Compared to most human-filled settlents on the Wasteland, Area 721 resembled a true Survivor Settlent more closely.
And those living here were more like real survivors as well.
That’s not to say they were impoverished.
Though their patchwork cold-weather gear looked sowhat outdated, this was greatly preferable to the dwellers of Poluo Province, who could hardly muster two articles of clothing per family. The locals never had to eat dirt; even in the hardest tis, they had nutrient paste to fill their bellies, and during less challenging tis, they could acquire bread and sausages.
In fact, the researcher scrolling through papers on the train wasn’t lying—the Science Committee had t the locals’ needs for all essential nutrition and life-sustaining necessities.
For example, well-built concrete houses, fuels for heating and lighting, and schools as beautiful as churches, among others.
The right to education was fundantally safeguarded. The local survivors only had to complete the Science Committee’s production tasks, which weren’t too demanding, in order to secure food and warmth, but their lives weren’t too comfortable either.
The hardships that the locals had to endure mostly stemd from the climate itself, a factor for which there seed little reason to complain, as the Wandering Swamp wasn’t a hospitable place even before the war.
The only possible complaint was about the stark inequality in treatnt, as a researcher could enjoy resources that exceeded the total consumption of 1000 ordinary survivors combined.
And this was just personal living standards, not counting professional expenses. If the costs for the laboratories were included, they would be incalculable.
But this, too, seed hardly worth complaining about.
After all, the opportunity to change one’s fate wasn’t completely nonexistent. In fact, one had as many as eight chances in a lifeti.
Starting from the age of 12, one could take the test to select apprentices, and keep trying until the age of 20.
Once one beca an apprentice, they would no longer be under the jurisdiction of the Science Committee but could beco a mber of the Academy. This ant not just personal honor; the whole settlent would benefit—the Science Committee not only rewarded the families who raised "future researchers" but also rewarded the whole settlent.
Thus, for those remaining in that harsh land, what seed complaint-worthy was perhaps only their own lack of effort during their youth, placing all hopes on the next generation.
And for those families that had produced an apprentice, they beca the most "sought-after stars" in the entire settlent, enjoying the care of the settlent’s administrators to various extents.
For instance, due to his status as Jiang Xuezhou’s father, he was appointed as the head of the drilling team, no longer needing to work in the mines, while his mother was transferred from the workshop to the relatively relaxed auditing office.
Not just that.
Their house was the sturdiest two-story building in all of Area 721, situated in the central area of the settlent, in the sa block as the technicians and administrators sent by the Science Committee.
This street not only had 24-hour access to heating, gas, electricity, and direct drinking water but was also equipped with basic ho appliances and furniture.
Despite these special considerations, the work that needed to be done still had to be completed.
Li Xiang and Wu Xiaoxiao, who lived on the sa street, also appeared to share a special relationship.
Though the story of Ga hadn’t finished yet, it was ti to say goodbye.
With a reluctant expression on his face, Li Xiang arranged the next eting with Ga, then the group separated at the crossroads.
When Jiang Xuezhou brought Ga back ho, it was precisely five in the afternoon. Her parents were still at work, and the only one at ho was a little girl about six or seven years old.
With two pigtails and a lively look that resembled a mini-version of Jiang Xuezhou.
On spotting her sister at the door, the little girl’s expression changed from one of caution to surprise and then joy as she flung herself forward.
"Sis?! You’re back?"
"Eh! Sister’s back... Yuehan has grown taller! Sister hug, hehe, such a good girl."
He hugged his little sister who pounced on him, Jiang Xuezhou affectionately stroked her head, his face bearing an unusually gentle smile.
Following her, the suitcase consciously passed through the entryway and dashed into the house, the wheels rumbling towards her room, soon after, a clanging and banging echoed from there.
Night Ten couldn’t help but wonder if the thing also had an automatic luggage unpacking feature, like the deploynt function of a base car in "Red Alert", but he was too embarrassed to follow into the room and check.
Even though he had never been in a relationship, he knew very well that entering a girl’s room uninvited was impolite.
Even if it were his sister Jiujiu, who freeloaded at his house, she would unceremoniously throw him, the host, out.
As Night Ten intently watched the door at the end of the hallway, the little girl hanging on Jiang Xuezhou’s neck was also intently sizing up this unfamiliar man.
