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Falling Feather: "Three days! The resurrection cooldown hasn’t changed for three days! Do you know how I’ve been getting through these days? T.T"
Edge Shoveling: "The bug hasn’t been fixed yet?"
Night Ten: "Shocked! (Sarcastic)"
Falling Feather: "I’m breaking apart..."
Fang Chang: "Stay calm, it’s just three days. Originally, the trash gentleman disconnected imdiately after leaving the shelter, missed several versions, and still made it through."
Falling Feather: "Several versions?! No way, right? QAQ"
Wild Wind: "That’s not really a bug, is it?"
Fang Chang: "True, after all. (Sly smile)"
Crow: "Eh? Speaking of which, it’s already September, and winter is coming soon. (*ﾟ∀ﾟ)"
Teng Teng: "Yes, in the recent days online, it’s noticeably cooler, you can even feel a hint of autumn breeze."
Pick up trash 99 level: "Shivering."
Old White: "Brother Trash, while you can still move, why not consider migrating south? (Grinning)"
Pick up trash 99 level: "I’ll consider it. T.T"
...
The banquet at the royal palace was still ongoing, but Chu Guang had already returned to the Iron Heart, instructing the crew to prepare for the return journey.
The ship’s air fighters, piloted by Goblin Corps pilots, landed entirely on a temporary runway on the north side of the Royal City.
They were responsible for defending the airspace of the Royal City while also supporting the army on the northwest side of Oasis No. 9.
Although the commander of the Goblin Corps had been sent south for a mission, he should have already returned to Qingquan City by now. However, with or without him, their operation wasn’t affected.
Unlike other legions, the Goblin Corps’ commander only takes care of finance and doesn’t bother commanding, sotis dying too quickly to even command.
The legion’s principle is for those who want to fly planes to fly planes and those who want to fire cannons to fire cannons; calculate their own firing elents, ask allies for air strike and cannon coordinates, and retreat if they embarrass themselves.
Using Mosquito’s own words, this is called "tactically disintegrating the whole into parts." It seems like they’re only marginally involved in every battle, but in reality, it maximizes each player’s potential, perfectly aligning with the Manager’s original intent for the Legion System.
Regardless of what the Goblin Corps’ principles were, a pilot who could land the plane on the deck of an airship undoubtedly possessed impeccable skills; paired with the ground force’s anti-aircraft artillery and radio guidance, protecting Lion City’s safety was not a significant issue.
As for Chu Guang’s departure, King Edward was naturally very reluctant to see him go.
However, the courtiers in the palace felt even more reluctant.
Many royal aristocrats, having heard at the banquet that the Alliance Manager was yet unmarried, instantly beca eager, frantically seeking connections to introduce their female relatives to the court, whether for warming beds or serving tea and water.
So much so that King Edward himself did not realize by the end of the banquet, the palace staff attending in the quarters prepared for Chu Guang had been entirely replaced.
Even the servant cleaning the bookshelf was replaced with soone’s duchess’s young daughter.
Her frail appearance made one worry whether she could even stabilize a ladder.
And the reason for all these, stemd from an unconfird rumor—
The Manager of the Alliance loves reading and has collected many books.
However, the developnt of events was unexpected to everyone except the old king.
Almost no one expected that the Manager of the Alliance didn’t even spend a night in the palace prepared by King Edward, returning to the airship even before the banquet had ended, leaving only a group of romantically delusional nobles in disarray...
On the Iron Heart.
In the bridge.
Watching the Spring Water Commander, Chu Guang briefed him on the upcoming arrangents.
"Although we have achieved a phased victory, the war is far from over. The front line has now been pushed to the very western edge of Oasis No. 9, with the farthest fortress even 1,500 kiloters away from Dawn City. Whether it’s defending or advancing in the future, it will be a rigorous test for our logistics."
"We can’t rely solely on ourselves for this war, so I have two tasks for you."
"One is to consolidate our current defense line, ensuring the autumn harvest in the Lion Kingdom goes smoothly. This is not only vital to the food supply of the residents of Oasis No. 9 but also to our food reserves."
"The other is to train the army of our allies with our equipnt and military principles. For this task, I will arrange for officers of the First Army Corps to assist you."
Given the language barriers between players and NPCs, although old players like Spring Water Commander don’t have problems with everyday communication, the efficiency of the training would definitely be affected.
This is where NPC cooperation is needed.
