"Sometimes I really envy the residents of Ideal City... They were born with a silver spoon in their mouths and have plenty of time to do nothing, while I seem to be doing this and the next thing since I was born."
Evening, Highway Town Hotel.
Looking at the tourists from Ideal City, Zhou Nan took a sip of the fragrant beer and sighed with emotion.
He could tell where those people came from at a glance.
The unique temperament on them was easier to identify than the blue coats and the androids.
Sun Shiqi, who was sitting opposite him, smiled.
"What's the matter? You might as well envy the people two hundred years ago. At that time, they not only had time to do nothing, but also had the leisure time to arrange us."
"Arrange us?"
"Put it another way, imagine the future."
"Hahaha."
The laughter washed away the melancholy.
Sun Shiqi clinked glasses with his drinking buddy sitting opposite him.
Having made a small fortune from steel trading, he can no longer be considered a merchant, but rather a factory owner of the Alliance, with most of his wealth invested in the Alliance's industries.
If it weren't for his previous identity as a merchant, he was not trusted by the Frostspear tribe, which was once a refugee, and someone had not agreed to his pursuit, he might have tied his family to the Alliance.
But then again, although he was optimistic about the future of the Alliance, he actually spent some determination to do these things.
A long time ago, he had always been carrying a kind of "original sin" in his heart - that is, he was worried that the Alliance's managers would send a loyal guard to kill him because he knew the truth that silver coins were originally just a pile of game coins.
Later he realized that his worries were completely unnecessary.
That person didn't care at all.
Actually, think about it, even if he knew, what would it matter?
Would people not eat rice watered with manure because they knew where the manure came from?
No one in the entire River Valley Province doubts the value of silver coins, even the scavengers active on the edge of the Great Rift Valley recognize it.
Especially recently, the bulk transaction price of corn has officially fallen below the 1 silver coin mark, and the autumn grains pouring in from Luoxia Province have been suppressed to 0.9.
Just a year ago, this number was 1.5, even the cheapest green wheat and sheep's horn potatoes were not so cheap!
Now the residents of Dawn City not only eat it themselves, steam it, boil it, and fry it, but even feed the pigs and cows with the surplus. The bar of the Highway Town Hotel has added a corn wine produced by the residents of the shelter.
But the wine is too strong, so strong that it irritates the throat. Except for those who follow fashion and the residents of the shelter themselves, not many people really like to drink it.
"Speaking of which, it's going to be a celebration again."
"Isn't that good?"
"Who will work if there are celebrations every day?" Zhou Nan looked worried, "Your factory will also have holidays."
Sun Shiqi said with a smile.
"It doesn't matter. It's not a holiday every day. The last celebration has been several months. I heard that there were more than a hundred festivals a year in the era of the Human Union, and the Alliance has only about four or five so far. It's actually not bad."
Zhou Nan shook his head.
"How can it be the same? The productivity and efficiency of the Human Union era are completely different from now. Even if they don't work, they won't starve."
Sun Shiqi said slowly.
"You are right, but not right either. The productivity of the alliance is not very high, but it is definitely not weak. A few celebrations can definitely be held. There are no complicated bureaucrats here, and there are no nobles to support. Even if people are asked to tighten their belts, no one will benefit. The products produced must be used by someone to make sense. Can they be forced to be used by scholars doing research like in colleges?"
When he said this, he laughed out loud.
"It's a pity that even if the alliance wants to give academic preferential treatment, there are not so many scholars who can be given preferential treatment. It is better to give residents more holidays, let everyone be happy, and spend their wages. In this way, both factories and shops will be happy, and they will be happy too."
Aren't people living for happiness?
People with sad faces can't accomplish great things. If they really do something, they will probably scare others around them.
"I still think it's not good to be so extravagant at the beginning... Even if they want to be nicer to the residents, I think it might be better to wait a little longer-"
Sun Shiqi shook his head.
"Things that need to be waited for will never come."
"What about the future? Even if there are no nobles now, there will be some in the future. Isn't Boulder City the best example? The earliest residents of the inner city were all supporters of the post-war reconstruction committee. Who can remember what the committee is going to do now?"
In order to prove that there is no problem with his logic, Zhou Nan tried to find some arguments, and Boulder City is undoubtedly the best example. It is said that a century and a half ago, there was also a group of noble survivors living there. If they did not open the gate of the giant wall, there would be no outer city now.