Letting go of his sister, Jiang Xuezhou stood up and turned to Night Ten, introducing them to each other.
"This guy is Night Ten, my sister’s friend. Well, his na is a bit odd, you can just call him brother... This is my sister, Jiang Yuehan. My parents aren’t ho yet, why don’t you sit in the living room for now, I’ll go tidy up."
After speaking, Jiang Xuezhou crossed the living room to the end of the hallway, leaving the two standing at the entrance.
Night Ten gave the little girl a friendly smile, then he walked past her into the living room and sat cautiously on the sofa, wanting to turn on the TV but realizing there was no such thing here, so he picked up a cup from the table and poured himself so water.
However, to his surprise, the little girl, who was unexpectedly bold, sat opposite him and stared straight into his eyes, suddenly blurting out.
"Brother, are you my sister’s boyfriend?"
Night Ten, who was drinking water, almost choked, and quickly explained while coughing.
"No."
As he spoke, he glanced at the door to make sure soone wasn’t coming back suddenly.
Though he didn’t know why he felt guilty.
"What..."
The little girl sighed, murmuring in a cunning tone, "My sister said she would bring her boyfriend ho next ti she visits, she lied again."
"... Haha." Night Ten laughed awkwardly.
The little girl still fixed her gaze on him, suddenly asking in a tender voice.
"Then brother... when you’re not busy, could you bring my sister ho more often?"
Seeing the loneliness in those eyes, Night Ten fell silent for a while then gently nodded.
"Mhm."
He could actually understand why Jiang Xuezhou hardly ca ho; after all, even with a ntor’s protection, the survival rate at Class D wasn’t very high.
And her promotion to Class D was just last year; before that she was Class E.
She probably just didn’t want them to be too sad if they lost her, which is why she deliberately distanced herself. Although she often sounded harsh, she actually cared a lot about others’ feelings.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so upset back when he lay half-dead in bed.
At that mont, Night Ten suddenly realized he might have unexpectedly discovered a side of her that she rarely showed.
But soon, he shook his head, dismissing the strange thought from his mind.
"Why bother knowing so much about NPCs..."
The little girl sitting on the opposite sofa cocked her head, not understanding why he was shaking his head, but she didn’t ask further; instead, she picked up the book she hadn’t finished and continued reading.
Waiting felt terribly long. It wasn’t until about an hour later that footsteps finally sounded in the hall adjacent to the living room.
Seeing Jiang Xuezhou return, Night Ten sighed with relief and mumbled towards the direction of the hallway,
"What took you so long?"
Standing by the hallway, Jiang Xuezhou had changed into casual ho clothes and had an apron tied around her, with a ring of fine sweat beads on her forehead.
Looking at this person who spoke as if pains and aches were alien to her, she couldn’t help rolling her eyes.
"What do you think? I was worried you’d be hungry after your journey... so I made so food."
"Let’s eat!"
Hearing that her sister had prepared food, the little girl on the sofa’s eyes lit up. She imdiately dropped the dizzyingly boring book and darted past Jiang Xuezhou like a little rabbit, squeezing into the small room next to the kitchen.
A simple dining table was set there, where the family ate together.
Night Ten gaped at Jiang Xuezhou as if she were so exotic creature.
"You can cook?"
Jiang Xuezhou chuckled softly, flicked the hair behind her ear with her forefinger, and proudly lifted her nose.
"Are you joking? I’ve been living on my own since I was 12. I can certainly handle cooking food."
Night Ten nearly gave her a thumbs-up, but upon hearing her ntion just "cooking food," he suddenly had a bad feeling.
As he had suspected, what was laid on the table was rely a bowl of baked baby potatoes and a pot of chicken legs that seed to have been cooked in an air fryer.
The chicken legs were coated in a deep reddish marinade resembling Orleans sauce but still slled strongly of chicken.
Night Ten involuntarily swallowed and was montarily lost for words.
"Weren’t these blanched?"
Sure, it wasn’t necessary to blanch chicken before cooking, but you shouldn’t leave in the gay taste, right?
However, the little girl was not picky at all; she had already grabbed a chicken leg and was happily gnawing on it.
Jiang Xuezhou, not pleased with the expression on Night Ten’s face, lightly furrowed her delicate nose and placed her hand on her hip.