Throughout extended warfare, the Alliance has evolved into two distinct command systems.
One for players, and the other, for NPCs.
Loyal as ever, the Spring Water Commander placed his right fist over his heart and declared with intense eyes.
"Guarantee to complete the mission!"
Chu Guang nodded approvingly, paused for a mont, and continued.
"Rember to promote so young officers without noble backgrounds and give them opportunities to achieve comndation."
According to his observations, there are primarily two factions within the power hierarchy of the Lion Kingdom.
One is the faction loyal to the royal family, the Edward faction, which controls the palace and the civil service system, and their ideology holds that the teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea and the laws of the ancestors are immutable.
The other is Prince Wenter’s faction, mainly in the military, composed of generals holding military power, advocating conservatism in dostic policy and innovation in military affairs.
The forr attempts to integrate the Alliance to balance the latter while repelling foreign enemies to achieve "killing two birds with one stone," with the core goal of preserving their own ruling position.
The latter hopes to introduce military technology from the Alliance to strengthen their power while suppressing the forr, aiming to establish a kingdom ruled jointly by a constitutional monarch and the nobility.
Though there are disagreents on certain issues between the two factions, they are unanimous in uniting the nobility.
In such a situation, civilian-born, lower-tier military officers in the Lion Kingdom have almost no room for advancent because they are not the focus of unification from the start.
What Chu Guang aid to do was to carve a portion of the cake, originally belonging to the king and the nobles, for these young officers.
They are receptive to new ideas, discontent with the status quo, and aspired to make a difference.
Isolated from support in the military and the court, they could only lean towards the Alliance, and this was also their sole avenue to actualize their political ambitions.
These young officers’ loyalty to the Alliance would far exceed their loyalty to the king and the nobles.
This ideological bond would prove much stronger than ties maintained by bloodline.
In the end, every realm existing in the Mortal World is composed of ordinary individuals.
...
After assigning tasks for the next phase to the officers left behind, Chu Guang imdiately issued the order to set sail.
The anchor chains and elevators slowly retracted, and the towering "Steel Heart" changed its direction, boosting the output power of its propellers to maximum.
The full cruising speed of one hundred kiloters per hour allowed the "Steel Heart" to travel the nearly one thousand kiloters from the Lion City at the eastern part of the 9th Oasis to the Alliance’s City of Dawn in just one night.
As the morning sun rose on the horizon, the outlines of the urban clusters and a streak of distant white were reflected on the floor-to-ceiling windows of the bridge.
Watching the Survivor Settlent on the edge of Qingquan City, which was gradually growing, Chu Guang couldn’t help but smile with a fatherly grin.
Dozens of new buildings had sprung up on the northern business street.
The area from the north of the trade station to the cargo train platform, once a wasteland, now bristled with colorful shanties.
People were no longer content with just "North Street"; a second market that wasn’t in the plans had erged from the people’s spontaneous activities. With the increase of goods flow and trade volus, the rchants no longer just engaged with the Alliance’s trade station but also exchanged goods among themselves.
It wasn’t just comrcial prosperity.
The results the Alliance had achieved in infrastructure could also be described as miraculous.
Originally, only a railway connected the two northern and southern Survivor Settlents.
Now not only had roads been opened, but high-voltage power towers had also been erected.
The energy produced by just one controlled fusion reactor was enough to supply the entire Alliance.
The most direct impact of this change was the rapid rise of tallurgy and other energy-intensive industries, with a mass of factories and workshops springing up like mushrooms after rain across the land.
Over thirty tanks, newly arrived from the industrial district of Dawn City, were waiting to be unloaded on the cargo train platform. Behind them, a line of trucks queued on the latter half of the platform; so would be sent to the front lines and integrated into the logistics troops, others to the trade station for buyers to choose from.
Of course, the most captivating sight for Chu Guang was still the farmland by the northern shore of Lihu.
Tracks left by the "Pioneer’s" tracks had been covered by golden rice, and wild weed-infested wasteland had been driven to the forest’s edge.
And all this had happened in just a year.
"Xiao Qi."
"What is it, Master?" A vibrant voice floated to Chu Guang’s ears like a pleasant set of wind chis.
However, this ti he didn’t have any commands or instructions to impart, as everyone had done their jobs well.
It was just a mont of sheer emotion, with no one to share it with.
