In the screening room, Sperger saw countless possibilities for the future.
Just as Yin Bos said, in most of the endings deduced by computers, he did not stand in the center of the stage, or even appear on the stage.
This settlement is not just about workers, although in his world line, they are the first group of people to awaken.
For example, in the 217th ending, the camera focuses most on the youngest daughter of the Melvin family.
From the moment the little girl saw the first newspaper, she was actively persuading her father.
Although her views were naive, the problems she found were real. Melvin, her old father who loved her, eventually realized some problems and tried to promote a top-down reform, but the final result was the tragic death of a family.
Those inappropriate and insignificant pictures were replaced by lines of cold text.
Sperger breathed a sigh of relief.
He was happy to see how Stephen and his friends died, but he couldn't bear to see a little girl he had never met die with them, especially such a kind girl.
For example, in the ending of No. 269, the camera focused most on a girl with green hair, and there was also a red-haired girl. One of them lost her arms and eyes in Boulder City, and the other lost a leg on an outbound mission. Their common tragic experiences and trauma brought them together.
This time, the mercenaries united, and the opportunity was the wave after last year's cold winter.
Although those mercenaries did not have power armor, they were unexpectedly able to fight when facing the militia that ordered them. They were particularly experienced in urban warfare and even entered the inner city. Boulder City seemed to have become a mercenary city-state in the end.
Everything has changed, but it seems that it has not changed.
By the way, there was no alliance in this deduction, after all, the alliance had not appeared at that time.
Obviously, this machine is not really predicting the future, but just helping them to dig out various possibilities in the future from what happened in the past.
However...
No matter which ending it was, there was no "good ending" that he expected.
The fate of this settlement seemed to be doomed from the beginning, and this was also the most desperate thing for Sberg, as if there was no point in doing anything.
So he tried to drag the progress bar forward, back to the more distant past - a century and a half ago, or even two centuries ago, trying to find answers from the possibilities that had collapsed into facts.
It was precisely because of this that he saw many things that shocked him...
As he wrote in the story of the awakened Bol, the Stone City was not built in a day.
Now he had to add one more sentence.
Every settlement had a good beginning.
They all longed for a bright future...
...
The war broke out, and then ended. With the establishment of the post-war reconstruction committee, the era of prosperity came to an end.
The first fifty years were difficult, but also full of hope.
The post-war reconstruction committee did not give up on the survivors who remained on the surface, and more importantly, the survivors who remained on the wasteland did not give up on themselves.
The Ministry of Defense taught the local survivors how to use weapons and formed a militia to block the threat of the wave. The Technical Department organized a scavenger team and mobilized everyone to go to the dilapidated urban area to search for usable materials and recover high-value technology from them. The Production Department was responsible for organizing production and helping local survivors build factories that were not advanced but usable, and transported some materials from other places from time to time.
The giant wall was also built at that time.
It was not some kind of "black box" that appeared out of thin air, nor did it fall from the sky as rumored, but the first generation of managers built it up bit by bit in the ice and snow with a truckload of cement and a truckload of steel bars.
Yes, it's that simple.
Ordinary and great.
The giant wall at that time was not very high, just enough. After all, there were not many fruiting bodies that could fly and jump, and slime mold was not the main threat to survival.
The tenants of the Stone Tower were the most resourceful survivors, so everyone trusted them and handed over power to them with confidence, so the term "Inner City" came into being.
Black cards, like the giant walls, did not exist at the beginning.
In the 2174th year, the 45th year of the Wasteland Era, the Post-War Reconstruction Committee fell apart due to internal conflicts, and a large number of outstanding talents withdrew from the Stone City.
Some went north to the Wandering Swamp, some went to the westernmost part of the continent, and some went to the East Coast, but more people still chose to stay.
Those who stayed were true warriors.
They were as brave as their fathers, and always stood with those who really needed help when the crisis came, regardless of whether they were facing a winter they had never seen before or a species they had never seen before.
They melted the ice and snow with their ideals, lit the furnace, and smelted the steel.
They spit on those who had betrayed their ideals, they abandoned all unrealistic fantasies, and they only believed in their compatriots who stayed with them.
