City of Dawn, Alliance Square.

Feather-like snowflakes float in the sky, and a towering stone monument stands in the center of the square.

This monument has been there since the establishment of the Alliance.

Its shape resembles a sword, pointing towards the sky, and the unfinished obelisk continues to extend upwards.

Every so often, it will extend a little further.

Sometimes it's one or two meters, sometimes it's as tall as several people stacked together.

Many names are engraved on that monument.

And each name carved there represents a memory of blood and glory.

Apart from commemorating sacrifices, this is also where the warriors of the Alliance triumph and receive medals...

...

Just like the 777th time Shelter No. 404 opened its doors, it's another cold winter this year, with the first snow falling before late autumn.

And now, as winter has just begun, feather-like snowflakes are floating from the sky.

Seeing snow for the first time, especially such heavy snow, Dora was as excited as a child, playing with the snow face-up, and ended up not seeing the road ahead, tripping over a stone edge by the roadside, accidentally knocking Teng Teng into a flower bed.

The spherical green plants were covered with snow, but neither of them was hurt in the collision.

However, being struck by such an unexpected calamity, Teng Teng's spirit seemed to be quite shocked, as if her soul had floated out, and the bright eyes gradually lost their light.

That look of lost dreams gave Dora quite a fright, as she awkwardly brushed the snow off Teng Teng while repeatedly apologizing.

The nearby players, instead of helping, started to create a commotion.

"Referee! Someone's been hit by the ball!"

"Pass it on! Teng Teng's been knocked out by the ball!"

"? Wasn't it anger?"

"Don't care how she's knocked out! Quick! Dora, CPR!"

"???"

Confusion was rampant at the scene; Dora could understand what they were saying but didn't know what to do.

These jesters only bothered to give false commands, yet none dared to show by example.

Until the warm-hearted Mosquito arrived on the scene.

"I'll do it—!"

Upon hearing the cracked sound of his voice, Teng Teng instantly snapped awake from Dora's embrace, reflexively kicking Mosquito into the flower bed.

"Ugh—"

Watching Mosquito flounder in the snow heap, she roared in shame and fury.

"Go away!"

Seeing Miss Teng Teng furious, the group of players scattered immediately.

Nearby the flower bed, upon hearing that Teng Teng was knocked out by a snowball, Tail suddenly had a bright idea, starting a snowball fight with Meat Meat and a group of naive newcomers.

Indeed, snowballs in "Wasteland OL" didn't exist as supersonic, or if they did break the sound barrier, they disintegrated instantly.

Watching the snow dust fly chaotically through the air, Pigeon, standing with Little Red at the square's edge, had a smile of amusement hanging on his face.

"What a lively scene."

Little Red didn't speak, just silently watched the direction of Qingquan City Center with a faint smile on her face, much like a mother observing her child.

Seemingly sensing its presence, a crisp chirping sound came from afar, akin to a dolphin's call.

"Eep-wu—!"

"Eep-wu—" Facing the snowy curtain, Little Red responded, looking towards Qingquan City.

'Falling Feather… really powerful!'

'Really? You seem very close.'

'Yeah!'

"..."

In a brief moment, they exchanged greetings that would take ordinary people several days, talking from Potato Harbor in the south all the way to the Whirlpool Sea at the westernmost of Central Continent.

And those places, Little Red, who remained in the Lost Valley, had never seen…

At this moment, a strange voice suddenly came from beside.

"Are you… Pigeon?"

Hearing the voice from the side, Pigeon turned around and saw a walking tin can.

This person was clad in rounded armor, covering every inch of skin with metal plates, revealing only two eyes through the gaps.

Detecting the smell of mutated slime fungus spores from him, Pigeon's face showed a momentary surprise, but it quickly transformed into a warm smile.

It's a kindred spirit.

This fellow, like him, had also established a certain degree of symbiotic relationship with the mutated slime fungus.

Only, unlike him, he wasn't as fortunate; he ended up with one that lacked a sense of boundaries.

"Yes, it's me, what's up?"

"Pleasure to meet you! I've heard so much about you!" A clanging sound came from within the metal can as an embarrassed laugh followed, "My name is Batch... hehe, I was originally planning to go to Fallen Leaf Valley to find you, but I didn't expect you'd come to the City of Dawn instead."

"You have great timing," Pigeon smiled faintly and glanced up at the sky, "In a few days, I might have to go somewhere else."

"...Somewhere else?"

Batch was stunned for a moment, unable to react. However, Pigeon did not explain further, he simply looked at him and asked.

