[Respected His Majesty Sarun, the evacuation of West Sail Port is nearing its end. As per your instructions, we have taken over all assets of the Southern Legion, and the remaining facilities have been handed over to our puppets.
General Groove hopes that we raise his bounty on the poker cards to fifteen million Dinars, as well as the military rank of the defeated Gibson commander... I would say this is unreasonable, but his explanation holds so truth; he believes it was Giulion or Teil who forgot to increase his bounty or to promote Commander Gibson.
We also cannot comprehend why General Giulion would appoint a one-star commander to lead the southern line, while the commander of the northern line troops, fighting against the Poluo Country Northern Field Army and the Mammoth Nation’s Army, is indeed a two-star commander, Olet. This is beyond doubt.
Ultimately, everything is for you to decide.
——West Sail Port Temporary Command Center, Telegram]
[Let him go find Teil.
——Eastern Empire Nord City Palace, Telegram]
...
Lavanka Industrial Zone.
Beside the dusty construction site, swift figures darted through the street.
The ti to get off work had arrived, marking the revival of all things.
Young n stepping off the assembly line rushed out of the factory like excited ducks, firstly scrambling ho, then flooding towards the market.
The big money was spent on bicycles, but they managed to gather so loose coins through various ans.
With this spare change, they haggled with market stallholders, trading for odds and ends like nail clippers, markers, or short-sleeve shirts.
They didn’t necessarily know the usefulness of these things upon purchase, only thrilled that small steel pieces or paper tokens could accomplish so much with so little investnt!
Envious of the miraculous power of exchanging for all things, so took risks to create counterfeit money, with so even made using pencils. However, after suffering beatings and clubbings, these one daring to use and one daring to accept settled down.
Additionally, so trendy art youths bought sound systems, and others bought karaoke machines.
Listening to the CDs imported from the Alliance, they not only sang out the wasteland’s desolation with their gravelly voices but rented them to others for one Silver Coin for half an hour.
Where demand arises, there are those to satisfy it.
Once discovering so outsiders were earning money through trade, so quick-witted local Waste Land Wanderers began stationing themselves at the docks. As cargo boats docked, they sward forward to bring large and small goods to set up stalls near the factories.
These were the clever ones who could save money.
They didn’t squander their first pay on extravagant gear but rather used it as startup capital for business.
Before long, they would beco the first batch of "creditworthy" survivors in this settlent.
Banks would gladly lend them money, helping them turn small enterprises into big businesses.
A semblance of a market took shape this way.
Not just the small vendors but also the craftsn enjoyed this.
Lasov, who sold bicycles, made a small fortune, while the bicycle repairn from Jinjaron Harbor who ca to Lavanka Industrial Zone with him earned their second bucket of gold.
So who spotted the business opportunity also entrusted shipping companies to drag in so bicycles or locks from Jinjaron Harbor, opening bicycle shops locally which also repaired bikes.
Although presently Lavanka Industrial Zone has just over 300,000 people, the Southern Legion’s colony covers 2.7 million square kiloters, and the Great Desert Inland not yet colonized spans an even vaster land.
That sand is worthless, but the ruins buried beneath it are rather valuable.
Also, over a long period in the future, more shelters would successively open there.
After capturing the radio signal of Lavanka Industrial Zone, so of them would definitely attempt to find their way here...
In any case, the head of the Developnt Foundation, Hope, indeed fulfilled his initial promise—to let the "animals" on the Great Desert run.
Fang Chang was quite satisfied with his work, as it saved Fang Chang a lot of repetitive effort.
Many things required just a slight ntion, and that guy could implent them into specific policies.
Very strong.
Far superior to the starting point of Yoder, the mayor of Jinjaron Harbor, whom he previously ntored.
Overall, the difficulty of "clearing" this region should not prove greater than Jinjaron Harbor or even Poluo Province.
2000-plus tribes might sound intimidating, but beyond a certain scale, it’s no longer a "bad thing" and instead becos a "good thing."
At least from a "Manager’s" perspective, this ant these hard-to-integrate Waste Land Wanderers were divided into tiny atoms, like chewed-up food.
Poluo Province, however, is different.
While it seemingly houses the Thousand Tribes on the surface, a closer look reveals that those living under the thousand "totems" share one unified theory, all united in their belief in Lowell as the only "true god."
Their fundantal logic remains the sa, even if various tribes have distinctly different surnas and slightly different customs.
Reflecting on the differences between the two, Fang Chang’s mind suddenly conjured a concept he had heard long ago during the early version—
"Beehive."
This word had appeared several tis in the Alliance Biological Research Institute’s reports on "Gaia," even as a collaborative topic of study initiated by the Academy of Social Sciences.
Back then, he had purely wanted to understand this world and learn United Human languages, hence delved into these ga background materials.
As they dug deeper into the wasteland, moving from old battlefields to places swept by "aftershocks," these materials were gradually set aside by him.
Now, however, it resurfaced in his mory.
He recalled a research report in which a researcher, whose na he couldn’t rember, proposed a hypothesis on the origin of the "Gaia" Consciousness Entity.
This researcher believed "Gaia" didn’t evolve from sli mold directly into a higher civilization but resulted from a higher civilization’s fall to a lower life form.
That is, a downward spiral.
re mortals do not need to beco higher and stronger giants to defeat giants.
They can also beco cockroaches.
While a giant can crush a cockroach underfoot, it cannot crush all the cockroaches.
As long as it frantically reproduces in places beyond the giant’s sight, the ultimate victor will inevitably be the cockroach with a broader diet and greater adaptability.
