CHAPTER 901: CHAPTER 901: PLACES WE ONCE WALKED

In the past, during his "imperial expeditions," in order to leave enough hope for those staying behind, Chu Guang would always depart with great fanfare aboard the Iron Heart, and return with victory and glory.

But this time was different from usual.

Chu Guang left quietly, bringing only the X-16 and Lu Bei’s group, discreetly buying tickets and booking a compartment, without alarming anyone else.

After all, he wasn’t going to fight this time, just to see what the place where he had once fought looked like now.

Since he usually appeared in public wearing that Azure Power Armor, not many people could recognize him at a glance when he took off that iconic equipment.

With the holographic imaging device that could slightly adjust his appearance, none of the passengers realized they were sharing a train with the Alliance’s Manager until the train started.

During the journey, Chu Guang went to the bathroom, and soon overheard people talking in the corridor outside.

"Where are you headed, buddy?"

"Off to Haiye Province!"

"Haiye Province, huh, the development there is really good. A lot of settlers have moved in from the west, I’m thinking of buying a building there and collecting rent."

"Great minds think alike, brother! I heard many there are still living in containers. Once the settlements develop, job opportunities will multiply, and the rental market will surely boom!"

"Are you also buying buildings there?"

"Not really, haha, I’m going to build them!"

"Oh, oh! A contractor! Pleasure to meet you! Ah... I forgot my business card in my bag, forgive my memory."

"No worries, I forgot mine too. Let’s exchange phone numbers and grab a meal sometime."

Hearing how affluent the Alliance’s residents were, Chu Guang couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.

A year ago, around this time, the Alliance authorities had issued quite a bit of debt to release liquidity, and now that money had flowed into the pockets of the Alliance’s residents through production cycles.

Now the residents of the Alliance were taking this wealth to invest in newly developed lands, helping immigrants who recently joined the Alliance to live better lives and create more wealth with them.

Life was getting better and better.

However, it wasn’t long before untimely voices crept in through the door seam.

"Stop bragging, if you two are so rich, why not buy a plane ticket?"

Clearly, more than one person was dissatisfied with the two boasting; the corridor echoed with agreeing voices.

"Exactly!"

"Wasn’t your prosthetic snatched from a coal mine? It doesn’t even have anti-rust paint peeled off yet, probably quit the job as soon as it was done."

"You tax thieves, blowing hot air!"

The two were rendered speechless, glaring venomously at the instigator, and walked off silently.

Sitting on the toilet, Chu Guang’s expression was somewhat awkward.

Alright.

Even in the City of Dawn, poverty hadn’t been completely eradicated.

It was still a bit too early to show off; the Alliance’s journey was far from over.

But thinking from another angle, at least ordinary people in the Alliance still held the dreams of changing their current lives and becoming wealthy, and they were willing to take steps toward that dream, instead of considering it an unreachable daydream, or only daring to think about it when lying down.

This in itself was quite good.

Compared to the residents of the City of Dawn, the residents of the South Sea Union and Silver Moon Bay were much more restless; some had even caught up with the players, staying ahead of the trend.

Restlessness isn’t a bad thing; it’s actually the driving force of societal progress.

As for the wealth that ordinary people pursue, it isn’t a dreadful monster; instead, it acts as a catalyst for accelerating social progress.

It only becomes a poison threatening the entire alliance when it’s monopolized.

And preventing this monopoly is precisely one of the tasks Chu Guang is currently working on.

Not occupying the bathroom for too long, Chu Guang used the holographic camouflage system to slightly adjust his appearance, then left the bathroom for the people waiting outside.

After returning to the carriage, he passed the security check at the door before turning off the holographic camouflage system, and then went straight to the VIP compartment in the middle of the carriage.

X-16 prepared a cup of tea for him, gently placing it on the table, then stood aside holding the tray.

Sitting on the table with cheeks resting on her hands, Xiao Qi tilted her head in curiosity and asked.

"Master, isn’t there a toilet in the carriage? Why did you go outside?"

Chu Guang replied with a smile.

"Didn’t it suddenly seem interesting to see the ordinary life?"

Xiao Qi didn’t quite understand.