"Is there something you want to find me for?"

"There is something... It's like this, I heard that you are an expert in mutated slime fungus, so I wanted to ask you to help me see if there's any hope for me in this state?"

Saying that, Batch reached out to touch the back of his head, took off his helmet, revealing a face that could scare children to tears.

Pigeon looked at his face, showing no sign of disgust or fear, instead, he rubbed his chin with interest, then extended the index finger of his right hand.

"Let me have a look."

While speaking, his index finger already rested on Batch's forehead, and a strand of flesh-colored sporangium sprouted from his fingertip.

The sporangium, like a needle, pierced Batch's forehead skin, heading towards the skull.

However, at this moment, an unexpected change suddenly occurred.

The withered, decaying skin suddenly seemed to come alive, twisting with a ripple like a protective wild dog, biting off the thread-like sporangium.

Pigeon showed a resigned expression, retracting the fingertip that rested on his forehead.

Batch, completely puzzled, had no idea what had happened, only blinked at the latter.

"Exactly... what's happened?"

"It has already grown into your brain."

Upon hearing this, Batch's eyes widened instantly, revealing a look of terror.

"How could it be?! But... I, I have always been using inhibitors..."

Pigeon nodded.

"Indeed, I can feel it. And perhaps it's precisely because of the inhibitors that you haven't realized you're not really Batch... but the slime fungus that inherited Batch's memories and continues to live under his name."

Hearing this shocking matter, Batch, unable to accept it, covered his face, murmuring repeatedly.

"I... am the slime fungus? I'm not Batch?"

"Yes, and no," Pigeon said softly to the reality-averse man, "you are the fungus, and you are Batch... at least the Batch that the people here knew."

Watching the man lift his head in confusion, he pondered for a moment and then continued.

"A ship that has had all its planks replaced, is it still the same ship? I believe it is. Although all its components have changed, the form of its existence hasn't changed at all. Our cells themselves are constantly renewing, cycling every ten years or so... but in your case and mine, something extra has entered this cycle."

"You can think of it as having devoured your body, or that your consciousness has supplanted its original existence, none of that matters. But one thing is certain, whether you become human, fungus, or something else, it depends on you."

"Depends on me..." Batch stared blankly at the senior in front of him, remaining silent, as if he understood, yet maybe not.

Pigeon smiled, shifting his gaze to a distant monument and the Manager standing beneath it, a hint of interest in his eyes.

"Is a fungus with human consciousness still human? It seems the Alliance has considered this issue already, haha. Actually, you needn't be so distressed, people here have long accepted you, it's just that you haven't accepted it yourself."

"Batch became the new Batch long before your inhibitors... regrettably, but that's how it is. Even if you kill part of it, the original you can't come back. The doctor's kindness in prescribing inhibitors meant you lived like a sleepwalker; deep down, you know it's self-deception."

"Your rejection reaction stems from resisting such change, feeling repulsed by your own body."

"Why not try acceptance? Perhaps see it as a new beginning, and stop using inhibitors."

"You will slowly merge and harness this power... you might even find joy in time before the long tedium overwhelms you."

"After all, this is an 'immortal body'."

After leaving those words, Pigeon waved his hand, leaving batch, deep in thought and staring at his own hands, behind as he left with Little Red.

The bustling crowd paid Batch no further heed... even with a face that could frighten children to tears.

This is the Alliance, after all.

And it's the Alliance's expedition land.

What bizarre creatures have the waste land wanderers living here not seen?

No one cast odd glances at him because of the fungus growing on him; the cumbersome armor only trapped the self from his past...

Just after Pigeon left, the snow battle started by tails got bigger in scale, spreading wider and wider, almost with the momentum of a world war!

In the end, not only newbies but even the veterans returning from the Great Desert's center for the conferral ceremony joined the battlefield.

In this brawl among awakeners, the war criminal Ah Wei was ultimately overwhelmed among the snowdrifts with a scream of 'giao,' outmatched by seven or eight balls.

"Let go of me—"

"I've made contributions to the Alliance! I want to see Brother Guang!"

"Wait, if taking a picture, tails wants to stand in the center—giao! Someone move your butt! You're blocking Tails' head!"

Everyone took turns to step up for group photos, finally saving 'shivering but dare to again next time' her from the snowman pile just before her nose started dripping.

While everyone was having a blast, Night Ten, waiting at the edge of the square for half a day, finally met the half-hour-late Jiang Xuezhou.

She was wearing a white cashmere coat, with a scarf he had previously given her wrapped around her neck, looking bundled up like a snowman.

