CHAPTER 854: CHAPTER 854: THE WESTERN LEGION HOPING TO MAKE A FORTUNE QUIETLY

Shelter No. 404.

The browsing room on Floor B4.

Chu Guang, who finally finished editing and uploading the update file, was browsing the feedback from players and backseat drivers below the posts.

Passing by onlookers: "Why is there no version number! When exactly will the update happen! (frustrated)"

Angel of Lingbo: "Dog plan, get to work, are you fixing those few bugs or not?"

Pig Breeder: "Dad!! Give me a closed beta qualification!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Borrowing this post to advertise, ergonomic game cabin! The basic model comes with a helmet lying support frame, customizable life sign monitoring, nutritional maintenance and auxiliary metabolism functions, etc., so you’ll never wake up hungry or with a full bladder! Buy now and get two free physical exams, contact me if interested!! (grin)"

General Thunder: "Damn, Professor Yang! Be careful when buying from him, this dude is a backseat driver, hasn’t even played this damn game."

Night Ten: "You might not believe it, but this guy is considered a veteran player. (funny)"

Fang Chang: "I think instead of worrying whether he’s played the game, you should worry about him pulling some tricks elsewhere, maybe report it to the police. (side-eye)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Damn! You’re prejudiced!"

Dinosaur Warrior: "Brother Guang, can you give me a helmet? I promise I won’t mess around once I’m in the game; I just want to see if it’s realistic. T.T"

Genuine Water Heater: "I-I-I want to ride a mammoth! QAQ"

Stuffed: "Brother Guang, can you give me a trial card? I just want to go in and take a look! Just one look!"

Tail: "Oh oh oh! That guy is huge!

Meat mountain big steamed bun: "Back when we loaded that guy onto the ship, it almost toppled us over. (sweat)"

Teng Teng: "Speaking of which, this expansion is really far away, after getting off the train, we still have to take a boat."

Crow: "Dying once and playing for half a month for free, it’s indeed safest in the Novice Village.

Stop talking nonsense: "Crap! You’re such a slacker!"

"..."

Previously, the White Bear Knights brought two mammoths back from the Mammoth Nation, and now they’re being raised at the zoo in the City of Dawn.

The Waste Land Wanderers of River Valley Province are long used to all sorts of variants, especially since their respected manager even keeps a Claw of death as a pet, but their kids are still very interested in these large yet gentle animals.

After the Bone Chewing Chaos ended, there was a baby boom in the Alliance. Now, those kids have learned to speak.

The world in their eyes is different from that of their parents. Seeing those two fluffy hills, they find them novel and adorable, and even want to climb up and play.

While some right-leaning survivors hold conservative views, believing that the abuse of genetic technology is the root cause of the current variant proliferation, and that revitalizing prehistoric creatures via genetic technology shouldn’t be showcased positively, others who lean left hold liberal views, seeing the two mammoths as symbols of friendship between the Mammoth Nation and the Alliance.

Like those workers at the Workers’ Association.

Moreover, those two mammoths are quite popular on the forum and are quickly becoming the new mascots following "Nicole" and "Xiaoyu."

Previously, some backseat drivers clamored for a helmet, mostly to see "how realistic the game is," and now they have a new reason—"to see a mammoth."

Apart from the new exhibit in the zoo, the City of Dawn has many things it never had before.

Like a second museum, and also an art gallery, a sports hall, and the Space Station Debris Exhibition Hall.

Looking at all these changes brought to the game by the players, Chu Guang felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

A truly smart manager is not like those with lots of ideas and ambitions but are actually incompetent like Witch Camel. They create a robust framework for a systemic project where individuals and objects within the system fulfill their roles and purposes.

If the Alliance grown to this scale still needs him to personally oversee every command, it only means he’s been working for nothing.

Resting her chin on her hands, Xiao Qi sitting on the pen holder stared unblinkingly at Chu Guang.

"Come to think of it, the master hasn’t updated the version number for quite some time now."

Releasing the mouse, Chu Guang laughed and said.

"Isn’t that a good thing? Previously, my biggest worry was what the Alliance would do without me. Now, I’m not worried because even without us intervening, this game will update itself."

"But Xiao Qi thinks it’s still too early to think so far ahead about such things... Ah, the number of applicants has surpassed 30,000! That’s amazing!" For some reason, Xiao Qi seemed reluctant to discuss this topic and suddenly switched the subject.

Chu Guang didn’t think much of it, smiled faintly, and said.

"That number should about hit its limit... I guess it’ll reach around thirty-five thousand in the end."

Although the discussion about Poluo Province on the forum has been buzzing lately, "Wasteland OL" isn’t limited to that one area.

There’s an Ice Sea City special zone in the Wandering Swamp in the north, a Cloud-Below-City special zone in the Yunjian Province to the east, and ten more planned settlements in the south. The players in the Alliance have already spread across the Eastern World of the Central Continent.