What is the difference between the alliance?
City Lord Luca probably can't have children at that age, and it is estimated that there will be no offspring. Old Charlie is said to be an old popsicle. Most people who came from that era are avant-garde in thought, and they probably don't want to take their children to this wasteland to suffer.
But there will always be others.
The commander of the first corps, Wrench, and the commander of the second corps, Liu Ding, are in their prime. They are not only capable, but also have fought their way out of the battlefield with real swords and guns.
Their loyalty may not be to the alliance from beginning to end, but to the individual managers. It is hard to say how far their ideals can go and how far their children can follow them.
Sun Shiqi knew what he wanted to say, but he just grinned indifferently.
"Let's talk about the future later. Our managers are not old yet."
Hearing his words, Zhou Nan was stunned and laughed.
"Good guy... you already think of yourself as a member of the alliance."
No wonder this guy has been speaking for the alliance!
Sun Shiqi said proudly.
"What else? If it weren't for the alliance, I would probably still be transporting food for the slave owners and brokers in Honghe Town, playing the red and blue bills futures tricks with them. From the moment I bought the first warehouse here, I decided to become a resident of the alliance."
It's also emotional.
At first, he bought a warehouse in Dawn City, just planning to store some food in the fall, and then buy a few trucks to take over the trade route from the Alliance to Red River Town, and become the largest miner and grain trader in the wasteland.
But soon the Alliance and the Legion went to war, and a large number of residents in the shelter went to the battlefield with guns. The demand for smelting steel and copper ore suddenly soared, and he saw new business opportunities, so he immediately opened a steel plant next to the mine in Qingshi County.
But his hometown has not changed at all, it is still the same.
Some time ago, it was said that Red River Town was changed to Red River Alliance, but he thought about it for a long time and found that it was just a name change, and it was still the same old thing.
Since the last time the Alliance made a lot of money from those arrogant guys in the copper ore trade, he found that those rich slave owners were not smart, but just a group of fat pigs who were lucky to lie on a pile of treasures. Unfortunately, the treasures they were proud of will soon be worthless.
Since the railway from Qingquan City to Xizhou City was built, the coal, copper, iron, sulfur and other resources of the alliance have not only been self-sufficient, but can even be exported.
He hasn't been to that garbage dump to buy goods for a while.
"... Speaking of which, my friend, why are you so pessimistic? Have you encountered any difficulties?" Looking at the depressed Zhou Nan, Sun Shiqi cast a concerned look at him.
Zhou Nan hesitated, sighed, and put down the beer glass in his hand.
"Ah, something did happen in my hometown. After a while... I may have to go back."
Sun Shiqi remembered that he was from Jinchuan Province, from a place called Hope Town.
"What's the matter?"
"Naguo."
"What?"
Looking at the confused Sun Shiqi, Zhou Nan explained.
"Something more effective than spirit leaves, just like hallucinogenic orphans, can make people see a bizarre world, but it will not make people weak, but... will adapt to weakness."
"What do you mean?"
"For example... you are sick and should be lying in bed weakly to rest, but now you have eaten Na Guo, the virus has not been cured, but will merge with you, reach a reconciliation, and make you stronger. From now on, whether it is fever or pain, it will not make you uncomfortable, but will turn into pleasure... and make you stronger in the process."
"Pleasure... Joy?!"
"Very twisted, right?" Looking at his drinking buddy who was so surprised that he couldn't speak, Zhou Nan sighed, "Only mutants with the same twist are not affected by side effects. Those green-skinned guys not only like to eat that thing, but also become more excited because of it, whether it is the desire to kill or the desire to reproduce, it will be enhanced."
Wouldn't it be better not to eat such a terrible thing.
Suddenly, Sun Shiqi seemed to realize something.
"Could it be..."
"Yes, it's addictive."
Seeing his expression, Zhou Nan nodded.
"...and it's not the mild addiction of tobacco and spirit leaves, it's physiological dependence. Once you stop eating it, the virus that has reached a reconciliation with your body will quickly engulf you, and this process is no longer pleasant... but fatal pain. But this is not the most troublesome thing. The most troublesome thing is that the land that has been planted with that thing will turn green, and the feces of animals that have eaten it will also be green."
