"Are you a glutton or what?!"
Staring at the ss on the table, Dolly’s eyes widened in shock.
A lizard at skewer, as long as a forearm and thick as two fingers, cramd full of tails charred to a ruddy finish, valued at three chips.
She was already full after eating just one, yet this guy had polished off a whole four skewers!
Dolly’s gaze inevitably shifted downward.
She wanted to figure out where on Earth all the food this guy ate had gone?!
"Aren’t you the one who told to make myself at ho?"
Fang Chang calmly wiped his mouth with a napkin, appreciating the expression on her face for a mont.
After so thought, he went on to criticize.
"The taste is indeed average, nowhere near as good as back ho."
It seed the lizard at was imported from the south, where he had heard that there were farms raising edible lizards.
There was also crocodile at, which chewed much like chicken.
But then again, the cost of living here was really steep, such a simple dinner had already run up a bill of twenty chips.
Fang Chang couldn’t help thinking that opening an old street barbecue joint in Giant Stone City could be quite profitable.
Although most of the residents here couldn’t afford to splurge, the rcenaries certainly could.
Looking at the pile of wooden skewers on the plate, the corner of Dolly’s mouth twitched as she reluctantly reached into her pocket.
However, Fang Chang had already tossed a green chip worth twenty-five into the waiter’s tray.
"...Bring two more beers and another lizard skewer, and keep the change."
"...Yes, sir." The waiter rolled his eyes inwardly as he looked at the green chip on the platter.
Keep the change indeed.
There wasn’t any change to give back in the first place!
Seeing Fang Chang picking up the tab, Dolly was stunned.
After quite a while, when the beer and skewers arrived, she muttered softly.
"Weren’t you my guest... why did you pay for it?"
"Once I get my first paycheck, I’ll treat you then. You better save your chips for rent and loan repaynt," Fang Chang said as he sipped the beer, which tasted as weak as water, and teased Dolly, who pouted, "Besides, treating with the chips I gave you doesn’t seem right. I feel like I’m losing out."
"But, but it’s what I earned!" Dolly protested with a flushed face. "How can that be considered using your chips?"
Fang Chang couldn’t help but laugh at her amusing reaction.
"Right, right."
He never thought that one day, he’d beco friends with a string of data.
But putting that aside, it was quite an interesting experience...
...
North outskirts of Qingquan City.
At the entrance and exit of the provincial highway, a dense crowd of figures was slowly approaching from the distance.
Rather than a comrcial team, they looked more like a military convoy.
The man leading them was clad in light gray power armor, heavy steel, and composite materials armored him from toes to teeth.
The Gauss rifle he held in his hand was like a greatsword laid across his chest.
The hundred or so people following him, aside from the twenty power armors, were all wearing "Pioneer" exoskeletons and carrying "Black Swan" assault rifles.
Unlike the crew of the Pioneer, they were a corporate army, real soldiers.
Judging by the bullet holes and scratches on their vehicles and armor, their journey had been anything but smooth, and they’d seen their fair share of intense battles, not just one or two.
At that mont, the man at the front raised his right hand, and the thick formation ca to a slow stop.
A short distance ahead of him stood an azure power armor.
The man fixated on the power armor for a while.
If he rembered correctly, this model was called "Supervisor," a police-type armor from the Human Alliance Era.
Behind the azure power armor were dozens of soldiers clad in "Type Five" exoskeletons, also a police-type armor from the Human Alliance Era.
Such equipnt was generally only seen in shelters.
The man was about to say sothing.
But the power armor in front of him took the initiative to lift its helt visor, speaking out with a resounding voice.
"Welco, friends from the East Coast. I am the Manager of Shelter No. 404 and also the manager of the New Alliance. You can call by my na, Chu Guang, or by my code na, Dawn."
Seeing the visor lifted on the other side, the man at the front tapped twice on the side of his helt, opening his own visor as a gesture of sincerity.