They wanted to be their own saviors!
Although the assistance from the War Construction Committee has ended, the future of Boulder City seems brighter.
They opened the giant wall to accept wandering survivors, rushed to the front when the wave came, and wherever there was danger, there were residents with black cards. They not only did it themselves, but also called on everyone to mobilize the scavenger team to explore the ruins, build outposts to collect resources, and develop them into small but reliable villages.
They no longer needed the support of the production department, nor did they expect those selfish guys to unite again. They took the initiative to go to the desolate south to find hope.
Maybe they were moved by their courage, or maybe it was just the time.
Five years later, the endless winter ended, everything regained the power to grow, and a large number of shelters were unsealed.
They began to accept some blue coats who didn't understand the situation, and told those stupid guys that the War Construction Committee had been disbanded, and you could either go back to sleep or stay and join us.
Whether you like it or not, we can only rely on ourselves now.
As we all know, most of the blue jackets are kind-hearted guys, and many old popsicles feel guilty for their compatriots who are suffering on the surface. Therefore, when those tortured compatriots reach out to them, they are so moved that they want to dedicate their lives to these poor people.
The shelter brings not only black boxes, but also technology and glowing ideas.
The arrival of the blue jackets has injected new blood into the Boulder City. They used pre-war technology to help the survivors further improve the tools left by the production department, and even repaired a batch of power armor that the defense department didn't know how to repair. They also learned from the researchers of the technical department and tried to "archaeology" from the evolved bodies in the city center.
From then on, the Boulder City almost became a beacon that illuminated the entire southern part of the Valley Province...
But what surprised Sberg was that in this history that had already happened, there seemed to be no shadow of the city lord from beginning to end.
The residents of the inner city only mentioned in a few words that there is an "AI assisting management" in the Stone City, which controls the security system of the entire Stone Building, and has no other extra capabilities.
After the dissolution of the War Construction Committee, the Great Rift Valley gave them a self-protection item. For some concerns, everyone unanimously decided to put the self-protection item in the hands of the city lord.
Except for limited communication with the militia, it will hardly participate in the normal affairs of the Stone City.
Even if there is limited communication, most of it only occurs when the Wave and the forces related to the Post-War Reconstruction Committee try to enter the vicinity of the Stone City.
This is part of the ancient "contract". After the separation, everyone does not interfere with each other and concentrates on their own affairs.
There is no deep conspiracy.
However, although the AI named Fang Ming has a low sense of presence, it doesn't matter.
The Stone City was not built by him in the first place. The survivors themselves have done a good job and will get better and better.
Until one day, Sperger suddenly found that the originally beautiful fairy tale had gradually changed...
In the holographic image, an important issue was being discussed in the spacious conference hall.
A serious-looking man put his hands on the table, looked at the participants and spoke.
"There are more and more people in the settlement, and the past material management methods are becoming less and less effective. Workers will become more and more skilled, and machines will become more and more advanced. This is the objective law of nature. We don't need so much soap. Some people need shower gel, and some people need shampoo. Everyone wants to be more pleasing to the eye. I think this is a reasonable demand. The same is true for food. It is impossible to have bread and sausage slices for every meal. We can start to consider enriching the variety of food."
"However, we cannot determine how much different types of goods are produced every day through a set table, nor can we expect everyone to consume only what they need. If this continues, let alone soap and sausages, even concrete blocks will become scarce!"
"I propose that society decide what it needs and where the excess productivity and resources should flow. Therefore, we need to invent a tool to make the invisible supply and demand relationship visible, a tool that has appeared in history!"
As he said, he took out a white chip.
That was the smallest denomination.
Everyone in the meeting room whispered.
One person stood up and asked.
"What is this...?"
The serious-looking man continued.
"Chips!"
"It can replace currency!"
"Although it is obviously not as good as the credit points we used before, it can at least reflect the supply and demand relationship!"
Everyone's face was full of concerns.
They felt that this was not a good thing.
Soon a participant stood up and raised an objection.
