The penultimate day before the celebration.
The swallowing went surprisingly smoothly and was completed in one night.
Xiaoyu, who had stepped into the mother nest, had merged with the slime mold sea and became the new queen who dominated the mother nest.
The slime mold sea was rolling like boiling water, and every cell was cheering for the new master.
With the change of control of the mother nest, the scarlet of killing faded a little, less bloody and more pleasing pink.
That guy had been fighting with the shelter for two hundred years and had evolved extreme outer space survival ability in an almost vacuum environment.
Given it enough time and space, it might even be able to kill the guy in the center of Qingquan City, and develop into the largest mother nest on the Central Continent with the largest self-limitation.
But it might know in its heart that those humans would not let it out. Even if it swallowed that little guy, what awaited it was only the next round of attack.
If the little guy is understood as a signal of "reconciliation", it is not unacceptable.
This war has lasted for two centuries. Those short-lived guys can't live too long, but their descendants are endless... These guys can't be eliminated at all.
Then let's go together.
Anyway, it's tired...
...
"Ew!"
"Ew!"
In Shelter No. 404, there was a "Ew Ew" noise at the door of the B6 floor machine room.
Looking at the group of pale red "human slimes" crowded in front of the door, Luo Yu was stunned and felt his head buzzing.
One, two, three... Oh my god, ten? !
He counted them and was completely dumbfounded.
Which one is Xiao Yu!
"Strictly speaking, they are all fruiting bodies of Xiaoyu," Heya, who was standing beside him, saw the confusion in his eyes and explained concisely, "Fruiting bodies do not have individual consciousness, and all slime molds share a unified consciousness, so you can also understand that... they are all Xiaoyu."
Looking at the "Xiaoyus" who kept rubbing against him, Luoyu touched their heads and asked Heya with a smile.
"In other words... they are clones sharing the same consciousness?"
"Yes, you can understand it that way."
"But... how do they communicate?"
"Of course, like us, we communicate by sound," Heya looked at him strangely, "Haven't you always communicated with it like this?"
The slime mold from the desert does not have the ability to release spores on a large scale. In the long evolution, it has abandoned that way of information exchange.
Instead, it uses sound to communicate like humans.
Luoyu was stunned.
"If they leave the sound range, won't they..."
"They will sleep," Heya looked at him and asked, "Isn't the mother body in the Lost Valley the same? The fruiting body is in sleep most of the time, unless it is actively awakened by the mother body's voice, and the two sides communicate through sounds of a specific frequency."
"And outside the range of the sound wave, the fruiting body will probably continue to execute the last command of the mother nest. When all commands are completed, the fruiting body will either return to the mother nest to report, or sleep on the spot."
Luo Yu recalled carefully.
It seems to be true?
Although he has no memory of the nuclear explosion, according to the description of Wei Ba and others on the official website, the mother body following the white pigeon - now it should be the fruiting body of the mother nest, seems to have shouted and summoned the Titan eroded by slime mold.
Later, the plane that Xiao Yu sent to help him also crashed shortly after the order was executed...
But if this is the case, doesn't it mean that Xiao Yu can only stay in the shelter on the B6 floor for the rest of his life?
After all, the sound cannot be transmitted out of the shelter——
"This is very simple," Chu Guang, who had been silent, said as he looked at the noisy little guys, "Just give them a headset and a microphone."
His understanding is that Xiaoyu completed its evolution with the help of humans, so its functions are not perfect and it needs the help of humans as "hosts".
For example, help them spread the sound to farther places.
This is actually a good thing.
If Xiaoyu can complete all aspects of its life activities without relying on human tools, the symbiotic relationship will be weakened.
After listening to Chu Guang's words, Luo Yu was stunned on the spot.
Damn?
Can it be like this?
This is probably the first time that he feels that NPCs have more imagination than him...
Heya looked at Chu Guang in surprise, with praise in his eyes.
"I mean... This is indeed a good idea. They can't complete the conversion from radio to sound waves by themselves, so it is impossible for them to lose control because they are out of our control."
Chu Guang nodded.
"The controlled evolution of the mother nest must be under our control, and we must also try to prevent it from differentiating into new mothers...especially mutant mothers."
Heya nodded thoughtfully.
"Indeed, so we have to control the number of fruiting bodies...how about ten?"
The mother body is born accidentally from tens of thousands of fruiting bodies. As long as the number of fruiting bodies is reduced, new mother bodies can be effectively prevented from appearing.
However, it is impossible to completely prohibit the production of fruiting bodies.
Both extreme options of laissez-faire and complete prohibition do not meet the needs of the alliance.
He needs Xiaoyu to replace other more aggressive slime molds with limited fruiting bodies, and deepen the symbiotic relationship with humans in the process-find a way that is beneficial to both sides.
