CHAPTER 900: CHAPTER 900: THE FOUNDATION OF TRUST

"Honorable Manager, amidst your busy schedule, I take the liberty to report on behalf of the Poluo Province War Zone Staff about the work during this period."

"As per your instructions, while assisting the resistance forces of the Poluo Province to form a new army, we have established a relatively complete air defense system locally. Although the aircraft from West Sail Port have frequently launched air raids on Tiandu City over the past few months, the impact on strategy and infrastructure has been minimized."

"Additionally, the weapons and radio equipment continuously transported to the front lines have reversed the situation of weapon shortages among the various nations of Poluo Province, significantly improving their training and combat capabilities. Initially, under equal equipment conditions, the Poluo Country’s army required a hundred-strong unit to hold off a ten-member Regular Army team, but now they can skillfully master the mobile warfare tactics we taught them, reducing the number needed to hold off an Army group from company level to platoon level."

"Currently, the battle situation in Poluo Province has transitioned from strategic defense to a stage of strategic stalemate, and our army along with allied forces have seen the dawn of victory."

"However, despite many optimistic reports to mention, it cannot be denied that our divisions are still far from transitioning to formal strategic counterattack."

"As we familiarize ourselves with the Southern Legion’s tactics, they are equally adapting to our offensive-grade defensive tactics, including using fortified lines to prevent our infiltration and penetrating attacks, coordinated with concentrated artillery fire to eliminate our living forces."

"It is undeniable that our numerical disadvantage is a weakness we cannot ignore. When we try to trade time for space, the opponent is using extended front lines tactics to magnify our disadvantages."

"On the other hand, although the combined forces of nations in Poluo Province have improved their combat capabilities and have overcome the toughest resource shortages, their defensive abilities remain robust while offensive capabilities are lacking. According to reports from various fronts, the casualty ratio in offensive operations can be two to three times that of defensive operations."

"Moreover, serious internal divisions exist among the nations of Poluo Province, with factions and internal strife consistently ongoing, particularly evident since the collapse of the Heavenly Palace."

"Furthermore, as the war persists, there are signs of upgrades in Army equipment. Initially, they only had two jet fighters, but now more and more new aircraft are appearing over Poluo Province skies. Additionally, guided weapons using laser guidance and shells with electronic guidance heads, among others."

"Initially, we believed the Army would fall into decline after losing their airships, but we have underestimated their fighting spirit. In fact, the fall of the airships has facilitated an update in their equipment and tactics."

"An increasing number of exoskeletons and guided weapons appear on the front lines, including light weapons using new-style receiver structures. Given the Southern Legion’s industrial productivity and its resource-supplying colonies, if it continues, the situation is highly likely to shift unfavorably for us."

"Therefore, I sincerely suggest opening a second front in the Southern Legion’s colonies or homeland."

"...Your loyal General Wanusi, September 1st."

At the Alliance Building in the City of Dawn, Chu Guang carefully read the report sent back from the front line.

Even though he had been paying attention to posts on the forum to understand details about the war in Poluo Province, Wanusi’s report offered him a completely different perspective.

Actually, not long after the start of the war, there was a debate on the forum about whether the Alliance should open a second front.

The supporters had their reasons, arguing that instead of striking the supply line to the Army, they should bring the Army directly back to the Stone Age.

On the other hand, those against it argued reasonably as well, noting that attacking the Southern Legion’s homeland would practically be equivalent to declaring war on the entire Army, potentially triggering internal defense agreements and possibly uniting the internally divided Army.

This would effectively help the opposing side complete war mobilization, entirely converting internal conflicts into external conflicts.

In fact, Chu Guang leaned more towards the latter.

Not only because of the many reasons players cited during the debate, but to a large extent because he possessed another piece of intelligence about the Southern Legion’s colonies.

For example, far away at the Evernight Harbor, there is a significant change brewing.

Though it cannot be excluded that this may have been exaggerated by players, at the very least this war has awakened a portion of the Weilante People’s minds—

They are on a runaway train.

This train uses their flesh and blood as fuel without taking them to Utopia; instead, it is hurtling them toward an unseen abyss, crushing their loyalty, bravery, generosity, and fearlessness—all their good qualities.

In this war full of lies and deceit, the Weilante People gain nothing but a bunch of Thousands of Leaders and Ten Thousand Leader riding on their heads.

And the aliens suppressed by the Weilante People are gradually moving from mutual persecution to unity.

Under such circumstances, perhaps it is better to watch how events unfold.

Reflecting on the report for a long time, Chu Guang looked at Xiao Qi sitting on the pen holder.

"Xiao Qi, send a reply email for me saying... from a tactical standpoint, it’s a good suggestion, but considering it strategically, now is not the right time."

"Received!" Xiao Qi enthusiastically nodded, her pupils flickering with a faint blue glow, quickly sending the edited reply to the front-line command of Poluo Province.

Information infrastructure is also part of infrastructure.