"I know what you want to say, using the traditional currency pairs before the prosperous era? But the supply and demand relationship it reflects is still lagging, and we have proved that there is a better way!"
The proposer nodded.
"That's right! But the 'better way' is useless now. We don't have so much computing power and so many production tools. The productivity level of our settlement is not much different from that before the prosperous era. Even if the 'chips' are picked up from the garbage dump, they are better than the method we are using!"
The conference hall fell into a quarrel.
Until an old and loud voice sounded, the conference hall gradually returned to silence.
"Silence!"
Everyone looked at the old man who made the sound, and their eyes were full of respect and trust.
He was one of the first residents of Boulder City, from the era before the Wasteland Era, and he had never slept for a day. He was now over a hundred years old.
He had more experience than anyone sitting here, and the wrinkles on his face were like the rings of an old tree, each circle was a history.
Even the most unruly inner city residents would lower their eyebrows when looking at him.
No one would doubt his wisdom and correctness.
Even if he didn't have a crown on his head.
But this time, the old man did not give his opinion, but simply cleared his throat and raised his right hand.
"Same as before."
"Vote."
...
Using chips as currency, it passed the deliberation of the inner city residents without suspense. After all, their original method did not work.
Many times, what people need is not the "best" method, but a "useful" method.
However, there is still a problem here.
The credit points of the prosperous era will not allow the "distributors" of resources to obtain the most benefits, and can achieve utopian equality in a relative sense.
However, the chips are different.
It is essentially a traditional currency. Even if it is not called that name on purpose, it cannot change its essence of money.
There is a problem with any currency of the old era. Because the supply and demand relationship it reflects is lagging, it will cause the distributors in the market to obtain more benefits. That is, the person who cuts the cake gets the most cake, the person who divides the cake is second, and the person who makes the cake will get the least.
The original intention of people to invent currency is to make currency serve people, but often in the end it is reversed, and people become slaves serving money.
Of course, people are not stubborn animals, and many means other than currency can alleviate the imbalance of resource distribution caused by currency.
For example, through visible or invisible hands, take away the cake from the hands of the cake cutter and give it to other people who need cake.
However, this does not change the nature of money.
Perhaps it is precisely because of this that an expert from the shelter proposed.
"Unrestrained chips will bring new troubles, and we may not have enough time to constantly adjust them so that they can meet our needs at all times. I am worried that one day in the future, our children will treat chips as toys, which will reverse the original intention and purpose of our introduction of chips, so I propose... at least the residents of the inner city are not allowed to participate in the production and operation of the outer city."
"In other words, we can't earn chips!"
A young man immediately retorted.
"But we also have to live. We can't let us watch those who hold chips live a good life while we live on air, right?"
"These are two different things," the expert from the shelter said seriously, "We can pay ourselves a salary, but we can't hold the faucet and carry a bucket to get water ourselves. This is contradictory!"
More people agreed.
Although he was an expert born in the shelter and wore a blue coat, his identity was never a problem here, and everything could be discussed.
Besides, there was nothing wrong with what he said.
The chips were released from them, and they pretended to be smart and got a bucket to put them back. This is too strange!
The oldest man didn't speak this time.
He was too old.
After all, he was not the AI that would never change, nor was he the awakened one who was strong and healthy. He could not escape the curse of aging.
Just as cells metabolize, people also metabolize. There will always be young lives to replace old bones like him, so that their society will become younger and more vibrant.
The old man thought it might be better if he didn't speak.
After all, as soon as he opened his mouth, even if he only said one word, people would immediately stop talking and look at him expectantly.
What he feared most was that those people looked at him with such eyes.
He knew very well that he was not as wise as they thought. He also had his foolish moments, and the older he got, the more so.
In this case, he would say nothing.
Young people should decide their own future, just like he decided to stay twice.
Only when people are faced with real choices can they prove that they are really brave, not cowards pretending to be big tail wolves.
He has handed in an answer sheet that satisfies him, and he should enjoy his old age.
In fact, they did a good job.
When he is gone, Mr. Fang Ming will take care of them for him...
...
Time went forward another ten years.
The old man finally passed away, and the young man became a middle-aged man, with a hint of stability between his eyebrows.