The ti human civilization has existed is too short to glimpse the full picture of the evolutionary tree from itself.
But if the tiline is extended enough, evidence can indeed be found on Earth.
For example, cockroaches born in the Carboniferous period outlasted dinosaurs with a much higher position on the food chain.
Generally speaking, humans cannot turn into cockroaches, but the technique to beco another mammal does exist in the background of Wasteland OL.
For instance, Shelter No. 79’s "Eternal" plan proposed using existing genetic technology to DIY a robust species capable of surviving the Wasteland Era and carrying human consciousness.
Though ultimately it failed, it wasn’t a complete failure—as at least two people succeeded, and one of them is still inside Shelter No. 79.
As for Dead Claw, it runs all over the Wasteland.
In fact, this is exactly what higher organisms or civilizations do to ensure the continuation of civilization, by compromising original principles or actively "downgrading" their civilization.
Based on these existing clues, the researcher proposed a hypothesis.
Suppose there is a population called Gaia on an isolated planet.
Within this population, there are two main branches, A and B.
To defeat each other, they unanimously abandoned their bottom line, ultimately transforming from giants to sli molds—and neither can go back.
This process wasn’t instantaneous; it might be an extrely prolonged struggle and waste of resources.
First, they have to humble themselves into the dust and do whatever it takes to survive.
Then, step by step, they lower their bottom line, from giants to mortals, and from mortals to cockroaches... finally, gradually reducing their environntal needs until every cell is imrsed in culture fluid.
And when their downgrading reaches its extre, abandoning all goals except "existence," compressed like a spring to its limits, no longer able to compress further... they finally encounter the ultimate "Big Bang" during the collapse.
No one knows exactly what the universe looked like before the Big Bang.
Similarly, for the "Gaia" living before the Big Bang, no one knows where they will be after the explosion, where they will go, or what they will beco.
Countless smart individuals derived the optimal solution under the jungle law ga—
which is to eliminate individual will.
Destroy.
We’re exhausted.
Thus, the beehive consciousness entity was born.
It brought order to everything; there would be no endless battles between populations, no more upward or downward spirals.
Under its will, the barren planet revived, and all nutrients served one final and sole consensus—
which is "existence".
Or rather—
to survive.
They will forever exist in the hollow universe, forgetting everything about the past, relying on the fragntary words left in their DNA to feed, reproduce, expand... or remain still.
Of course, this is rely a hypothesis proposed by a researcher in "Wasteland OL" concerning Gaia Planet, not the ultimate conclusion.
However, thinking more deeply, Fang Chang suddenly realized that what Teil was actually adopting was this crooked path—unable to beco giants, then becoming cockroaches.
Perhaps Teil may achieve a tragic victory in the brutal competition by continuously breaking the bottom line, but there’s no guarantee he won’t be completely wiped out by an awakened and similarly bottom-breaking enemy just before winning.
Alternatively, equally strong sides might establish a lasting and painful balance, continuously lowering the bottom line, seeing who succumbs first.
But obviously, the Southern Legion isn’t strong enough to push the Alliance to such limits.
As for the places they fought—the Poluo Province, another situation arises.
The survivors there are themselves "Gaia".
Or rather, they are in the early ga phase of Gaia experiencing the "Big Bang" and rebirth.
Most "abnormal" mutants, if they haven’t evolved camouflage color, are either killed or forced to flee.
As for what the future holds, it’s not certain...
...
As usual, Fang Chang sat in his office flipping through the reports Hope handed him.
Then there was a knock at the door, and he casually responded.
"Co in."
The door opened.
A boy wearing Mammoth Nation military uniform, led by an Autonomous Committee staff, walked in.
There was a plain killing intent about him, his wooden face showing little expression, even seeming not very capable of fighting.
But no one would doubt, this skinny young man could, with one move, put a far stronger adult man to death.
He knows only deadly techniques.
Such people are not common on the Wasteland; after all, it’s mostly barren, and if there really are corpses, you might find many in the Looter or mutant tribes.
The staff’s face showed a nervous expression, looking at Fang Chang sitting behind the desk said.
"He insists on eting you... said he must personally hand you the stuff in the box."
"I understand."
Putting down the report in his hand, Fang Chang took a glance at him, his eyes lightly quivering when they stopped at his hand.
"Ackman, Stormtrooper Camp..."
The boy introduced himself and silently moved forward, placing the box on the table, "...our father, Laxi, asked us to return it to you."
Fang Chang knew without looking what was inside that box.
He deeply inhaled, pressing his index finger and thumb on the bridge of his nose, trying not to let his emotions be heard.
"...What else did he say?"
Ackman whispered.
"He said, your kindness will be repaid in his next life."
This world...
Is it really just a ga?
Fang Chang, with his eyes closed, remained silent for a long ti, and all he wanted to say ended up in a deep sigh.
"I understand..."
Ackman nodded, leaving with a word "Thank you," and without another word, silently followed the staff guarding the door and went out.
——
(Called to Shanghai to participate in the Yuewen event, so kind of Chinese and foreign writer exchange eting, took the opportunity during the conference recess to code half a Chapter using a mobile phone, please forgive a poor dog’s life for updating eight or nine thousand words these days, I tried my best T.T
Also, it’s estimated to be concluded in March or April next year, with the story "After players intervened then later" already written, writing daily life and extras, celestial beings, Gaia, Enlightennt Society, and recycling so foreshadowing from previous texts, all to be wrapped up soon~ barring any unexpected changes.)
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