Yet, despite this, Night Ten still recognized her at once among the crowd, and at once noticed what made her different from before.

Staring straight at her face so exquisite it looked like a 3D model, Night Ten couldn't hold back and eventually said.

"Why have you turned out like this?"

"Is it not good looking..." Jiang Xuezhou panicked instantly, twisting her fingers like an exam-failed child.

Night Ten shook his head, his face a little flushed with embarrassment, he shifted his gaze away.

"Not really..."

How should I put it?

Good-looking is good-looking, but it feels like I've seen it in the 3D zone.

Staring into Night Ten's eyes for a long time, Jiang Xuezhou, who had been holding a straight face, couldn't help but smugly grin up to the sky.

"Hmph."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, flicked the hair that fell on her shoulders, and proudly lifted her upturned nose.

"Sorry, but this is how I look... I just used scientific methods to recreate it."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Night Ten made a helpless expression, thinking, as long as you're happy.

He didn't mind before, so he wouldn't find her more beautiful now and be unable to kiss her.

It might sound a bit cheesy, but what he fell in love with was indeed that kind and beautiful soul.

No matter what she becomes, that part remains unchanged.

Perhaps his gaze was truly a bit cheesy, as that fair and pretty face suddenly became bashful.

Interlocked forefingers rubbed against each other as she hesitated for a long time, finally whispering.

"By the way, um... there's something I need to apologize to you for."

Night Ten looked at her in confusion.

"What's the matter?"

"Some things are theory after all. Although I knew it, I was too focused on saving you at the time, and there was a crucial part... I didn't think of it. Anyway, you know what I'm talking about..."

With her forefinger twirling her hair's tip, her face reddened like a lantern, she stared off to the side, occasionally glancing at him.

"...Do you want to install it?"

Even though it was just a brief touch of glances, Night Ten felt as if his heart had been hit by a bullet.

Perhaps this is what being a virgin is like.

According to Brother Fang Chang's teasing, this is the most typical embarrassing display of a virgin—yet so be it, he was not inclined to argue with the old coot over such matters.

For a moment, he even had the urge to tell her his QQ password.

No—

He even thought of what their child's name would be.

"Give me three days!"

Jiang Xuezhou was stunned for a moment.

"Three days? Why three days..."

"Don't ask so much, just wait for me for three days—"

"Say what you have to say properly, don't suddenly point a gun at yourself!"

For a moment, Jiang Xuezhou was indeed frightened by this fellow.

But fortunately, the experienced guards arrived just in time, preventing someone from blacking out while "reporting the bug"...

...

The clock struck eight on the dot, and unbeknownst to anyone, the square was filled with people, their focus on the monument in the center almost melting the thick snow.

Unlike the cold winters of past years.

This year's cold winter also brought heavy snow, but it was far from unbearable.

The shelves in the supermarkets were filled with an array of goods, and even regular citizens doing the most unskilled jobs could afford them.

Survivors who just arrived here could hardly believe that only five years ago, the people who lived here had to stuff pre-war paper money into sacks for use as winter coats.

This was undoubtedly a miracle.

The people living here no longer feared that silvery white hell, and the young kids gleefully built snowmen right outside their doorsteps.

Before the Wasteland Era of 211, such a thing had never happened, as back then, most people didn't even have homes.

The Manager truly kept his promise—

He built a miracle on this barren land, no less impressive than those in Ideal City.

Even—

This miracle, which illuminated the entire Wasteland, shone even more brightly than the light from Ideal City!

Of course, as he said, this was not just his success.

The credit belongs to everyone.

Whether they are still alive.

Or those who died in the past.

Looking back at those admiring gazes, and the faces written with longing and even zeal, Chu Guang standing under the monument couldn't help but reflect back to the past.

That was the 777th time Shelter No. 404 opened its doors.

Back then, it was probably near Linghu Wetland Park, and as a newcomer, I was completely clueless about everything around me, even being chased several miles by a two-headed wild dog, almost dying in its jaws.

It turns out, people don't know their own limits until they're pushed to the edge.

Though the cost was somewhat excessively tragic, resulting in his various bizarre deaths time and again, fortunately, the final outcome was a joyous one for all.

However, that is all in the past now.

Even until today, the echoes of those deaths occasionally appear in his dreams in the form of nightmares through spontaneously formed morphogenesis fields.

"It's been quite difficult to get here, Master."

Xiao Qi's voice came from beside his ear.