"Is there a problem?"
The nerve of him, lacking in gratitude when a dignified Class D researcher like her had personally cooked!
Her respected ntor had never even tasted her cooking!
Night Ten quickly shook his head, squeezing out a smile and elegantly sat down.
"It’s fine... really good."
After all, it was a labor of love.
Moreover, given the scarcity of resources in the Wandering Swamp, even the ingredients bought with G points were cheap, but wasting food was still shaful.
Not detecting the perfunctory tone in his praise, Jiang Xuezhou’s lips curled into a delighted smile as she turned around energetically.
"You and Yuehan start eating. Mom and Dad will be ho soon; I’ll cook so for them too."
Upon hearing this, Night Ten, who barely ward his seat, sprang up as if electrified,
"Wait, let do it..."
"You can cook?" Jiang Xuezhou stopped in her tracks, turning back to look at him doubtfully.
Night Ten bashfully smiled.
"A little... Truth be told, I’ve also been away from ho for more than three years."
It wasn’t that he wanted to show off; he just couldn’t bear to see food wasted.
Jiang Xuezhou didn’t think much of it and nodded blankly, but still cautioned,
"Alright... but make sure to ask if there’s anything you don’t know."
Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Night Ten asked straightforwardly, "Do you have cooking wine?"
Jiang Xuezhou: "What is that?"
"...How about beer? Things like scallions, ginger, garlic, you must have those?"
"Ah, we do have those... are you looking to drink?"
"Who told you I’m going to drink? Just bring them over and stand aside and watch."
Saying this, Night Ten also picked up the bowl of baked potatoes from the table and gave Jiang Yuehan an amicable smile, speaking to her in the tone one uses to cajole a child.
"I’m going to borrow this for a bit, I’ll give it back soon."
The chicken might be beyond saving, but there was still hope for the potatoes.
"Sure!"
The little girl nodded obediently and watched as the two went into the kitchen.
Gazing at the lively atmosphere in the kitchen, she didn’t feel like eating her chicken leg anymore, resting her chin in her hands and swaying her legs, her eyes gleaming with light as her mind wandered.
On the other hand, Night Ten was getting acquainted with the cooking tools in the kitchen under Jiang Xuezhou’s guidance.
There wasn’t a stir-fry pan, only a soup pot, but for soone who often made lazy als, any pot would do.
To avoid washing an extra bowl, he could even use a rice cooker to fry dishes, let alone a soup pot.
"Ah, ah, ah... why on Earth are you pouring beer over the duck legs! Won’t that taste weird?" Watching Ga pour beer into the pot, Jiang Xuezhou hurriedly tried to stop him, but couldn’t budge his arm at all.
She almost forgot, most of the parts on this guy were made by himself.
Tossing the can aside, Ga looked at Jiang Xuezhou’s tearfully desperate face and couldn’t help but chuckle.
"What do you know? This is beer-braised duck! Always making a big deal out of nothing..."
Jiang Xuezhou was stunned.
"Beer... braised duck? What is that... oh no! Yuehan can’t drink alcohol!"
"Pfft... the duck is stewed, do you think the alcohol will remain?"
"Oh right, alcohol evaporates easily... I almost forgot." Realizing she asked a silly question, Jiang Xuezhou blushed and nodded, but when she saw him pouring potatoes into a bowl and mashing them, she blankly asked, "Now what are you doing?"
Ga casually said,
"Mashed potatoes, kids love this stuff... Got any milk, butter, and black pepper?"
This stuff had quite a history in the Alliance as well; the guy from Scrambled Eggs spent a lot of effort perfecting this dish.
Jiang Xuezhou quickly nodded.
"I’ve got so; I bought them when I ca... they should be in my room now."
As Ga pressed the now softened potatoes, he said without turning his head,
"Why did you put them in your room? Hurry up and bring them to ! And the soy sauce in my suitcase, the black bottle."
"Okay, okay!"
Jiang Xuezhou blushed and nodded again, hastily running out of the kitchen. Suddenly rembering the apron still on her, she doubled back to tie it on him.
Initially, when this guy said he was going to make dinner, she planned to give so pointers, but it ended up being her who was the novice, running errands.
About 40 minutes later, it was completely dark outside and the ti had co to 7 PM. Jiang Xuezhou’s parents almost tid it perfectly as they arrived ho.