"It’s nothing, just thinking about how ti can sotis fly so fast, blinking an eye and a year has passed. Sotis it feels so slow, as if a lot had happened within the year."
Chu Guang didn’t expect Xiao Qi to understand that statent.
However, to his surprise, Xiao Qi sighed in his tone, also philosophical.
"Yes, the days with Master always feel so fast, so fast, but every second feels like a year when we are not together."
Hearing this, Chu Guang glanced at the little fellow swinging its feet, sitting on his shoulder.
Ever since he got this new toy, the little guy had almost been living on him.
"I didn’t leave you behind for too long, did I?"
"Hmm!" Xiao Qi confidently gave a thumbs-up, its eyes sparkling like bulbs, "Master is the best!"
"..."
After coughing lightly, Chu Guang turned away and left the side of the floor-to-ceiling window.
"It’s ti to go ashore."
"Alright!"
Reaching out to catch the floating drone, Xiao Qi obediently jumped down from Chu Guang’s shoulder and wobbled into his pocket.
Chu Guang had especially warned him to not be too conspicuous when people were around.
Regarding those rumors and gossip about himself, they were already outrageous enough.
He certainly didn’t want to be misunderstood by the crowd about having so odd quirks...
...
To avoid disrupting the residents’ lives, Chu Guang ordered the crew to fly the airship directly into Qingquan City’s territory, hovering over Lihu Wetland Park.
With tense pairs of eyes from the towering wall watching, Chu Guang took the elevator down to the surface base of Shelter No. 404.
He hadn’t even stepped out of the elevator when the sharp-eyed Mosquito spotted him and scurried over, grinning and seeking praise.
"Respected Manager, the traitor ’Falling Feather’ has been apprehended!"
"To prevent him from going berserk, we’ve locked him up in a little black room next to Nicole... But unfortunately, this guy doesn’t seem to match your mount’s taste."
Chu Guang’s brow twitched, but he didn’t bla the fellow.
Given the clues currently known, Falling Feather’s body was likely "possessed" by the ’Mutated Sli Fungus’ from Oasis No. 7.
Under the uncertain safety of this abnormal individual, having Nicole watch it was indeed the best choice. The powerful life aura emanating from Claw of Death was also a deterrent in itself.
"...I know, go do your work."
"Alright!"
After confirming the mission completion through VM, Mosquito ran off into the ether.
The Agility system was indeed fast.
Not bothering with this fellow, Chu Guang went straight to where Nicole stayed.
However, to his surprise, "Falling Feather" wasn’t overwheld by Nicole’s presence. Instead, Nicole exhibited a wary expression, dangerously glaring at the adjacent cell with bared fangs growling low.
Standing inside the cell, "Falling Feather" wore a wooden expression, appearing harmless.
After all, with that not-so-clever deanor, it was hard to imagine how much harm he could do.
Still...
The thinking patterns and perspectives of beasts differ from humans, and perhaps Nicole had sniffed sothing unfavorable off him.
Chu Guang patted Nicole’s head.
The latter made a purring sound and rubbed against his arm, its expression pleading as if asking him to move that guy farther away, or complaining about being left behind for so long.
Yin Fang and Heya were standing next to the small black cell, examining Falling Feather like assessing a product.
"It’s strange... he has everything a person should have, and even things he shouldn’t, but why can’t I sense any consciousness?"
Yin Fang’s face showed a puzzled expression.
Standing by, Heya crossed her arms, her expression deep in thought.
"Hmm... it is indeed strange, the cells ford by the mitic ’mutated sli fungus’ seem to have beco a part of him. I don’t know if it’s by changing receptors or sothing else, but they’ve managed to deceive the immune system without causing any rejection reaction. They even work more efficiently than normal body cells."
Yin Fang looked at her and asked.
"I don’t know much about ’mutated sli fungus’... I just want to know how this is different from what’s going on with Batch?"
Heya thought for a mont and said,
"The difference is quite clear, one is parasitism, the other is symbiosis."
Yin Fang: "So either way, it’s being replaced by sli fungus?"
Heya nodded but then shook her head.
"Yes, and no... For example, let pose this scenario, the you who replaced your arm with a biochanical prosthesis, are you still the sa person as before the surgery?"
Yin Fang replied matter-of-factly,
"That of course I am, replacing a chanical prosthesis is just swapping for a more efficient tool, it’s not like changing brains."