In the past six months, the construction team of Potato Harbor has used the ’Electric Eel’ unmanned boat and ’Crab Style’ amphibious engineering armor to lay submarine cables from Potato Harbor to Gallon Harbor.

Currently, the exchange between the City of Dawn and the southern sea area and the coast of the Poluo Sea no longer requires sending telegraphs; real-time information transmission can be achieved.

Once a few more cables are laid, with the channel width increased and a few servers built to enhance computing power, it’s hardly a problem to set up a local network akin to the Endpoint Cloud.

Reviewing Wanusi’s report is the last task for today.

Looking at the already late sky outside the window, Chu Guang lazily stretched, pushed away his chair, and stood up from his desk, planning to stroll for a while in the commercial street to the north.

Recently, a new commercial plaza named "Night City" has opened there.

Reportedly, several life profession players, inspired by real-world department buildings, fused the Ideal City’s holographic and light pollution technologies to redesign a cyberpunk-styled architectural format.

The Goblin Bank offered loans for those newbies’ ideas, and now that avant-garde styled mall has become the "new landmark" of the North Street of Dawn City, even attracting Ideal City’s residents to specially visit and check in.

Once, the City’s most eye-catching landmark was the Ideal Grand Hotel, built with investments from the Ideal Group. But nowadays, that towering hotel has gradually been overshadowed by those new landmarks cropping up like bamboo shoots after a rain.

This is not entirely due to the players’ efforts; many survivors influenced by the players contributed their strengths as well.

Though the task to end the Wasteland Era remains arduous, the residents of the City of Dawn are indeed living a good life now.

Chu Guang is quite gratified by the changes happening on this land.

Due to this, he found his work hours becoming shorter, with fewer tasks needing his direct involvement compared to before.

If the Alliance, a long time ago, still depended heavily on him like a child, now even if he were suddenly gone, this massive machine could still operate for a long time powered by its self-generated momentum... until someone fitting to be called a Manager appears.

As the "father" of the Alliance, his next phase’s duty is also evident—

He needs to remove the last vulnerability from his child.

His child doesn’t need a "successor" or "stepfather," but to grow from a vibrant youth into an adult who can truly stand tall.

When even if he’s no longer around, the Alliance’s youth can still march forward proudly, without waiting in place for his return, then he would be truly successful.

Otherwise, they would become another form of the Army.

In a sense, Triumph City indeed serves like a mirror of the City of Dawn, showcasing another "possibility" of the Alliance people.

Chu Guang also suddenly realized one day.

A century and a half ago, Julius wasn’t unlike another version of himself under different origins.

Especially after truly understanding the history of the Weilante people, he gained new insights and views on the man they revered as Marshal.

Apart from choosing different paths in the end, their decisions and situations had many similar aspects.

The outcomes from differing choices, that Marshal already demonstrated for him, extending even to a century and a half later.

Including the initial City Lord of Giant Stone City as well...

At this moment, the knocking at the door interrupted Chu Guang’s thoughts.

He looked towards the door to see Yin Fang standing at the open doorway, holding a document, appearing to have something to say.

"Am I interrupting your after-hours?"

Looking at Yin Fang joking with him, Chu Guang chuckled and said.

"I don’t really have after-hours; just say whatever you need."

Yin Fang didn’t mince words, entered, handed over the document to Chu Guang, and succinctly reported.

"Anyway, it’s good news, the Gravity Well in the southern sea area has been deployed, using the system previously tested in Tiandu of the Poluo Province...um, although the deployment condition of that device system in Poluo Province wasn’t perfect, the Academy assures us this time it’s probably certainly fine."

Chu Guang’s expression turned peculiar.

"What do you mean by probably fine?"

Yin Fang, with a subtle expression, gave him a helpless look.

"Because... although we’ve solved the problem of how to pull space debris down to earth, we haven’t figured out exactly what’s floating up there, or what will be pulled down by the gravity well. And don’t forget, that weapon is up there too. You know what I’m talking about, right?"

Chu Guang nodded.

Of course he knew.

Yin Fang was referring to that strategic weapon deployed in outer space orbit.

It was the last legacy left by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee to the once-governed settlements, said to be capable of destroying a settlement of millions with a single shot.

After steadying himself, Yin Fang continued.

"In fact, according to a report from the Astronomical Observation Department of the Scientific Expedition Team, when we first used the gravity well, the device had an unforeseen impact on the trajectory of spacecraft in outer space... Given the usual practices of those Academy folks, I’m worried they have other schemes."

Chu Guang said thoughtfully.

"You mean... ’disarmament’?"

"That’s one of my concerns." Seeing the thoughtful look on Chu Guang’s face, Yin Fang paused for a moment before continuing, "As for the second, why didn’t the Academy attempt to deploy it on their territory instead of ours? The unmanned zones in the Wandering Swamp aren’t few, and they’re more controllable in terms of ecological risk compared to the ocean."

Ecological risk is still a consideration...

It’s already the Wasteland Era; is that even a concern anymore?

However, Chu Guang didn’t mock Yin Fang for overthinking it. Instead, he seriously asked.