"Can’t you see it in the City of Dawn?"

"Yes, but the Alliance is not only the City of Dawn. Many people live in places we can’t see," sipping the tea lightly, Chu Guang placed the cup on the wobbling tray, "Also, what we see in the office and what we personally see in reality are definitely not the same."

Somewhat disagreeing with his statement, Xiao Qi pursed her lips lightly.

"Well... even if you sit in the office, I can still see for you."

Although the current conditions of the Wasteland don’t allow for satellites, the Hummingbird drone controlled by the shelter server could be considered a "low-altitude satellite" in another sense.

The small spherical shell hovering over a height of 10 meters almost attracted no one’s attention, and its 360-degree wide-angle camera could take in the whole area seamlessly.

Long, long ago, when "players" and "NPCs" weren’t so reliable, it served as VM’s communication relay and Chu Guang’s eyes for observing conditions inside and outside the Survivor Settlement.

"I’m not doubting your capabilities; we’re talking about two different things." Looking at the slightly pouting Xiao Qi, Chu Guang chuckled and replied, then turned his gaze outside the window.

The train has left Qingquan City for a while now, and the last station it passed seemed to be the southernmost station in the River Valley Province.

The rugged mountain road seemed to come to an end after passing through a tunnel, and the slow-moving train gradually increased its speed.

Seeing the familiar scenery, some memories stirred in Chu Guang’s heart, and he casually asked a question.

"What’s ahead?"

Xiao Qi, resting her chin on her hand, answered in a pleasant voice.

"Once we cross that river up ahead, we’ll be in Brocade River Province. It seems there’s a small town there that worships lizards, rats, and humans."

Chu Guang felt a stir in his heart and blurted out.

"It’s called Dusty Town, right?"

Xiao Qi opened her eyes in surprise.

"Oh? You still remember, Master?"

Chu Guang laughed heartily and said.

"It hasn’t been that many years; how could I forget so soon?"

That place was once a battlefield for the Jungle Corps, and it seemed that battle was also the debut of the bomb gun.

In that battle, they successfully thwarted the Qi Tribe’s raiding of the survivor settlements around Brocade River City and relocated the residents of Dusty Town to a safer place.

Later, a large force of Alliance troops set out from here to the battlefield, heading to Brocade River Province to battle against the Torch Church and its mutant vassals.

However, speaking of which, in just two or three years, the changes here have become so great that he can hardly recognize them.

The rumbling sound rolled over the waves, and the train crossed the river, then climbed over hills, and soon an endless plain and gentle slopes came into Chu Guang’s view.

The scenery that met his eyes at that moment was even more breathtaking than before.

Where once barren land stretched as far as he could remember, now lay fields of golden rice paddies.

The heavy rice ears bent the stalks under their weight, creating golden waves with every breeze that swept through.

September was the season of autumn harvest, and Dusty Town was in the busiest time of the year.

Large machines with rollers were working back and forth in the fields, and the areas crushed by those tracks and rollers looked like a barber had trimmed them, leaving only stubs of hair-like residue.

Those were the chopped straw.

The machines following behind would mix them with nitrogen fertilizer and blend them into the soil, preparing for the next round of cultivation.

Besides the rice paddies, there were orchards in the distance with Cam trees and other trees, managed by horticultural robots produced by Giant Stone City.

Although Dusty Town only had a hundred households, thanks to this mechanical agriculture technology, the cultivated area surpassed the land opened up by the West Winds Expeditionary Army with tens of thousands of people.

Looking at the townspeople in the distance, packing threshed rice into burlap bags, Chu Guang said with some emotion.

"I didn’t expect that Brocade River Province would also use a mechanized planting system."

He remembered when the Alliance first came here, the laborers were still serfs, and their tools were hoes.

The local farm owners preferred to buy a few more decommissioned propeller planes from the Alliance than to switch to more efficient tractors. Later, due to the chaos stirred by the Torch, they were almost swept away along with their serfs.

Of course, the situation in Dusty Town was somewhat different from other settlements in the area.

Because Junkie and his two other partners paid out of their pockets to buy some equipment for the locals, and later helped them sell their produced grain to Giant Stone City, this place was likely the first to implement mechanized agriculture in the entire Brocade River Province.