Apart from that, the Alliance’s Biological Institute and scientific expedition teams are still continuously sending research teams to Baiyue Province and the Eastern Provinces, and they also need players to protect these people.

Although the online numbers are substantial, once divided across various gathering locations, there aren’t as many spare players as it seems.

But this war doesn’t involve players only.

Due to the active participation of some players in those areas, local survivors have already banded together, temporarily setting aside their grievances to form a united front.

Let alone if there are thirty thousand players heading there.

Even with just three thousand, the Southern Legion has absolutely no chance of winning!

After closing the update announcement page, Chu Guang continued to browse the forum and noticed that Fang Chang had already opened a new thread, discussing war strategies with Mole and other players involved in the expansion.

Currently, the Burning Corps has already flown to Tiandu, and the Skeleton Corps’ armored forces have also reached Elephant State, advancing toward the area around Tiandu in Ox State.

There’s going to be some good drama soon.

While Chu Guang was enjoying his time checking the forum, Xiao Qi, sitting in the pen holder, suddenly spoke.

"Master, Foreign Minister Cheng Yan says there’s something important he needs to discuss with you in person, and he’s already at the entrance of the shelter."

Chu Guang glanced at the time; it was already past midnight, causing him to wonder what had gotten Cheng Yan so worked up, so he said.

"Let him come directly to the browsing room to meet me."

Xiao Qi, full of spirit, responded.

"Alrighty!"

After entrusting Xiao Qi with the reception duties, Chu Guang instructed the X-16 standing by to make two cups of coffee, then went to a nearby room to change into casual wear.

Shortly after, the door of the browsing room opened, and Cheng Yan walked in with a serious expression.

"Respected sir manager, I’m sorry to disturb your rest at this hour, but we just received a message from the South Sea Union. On their way to blockade the western port of the Poluo Sea, they were intercepted by an unidentified fleet and had to alter their original plan."

Unidentified fleet?

Chu Guang was slightly taken aback, and his expression quickly turned serious.

"Do we have any suspects?"

Cheng Yan reported truthfully.

"They haven’t contacted us directly; both sides tested each other but didn’t yield any results. According to Li Minghui’s assessment, the power system they use significantly differs from the Southern Legion’s ships. It’s likely those ships belong to the Western Legion."

Western Legion...

Upon hearing this unfamiliar name, Chu Guang’s brow furrowed slightly.

Long ago, he had heard from Vanus that there are four legion leaders, divided into the Eastern, Southern, Northern, and Western Legions.

The Northern, Eastern, and Southern Legions are based on the home continent of the Central Continent, while the Western Legion is located on the distant New Continent.

Due to the vast distance, Vanus didn’t have much intel on that area but knew that the Western Legion excels in naval technology, with settlements mainly scattered along the eastern coast of the New Continent, though there are a few ports on the Western coast as well.

Frankly, the ancient "contract" signed by the corporation and the legion under the witness of the Academy and the Grand Canyon does have some loopholes.

The contract only stipulated that the army should not expand eastward across the Great Desert, but there was no stipulation on how much they could expand westward.

After all, this planet is round, and it’s not just the Central Continent that exists; on the other side of the planet, there is another slightly smaller continental plate.

What’s tricky now is that due to the poor orbital environment, there are no aerospace facilities able to directly observe the New Continent. Even among the Alliance’s traveling merchants, few have heard of anyone going such a distant place.

Using mind interference technology to drive away oceanic aliens is something that has only happened in recent years.

In earlier years, ships sailing in the southern sea area of the Central Continent either used "Black Iron Wood," this local method, or the sonar sensors of the South Sea Union. No one dared to explore completely unfamiliar seas.

For the Alliance, intelligence on the West Continent is almost a blank.

Looking at the pondering Chu Guang, Cheng Yan cautiously suggested.

"I’m thinking... Could there be information about the Western Legion on the enterprise’s side? After all, Ideal City is located at the easternmost part of the East Coast, at least closer to the New Continent than we are."

After thinking for a moment, Chu Guang said.

"I’ll ask... Although I feel they might not be as interested in matters outside of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng as we are."

The Eastern Legion has already been dealt with, but the Northern Corps and the Western Legion have yet to state their positions.

In fact, so far Bennott can only represent the opinion of Triumph City, and the Alliance has no diplomatic channels to directly communicate with the Northern Corps or the Western Legion.

But—

Why does the Western Legion have an interest in the affairs of Poluo Province?

The distance between those guys and Poluo Province is far greater than the distance between the Alliance and Poluo.

Gazing at the steam rising from the coffee cup, Chu Guang quietly pondered, his eyes suddenly shifting slightly.

"...Could it be arms?"

Cheng Yan paused for a moment, then his face slightly changed.