Chu Guang will appropriately select some players to cooperate with it within a limited range.
"Just ten, he can't stand more."
Every day, he is annoying to death.
Chu Guang looked at Luoyu.
"You go back first. I will arrange surgery to help them install headsets... so that they can move around outside the shelter."
Luo Yu said with a touching look.
"Thank you..."
Chu Guang showed a fatherly smile on his face.
"You're welcome. Please continue to take care of it."
Slime mold cannot eliminate humans, and vice versa.
Even the Human Alliance in the Prosperous Era could not eliminate all mosquitoes, flies, and cockroaches on the entire planet, let alone slime molds that are far more difficult to deal with than these things.
The Post-War Reconstruction Committee has tried for half a century. He doesn't need to step on something that has been proven to be a pitfall by his predecessors.
If it is objectively difficult to eliminate, then reduce its risks as much as possible and eventually make it harmless. This is also a more materialistic approach.
Xiao Yu, who was born by coincidence, has the potential to be "domesticable" and "nearly harmless". This thing is like the brain slug in "Stellaris". It looks a bit scary, but if used properly, it may become a good buff.
The mother nest is on the B6 floor of the shelter.
Even if there is a problem, it can be controlled in the shortest time.
Chu Guang looked at Heya standing beside him.
"I'll leave the follow-up research to you."
Heya's eyes flashed with interest, which was exactly the field she was interested in.
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
...
"Wasteland OL" official website:
[Part of the "Biological Laboratory" on the B6 floor is open: "Slime Mold Symbiont" Buff is now available]
[Slime Mold Symbiont: "Slime Mold Symbiont" can be regarded as a special biological prosthesis, which is essentially the fruiting body of the B6 floor mother nest and has no self-awareness. Players who implant the symbiont will have their recovery ability increased by 100%~500%, and will gain the ability to keratinize and alienate some of their body structures, which will last forever. After death, the BUFF will be reset, and the used symbiont will be deleted, and you need to apply again. ]
[Note 1: Since repairing wounds will cause some somatic cells in the injured area to be replaced by slime mold cells, each injury will increase the degree of "sliming" and cannot be removed by surgery. The speed of experience value growth will decrease as the degree of sliming increases. When sliming exceeds 50%, experience will no longer be accumulated, and the save function will be closed. In addition, in order to avoid making your own NPC feel uncomfortable, if sliming reaches more than 50% or the body is alienated beyond common sense, it is mandatory to wear full protective armor or clothing when entering and leaving public places in the safe zone. Refer to "NPC Bachi". ]
[Note 2: This BUFF is usually only open to players, and requires the contribution level to reach citizen and the sequence level to reach LV10 or above. ]
[Note 3: Slime mold has no concept of gender. Xiaoyu's mind is still that of a child. When accepting a symbiont, please do not express strange wishes to it. In addition, even if the symbiont cannot establish direct communication with the mother, please do not use it to do strange things. ]
Tail: "!
! Wait, that means... as long as the symbiont is implanted, it is possible to turn into a tentacle monster!? (?ω?)"
Sisi: "Awei calm down, you will scare Rourou like this."
Roushan Damomo: "(shivering)"
Aoao Zhimahu: "Ahaha... I feel that if it is Awei, turning into a tentacle monster will not be too scary."
Tail: "Huh?! Why?!!!∑(?Д?ノ)ノ"
Aoao Zhimahu: "Because I don't think Awei will hurt others... Why do you feel a little disappointed? 0.0"
Sisi: "emmm... Based on my understanding of Awei, maybe the first person Awei wants to play a prank on is you."
Aoao Zhimahu: "???"
Tail: "Hey! (///ω///)"
Sisi: "A little disappointed. (side-eyed)"
Tail: "Woo woo woo, but it's too hard to scare Si!
!"
Sisi: "...Ah, so scary, I can't move."
Roushan Damomo: "Too perfunctory!"
Tail: "Really? Even Rourou can see it, it will definitely turn out like this in the end!"
Aoao Zhimahu: "Ahahaha...hahaha..."
WC Zhenyou Mosquito: "Gagaga, the era of goblin technology has finally arrived! (smirk)"
Ye Shi: "If it was a mosquito, it would probably be caught by the guards on the spot. (Funny)"
WC Zhenyou Mosquito: "Damn! Dare to look down on me! Wait, I'll turn into a tentacle monster and tie you up first!"
Ye Shi: "Fuck! Don't mess around!"
Debt Eyes: "Brother, you're really playing too much. (Funny)"
Construction Site Boy and Brick: "Hahaha! I'll take a picture for you!"
Fun Commander: "Why do you all assume that you will definitely turn into a tentacle monster... I'm just curious about one thing now, will you be attacked by the fruiting bodies of other slime molds after living in symbiosis with slime molds?"