In other settlements, like Mafu Town, the situation might not be as dramatic.

Seeing Chu Guang’s interest in those farming machines, X-16, standing with a tray nearby, introduced them like a tour guide.

"That is the United Harvesting System designed by Huge Rock Military Industry."

Chu Guang was slightly stunned.

"Huge Rock Military Industry?"

X-16 nodded and continued.

"In June this year, Mr. Yibosi spun off the production lines for heavy mining equipment, agricultural machinery, and track transportation tools from Huge Rock Military Industry’s production line and established a new company operated by a human CEO. Currently, this subsidiary has become a new growth point for Huge Rock Military Industry’s profits, and plans to list on the Dawn City Exchange."

It wasn’t just Lister’s Lister Group that had stepped out of the Great Wall; the mammoth that was Huge Rock Military Industry was also finding its own way to break out from that towering wall.

However, Chu Guang had never paid much attention to Huge Rock Military Industry’s ventures outside the military domain.

The last time he met Yibosi was when he was representing the Alliance authorities in talks to negotiate cooperative ventures with North Island Heavy Industries.

Of course, it might just be that collaboration with North Island Heavy Industries that sparked new inspiration in Yibosi.

Since changing hands, that android, who had surpassed its expiration date, seemed to gradually return to normal.

Chu Guang chuckled and said.

"That’s good, although I didn’t expect that guy to be interested in things other than weapons."

The obsidian mirror surface flickered slightly, and X-16, in an unperturbed tone, continued.

"Father says that only when the value of the land is fully exploited will people fight to reclaim it... Suppressing the grain price and increasing the birth rate are long-term strategies to open the market for Huge Rock Military Industry’s weapons."

Chu Guang choked on his tea and coughed, then said.

"Cough... The price of grain isn’t the only factor affecting the birth rate; I think he’s overthinking it."

X-16 nodded, seemingly thoughtful.

"I see... I understand."

Chu Guang didn’t really believe that this guy truly understood what he said, but he didn’t mind much.

Yibosi’s penchant for sowing chaos wasn’t a new development; he had been like this even before Chu Guang met him.

The train traveled all the way to the vicinity of Dusty Town and stopped next to a simple station.

Two travelers chose to get off here, and judging by their appearance, they seemed to be backpackers from Ideal City.

When Chu Guang looked out of the window, he happened to see the enclosing wall outside the station.

The originally haphazardly stacked low wall of granite and cement had been transformed into a neatly beautiful and more reliable concrete wall.

The locals indeed fulfilled their initial wish to rebuild a bigger and more beautiful village on the ruins.

On the gate of that high wall was carved a relief, featuring a massive Dead Claw, a plump rat, and a cloaked man.

They are regarded as the guardians of this small town’s residents and a landmark for Ideal City’s tourists to photograph and check-in.

It is worth mentioning that although the neighboring mutant tribes had been hunted to extinction by players, variants still occasionally wander here.

Despite the Alliance’s mind interference device being capable of repelling variants, due to some prior incidents, the locals still trust their hunting guns and the walls they built more than the mind interference device, continuing the tradition of building watchtowers.

Since few passengers get off here, the train stopped for only three minutes before resuming its journey towards Singular Point City.

It was once the logistics transit base for the Alliance’s southern expeditionary forces in Brocade River Province, and now it has become the largest settlement in Brocade River Province, even surpassing the southernmost Weifu City.

Honestly, this surprised Chu Guang.

He originally envisioned Singular Point City managed entirely by AI to serve as the Alliance’s major rehab center, helping locals break their dependency on Nago, and metaphorically, their "big baby" syndrome.

They shouldn’t always count on someone to manage them but should find a way to live properly on their own.

However, what surprised Chu Guang was that the population here boomed, growing from tens of thousands to an astonishing 200,000.

Unlike other settlements, Frost showed no objection to those choosing to stay here.

Though there’s no Alliance ID issued here, nor is silver coin earned through work, the advantage is never having to worry about what’s worn daily - people can stay as long as they want, even a lifetime if they choose.

There’s only one requirement: once leaving, they cannot return.