"So why do you think that is?"

Yin Fang chuckled bitterly and shook his head.

"I don’t know either, but for that reason alone, I can’t help but worry if there’s a risk the Academy hasn’t informed us about. You know the way they operate; they love using others as guinea pigs."

This was not only his concern as the Alliance’s chief researcher but also his concern as a former grassroots prospector for the Academy.

Chu Guang’s expression gradually became serious.

"Do you have direct evidence to prove it?"

Yin Fang shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no. Anti-gravity technology was already cutting-edge before the war, and literature on the gravity well was only in the speculative stage. Various indications suggest this is a breakthrough in Singularity Technology achieved by the Academy after entering the Wasteland Era... for their Ark Project to reach a new world."

When speaking of this, there was a somewhat awkward expression on Yin Fang’s face.

As a former researcher of the Academy, he used to be the one who complained the most about them and often criticized their lack of progress.

But in reality, they weren’t really without progress; they just hid their advancements and achievements.

And under the Academy’s special confidentiality system, a Class D researcher couldn’t possibly come into contact with those cutting-edge technologies, or even know they existed.

Of course, whether such a system is reasonable is another topic entirely.

Chu Guang pondered this time longer than when he saw Vanus’s report, and Yin Fang did not urge him, quietly waiting for his opinion.

"Isn’t it possible... that the Academy themselves also don’t know the consequences of this choice?"

Yin Fang was stunned for a moment.

"They... don’t know either?"

Chu Guang nodded and continued.

"Perhaps testing this technology is itself part of exploring the future. I tend to think they’re also feeling their way through. After all, you said they could have done it secretly in the Wandering Swamp, watching our trump cards fall from the sky without us knowing what happened."

This not only includes the Alliance’s trump cards but naturally also the corporations’ and even the army’s trump cards.

Chu Guang had reason to believe that Triumph City held similar strategic weapons as a guarantee of ’mutual destruction.’

These words left Yin Fang speechless.

After pondering for a long time, he couldn’t think of a rebuttal.

After a pause, Chu Guang smiled and continued.

"Your concerns are not unwarranted, but I also think that we don’t necessarily have to be paranoid about them. Let’s trust them this time."

Yin Fang’s expression became peculiar, and he couldn’t help but say.

"Trusting the Academy? Are you serious?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Trying to trust doesn’t mean fully accepting. They showed us some sincerity by presenting things we’ve never seen before and even helped us a lot. Even for the sake of reciprocity, we shouldn’t wrong them."

"Actually, if you think about it carefully, those guys, although a bit harsh, narrow-minded, and always leaving things unsaid, aren’t actually bad people. Aside from some friction when we first met, they haven’t done anything to really wrong us."

"So why not try? Building trust while we’re still in the same boat is less risky than waiting until after they’ve disembarked."

The Academy needed their technological reserves to build a starship capable of interstellar colonization, while the Alliance needed to rebuild the bridge connecting the sky and the earth.

At least for now, both parties’ interests are aligned, and there’s no better opportunity than this.

Yin Fang looked at Chu Guang in amazement, saying with a complex expression.

"Not bad people... This is the first time I’ve heard someone evaluate the Academy like that."

In the eyes of most Waste Land Wanderers, the Academy is a rather mysterious entity.

Fear of the unknown is a biological instinct, and it’s precisely because of this mystery that most Waste Land Wanderers’ evaluations of the Academy are lower than those of the Weilante people, and they have no affection for Academy researchers.

Even though the Academy’s positive influence on the Wasteland far exceeds the army devoted to promoting slavery, and the corporations sent a Pioneer only once in a hundred years.

Although Yin Fang himself often mocked his old employer, hearing an outsider actually give the Academy such a positive evaluation left him with mixed feelings.

Looking at the complex expression on Yin Fang’s face, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Don’t look at me like that. That place is your old employer, after all. Your grievances aren’t to the extent of deep hatred."

After a pause, Chu Guang continued.

"Besides, I’m planning to make another trip to the Southern sea area. If anything unexpected happens, I can handle it in time."

Yin Fang squeezed out a smile on his face.

"...Let’s go together. I need to go there as well. When do you plan to leave?"

Chu Guang opened the schedule on his holographic computer, and seeing that the next few days were free, he said.

"The day after tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow?" Yin Fang was stunned for a moment, then hesitated, "Isn’t that too soon? According to the experimental log provided by the Academy, the gravity well’s first trial run won’t start until the end of the month."

"It’s not too soon, and I’m not going south just for the gravity well," looking at Yin Fang’s surprised face, Chu Guang smiled slightly, "The railway to Haiye Province has been open for some time. I plan to take the train there instead of a plane or airship this time."

"If you’re in a hurry, don’t follow me."

Rumors say the changes in the South are even more remarkable than in the City of Dawn.

Anyway, even without his direct involvement, his players and subordinates have been doing very well.

Chu Guang planned to give himself a break and visit the places where he and his players fought before...