Hearing the clanging noises from the kitchen, the older couple thought Yuehan was cooking and hurriedly switched shoes and barged in, only to see Yuehan sitting at the dining table with two dishes that were alien to them laid out.
The enticing aroma wafted into their nostrils.
Father Jiang’s nose twitched involuntarily, while Mother Jiang instinctively looked towards the kitchen, then widened her eyes.
With corners of her mouth covered in mashed potatoes, Yuehan giggled with a lodious voice, saying,
"Dad, Mom, big sister brought a man ho!"
"What are you talking about nonsense!"
Jiang Xuezhou angrily covered her mouth and hastily glanced back.
At the kitchen doorway, Ga was coming out holding a pot of beer-braised duck. Seeing the elderly couple, he smiled and said,
"Hello Uncle, Auntie!"
"Hello hello..."
Father Jiang politely responded, then gave him a quick up and down look and hesitantly asked, "May I ask who you are?"
Ga was just about to say he was from Wasteland but Jiang Xuezhou cut in first,
"He’s called Ga! He’s from the Alliance side... It’s complicated to explain, but he’s sowhat like a diplomat. Let’s talk over dinner!"
"Oh, from the External Affairs Departnt, huh? Please, have a seat, young man... Why let a guest cook? We could have just waited for us to co ho and cook."
Father Jiang lightly reproached Jiang Xuezhou, though his tone wasn’t harsh; Mother Jiang did the sa, looking fondly at their daughter and playfully fiddled with her sweat-dampened bangs.
"Really, child, why didn’t you say anything in advance? Mom could have taken a leave."
Jiang Xuezhou, smiling brightly, clung to her mother’s arm and cooed,
"I wanted to surprise you! By the way, where’s big brother?"
Father Jiang said with a smile,
"Your big brother is already married; he moved from Area 721 to Area 702 at the end of last year and is now a shop foreman. I’ll call him back tomorrow!"
The family sat at the dining table, blissfully enjoying dinner.
At first, Ga was sowhat reserved, but thanks to the warm hospitality of Jiang Xuezhou’s family, he quickly felt at ease.
Of course, part of this was also thanks to his superb culinary skills.
Sitting at the table, Yuehan kept stuffing potatoes into her mouth, her eyes twinkling like little stars, nearly writing the word "delicious" on her face.
"... didn’t expect your cooking to be pretty good," Jiang Xuezhou poked his arm and muttered softly.
Elated by the complint, Ga almost wanted to lift his nose up to the ceiling.
"That’s a given; too bad there’s no chili sauce and rice here, or else I’d whip up my best fried rice for you."
Using bread to eat beer-braised duck was a bit odd, but still more normal than tomato sauce roasted chicken legs.
"Heh... never saw you cook for back in the Alliance," Jiang Xuezhou pouted slightly, watching Ga’s smug face.
Ga, with a mischievous grin, replied,
"You never asked to."
"You..."
Jiang Xuezhou clenched her teeth, tempted to bite his arm, but considering they were at the dinner table, she held back.
Besides, this guy’s bones were made of titanium alloy; she also worried about chipping a tooth.
Midway through dinner,
A slightly tipsy Father Jiang pulled Ga aside for a drink and said earnestly while holding his hand,
"Little Jiang here... she’s a bit impatient sotis, but she’s really caring. We can’t help much with her matters, so please take care of her when she’s outside."
Hearing this sudden remark, Jiang Xuezhou nearly choked on her food and frantically coughed,
"What are you talking about, Dad!"
Her father ignored her protests and didn’t retract his words, just gazed intently at Ga sitting across, waiting for the young man’s response.
"Her cheeks are red!" Jiang Yuehan’s brother laughed, his lively eyes darting around.
Faced with their father’s pleading gaze, Night Ten laughed heartily and accepted the task imdiately.
"Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your daughter!"
After all, he was a top-tier player across the entire server, protecting an NPC was more than manageable for him.
Jiang Xuezhou’s face turned red instantly, and with a soft snort, he fell silent.
Father Jiang’s face broke into a smile, visibly relieved.
"With that promise, I’m reassured!"
...
That night, Night Ten stayed at Jiang Xuezhou’s house, taking the guest room on the second floor.