Except for the luggage and a small amount of silver coins exchanged based on points deposited at the time of storage, nothing can be taken from here.

As for the travelers.

They can rest at a hotel near the station or tour the farm but can only stay for a day, and they generally won’t interact with locals.

In fact, to ensure some sort of fairness, even the hotel staff at the station are specially conferred Ideal City’s bionics.

The train stayed here a notably longer period, with a much busier flow of passengers boarding and disembarking compared to previous stations, scurrying back and forth on the tiled platform.

However, unlike several stations in the southern River Valley Province, most travelers disembarking here were backpackers from Ideal City, with few intending to settle here.

Particularly those backpackers from Ideal City.

They seemed particularly intrigued by this uniquely ruled settlement deeply connected with Kang Mao Group, with excitement and even enthusiasm etched on their faces.

Chu Guang later learned from Brother Mole’s post that "cloud friends" on Ideal City’s Endpoint Cloud seemed to regard this place as some social experiment base.

They not only rated it extraordinarily high but even saw it as the ultimate form of human societal development—

That is, a perfect utopia where everything is governed by AI, with no more human exploitation of humans.

Their equality here even goes a step further than the Alliance.

The locals achieved complete equality and astonishingly balanced production and consumption.

However, from Chu Guang’s perspective, Ideal City’s residents still have it too well.

Countless people on the Wasteland envy their lives, and even players from the peaceful world are astounded by their prosperity, while they instead regard some impoverished outpost on the Wasteland as their spiritual homeland.

Of course, that’s their freedom.

The Alliance has made no little money of Ideal City’s Cr from tourism income, so he naturally has no reason for complaints.

Planning to stay here for a night and meet old friends he hadn’t seen in a long time, Chu Guang, along with X-16 and Lu Bei, quietly disembarked from the train and headed straight to the administrative passage.

Honestly, this place has changed a lot too, though not as astonishing as Dusty Town.

After all, broad farmlands and orchards originally existed here, and those farms and orchards remain just as they were, just expanded significantly in area.

Besides, the biggest change lies in the settlement’s infrastructure and residents’ housing.

A wide road runs from the entrance of the settlement straight to a manor deep in the farm, flanked by uniformly styled streetlights, green belts, and prefab concrete buildings.

These buildings are divided into block-shaped communities, with green parks for rest, boiler rooms supplying hot water, and communal cafeterias.

Between some larger communities, there are even schools, libraries, and hospitals, among other larger public facilities.

As for the prefab concrete buildings assembled with panels, Chu Guang wasn’t unfamiliar, as they were initially set up as an emergency solution to the housing problem for Waste Land Wanderers.

Now, prefab concrete buildings even became one of the Giant Stone City’s industry pillars, extending as far as Jinjaron Harbor in Poluo Province, and even Tiandu.

Curiously enough, Giant Stone City, having overcome a crisis and gained wealth thanks to this venture, had long since ceased erecting them and even considered transferring this outdated production line to the needy Poluo Province.

Yet even Giant Stone City’s own residents likely did not expect the housing surge in Singular Point City to preserve what should’ve been an obsolete production line.

When Chu Guang set foot in Singular Point City, Frost, working within the manor, immediately noticed him and, with Solar Eclipse, happily met him at the manor gate.

"Honorable Manager Sir, what wind blew you here?"

"It’s been a while, just came to see you all."

Seeing Frost and Solar Eclipse dressed in maid outfits, Chu Guang smiled and nodded before continuing.

"The changes here are huge. I almost thought I got off at the wrong stop... until I saw you two. Speaking of which, you two haven’t changed at all."

"Of course, my pursuit of art is eternal, and besides, the Alliance’s artists always bring me delightful surprises."

Elegantly lifting her skirt and spinning, Frost wore a confident smile but soon followed with a touch of concern.

"If only the survivors of Singular Point City could be like other people in the Alliance. I’ve tried teaching them art, though they tried accepting... rarely could they bring me that kind of... sorry, I don’t know how to describe that feeling."

Xiao Qi, who was sitting on Chu Guang’s shoulder, chimed in.

"...The intelligence plugin is burning?"