Green...
Sun Shiqi's Adam's apple moved, and he took a sip of beer to moisten his throat.
"Does it grow weeds?"
"It's not that kind of thing," Zhou Nan lowered his voice, "It's green that can be seen with the naked eye... It's like a plague. Once it's contaminated, the soil will slowly become only able to grow that thing, and people and animals will gradually become inseparable from it. No one knows why, only that it came from the south, that is, the Death Coast. There are also claims that it comes from the more distant southern islands."
Sun Shiqi said in disbelief.
"How can anyone grow that kind of thing... Are those farmers crazy?"
Zhou Nan smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"They actually have no choice... You've also noticed that since the railway was built in Luoye City, food has not been so valuable."
...
Shuguang City First Hospital.
Fang Chang, who was waiting outside the operating room, was pacing back and forth with mixed feelings, feeling both uneasy and nervous.
At this time, the door on the side suddenly opened, and he immediately walked forward, just in time to meet the doctor wearing a mask coming out.
"Doctor--"
Guessing what he was going to ask, the doctor answered skillfully.
"The operation was very successful, but it's best not to do strenuous exercise these days to avoid affecting postoperative recovery. Eat less spicy and greasy food, and eat more meat if possible..."
Listening to the doctor's words, Fang Chang turned on the VM recording function and wrote them down carefully.
"I remember it."
The doctor looked at this guy twice more.
There were many residents of the shelter who came here for surgery, especially those in Shelter No. 404, some of whom were even his regular customers. Those guys never took his advice to heart, and some unlucky ones even caused themselves to bleed heavily and were carried back that day.
But after thinking about it, he understood.
Maybe it was because he was not the one who had the surgery...
Patting Fang Chang's shoulder, the doctor rushed to the next shift, and Fang Chang walked into the operating room quickly, looking at Dolly who was sitting on the operating table with confused eyes.
She was wearing a thin shirt, and had just woken up from anesthesia. She was not quite awake and was staring blankly at the mirror in the nurse's hand.
Looking at the left arm that was as smooth as porcelain, she carefully reached out her hand, afraid of breaking it, and gently pinched it.
The touch was as soft as the real thing, and the temperature was exactly the same as body temperature, and there was not even a trace of connection on the shoulder.
It was just like the real thing!
Including the left eye...
Tears filled her eyes and moistened the corners of her eyes. She sniffed gently, covered her mouth and nose with her right hand, and sobbed uncontrollably.
After being "eliminated" by the dragon blood potion, she never thought that one day she would be able to live like a normal person, without having to carry heavy steel like shackles, and without having to feel inferior for the strangeness of her body and the strangeness of other people's eyes...
"Very beautiful." The nurse holding the mirror said with envy.
Occasionally, someone would bring the bionic prosthesis of the ideal city here to be assembled, but most of the residents of the shelter would pursue function, strength and uniqueness.
Few people would take comfort and beauty as the first reference.
"It feels... It's just like it was made specifically for you."
"Hmm..."
Dolly's fair and tender face blushed slightly, and she raised her arm and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
With the help of the nurse, she got up from the bed and put on her shoes again. At this time, she happened to see Fang Chang standing at the door.
Fang Chang, who had been silent, asked with concern.
"Don't you want to lie down for a while?"
Looking at the anxious boyfriend, the nurse smiled and answered for the "patient" next to her.
"It's just a minor operation. If you want to lie down for a while, you can go to the next ward. But she recovered well, so just go back and rest."
It's worthy of being a wasteland.
Changing an arm is just a minor operation.
Thinking of himself in reality, he had to stay in the hospital for a while to have a tooth pulled, and Fang Chang couldn't help but feel ashamed. But he still couldn't rest assured to go back like this, so he looked at Dolly worriedly.
Seeing the worry in his eyes, Dolly nodded with a red face and moved her lips softly.
"I'm fine... Let's go back."
"Tell me if you feel uncomfortable." Fang Chang looked at her seriously and said with concern, "By the way, does it feel right?"
"Well... It's just like it grew out of my body," Dolly looked at Fang Chang in confusion, "By the way, how do you know the size of my arm?"
Her previous mechanical arm was not symmetrical at all. The left arm was slightly longer than the right arm, but this one was not only the same length, but also the color was exactly the same.