Heya nodded and continued,
"It’s the sa for him, except the tool being replaced is an organism. His genetic information hasn’t been altered, even if all his body cells were replaced with sli fungus, he can still preserve his original consciousness... at least in theory."
A look of astonishnt appeared on Yin Fang’s face.
However, he wasn’t quick to rebut; instead, he fell into thought.
"Hmm... you do have a point."
But that was only in theory.
Existing theories couldn’t reasonably explain why this guy still seed so vacant.
Walking up beside the two, Chu Guang asked,
"Any results from the research?"
Heya shook her head,
"Regrettably, no... Although life sciences are my field of study, I feel that the issues involved exceed my area of expertise."
After pausing, she continued looking at Chu Guang,
"However, according to observations over the past few days, I’ve noticed a really interesting phenonon."
Chu Guang imdiately asked,
"What phenonon?"
Heya then spoke up,
"The ’mutated sli fungus’ from Oasis Site No. 7 and the sli fungus from Qingquan City are profoundly different in their genetic structures. While we use the sa term for them, they have evolved into two distinctly different species."
"For example, a significant trait is that Qingquan’s ’mutated sli fungus’ transmits information through spores, while Site No. 7’s fungal bodies—let’s tentatively call them that—produce spores that do not carry this function. Communication between them relies on sound waves, similar to humans."
Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.
"My subordinates have also noticed this... Those fungal bodies beco noticeably more aggressive when they hear the roar of the mother organism."
Yin Fang suddenly seed to have an idea, his eyes lighting up,
"Could it be due to the lack of water and organic matter in the desert? Therefore, they can’t release spores on a large scale, whereas the valley environnt facilitates the transmission of echoes..."
"That’s exactly what I was thinking!" Heya nodded vigorously, her tone laced with excitent, "The sli fungus is extrely adaptable to environnts, which in turn suggests that their evolution is highly influenced by their surroundings. In just two hundred years, they’ve diversified to a degree where it’s as if they no longer recognize each other. No matter what, this is good news for us!"
Yin Fang thoughtfully said,
"To put it simply, two sli fungus mothers won’t rge into a larger one?"
"Correct!" Heya snapped her fingers and continued with a smile, "Though there are so differences in detail, that’s the general idea. Moreover, when differences among these ’mutated sli fungi’ beco significant enough, intraspecific conflict could even evolve into interspecies competition! The factions will no longer exchange genetic information harmoniously, but fiercely battle for living space until one completely displaces the other... However, this part is just my speculation, lacking sufficient evidence."
This indeed was good news, providing a new approach to resolving the issue with ’mutated sli fungus’.
If nuclear weapons couldn’t destroy these troubleso organisms, perhaps they could deliberately introduce benign strains to compete for living space with malignant strains.
As for how to make the benign strains more competitive, that would be sothing for the researchers of the Alliance to ponder.
"Any other clues?"
Heya sheepishly shook her head.
"That’s all... for now."
Chu Guang nodded, offering a word of comfort.
"Don’t be discouraged, you’ve done very well."
Since the transfer of Falling Feather to Qingquan City, four days had also passed.
Four whole days without any research progress, he could only now reluctantly rely on the wisdom of the First Generation Manager.
After a pause, Chu Guang ordered,
"...Inject him with sli fungus inhibitors and anesthetics, transfer him to the conveyor belt on Level B1 of the shelter."
Heya quickly asked,
"Where will he be sent?"
"To the shelter’s sample storage? Probably."
Chu Guang gave an ambiguous answer.
Truth be told, he didn’t know what was hidden beneath the shelter; the previous Manager hadn’t explained anything to him, he hadn’t even seen his face.
A look of regret appeared on Heya’s face, but she said nothing.
She understood why Chu Guang would make such arrangents.
After all, leaving this guy unattended would always be a risk.
"...May I visit Oasis Site No. 7?" Heya asked tentatively, "I’d like to figure out exactly what’s going on with the sli fungus there."
Chu Guang shook his head.
"Before confirming that ’Mutated Sli Fungus No. 7’ is harmless, I cannot grant your request. Besides, now that No. 7 Oasis Ruins have been occupied and the people there are physically blocked, we can’t risk the situation in Luo Xia Province changing by going there to collect samples."
A pause followed, and Chu Guang, seeing Heya’s slightly disappointed expression, continued.
"What I’m saying does not an we are ignoring the relic; we just need to wait for the right mont to do this."
"I assure you."
...