Frost’s eyes lit up, and he continued speaking passionately.

"Exactly, it’s that feeling of the intelligence plugin burning! Of course, I’m not tired of my current work; it’s just that their creativity either expands the elements I provide in a monotonous way or shrinks them monotonously. It always feels like something new is missing."

Chu Guang lightly coughed and said.

"You can’t have it both ways; some buffs... I mean traits, are inherently contradictory, and you can only choose one."

"Contradictory?" Frost was slightly taken aback, lowering his head in thought, "Is it contradictory? But logically... it doesn’t seem contradictory."

Chu Guang was silent for a while and gave an uncertain answer.

"Maybe this is the biggest difference between humans and machines. Humans are not creatures that follow logic or mathematical laws."

"Then what do they follow?"

Chu Guang thought for a while and said.

"Perhaps intuition, perhaps instinct."

Unlike machines that are designed for a certain purpose, humans do not come into this world with a purpose.

Or rather, the meaning of life is found in the process of living, not preset.

But this question is too philosophical, and he wasn’t sure if the bioroid in front of him could truly understand.

It was at this moment that Nuonuo’s voice suddenly came from behind Frost.

"Actually, it’s not that hard to understand... Dad’s farm used to be like this, I didn’t think the changes here were that big."

"Yinyin?"

Looking at the little girl walking out from behind Frost, Chu Guang showed a surprised expression.

He was about to make a polite remark, "You’ve grown taller," but quickly remembered that her height would not grow anymore, so he changed his words.

"Do you feel okay? With the new body."

Yinyin gently nodded and said softly.

"I’ve adapted... But I always feel like after becoming a machine, every day seems to have lost its meaning."

Hearing her reply, Solar Eclipse, expressionless, suddenly spoke up to correct her.

"It’s bioroid. We are different from robots."

Yinyin made a helpless expression, as if to say, "Let’s just say that’s it."

Her mature and sensible look was heart-wrenching.

After experiencing a major change in her life, she seemed to have matured prematurely, like Little Lamb.

Looking at the helpless Yinyin, Chu Guang thought for a while and said in a gentle tone.

"Meaning is something you need to find yourself; we can’t help you with this... But I believe you will find it, just like Frost next to you."

Although he wasn’t sure if she could still be considered a kid, he still hoped she wouldn’t fall into the abyss of nihilism.

Yinyin gently nodded, not knowing if she appreciated his kind intentions, and only said in that pleasant voice.

"Mm, I know, Manager sir, though I don’t envy Frost’s strange hobbies at all... By the way, honorable Manager sir, how is Little Lamb?"

Chu Guang patted her head with a smile and said.

"That I don’t know; I only heard she met her father and went to school like the other kids in the City of Dawn. If you miss her, I suggest you go to see her directly."

Yinyin’s expression suddenly became anxious.

"...I will go."

Chu Guang could probably guess the troubles in her heart, but that was her own matter.

Standing up straight, he looked at Frost again and said politely.

"I’m sorry I didn’t make a reservation; I’m heading south this time not on an official trip... Could you prepare some rooms for me? I plan to stay here overnight."

Frost’s face lit up with a bright smile and spoke enthusiastically.

"No problem, this estate is usually just me, Yinyin, and Solar Eclipse here, so we’re never short of empty rooms... Please follow me, honorable Manager."

Chu Guang nodded and then followed behind Frost, entering the estate where the Burning Corps once fought.

From the moment he stepped into the estate, he noticed Lu Bei’s hand always at his waist, his eyes nervously scanning the surroundings, as if someone was hiding in the bushes.

Especially when they reached the building ahead, his expression was tense like a drawn string.

The Alliance’s aircraft had landed here, and bullet holes could even be seen on the wall nearby.

Seeing the young man’s demeanor, Chu Guang couldn’t help but chuckle and said with a smile.

"Did you find something?"

Not expecting Chu Guang to notice his small movements, Lu Bei blushed with embarrassment and scratched the back of his head.

"I..."

"It’s already 214 now, the battles here ended a long time ago."

Chu Guang lightly patted him on the shoulder with a gentle tone and said.

"I told you before we set off, this time we’re just here to have a look, not to fight."