Midnight Chicken Killer: "If you won't be attacked, can't you go solo in the city center? ! (Excited)"
Canyon Fleeing Mole: "It should be, mutant slime mold is just a general term, different bacterial communities will prey on each other and absorb each other's genetic material, hasn't this been verified on Bachi?"
Fun Commander: "I see... It seems that it's not that easy to get a bug haha."
Fang Chang: "I think Even if it is not verified, logically speaking, A Guang is unlikely to let you get stuck with such an obvious bug. (Funny)"
Bianbianhuashui: "Symbiosis with slime mold will lead to experience loss... Is this a setting based on alien players?"
Fang Chang: "I feel more like it is based on bionic prosthesis. Didn't it mention it in the previous update announcement? Excessive use of bionic prosthesis will lead to slow growth in gene sequence development progress, in other words, less experience. But the 50% statement is a bit general. I feel that the impact of different sequences should be different."
Kuangfeng: "Well... Personally, I feel that if the intelligence system is not equipped with a brain implant chip, using a mechanical arm will not only not have a debuff of experience loss, but will also gain a small amount of intelligence experience bonus due to frequent brain nerve overload. Slime mold is probably similar. If symbiosis does not affect the brain, even if the slime mold is more than 50%, even if it becomes like Bachi, the sequence progress can still be accumulated and saved. "
Quitting: "Fuck! Epic enhancement of intelligence?!"
Kuangfeng: "It's only a theoretical enhancement, who knows in reality, anyway, I can't accept biological prosthesis... It feels weird. (side eye)"
Fang Chang: "+1, I am quite satisfied with my current character, there is no need to stack buffs."
Ye Shi: "You are afraid of scaring your Dolly. (Funny)"
Fang Chang: "I don't deny that although the symbiont is different from the general fruiting body and there is no real-time information exchange between it and the mother nest, it still feels weird to have an extra piece of something that doesn't belong to you. I suggest that those who have a partner should ask the partner's opinion. Better. Ah, it doesn't matter if you're single. (side eye)"
Ye Shi: "MMP! This can also torture dogs, right!
! "
Elf King Fugui: "I vomited!"
Yin Lena: "Am I the only one who is curious whether it tastes good or not? (funny)"
Luo Yu: "Chao! What do you think of my Xiao Yu! (angry)"
WC Zhenyou Mosquito: "Hahaha! Now it's everyone's Xiao Yu! (smirk)"
Luo Yu: "%￥#@!"
...
The research on mutant slime mold is just one of the many affairs of the alliance. There are more important things waiting for Chu Guang to deal with.
For example, the problem of money.
There has never been a war that doesn't burn money, especially when the opponent is a legion.
The alliance's supply has never been interrupted from beginning to end, not only because the enterprise helped to handle the transportation, but more because the alliance is willing to spend money on logistics.
During the war, the Alliance produced nearly 300 Type 1 and Type 2 tanks, nearly 1,000 "E-Mule" transport trucks, dozens of "Dragonfly" transport planes and nearly 1,000 W-2 attack planes.
This does not include the ammunition consumed and the light weapons produced. These vehicles alone are enough to accommodate the entire population of the Alliance!
The production of these equipment consumes not only resources, but also a large amount of the Alliance's fiscal budget.
It is precisely because of this that the Alliance's fiscal deficit has reached a rather alarming figure...
After handing over part of the authority of the B6 floor of the shelter to Heya, Chu Guang went to the conference room of the Alliance Administrative Building according to the schedule that Xiaoqi helped him to make, and summoned the president of the Merchants' Union, Old Charlie, and the Minister of Finance.
In the reforms a long time ago, the Alliance established twelve departments including internal affairs, industry, economy, diplomacy, etc.
The Ministry of Finance is one of them.
Like other departments, all personnel in this department are recruited through examinations.
The objective questions are roughly at the level of high school mathematics, and this knowledge is taught in both full-time schools and workers' night schools.
As for the subjective questions, some of the questions were copied from the Internet by players for voting, and some were copied from the Internet by Chu Guang according to his own needs.
He does not need these people to be proficient, as long as they can learn mathematics well, respect natural sciences, have materialistic spirit and general common sense.
In fact, although it is called the Ministry of Finance, in fact, the entire department currently has only one office, and there are less than ten people including the clerks who organize documents.
On the one hand, there are not many people in the alliance who are currently capable of this job, and on the other hand, there is really not enough people.
Audit-related work, financial revenue and expenditure, and budget reports of various departments are mainly completed by AI. The staff of this department are mainly responsible for cooperating with Chu Guang's macro-decision-making, improving the details of the decision-making, and making some more specific adjustments based on his opinions.
Compared with decision makers, the nature of the work of this department is closer to that of secretaries.