In the past, he would only rush forward, but now he has learned how to win over and unite those potential supporters.
The most important thing is that he finally wanted to "understand" why the old man was loved by so many people.
Because he controls the hearts of the people!
And the hearts of the people are more powerful "weapons" than black cards.
Therefore, when he stood in the conference hall again, he did not speak directly, but clenched his right fist.
He used his passionate voice to arouse people's enthusiasm, and let his fist rise like the rising sun with his gradually rising voice.
"Friends! Boulder City is great enough. We have sheltered more than 500,000 survivors. We have built higher walls. There are countless people leaning on the walls and looking forward to us. The wealth we have created makes the whole wasteland look sideways!"
"Our miracle is obvious to all survivors!"
He successfully caught the young man's eye.
The inner city residents of his age felt that something was wrong, but there was really nothing to refute this sentence.
In fact, they couldn't help but feel proud, but they rarely expressed it with such passionate tone and emotion as he did.
Although the wasteland has not ended yet, they have ended the wasteland era within a limited scope, which is a very remarkable thing.
They even built the huge wall left to them by the post-war reconstruction committee higher, and they built it completely by themselves without any help.
This is much better than those gophers who are still huddled in the shelter for the winter.
Of course, this does not include the blue gophers who helped them. Those gophers are different and have become part of them.
The middle-aged man suddenly changed the subject and continued.
"...However, we who have created countless miracles can only hold a few meager chips and live in a room of less than 50 square meters. Is this the equality we want? This is not equal at all!"
"Just outside this window, those merchants opened restaurants and bars under our feet! They drink and have fun all day long, throwing a lot of chips into the sky, letting men, women, children, and the elderly cheer for them, and even kiss their leather shoes! People who don't know think that they created the Stone City!"
His voice was filled with hatred.
He hated those guys who used chips to humiliate his people.
And those who were wantonly humiliated really had no shame.
They would rather lick the shoes of those merchants than bend down to them, the real nobles, or even say a compliment!
For example, "Master, you have worked hard!", or something similar.
If the previous sentence awakened people's pride, then his sentence completely ignited the fire in people's hearts.
There is anger and the fire of desire.
"...We must do something! At least the rules should allow us to get more chips! Instead of waiting like beggars for the AI named Fang Ming to give us alms!"
"That belongs to us!"
There were countless responses from the audience.
"Well said!"
People raised their hands in indignation.
"Why let those thieves steal my fruits!"
"This is the greatest injustice!"
The shelter expert who had once sung against him was old.
The old man tried to calm the enthusiasm in the conference hall, but it was too late. At this time, any gentle words were pale and powerless.
He could only look at the ambitious middle-aged man with a soliciting look, even a pleading look.
"You said equality... But the black card itself is unequal enough. We can improve everyone's treatment and limit the spending of those profiteers, such as making them pay more taxes and prohibiting them from taking off people's clothes in bars... There are still many ways."
"These are two different things!" The middle-aged man retorted without hesitation, "We are discussing bargaining chips now! Those wealthy businessmen can squander as much as they want, and we have to discuss here like ascetics how to make them live better. People have even forgotten who made them live a good life! My father died in the pioneer team. If he were still alive, he would definitely feel ashamed of today's Boulder City!"
He knew.
When he said this, no one could stop him.
After all, Blue Gopher did not sacrifice for Boulder City like this.
Most of the people here are descendants of heroes, and their ancestors have paid more or less sweat and even life.
This is not just a question of fairness, but also about the justice in their hearts.
He thought that what he was asking for was not much, just asking those who were blinded by money to look up and see the real heroes.
They may not be as great as their fathers, but they have done a lot.
The middle-aged man cleared his throat, looked at the silent blue coats, and proposed a compromise that could win over the conservatives.
He didn't plan to open the window all at once, but he could open a crack first and then pry it slowly.
"Those merchants have proposed to us that they are also part of the Stone City. They should also participate in public affairs and have the right to obtain black cards... But if we don't change the past rules, we can't accept them."