Jiang Xuezhou took a week of ho leave, and he planned to spend it near Area 721, getting to know the local lifestyle and investigating the Science Committee.
Ice Sea City was a special district, and understanding the Academy and Science Committee through it was too difficult.
Worth ntioning was, since Area 721 did not belong to the special district, there was no save point or inn specifically for players to save their progress or rest, so he could only stay overnight at an NPC’s ho.
Plainly speaking, there were no comrcial teams coming here either.
The reason dinner was so sumptuous was thanks to the ingredients Jiang Xuezhou had exchanged with G points.
If Xiao Jiang didn’t send so items back ho, his family probably wouldn’t have such lavish dinners regularly.
At least on his way here, Night Ten had not seen any shops or the like.
Night Ten suddenly thought, if only he could open up the market of the Science Committee.
Buried underground here were abundant undeveloped resources, from oil and natural gas to tal ores.
The people of the Prosperity Epoch seed to have considered the potential for future decline and left a large amount of unexploited resources in the tundra, mountains, and seabed.
In other words, this land actually had developntal value, otherwise, the Academy wouldn’t have chosen to settle here.
However, Night Ten only thought about it and then realized the difficulty of this task.
His instincts told him, prying this market open might be even more challenging than prying open the market of West Winds Empire...
Taking off his helt, Ye Wei sat on the sofa in the living room, staring sowhat distraught at the large screen TV.
The sky outside was already brightening, and in reality, it was morning. Every ti he logged off, it took so ti to adjust to the real world.
It’s hard to tell... really hard to tell.
Could this be the legendary "internet addiction"?
No wonder they don’t allow minors to play.
Not long after he took off his helt, Jiujiu yawned and walked out of the room.
This guy had already slept for most of the day and still looked sleepy, and who knew what he had been doing in the ga.
Looking at his older brother sitting on the sofa, Jiujiu blinked and waved his hand in front of him.
"What’s up, bro? Hey? Ti to snap back to reality."
Rembering the dinner he had just eaten with Jiang Xuezhou’s family, Ye Wei shook his drowsy head and put the helt aside, suddenly reflecting aloud.
"It’s nothing, just that... this ga is a bit too realistic."
Jiujiu froze for a mont, then looked at him in astonishnt, his mouth forming an ’O’.
"Wow! You really got together with that NPC?"
Ye Wei frowned.
"What the hell? What’s that got to do with anything?"
Touching their fingertips together, Jiujiu blushed and whispered sheepishly.
"I heard you say ’realistic,’ and, and I thought you guys did that... never mind, never mind! Ugh, boring."
"...?"
Watching Jiujiu run off in the blink of an eye, Ye Wei scratched his head confusedly.
What is this guy on about?
Throwing his helt aside, he ordered so takeout, then started browsing the official website.
He just happened to co across Si Si’s post and clicked on it to see that their cargo ship had already docked at West Sail Port.
Besides updating their impressions of West Sail Port, Si Si also posted local price information in the post.
According to her post, the local demand for strong liquor was extrely high. If they could transport potatoes from Potato Harbor to Jin Galun Harbor to be processed into liquor, sell it at West Sail Port, and then buy steel or cent to ship to the Federation, even with their eyes closed, they could make a large profit.
Especially since Weilante people enjoyed tax-free privileges locally, many Weilante rchants simply used this rule to reboard the liquor onto their ships and took it back to the Army’s holand.
In this way, the liquor ostensibly destined for West Winds Empire was ultimately dumped on the Army.
At the end of her post, she also listed the earnings from this trip.
What Night Ten envied was not their earnings, but their incredible pace; they had even managed to crack open the Weilante treasury.
Although they had only opened a small crack, and it could be sealed by the other party at any ti, it was still a significant progress.
"They’re all so capable, I should try hard too..." Muttering enviously to himself, Night Ten closed the post and leaned on the sofa, beginning to ponder deeply.
First off, the treasures of the Academy were definitely much more abundant than those of the Army, and it was exactly the knowledge that the Alliance needed most.
But then ca the problem.
Players active over the Wandering Swamp numbered less than a hundred, far fewer than those in the south.
Thinking of this, he looked troubled on his face.
Never mind figuring out how to change the minds of those stubborn old folks, just luring those greenhorns to the Wandering Swamp would probably be challenging enough...
How should he swing this hoe?
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