The key is that I haven't seen him measure it.
Did he measure it secretly while I was asleep?
"You don't have to use a ruler to measure it," Fang Chang couldn't help but smile at his girlfriend who was confused, "You forgot, we compared the size of our hands."
Dolly opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"Is this also possible?"
"Well, it seems that I remembered it correctly."
"But we didn't compare arms..."
Looking at the pair of eyes that were still confused and puzzled, Fang Chang coughed lightly.
"...Do we have to say it here?"
Dolly was slightly stunned.
At first she didn't understand, but when she met those eyes with a hint of evil, she came back to her senses in an instant, and her cheeks turned red like apples.
She hit the hateful guy with her forehead in a threatening manner, then leaned close to his shoulder and bit it unsatisfiedly.
"Hiss... Are you born in the year of the cat? You bite me all the time."
Although he didn't bite very hard, Fang Chang still cooperated and made a grinning expression to make her feel relieved.
Not wanting to hurt him, Duoli embarrassedly let go, hummed twice, and looked away with a red face.
"Who asked you to... mean it."
Fang Chang made an innocent expression.
"I didn't say anything... Why did you suddenly bite me?"
"You... You know it in your heart!"
She lowered her head in shame, and after a while, she suddenly spoke in a low voice in embarrassment.
"Thank you..."
Fang Chang smiled and said.
"You're welcome."
Seeing Duoli generously accept the gift, he was actually relieved.
He would not tell her why he was nervous in front of the operating room.
In addition to worrying about the one in ten thousand accident that might happen during the operation, he was also worried that she would think too much about this special gift.
For example, she misunderstood that he was disgusted by the smell of motor oil on her body.
He didn't care about such trivial things at all, he just thought that the mechanical arm was too heavy... Forget about the rough old man Kuangfeng, it was a torture for her to wear it every day. If he hadn't found a suitable one and it would take time to make it by order, he would have replaced it for her long ago.
"I want it!" Duoli looked at him seriously and asked in a low voice, "Tell me honestly...how much did you spend."
Fang Chang looked at her helplessly.
"Why are you asking that? Do you want to pay me back?"
"Yeah!" Duoli nodded vigorously and said seriously, "I, I also have a job...Although the salary is not that high, I will work hard!"
Looking at that serious look, Fang Chang knew that she was not joking or being polite, and he couldn't help but feel a little headache.
To be honest, this is more troublesome than the misunderstanding he was worried about before.
No matter how casual he pretended to be, and described the process lightly, it was hard to change the fact that the gift was too expensive.
This was not as simple as a scarf or a meal, it was a valuable item that could not be bought with millions of chips.
It might not be a big deal for some people.
But it was completely different for Dolly.
What supported her to get to where she is now was not her family that she had never had, but her self-esteem... Deep in her heart, that might be the only thing she had left.
She would accept the reward for buying intelligence without hesitation, even if it meant extorting a lot from the client... That was her way of making a living, and the fruits of her labor that she deserved. Even when she went to the newspaper and asked Hal for the reward and bonus later, she was never polite.
But if it was a gift out of pity, even if she accepted it calmly, she would return it in another way.
He could feel the sensitivity and entanglement deep in her heart, especially after knowing her identity.
And this is exactly what he is most worried about - she might interpret this overly expensive gift as a kind of pity or charity.
He has no such intention at all, and he doesn't want her to feel that she owes him something because of this, and always thinks about repaying this "favor".
Unequal feelings will one day be unbalanced in the cautiousness of one party, and he doesn't think she owes him anything.
"Well, I said it was a gift and I found it with great difficulty... Talking about money is too hurtful." Fang Chang showed an embarrassed expression on his face, thinking quickly in his heart.
"But-"
"Let's do this," his eyes fell on the mechanical arm next to the operating table, and his heart suddenly moved, and a smile appeared on his face, "That thing... from now on, it's mine."
"That?" Dolly stared at the mechanical arm in a daze, and whispered without confidence, "That... how could it be the same as this."
Even if she had never been to Ideal City, she could guess that one was something that could not be bought with a mountain of chips, and the other was a mass-produced product of Giant Stone Military Industry.
"Indeed," Fang Chang touched his chin and nodded thoughtfully in agreement with her statement, "One is something that can be bought with a lot of points, and the other is a limited edition prop that carries countless memories... In my opinion, the latter is much more valuable than the former."