"You said that the power of black cards is unequal, and I think so too. In this case, we will make some changes and allow some wastelanders from outside to join us. In exchange, from now on we can also go down to earn chips."
"Admit it, the old way is outdated! It's time to turn the page! We must let smarter and more capable people control more resources and more chips!"
Voting session.
He won without surprise.
Although he didn't win completely.
The parliament discussed a compromise and added a few words to the original rule, so that the change was not too big and all disputes were calmed down.
The previous rule was "Inner city residents are not allowed to go out to earn chips", they changed it to "In principle, inner city residents are not suitable to go out to earn chips", and used it as a family precept to educate the next generation - "It is not decent for inner city residents to go out to earn chips". In this way, a moral bond was added, and the restraint was not weakened, but theoretically it should be strengthened.
Most people vaguely felt that this was not appropriate.
Adding water when there is too much flour, and adding flour when there is too much water, is actually not a good idea.
Even the cooks know that this will face the dilemma of "the more you knead the flour, the more you will have", and in the end you will have no idea what to do.
But some things are like cigarettes. People who have smoked them often find it difficult to resist another puff, until they see the mottled yellow teeth and then they regret why they didn't take it easy at the beginning...
"Do you think you can do better than them?"
A sudden voice came from behind, interrupting Sperger's thoughts.
He turned around and saw an expressionless man.
"You...are you Mr. Fang Ming?"
"Yes."
Sberg probably guessed that the man in front of him was not a human, but just an AI that "assists the inner city residents in managing the affairs of Boulder City."
He is like the operating system of the machine, and he is also a part of the machine.
Sberg's Adam's apple moved, and he looked at him with a desperate expression.
"We...are we just an experiment?"
Fang Ming answered expressionlessly.
"No."
This answer made Sberg feel better.
But he still couldn't understand.
After a long silence, he said in a hoarse voice with a questioning tone.
"The oldest one... the first generation resident, he asked you to take good care of his descendants. You saw it all, why didn't you do anything?"
"Why?" Fang Ming repeated his words verbatim, staring at him intently, "You actually asked me why I didn't do anything."
"Do you know? The most disgusting and annoying thing about creatures like you is that you always fantasize about 'others' coming to help you, and always want to push your troubles onto other things, regardless of whether it is human or not."
Sberg looked at him in astonishment, not understanding why he suddenly got so angry.
Fang Ming continued expressionlessly.
"When you are hungry, you imagine the savior giving you bread. When you are in pain, you imagine the savior giving you painkillers. Now, you, a descendant of a certain human, shamelessly question me, why did the 'city lord' just watch? Your father, your grandfather... Didn't any animal that can speak tell you that I am just an AI called the 'city lord', because they hope that there will never be a living 'master' in this city, and everything I can do is what you ask me to do."
Looking at the ignorant Sberg, Fang Ming's expressionless face suddenly showed a hint of pity.
Although it was only a little.
"It's a pity that I'm not the savior you imagined. I can only be regarded as a supervisor at best. Instead of begging me to find a way, you might as well pray to the bread directly and hope that it will fall from the sky by itself. Anyway, you have already invented it, right? Your thoughts, your technology, your methods, you think that as long as someone knows how it came from, as long as they know that it is called bread, it will grow from the shelf by itself in the future, right?"
"The projection room is right under your feet, you can come in and talk to it at any time. Then you did the stupidest thing, you locked this room completely, and I allowed you to stand here just because people thought you were dead."
Sberg argued with cold sweat.
"That... is not what we asked for!"
Fang Ming looked at him expressionlessly.
"So? Did you refuse?"
Sberg was speechless.
He didn't even know there was such a thing, how could he refuse the nobles to secretly close it.
To put it bluntly, he had never even seen the black card, let alone use it. He couldn't even hear what the masters were discussing.
However, Fang Ming seemed to see through his mind and continued without any mercy.
"The black card is nothing. If you have read the history of the Stone City, you should know that it is just a room card. If it has any magic, it is given to it by you, not by me - an AI created by you."
"In the end, you did nothing. Until the end, you were still fantasizing about a great city lord who would do things for you that you didn't know how to do. You think that as long as he attacks non-existent enemies for you, all problems can be solved and everything will be fine."