Just as Chu Guang had expected, there was a robust face beneath the helt.
Younger than he had imagined; he looked to be just in his early twenties.
"Yun Song, captain of Assault Team No. 26 of the corporate army," the man introduced himself.
"We’ve left from the Ideal City to reinforce the Pioneer in the Western Desert. Our intentions have been communicated to you over the channel."
"We need to resupply and rest here for a few days before we continue our journey."
Captain Yun Song, whose speech was very direct and uncompromising, had a distinct military style, completely different from the engineers Chu Guang had dealt with before.
Chu Guang glanced at the followers behind him, soldiers ard to the teeth, numbering about one hundred and twenty or thirty.
The remaining thirty or fifty people were probably logistical personnel, only a few of whom carried pistols or similar self-defense weapons.
In addition, there were nearly ten semi-wheeled and semi-tracked vehicles, probably loaded with supplies.
And those twenty or thirty double-headed cows and mutated donkeys carrying cargo didn’t seem to have co from Ideal City. They were probably picked up along the way.
Unchanged in deanor, Chu Guang still wore a smile as warm as the spring breeze.
"Welco, the doors of the Alliance are always open to its friends!"
"This isn’t the place for conversation. We’ve prepared a banquet to provide a warm reception for you."
"Please follow ."
The "Long Endurance Farm" built by the Pioneer for Shelter No. 404, had an exchange condition: to provide a resting place for the employees and troops of the corporation when their reinforcents passed through the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.
Seeing that the Manager before him was fulfilling the agreent, Yun Song’s eyebrows relaxed slightly, and a smile spread across his tense face.
"Thank you."
"Don’t ntion it."
With an ever-present smile on his face, Chu Guang replied calmly.
"We are friends. It is only right to lend a hand to a friend in trouble!"
...
City of Dawn did not prohibit Waste Land Wanderers carrying weapons from entering, but there were requirents for the scale of the ard personnel and the types of weapons.
For example, regular rcenary groups and caravan guards could enter and leave freely, but ard forces exceeding 50 people had to register in advance before entering.
Additional ammunition and explosives had to be left at the trading station next to North Street and could not be brought into City of Dawn. They could be taken away upon departure.
Carried weapons wouldn’t have their magazines checked, but the safety must not be disengaged arbitrarily, especially on the streets, where the muzzle must always be pointed downward.
Drones patrolled the skies above City of Dawn.
Any violations would trigger the launch of the guard team within 10 minutes, and depending on the threat level, nearby players would receive an arrest mission.
For these soldiers who ca from afar, in terms of numbers, equipnt, and nature, they had obviously exceeded the ordinary scope and naturally couldn’t be treated like a regular rcenary group during the entry process.
However, as the corporation was a partner of the New Alliance, Chu Guang generously granted them the permission for military transit.
The garrison was selected next to the airport.
With the 2nd Army being moved to patrol West State City, there were plenty of available barracks.
Upon reaching the entrance of the barracks, many of the soldiers’ faces showed signs of relief.
Clearly, they had endured much hardship on the way.
A surprised look spread across Yun Song’s face as he repeatedly compared with the tablet in his hand.
The screen displayed photos taken by the Pioneer.
The barren land was once nothing but a concrete enclosing wall, with a few barracks made of foam material.
Yet everything before him was unrelated to the photos in his hands.
Row upon row of tidy barracks sat on the open space, with several wooden hangars next to the straight runway, 100 mm cannons standing tall, and not far off, a reinforced communication tower.
Looking southwest, one could see the brightly lit night. Although the full scope of the survivor settlent couldn’t be seen, from the flickering outline alone, it was clear that it was a thriving settlent with a population of perhaps no less than ten thousand.
The strong contrast left Yun Song stunned in place, and he couldn’t help but turn to Chu Guang and ask.
"This place... is it really Long Endurance Farm?"
He suspected he might have gone to the wrong place.