And this is indeed the case. Some specific decisions were even improved with the help of Old Charlie, the president of the Merchants' Union.
Although the latter is not an experienced economics expert, he has been dealing with merchants in the wasteland for so long, and has dabbled in warehousing, logistics and industrial production, which is more or less professional than these rookies recruited through exams.
If the old man didn't want to toss anymore and just wanted to run the Merchants Guild well before retirement, Chu Guang would have originally planned to let him serve as the Minister of Finance of the Alliance.
Looking at Chu Guang walking into the meeting room, Minister Sun Ruicai's expression was obviously much more nervous. He stood up from his seat with a manuscript in his hand.
Compared with old Charlie sitting next to him, he is undoubtedly much younger and has little experience. He had only worked as an ordinary employee in the mint before.
Before receiving the appointment letter, he didn't even think that he would be selected. He just saw that everyone took the exam, so he tried it himself, and he didn't expect to get the first place.
Because he had never had work experience in management positions, he often worried that he would not be able to do the job, so he was always very careful at work, for fear of disappointing the trust and cultivation of the manager.
However, no matter how careful he was, he couldn't change the deficit on the financial statements.
That thing was automatically calculated by AI, and there was no room for modification.
Before the meeting started, he was ready to be scolded by the manager.
However, the development of the matter was beyond his expectations. The manager did not blame him, but gave him a comforting look.
"Sit down and talk. Don't be so nervous. I have a rough idea of the financial situation... I came here today to solve the problem."
"Yes... sir."
Seeing Chu Guang's elegant and easy-going expression, Sun Rui was slightly relieved, and the index finger and thumb holding the manuscript loosened a little, and slowly sat back in the chair.
Seeing that the young man had regained his composure, Chu Guang continued.
"Let's get started."
"Okay!" Sun Ruicai nodded quickly and read from the script, "According to the summary results of various departments, the alliance's fiscal deficit this year has reached 1.17 billion silver coins, of which military expenditures are as high as 900 million, accounting for 76.9% of the total budget..."
1.17 billion!
For an alliance with a total population of less than 200,000, this number is actually quite terrifying.
It is equivalent to each resident of the alliance carrying a debt of 5,850 silver coins, which is 487.5 per month, even exceeding the legal minimum monthly income of 360 silver coins in the alliance!
Of course, the account cannot be calculated in this way.
Chu Guang knew very well that at least 70% of the fiscal deficit of 1.17 billion silver coins was paid to players, and at least half of this reward returned to him through "technology export".
This income was not included in the financial report because the "technology export" was carried out in the name of the shelter collective, and the funds would be temporarily stored in the collective account of Shelter No. 404.
Including the construction of player save points, the operating expenses of save points, and the salary of NPCs working for players, etc., are all withdrawn from this account.
When the accounts are settled at the end of the year, most of this money will enter the alliance's treasury in the name of "Donation to Shelter No. 404".
Although he has both hands, it is still not good to use the alliance's treasury to benefit the residents of the shelter.
Even if no one will say anything now, it is easy to leave hidden dangers in the future.
As the size of the alliance increases, many things that could be done casually before will have to be gradually formalized in the future.
According to the data provided by Xiaoqi, including the part of the return at the end of the year, the final deficit of the alliance treasury is about 600 million.
This number is not small.
But compared with 1.17 billion, it is still much smaller.
Looking at Chu Guang who was lost in thought, Charlie coughed lightly and said.
"...The pressure on the finances caused by the war is too great. Although you brought back a lot of spoils from the front, it is difficult to convert those things directly into money, especially such a large amount."
After a pause, he continued.
"...This is just our internal debt. This is actually easy to deal with. You only need to say a word to start the printing press. The more troublesome thing is the foreign debt. Take the debt of Giant Stone City as an example. The 200 million chips you borrowed from Giant Stone City at the beginning, just this amount, the principal and interest that need to be repaid by the end of the year is as high as 5 million chips."
"In addition, we have borrowed some medium- and long-term debts one after another. The total debt scale has reached 500 million chips. The principal and interest that need to be repaid by the end of the year have exceeded 10 million chips."
When he said this, Charlie pressed his wrinkled brows, and his expression was a little distressed.
There are some things he wanted to say a long time ago.
That is, the speed at which the alliance spends money is too fast!
In order to make this respected manager realize the seriousness of the problem, he unconsciously emphasized his tone.
"If you don't intend to completely default on this debt, or use our Cr reserves and Boulder City Bank trading chips... I suggest that you adopt a more conservative fiscal strategy starting today. At least for the next three years, we have to tighten our belts and do everything possible to reduce the scale of debt before the industries we invest in produce sufficient returns."
"Otherwise, the foreign exchange earned from export trade every year will be used to repay the debt. In addition to printing money and watching silver coins become less and less valuable, I'm afraid we can't do anything!"