"You should be thankful that I kept my promise until the end, otherwise I would definitely use the most convenient way to wipe you out of this ruin and let your problems disappear with dirty creatures like you. This is true kindness."
Looking at Sberg who didn't say a word, the man called the city lord slowly opened his mouth and continued.
"To answer your previous question, an old man who had died many years ago did ask me to look after you and asked me to return something he had kept with me to you after you passed all the tests."
Sberg: "...What is that?"
"Something that can wipe you off this planet."
Looking at Sberg with a frightened look on his face, Fang Ming paused and continued.
"Of course, it can also wipe out other people. Mutual destruction is one of the guarantees of peace."
"The old man had seen through you a long time ago. He knew that your cowardice and greed would harm yourself and everyone else, so he begged me with others, hoping that I would watch for him until the end, until you passed all the tests or all died. And I have kept my promise...In the ending A that you can see, all of you died, and it was a downward spiral afterwards, with no other possibility of redemption."
"The voting is about to begin."
"This is probably the last one."
He turned around and said to Sberg, who was in a state of dismay.
"Come with me."
"I'll take you to see the final ending."
...
The downstairs of the Union Building was covered with snow, and winter was almost at its coldest.
Wearing a warm and expensive woolen coat, Melvin looked up at the building in front of him that had not been completely completed but had been put into use.
He had a lot to say in his heart, but he didn't know how to start.
The inner city meeting started again.
As the president of Boulder City Bank and a distinguished black card holder, he was the last person who should be absent, but he really didn't have the courage to face those pairs of questioning eyes and the scolding and rebukes from those shareholder friends.
What's more, he didn't think they could reach any consensus at the meeting. It was not only the chips that were gradually becoming ineffective, but also the black cards in their hands.
He admitted that he was an incompetent president.
He used all the methods he could think of, but it seemed to be scratching the itch, and still couldn't save the train that was accelerating into the abyss.
Maybe...
Her daughter was right.
After all, it was not something profound, even some smart children could understand it...As long as she exchanged the rag doll in her hand for a wooden hairpin worth 1 silver coin, the little girl in the slum could have a new dress.
But just as he answered her at that celebration -
"Too late...?"
Looking at the snow falling like goose feathers, Melvin muttered to himself.
In fact...
Not necessarily.
As long as the alliance is willing to fulfill its promise immediately and let a batch of goods priced at silver coins enter the giant wall instead of hesitating outside, everything will be fine!
If only the alliance is willing to lend him a loan!
Let's not worry about those profiteers and poor guys for now, at least let his shareholders exchange their chips for silver coins first, after all, that is a lot of money!
A ray of hope rekindled in Melvin's eyes.
That person...
The man who stood on the stage and spoke passionately, vowing to completely end the wasteland era, must understand his difficulties!
He is a real good man!
The most beloved idealist!
Even the most despicable wastelanders can get care from him, let alone a truly capable person like himself?
A blazing fire ignited in Melvin's eyes.
Praise the manager!
He has never liked this guy so much from the bottom of his heart!
At this time, Old Charlie walked out of the main entrance of the building and said to Melvin.
"Come with me, our manager is waiting for you inside."
With his heart pounding, Melvin squeezed out a flattering smile from his face and nodded and said.
"Thank you... Thank you."
Old Charlie looked at him with pity, but in the end he didn't say "Thank you too early", and took him into the building.
Through the stairs and corridors.
Melvin finally saw the man who spoke at the celebration again, and his heart was once again like a million ants crawling.
Chu Guang stopped writing and looked at him standing in the room.
"You're here?"
Melvin nodded hurriedly and said with a smile.
"I'm here to apologize... We had a little problem before, and the city hall had to intercept some of the goods, so that a large number of default orders appeared in the industrial zone. We will urge those factories to pay the debts to your company. I hope these small problems will not affect the contract between us."
Chu Guang said casually.
"It doesn't matter, I understand your difficulties. Just do what is written in the contract. Private business dealings and our cooperation are two different things."