"... Valuable?"
"Well, after all, it also helped you through a long period of time. Without it, life would be very inconvenient."
Looking at Dolly who was confused, he reached out and touched her head with a gentle smile on his face.
"You may not understand it very well, but it doesn't matter. I just want to say that whether it is a pleasant memory or a painful memory... your past, present, and future, I plan to accept them all, which is the most precious thing to me."
The eyes were gradually covered with a layer of moving mist. Although the nurse standing beside them didn't want to disturb the atmosphere between the two, she had to prepare for the next operation.
She coughed lightly and reminded kindly with a smile on her face.
"Sir... How long will you stay here?"
Fang Chang suddenly realized that he was still in the operating room, and smiled embarrassedly.
"Sorry, I'll take her away now."
Dolly's face also turned red unconsciously, half because of embarrassment, and half because she felt embarrassed for disturbing other people's work.
Gently pulling Fang Chang's sleeve, she whispered.
"Let's go."
The two hurriedly left the ward.
Just as Fang Chang was thinking about where to go, he suddenly saw an acquaintance coming towards him.
"Luo Yu?"
Hearing someone calling his name, Luo Yu stopped and looked at the two people, with a surprised expression on his originally calm face.
"Ah, Fang Chang... Are you back?"
"Yes, I just came back." Fang Chang smiled, took Dolly's hand, and introduced, "This is Dolly, my girlfriend."
Dolly nodded politely.
"Hello."
"Ah, hello," Luo Yu forced a friendly smile on his worried face, and greeted him in a not-so-fluent human language, then looked at Fang Chang, "By the way, have you seen my Xiao Yu?"
"Xiao Yu?" Fang Chang was slightly stunned, "What happened to it?"
"I don't know," Luo Yu shook his head and said puzzledly, "...it suddenly had a fever yesterday, and I brought it here. The doctor here didn't know how to deal with it, so he notified the scientific expedition team. Later, a researcher came and said that he should stay in the hospital for observation... Anyway, I was asked to come again today, but I didn't find the NPC after searching for a whole day."
"Is it busy?"
"Maybe... I hope there won't be another bug." When talking about bugs, Luo Yu looked depressed.
I don't know what happened.
He felt that he was targeted by the server, and he encountered all kinds of bugs.
Fang Chang looked at him sympathetically.
"Do you need my help?"
"...No, no," Luo Yu shook his head like a rattle, "Don't worry about me, I'll find it myself, you guys go do your own thing."
As he said this, he walked towards the office next door while mumbling, intending to find a doctor who knew about the situation to ask.
Coincidentally, at this time, several people from the Guards came over, also entered the office, and then took him to another place.
Fang Chang knew the man in the lead.
It was the young man named Lu Bei who often followed Chu Guang.
The invisible gossip antenna on his head moved, and the reporter's intuition made Dolly feel that things were not that simple, so she looked at Fang Chang curiously.
"What happened?"
Fang Chang had a subtle expression on his face.
"Maybe... a hidden mission has been triggered?"
"Hidden mission?"
"That has nothing to do with us," Fang Chang continued, gently squeezing her hand, "Let's go, let's go have dinner."
...
Shelter No. 404.
Warehouse on the B3 floor.
Chu Guang, fully armed, was staring at the strange-shaped creature in front of him with a frown.
It looked like an overdeveloped humanoid, with a tapered skirt stuck to the floor, and long and thin tentacles flying behind it, like Medusa's hair.
What's even more surprising is that it only took one night to change from its original appearance to its current appearance...
"...Eh."
The voice was weak, forming a sharp contrast with its strong body.
Looking at the dancing tentacles, the guards standing around Chu Guang showed nervous expressions and clenched their weapons.
If this monster dared to threaten their supreme leader, they would shoot it without hesitation.
However, Chu Guang raised his hand and signaled them to put down their guns and retreat.
Perhaps because he was the first person it had seen since it was born, it still had trust in itself in its memory and believed that he would not hurt it for no reason.
He could feel that the weak voice did not contain any threat, but was just asking for help.
Chu Guang looked at Heya who was standing beside him.
"...What does evolution mean?"
"Transition from the mother body to the mother nest!"