Anticipating his astonishnt, Chu Guang smiled and said.
"That’s a na from history now; it’s called City of Dawn these days."
"As for the farm, it’s just a corner to the northwest of City of Dawn. We transford the barren land north of the lake into farmland. If you had co here half a year earlier, you could still see the track marks left by the Pioneer on the land."
"But now, it has been covered by a vast expanse of rice and corn fields."
Yun Song didn’t speak, but the amazent in his heart was clearly etched on his face.
Such an event would not be surprising around Ideal City.
Due to trade with the corporation, many survivor settlents in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng had also developed very well.
Especially those around Cloud-On-City and Cloud-Below-City, which beca opulent thanks to the extensive trade routes and the remnants of pre-war civilization.
Yet such a miracle had occurred deep inland in the wilderness!
It was utterly inconceivable!
However, now was not the ti to discuss such matters.
With a composed expression, Yun Song looked towards Chu Guang and earnestly said.
"We have 20 wounded among our team. Before settling us, can you provide resting beds for them first?"
"Wounded?" Chu Guang asked in slight surprise.
Yun Song nodded, his face grave as he spoke.
"When we passed by Yongdong City, we were ambushed by a group of mucosal entities disguised as survivors... Four brothers remain there forever, and another 20 suffered varying degrees of infection during the battle."
"Their symptoms are very rare. In addition to being irritable and aggressive, they also have increased appetite, drowsiness, and uncontrollable violent behavior."
"Without the professional dical equipnt and personnel to handle their conditions and no cryogenic hibernation devices to alleviate their pain, we can only periodically inject them with sedatives."
"Continuing on the road with them is a burden, and it’s dangerous for them. We plan to leave them here temporarily."
"In July, a corporate caravan will return from the west, and they will take our wounded back to Ideal City. We will need to trouble you to look after them for a while... Of course, we will pay you for your service."
Listening to the words of the assault team captain before him, Chu Guang’s expression also slightly changed.
Disguised as survivors, sli molds?
Had the Lair in Yongdong City developed to that extent?
What surprised Chu Guang even more was that even this group of professional soldiers, ard to the teeth with high-tech equipnt, had been caught off guard by the mucosal entities there.
If he rembered correctly, Batch, who opened an aluminum factory in the "North Suburb," seed to have been parasitized in that very Yongdong City too.
"I will have my doctor look at you guys," Chu Guang said seriously.
Although he didn’t hold much hope for the small clinic here, Yun Song still nodded his head.
"Thanks for the trouble."
...
The welcoming banquet was held in the army barracks, and these big-headed soldiers weren’t fussy about the dining environnt.
Instead, after so many days of living exposed to the elents, just having a table to eat at already made them feel delighted.
Not to ntion the rumors about delicacies.
When they first crossed the border of River Valley Province, many were filled with expectation.
And now, that expectation had indeed not been let down.
Over twenty round tables were set up in the open space, with the center of each table cut out to accommodate a large pot.
Stones were piled up underneath the pot, with blazing charcoal fire burning inside. The boiling pot churned with froth, and the air was filled with enticing aromas from the steam, causing everyone sitting at the tables to constantly swallow their saliva.
Thin slices of at and various atballs were placed in wooden racks on the tables, alongside sliced cabbage, water-droplet laden bean sprouts, mushrooms, tofu chunks, instant noodles, and more.
Eyes darting between the pot and the ingredients on the table, a corporate soldier sitting there couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked,
"...What is this? How do we eat it?"
"Hotpot, it’s quite a common way of eating here. Just like this, you put the ingredients in and cook them, then scoop them out to eat," Lu Bei said with a smile as he demonstrated.
He picked up a slice of beef as thin as paper with his chopsticks, swished it in the pot a couple of tis, and then dipped it into a sauce plate before popping it into his mouth.
Seeing how deliciously he ate, the other soldiers around the round table started to follow suit with great enthusiasm.