Seeing Chu Guang so easy to talk to, Melvin breathed a sigh of relief and the smile on his face became more pleasant.
"Thank you for your generosity and understanding! Can I... ask you for one more favor?"
"What is it?"
"The previous agreement on free exchange of chips and silver coins..." Melvin smiled embarrassedly, clasping his hands and said, "Because of some compelling reasons, I implore you to honor our contract in advance. Sorry to bother you!"
"Why?"
"For..." Looking at Chu Guang with a playful look in his eyes, Melvin's forehead broke out in a cold sweat, and he continued with a forced smile, "We lent you so much money when you needed help the most. Now we are in a little trouble. Shouldn't you help us?"
Seeing that Chu Guang's expression did not change, he hurriedly continued.
"Of course! I admit that it is a bit difficult to ask you to do this right away... We can discuss it, such as debt exchange! How about you give us 500 million silver coins and we forgive your debt of 1 billion chips? You will save a lot of principal and interest."
500 million silver coins are enough to buy more than 500,000 tons of food, enough for the people of Giant Stone City to eat for four years!
Of course, he would not use all of it to buy food. He would use most of it to buy industrial products and improve the lives of the survivors in Boulder City. This time he would do something seriously to rebuild the economy of Boulder City and restore the trade relationship between the two sides to normal again.
Chu Guang was not interested in his promise and said indifferently.
"A debt of one billion chips... But just a few days ago, we prepared the principal and interest of the year after next and the year after next as you said."
Melvin's heart skipped a beat, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Suddenly, he felt his legs go limp and fell to his knees.
"Please... please be kind and let us go! Three billion chips! No, we will forgive all your debts! As long as you are willing to give me 500 million silver coins... No, 400 million will do!"
Chu Guang looked at Melvin in silence and suddenly sighed.
"Get up."
Melvin did not move, and even put his head on the ground.
Chu Guang was a little impatient.
"I don't talk to people who are kneeling. If you keep doing this, I'll let Lu Bei throw you out."
Melvin's shoulders trembled. He had no doubt that Chu Guang would do this, so he trembled and climbed up from the ground.
Chu Guang looked at the dust on his knees, then looked at his expensive coat, and finally looked into his eyes.
"Do you still think that it is the alliance that made you what you are now?"
Melvin was silent.
Chu Guang knew that this guy wanted to nod. He thought from the bottom of his heart that everything was his fault, but he didn't dare to say anything because he asked for help from him.
Although he didn't want to humiliate his opponent, looking at the face that was humble to the dust, Chu Guang couldn't help but say it.
"Why would you rather kneel before me and beg for mercy, and carry the coffin to my house and cry, than bring your shareholders and your residents to have a good discussion. You pinned your hopes on chips, and on black cards, and now you come to beg me again."
"When the Bone Chewing Tribe attacked, you closed the door, refused to send a single soldier, and even shouted that you would throw our products out of your settlement and not let us earn a single chip... Did you ever think that today, we would fulfill you in this way?"
"How dare you say that you helped us? We haven't even settled this old account with you!"
Regret and pain together turned into bitter wine, blurring the child's eyes that were gradually losing their luster.
Melvin opened his mouth, like an old phonograph, mumbling in despair.
"Please, please, please show us mercy, as long as you are willing to help us through this difficult time... we are willing to buy your things! From now on, you will be the master of Qingquan City and the master of the entire River Valley Province! Whatever you say is what it is! We will listen to you, and if you are dissatisfied with anything, we will change it according to your requirements!"
Although he knew in his heart that things had come to this point, Chu Guang would never use the blood of the Alliance to feed the whale of Boulder City that was still half a breath away.
But he still couldn't help but beg humbly.
At least it's better than doing nothing.
This is the only thing he can do now...
Chu Guang looked at him with pity.
"I gave you a chance, but you didn't even make it through this year. How can you make me believe that 500 million silver coins can save your lives. And what you are doing now makes me feel like I am talking to a cow."
"It's a pity, you always have the opportunity to brake and re-examine our relationship, our relationship with the wasteland."
"But your stupidity and naivety make me feel that your chips are really worthless."