Compared to those soldiers, Heya was not afraid at all. Instead, her slightly trembling voice was filled with excitement and excitement, and her clenched fists were sweating.
At this moment, her image was just like the classic villain in Hollywood blockbusters - a mad scientist obsessed with biological experiments.
The fanatical momentum made Chu Guang couldn't help but look at her twice more.
If it was in the book, this guy's end would probably not be too good.
Heya continued to speak fanatically without paying attention to Chu Guang's strange gaze.
"...I don't know if the academy or the company has done similar research, but this is the first time for us! You may not know what this means...We will witness the mother of the mutant slime mold, from the early stage of development to maturity, and then the complete process of transition to the mother nest!"
As she spoke, she muttered a lot of obscure professional terms.
It was like a witch's spell, and Chu Guang didn't understand what she was saying at all.
Although he believed in her professional level, he still interrupted her, stared at the fanatical eyes seriously, and spoke one sentence at a time.
"I just want to know two things now, what will happen if I leave it alone, and what to do if I want to do something to control the situation."
He didn't want the B3 floor of the shelter to become like the B6 floor. The same accident only happened once, because there were many players' culture chambers here.
Take a deep breath, Heya regained some of his usual calmness.
"Sorry, I was a little too excited just now... To answer your question, leaving it alone is to let it evolve autonomously."
"As for how to control the situation... I don't know what it means to control the situation, but we do have a way to interfere with the evolution process. These are two options, no matter which one you choose, there is a gamble... It depends on what result you want."
Chu Guang asked immediately.
"Autonomous evolution is?"
He Ya said concisely.
"Without any interference, it will develop on its own, just like most mother nests. First, it will enter a very long dormant period, during which it will slowly transform into a new life. The advantage is that we can collect some interesting data, but the disadvantage is that the result is uncontrollable, and maybe it will not remember what happened before."
Chu Guang asked puzzled.
"Why is that?"
He Ya answered briefly.
"No reason. This is my speculation based on the data I collected before, including the experimental records of the B6 layer. Just like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, most of the cells in the pupa stage will be decomposed and digested into nutrients, becoming nutrients for the adult disc cells... and the way the mother body transforms into the mother nest is similar. This is a life process that it must go through, sacrificing its past self and then forging a stronger self."
Chu Guang frowned.
"What about interference?"
"Borrowing a pupa." Heya answered simply, "In plain words, let it devour the mother nest on the B6 layer that has passed the pupa stage, which is equivalent to that guy walking the path it originally needed to walk for it."
Chu Guang was stunned.
"Can this kind of thing be done?"
"Of course it can. Mutant slime molds are such things. They devour everything, obtain the secrets of genetics from it and analyze them, which of course includes their own kind."
After a pause, Heya continued in a serious tone.
"But this is not without risk. The probability of being swallowed also exists, and it is not low. After all, you should know how difficult it is for a toddler who has just learned to walk to defeat an old monster who has lived for who knows how many years. Even if we can help it, such as using gaze inhibitors, etc., it is by no means an easy task... I will try to explain it in a way that you can understand, please try to understand it."
"I understand," Chu Guang looked at Xiao Yu and asked in a deep voice, "Which option has a greater chance of it retaining its self?"
If it loses its memory and self in the process of evolution, then Luo Yu's efforts over this period of time are probably in vain.
At least that's what Chu Guang thinks.
The reason why he is willing to take a certain risk and allow Luo Yu to move freely with Xiao Yu is not because he is idle, but because he needs a mutant slime mold that can understand humans and regard humans as partners rather than prey.
Since it is impossible to eliminate this species from nature, try to domesticate them.
This is not impossible.
Before being domesticated, dogs were also competitors of humans in the food chain.
Looking at Chu Guang with a serious expression, Heya sighed.
"This has never happened before, so I can't give you an accurate probability. If that white pigeon... is the guy from the Lost Valley, it would be great. He should be very experienced, but it's probably too late to find him now."
"And even if we find him, he may not help us." Chu Guang cast his eyes on Xiaoyu.
He could feel that it was confused about its own situation and its desire to preserve itself.
However, according to Heya, both options were gambles, and the probability was not very high.
At this time, a guard wearing an exoskeleton strode to his side, put his right fist on his chest and nodded slightly.
"Master Administrator."
"We brought the person you are looking for."