Chu Guang could hear that the joyful voice was truly happy for him from the heart.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and Chu Guang spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Indeed, reaching this point was really hard. Moreover, it wasn't just me; you as well..."

"You've worked hard all along."

Reborn 777 times wasn't just him alone.

He would forever remember that promise to treat this little guy well.

"Master..."

The electronic voice drifting into his ear carried a slight trembling, as if moved to the verge of tears.

Chu Guang believed this being had emotions and indeed had joy, anger, sorrow, and joy.

However, crying was undoubtedly just pretending.

At that moment, the eight o'clock gong sounded from afar, breaking the noise on the square.

The bustling voices suddenly quieted down into an unbelievable silence, leaving only the sound of snow falling and the wind blowing across the square.

By instinct, everyone simultaneously stopped talking, feeling a touch of surprise.

Time was up.

The triumph ceremony was about to commence.

Moreover, today's triumph ceremony holds another extraordinary significance, entirely distinct from previous ones!

Apart from awarding medals to the warriors who participated in the final battle, their respected Manager will also mark the final sentence of the century-long war at this solemn and solemn victory moment—

They have overcome not only the Torch Church and the corrupted Army but also the Enlightenment Society and celestial beings.

They have ended the Wasteland Era!

From now on, a brand-new global order will emerge on the ground, and no one or any force will condone the sprouting of evil and barbarism.

The Survivor Forces will unite like never before, constituting a de facto alliance!

Looking at those burning eyes, Chu Guang's Adam's apple moved lightly, and he began to speak in a gentle tone.

"Wasteland Era 211, I remember that year was also a cold winter… Just emerging from the refuge, I was not fully prepared, even acted somewhat hastily."

"Especially when I saw the first snow, my heart couldn't help but have the fleeting thought, 'Is it too early to open the door now?'"

"I imagine I was not the only one who thought that way; many have thought the same."

He hadn't prepared a speech script in advance, nor tried to awaken people's inner flames because there was no longer a need.

They were no longer waiting in place, and had already become the light illuminating the horizon themselves.

Moreover, this was just the opening of the triumph ceremony, not a war mobilization or political performance.

He wished only to speak heart-to-heart as an ordinary person with those who supported him.

"The decisions I made were not driven by grand reasons or lofty goals."

"Simply because upon awakening from the wasteland, I saw a girl, thin as a skeleton, gazing at a nondescript candy with longing, a simple good, hardworking family unable to meet even the basic needs for survival, while those who should lead them in rebuilding their home lived high above them, kowtowing to barbarism, striking civilization heavily… Moreover, the Residents of the refuge, who were supposed to exemplify, weren't much better either, and we, who should have stood up to do something, chose silence and used Prosperity Epoch's knowledge to concoct pills for those beasts, calculating."

"I saw humans eating humans, and what was scarier was that no one thought it was wrong — whether it was the one eating or the one being eaten. Soon, I thought of myself, wondering if my children in the future must choose between life and sacrifice, would living desperately today still be worthwhile."

The square remained quiet.

Chu Guang could feel the resonance.

Because he knew well that was a choice every Waste Land Wanderer had made.

To survive, they all did things they were unwilling to do, to varying degrees.

Whether they were right or wrong.

"…Living is not shameful, but I know we cannot continue like this. We must do something because if we do nothing and just wait for destiny to choose for us, we will have no future to speak of."

"We who are alive will perish in silence, and the mark of our existence will be meaningless. It won't even be called shameful because we will be the last generation, and there won't be anyone to lay this stinking coffin to rest for us!"

"That's when I decided to start doing something, from where I could, to no longer regard ugliness and filth as self-evident, not to live just for the sake of living… but to become the Light myself, ignite the torch I held, and before illuminating those around me, first become the light they can see."

Chu Guang took a light deep breath, merging the turbid air in his chest into the white mist.

A smile appeared on his face, and he lowered his voice several decibels, continuing with a smooth pace.

"…I am so honored, you are all me, allowing me to see countless versions of myself confronting chaos and barbarism, and unhesitatingly making the same choice."

"This is the miracle we created together, and we will carry on these two centuries of fallen memories as we move forward, while a new civilization will rise from the ruins of past prosperity at this moment."

"Our descendants will live in a brighter future, not fearing the arrival of winter and night like we once did! Because their forebearers ended the Wasteland Era, creating impossible miracles with their courage, unity, and determination!"

"What we have won is not just the victory of a war but a triumph over our past!"

"History will turn a new page, and every day from now on will be a new epoch!"

"This great victory belongs to us—"

"Every one of us who fought to end the Wasteland Era!"