After the injection of the inhibitor, "Falling Feather" rolled his eyes and imdiately collapsed to the ground.
They even skipped the anesthetic.
Most of the tissues in this guy’s body had been destroyed in a nuclear blast, and those still functioning were mostly reconstructed by sli fungus.
This was what surprised Chu Guang the most.
It was still the sa person.
Why then could the Morphogenesis Field’s resonance not form?
This was too strange!
Placing the "dead" "Falling Feather" on the conveyor belt, Chu Guang watched as the open hatch slowly closed, and soon three rows of light blue pop-ups appeared.
[Ergency Mission Completed!]
[Mission Reward: Unlock Floor B6 of Shelter No. 404!]
[Additional Reward: Gene Sequence 4000]
The mont Chu Guang saw these three notifications flash across, a trace of joy swiftly crossed his face.
What a score!
Crashing a plane actually netted 4000 closed beta qualifications!
And it was soone else’s plane at that!
But there was no rush with the beta qualifications, with the rollout rate of 20 to 50 per day, the last batch unlocked hadn’t been fully released yet.
Stepping into the elevator, Chu Guang extended his index finger to the touch screen, selecting the button for Floor B6 with one empty slot away from Floor B4.
Watching the descending levels, his excitent and anticipation surged through his heart.
Skipping B5 and directly unlocking B6!
Wonder what surprise the First Generation Manager left for him on this floor...
The elevator soon arrived.
However, when the elevator doors opened, Chu Guang was stunned on the spot, then he instinctively looked at the touch screen, thinking he had co to the wrong place.
Unlike other floors which were spotless upon opening, Floor B6 could essentially be described as completely disheveled.
The air quality here was quite poor, even mixed with a disconcerting sll.
From the floor plan on the wall, this place was different from other floors; it was evidently a research facility.
Directly in front of the elevator was not the floor information but a buffer workshop equipped with systems like air showers, positive pressure, dust removal, sterilization, etc.
This entire setup matched that of the buffer rooms at the entrance of the shelter, designed to prevent sli fungus and spores from entering the interior of the shelter.
However, it now seed this system was deployed at the entrance of this particular floor, to ’exclude’ the whole floor from the shelter.
Chu Guang frowned.
Suspicious was not the condition here, but why it had co to be this way.
It was well known that the sli fungus could not exist independently outside the lair or host body, which was why it was confined to the outskirts of Qingquan City.
Beyond the coverage of the spores, the survival ability of the sli fungus would dramatically decline, quickly being decomposed by other microorganisms.
Theoretically, the sli fungus could not invade a completely isolated system.
Unless...
This place had already ford an independent entity or nest?!
"Activate the internal circulation system..."
As the helt’s visor closed, the power armor’s internal circulation system began to operate, trading increased energy consumption for absolutely safe air.
Chu Guang pulled out the hamr behind him, walked through the opened alloy doors on both sides, and stepped into the now-active buffer zone.
The interior of the buffer zone remained intact, and the equipnt was still operating.
Yet behind the door facing Floor B6, just as Chu Guang expected, was an absolutely shocking sight.
The silver alloy walls were covered with fungal blotches, the air mixed with a rotten moldy sll, and bullet holes and scratches on the walls faintly visible suggested traces of combat.
The entire floor’s air purification system had been shut down for many years.
Yet even so.
The sli fungus here had not been completely killed.
Even in an environnt with no external oxygen input, they had still survived, maintaining a state of minimal-energy hibernation with just the little organic matter available, stubbornly living until now.
Several untreated corpses lay at the entrance of the buffer zone.
They were clad in security uniforms and damaged "Type Five" Light Cavalry Exoskeletons.
Those moldy skeletons, other than the shocking fungal blotches, had not a piece of flesh left, and even the bones were heavily corroded.
The fierceness of that battle could be imagined; Chu Guang’s throat tightened, gripping the warhamr in his hand tighter.
Just as the buffer room’s air pressure was adjusted, a recording from the ceiling speaker suddenly played.
It seed to be an argunt among several people.
"Floor B6 has fallen... The specins have spread beyond the isolation room! Samples are going out of control... damn, we must evacuate imdiately!"
"Wait! The data on the experintal equipnt hasn’t been backed up to the server yet, just let —"
"It’s too late! Let’s go!"
-
(Thanks to "11’s 11" for the alliance reward!!! Moved house all day yesterday, totally exhausted...)
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