The two groups ate and talked, and the atmosphere was as lively as the steam rising from the pot.
At first, everyone was sowhat reserved.
But after a few slices of beef accompanied by beer were consud, they quickly ward up to each other, and the conversation flowed more freely.
Looking at these ravenous n, the nearby Guards Corps soldier, eating at the sa table, couldn’t resist asking,
"Say, don’t you guys have hotpot where you’re from?"
He had heard that Ideal City was a very affluent place, purported to be the closest to the Prosperity Epoch utopia on this wasteland.
In comparison, their neighbor Giant Stone City seed as insignificant as a speck of dust on a diamond.
Despite the exaggerations in the rumors, seeing these famished fellows, it was hard for Lu Bei to picture just how affluent that place could be.
A few corporate soldiers exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.
"No idea, I’m a Level F employee."
"I’m actually Level E, and I should be promoted to D after I get back."
"The defense departnt’s pay grade goes up by a half, but the Cr they give can only buy so basic food."
"We don’t really care much about the thods of cooking, but protein and fat are not too scarce."
"The restaurant processes the food and serves it up, and the flavors are generally not as potent as this."
At that mont, a corporate soldier who had been busily stuffing his face without joining the conversation, couldn’t help but raise his head and let out an envious swear.
"Damn... do you guys eat like this every day?"
Lu Bei smiled shyly.
"Not really every day... just occasionally."
Who could handle eating hotpot every day, after all?
Even if one’s stomach could withstand it, the rear end certainly couldn’t.
There were plenty of good things in North Street of Dawn City, and the New Alliance treated its soldiers quite well, so they didn’t have to fixate on eating the sa thing voraciously.
Hearing this from their allies, the envious corporate soldiers seed to finally find so balance in their hearts.
As expected.
Such delicious food wasn’t sothing one could afford to eat every day...
...
Due to the urgency of ti and the inability to prepare dinner for more than two hundred people, Chu Guang had a stroke of insight and simply invited them to have hotpot.
This kind of food that can be cooked while being eaten is not too troubleso to prepare, and it could even be cut while eating, plus the hotpot base was pre-made.
As for arranging for the soldiers of the Guards Corps to dine with the corporate soldiers who had co from far away, that too was Chu Guang’s arrangent.
The main reason for doing so was to foster friendship between the two sides and to dispel any wariness.
Of course, there was another reason, which was to borrow their prestige.
Long ago, Chu Guang had heard that the nobles and rich rchants of Giant Stone City were the corporate’s number one "bootlickers." The entire industrial system of the outer city, even the layout of so city blocks, were modeled and improved upon that of the corporate.
Commodities from Ideal City, especially high-tech products, often sold at astronomical prices in the inner city of Giant Stone City.
If it weren’t for the reluctance to lose the benefits in the city and the distance being too great, those nobles would probably have run off to the East Coast to enjoy their blessings by now.
Thinking this, Chu Guang, sitting at the dining table, couldn’t help but reveal a aningful smile.
"If this photo appears on the front page of ’Survivor’s Daily’ tomorrow, I wonder what those nobles from the Inner City will think."
"The corporate delegation arrived at the ’North Suburb’ with the 26th Assault Team of the Army Departnt, to engage in a friendly exchange with the Alliance Guards."
He even ca up with a headline for the new newspaper.
"What is this noodle made of?" As he dropped another block of instant noodles into the hotpot, the deputy officer of the assault team couldn’t help but ask.
In the Ideal City, noodles were commonplace, but this was the first ti he had seen fried noodles.
Although the idea of deep-fried carbs sounded extrely unhealthy, the taste turned out to be unexpectedly addictive.
Especially after boiling it in a spicy hotpot, the flavor was simply fantastic!
Perhaps it was because he was hungry from the journey, but from the first bite until now, he hadn’t stopped eating.
This was already his third bowl!