"Do you mean... the Western Legion is exporting arms to West Sail Port?"

"It’s not just simple arms export; it might be ’project subcontracting’..." With a slight click of the tongue, Chu Guang took a sip from the coffee cup and placed it back on the table, "I should have thought about the possibility of such a situation."

The relationship between the Southern Legion and the civil official of Triumph City has already strained, making it unlikely to hand over logistics to the latter for support.

Now the Eastern Legion has also made it clear that it will not participate in this battle. The temporary port located southwest of Falling Leaves Province, near the Jubar Mountains, and the passage across the Great Desert will not be open to the Southern Legion.

Thus, it stands to reason that the Southern Legion would choose other cooperative partners.

He could even guess that the high-level members of the Southern Legion must have promised certain benefits to the high-level members of the Western Legion.

For instance, a thirty percent share of the "New Colony" interests.

Just like the cooperation between the Alliance and enterprises on the space elevator project.

Whether one wants to admit it or not, survivor forces with the same consciousness are natural allies.

Cheng Yan earnestly asked.

"...The Southern Alliance wants us to give them some advice on what to do next?"

Chu Guang pondered for a while before speaking.

"The other side has not openly revealed their identity but is instead making covert moves from behind, which shows they also do not want to have a direct conflict with us. Since they are playing dumb, let them, and we won’t expose their tricks."

Cheng Yan frowned and asked.

"Are we just going to leave them be?"

"How can we? Do you think our submarines and mother submarines are just for show?" Chu Guang chuckled, his voice carrying a faint chill, "I heard there are quite a few sea monsters in the Poluo Sea, like... Laken, who can launch torpedoes. The transport ships sunk by Laken shouldn’t be blamed on us."

Cheng Yan’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but give a thumbs up.

"That’s a good idea!"

Chu Guang smiled and shook his head, saying nothing.

What’s so good about that idea...

Isn’t it just basic operation?

He believed that even without his suggestion, Cheng Yan would have come up with that idea.

However, everyone has their small thoughts. This guy is obviously no exception.

When a person’s prestige reaches a certain height, people around them, whether out of respect or reliance or for some other purpose, will subconsciously lower their stance.

The residents of the shelter are fine, but the Waste Land Wanderers of the Alliance have it to some extent.

Except for positions related to scientific research, the only Waste Land Wanderer who could fully unleash their talents might just be Little Fish.

Many people, including Lu Bei, only recently changed their address from "Milord" to "Sir" on his repeated request.

Chu Guang could see the restraint in Cheng Yan’s heart, but he did not expose it. He simply gave him a brief follow-up assignment, instructing him to handle this matter flexibly, and then ended the meeting.

Some things done too much become excessive instead.

Cheng Yan’s work has always been quite good, whether on mission to Jinjaron Harbor or to the Eastern Legion.

Chu Guang didn’t want him to interpret it as, "I am dissatisfied with your work"...

"Master, Xiao Qi feels your survivors really rely on you." Watching Cheng Yan leave, Xiao Qi’s voice had a slight smugness, gently swinging its legs dangling beside the pen holder.

Seeing this little guy proudly lifting its nose, Chu Guang reached out a finger and tapped its little head.

"I know... but I don’t think it’s something worth being happy about."

"Humph, as long as Xiao Qi feels happy!"

Smoothing its disheveled hair, Xiao Qi, unusually, did not obey his words and instead argued back.

But moments later, that proud corner of its mouth drooped again, for some reason adopting a cautious tone, and its little swinging legs stopped moving.

"So... can you not leave?"

The fingertip suspended above the little guy’s head paused, as Chu Guang, who was about to push it into the pen holder, was taken aback.

"What are you saying?"

Hugging its head with both hands, Xiao Qi muttered.

"Um... Xiao Qi is worried that one day, like that person, you’ll leave just saying from now on they are me, then go off to who knows where."

Looking at the suddenly dejected Xiao Qi, Chu Guang was slightly stunned, only after a while remembering who it was talking about.

That was "Fang Ming’s" designer.

When that AI named Fang Ming was sent to grant the operation rights of the sky-based weapon, it told Xiao Qi quite a bit about its designer.

Perhaps due to AI sensitivity, Xiao Qi saw similar shadows in itself.

Chu Guang remained silent for a while, rather than continuing the usual playful banter with this little fellow, he gently picked it up and placed it on his shoulder.

"Even the computer buried under the Inner City ruins, specifically used to calculate future scenarios, can’t predict one hundred percent accurately... indeed, things often turn out very differently from what we first expected, the unexpected is the majority."

"So don’t always worry about those distant matters, at least I am still here now, and we are all still very young."

"Even if I am to go somewhere far in the future, I will bring you along."

-

(Thanks to the lord of the alliance, "Don’t Dream Cold," for the reward!!!)