, he did not continue to dwell on this trivial matter.
After all, the other party is indeed not obliged to tell her inside information.
"In short, I hope to implement the business plan we have discussed before 12 o'clock this morning, using the draft you submitted to me last time... I still need you to check the details. If there are no accidents, use that one. I hope there are no accidents."
This is the first business cooperation between the company and the alliance. She has been preparing for this for several months, and she doesn't want to be preempted by other speculators who smell the fishy smell.
She has a hunch.
The alliance will become a new growth point for the company's overseas profits!
As she said, she took out a holographic computer pen from her briefcase and put it on the table, and handed him an AR glasses directly connected to the computer.
Although the draft is not a big business secret, it is not suitable for display in public after all.
Fang Chang, who took the glasses, couldn't help but complain in his heart.
The serious business cooperation was put in a bar. The party A is simply sick.
"Twelve o'clock in the morning... Is it okay so late?" Fang Chang asked casually while doing the final check, clicking on the pale blue holographic pop-up window and flipping through it.
"In this city, time is credit, and credit is everything... No matter how many professional books you read, it is better to remember this sentence."
Looking at the flashing words on the electronic screen not far away, Li Shuyue suddenly thought of something, waved to call the ordering robot, and tapped its head twice with her index finger.
Soon, two glasses of specially mixed liquor were served.
"By the way, I almost forgot, congratulations to you," looking at Fang Chang who was reviewing the manuscript seriously, Li Shuyue picked up one of the rainbow-colored cocktails, touched the edge of the other glass, and said with a light red lip, "Congratulations on your victory in the war."
"But your expression tells me that you are very sorry." Looking at her serious expression, Fang Chang couldn't help but make a joke to adjust the atmosphere.
"Yes," Li Shuyue rolled her eyes after taking a sip of cocktail, "I almost took in a homeless awakener."
"This joke is not funny at all."
If the fountain is pushed.
The server will be shut down.
However, he believes in his companions.
Those guys are not serious at ordinary times, but they never let him down when they need to be serious.
And he will not let them down either.
Smiling happily, Fang Chang picked up the wine glass on the table and raised it slightly.
"For our long-lasting friendship, and for the victory thousands of miles away--"
"Cheers!"
...
"Bang--!"
The gorgeous fireworks also bloomed in the sky above Dawn City.
Compared to the Ideal City, which was about to end in the first half of the night, the sky in the Valley Province was not so dark, but the lively atmosphere was not inferior in the slightest.
The streets of Dawn City were decorated with lights, and the residents of the shelters seemed to have known that victory would come today.
Although there was no holographic projection that could cover the entire sky, nor a "floor-to-ceiling screen" thousands of meters high, the excitement and joy in the hearts of the survivors living here were no less than those of their friends far away on the East Coast.
Especially the heat and excitement flowing in their veins, which were even stronger than those of the residents of Ideal City.
They were witnesses of this war!
They defeated the invincible Legion!
Even if it was just a short moment, they still accomplished a miracle that was almost impossible in the eyes of countless wastelanders - defeating the Legion on the front battlefield!
Those high-ranking heirs of the legacy are not invincible.
The Alliance has proved this.
As long as they unite, they can even defeat the Willant people in the areas where they are best and most proud!
Players may not have such a strong feeling in their hearts, but in the hearts of every survivor of the alliance, a hot mark has been unknowingly branded.
The young buds have broken through the hardened soil.
The old era is coming to an end.
What is leaving is not only the cold winter, but also the desolation in people's hearts.
The new protagonist will step onto the stage of history. It will be an era that belongs to all wastelanders, not just a few lucky ones.
Everyone firmly believes that-
One day, the old order will be defeated by us!
The fireworks blooming in the night illuminate every face looking up.
The cheers on the street make every resident of the shelter and every wastelander from the wilderness feel very cordial.
"Long live the alliance!"
"Long live victory!"
"Long live the administrator!!"
This night.
Many people are destined to be unable to sleep.