"...It’s a type of convenience food that can be cooked in a hotpot or just by adding hot water. You ca in such a rush—if you had inford us a day or two earlier, we could have prepared a more sumptuous al," said Chu Guang, smiling.
It was noticeable that the corporate didn’t allocate much budget for this visit.
Even the logistics were outsourced to rchants from the Wasteland.
The man sitting to the right of Yun Song was the rchant accompanying the military; his na was He Ding, and he claid to be a rchant wandering the Wasteland.
However, being in charge of the logistics for a long journey, he didn’t seem to be just any ordinary rchant.
"...To keep adding food to the hotpot while eating, I’ve never seen such an odd way of eating."
The rchant nad He Ding chewed his food slowly with a curious expression on his face.
It seed as if he had discovered a business opportunity.
"Is this not common elsewhere?" Chu Guang casually asked.
"There are similar things, but the flavors are not so intense..." After taking a sip of beer, He Ding suddenly changed the subject and looked at Chu Guang, "May I inquire about the recipe for the seasoning? Of course, I am willing to pay for it."
Chu Guang said with a smile.
"It’s no secret. If you’re interested, you can have a chat with the chef later."
He Ding shook his head, saying in a joking tone.
"In my many years of doing business, the first experience I learned is that free things are the most expensive. I’d rather have the opportunity to pay for goods directly."
Chu Guang looked at him with slight surprise.
It seed this guy wasn’t easy to fool.
But that made sense.
Most of the crew mbers aboard the ’Pioneer’ were engineers; it was normal for them not to be good at business.
This guy was a bona fide rchant and clearly had extensive dealings with survivor settlents outside of Ideal City.
The tricks that usually worked without a hitch for Chu Guang probably wouldn’t be as effective on him.
Chu Guang readily said, "No problem! But let’s talk about this after the party is over."
He Ding smiled.
"Thank you for giving this opportunity. In fact, I’m quite interested not just in the hotpot, but also in the instant noodle cakes."
"Although they don’t seem to be high in nutritional value, I guess they’re not difficult to preserve and can provide a large amount of calories. If combined with so dehydrated vegetables, they might be quite popular with rcenaries and comrcial teams."
Not bad.
This guy has sothing!
Chu Guang’s look of surprise towards him grew.
It wasn’t sothing very difficult to think of.
But being able to sniff out a business opportunity from a bowl of noodles before the al was even over, this guy was indeed not simple.
Chu Guang laughed heartily.
"You’ve got it!"
"Our instant noodles are actually most popular among rcenaries, followed by long-distance comrcial teams."
He Ding was intrigued.
"Can you tell more?"
"No problem!"
Chu Guang found that he got along quite well with this guy, especially when they talked about investing in factories, expanding sales channels, and entering the market of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.
But just then, Chu Guang suddenly noticed that the team leader nad Yun Song seed sowhat distracted while eating, so he asked with concern.
"Is it not to your taste?"
"No, your food is delicious, thank you for your hospitality," Yun Song sighed, staring at the bottle on the table with a hint of worry in his eyes, "I’m just a little concerned about those injured brothers."
Chu Guang could sense his feelings at the mont, but didn’t know what to say, only offering so words of comfort.
"Don’t worry, our hospitals here may not have the conditions that you have, but our doctors and biologists are absolutely professional. Especially when it cos to research on the Lair and Mucosal Entities, we’ve been dealing with those things long ago."
As he was speaking, a flash from his VM on his arm caught his attention, and a pop-up ssage appeared on the screen.
Chu Guang tapped to open it and saw that the ssage was sent from Heya.
[The inhibitor has been injected, the patient’s condition is stable.]
With a slight surprise raising his eyebrow, Chu Guang’s face imdiately brightened with a pleasant smile.
"...We were just talking about good news, and here it cos."
---
(Thanks to "一叶落而知天下秋丶" for the generous rewards!!!)
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