Chapter 911: Chapter 911: Seeking Renewal and Change
Just as Absek lamented how darn difficult it was to manage a group of "bugs," Kaba Ha, who had "stolen the limelight" in educational reform, didn’t know he had just been subtly criticized by a "noble bug."
In the eyes of a lover, there is Xi Shi, but who isn’t Xi Shi in Xi Shi’s eyes?
What can’t be understood logically in one way, suddenly makes sense when viewed from the opposite direction.
At least from the standpoint of Kaba Ha, Absek had no grounds to complain.
It’s an indisputable fact that the United Federation in Tiandu can’t unite the conservatives or the radicals; this couldn’t possibly be blamed on him, a sour and pedantic scholar.
Just like the huge Vellante Empire, it couldn’t possibly have been brought down by women and eunuchs.
Anyone with eyes could see that from the moment the Witch Camel fled, Vellante’s fate was sealed.
However, the Federation did one thing right: it at least gave ordinary people hope.
And the solutions devised by a group of people are always smarter than the closed-door, brain-storming sessions of a few inbred royal aristocrats.
If the cohesion of the Empire was a negative, then that of the United Federation in Tiandu was decidedly positive.
While the bombers buzzed overhead, the most learned people in the Poluo Province gathered for a book club, befriending each other through literature.
Of course, the use of literature was merely a refined pretext.
The real reason for gathering, for Kaba Ha and Niyan among others, was to advance education and to recruit talented individuals from various sectors of society to serve as lecturers and professors, consolidating the scarce intellectual resources of Poluo Province.
Even though their power was much smaller compared to other sectors of society, there were still things that only they could do and had to do.
As for the occasional sounds of explosions from near and far, they, sitting in a small courtyard, turned a deaf ear.
In just one short week, the group had moved from the awkwardness of first meeting to becoming deep friends who talked about everything.
Although their views often differed, even to the point of being diametrically opposed, such differences did not cause any sharp conflict or damage their cordial relations.
After all, despite many differing views, they were united in their stance on one issue.
That was salvation.
One morning, Kaba Ha was sitting in the courtyard, frowning as he shook his head at the Survivor’s Daily in his hands.
"This servant has turned into the master, and his airs are even more laughable than his master’s."
Unlike Absek, his first thought was not just of the other, but also of all those officers who scornfully looked down on him.
A year ago, these guys were merely dockworkers, and in just a few months, they considered themselves the masters of Poluo Country, having forgotten they too were once ordinary people.
Sitting next to Kaba Ha, a well-dressed young man smiled and asked.
"Oh? What does Mr. Kaba Ha think led to such a result?"
His name was Meng Jie, originally called Meng Qi, an early migrant belonging to the Moon Clan of Potato Harbor, which was evident from his heavily "Alliance-flavored" name.
During the Vellante Empire era, the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team sent a research team to Jin Galun Harbor’s Lowell Camp for sociological research.
Back then, he assisted Ms. Han Mingyue as an assistant in her work, and after the research concluded, he pursued further studies at Camp 101 on the recommendation of the researcher and got to know Niyan who was still working at the embassy at Dawn City.
For a time, when Niyan was lacking inspiration, he acted as a "mercenary" and contributed articles to the Dawn Garden Post.
Compared to Niyan, who concocted tales to please Duke Garava, he preferred to address real issues facing the Alliance in the newspaper.
For instance, the surprise victory of the Workers’ Association in Giant Stone City gave rise to rampant radical factions within the Alliance, while the voices of conservative parties were long neglected, and so forth.
Giant Stone City was like a wild stallion that collapsed after running rampant for over a century and a half, and the newborn Alliance was no different?
They too were racing down a different path, equally in need of a saddle and reins.
However, this newspaper was after all an infant product and wasn’t publicly circulated within the Alliance.
And the real audience of the newspaper didn’t care for his painless criticisms.
Yet when he submitted similar articles to the Goblin Observation Report, it sparked some debate.
But that’s another story.
In short, at Niyan’s invitation, he returned from the Alliance with a new name, taking on the roles of a professor and principal at Mammoth University.
As for Niyan himself, he retired to a backstage role as a board member.
Laxi hoped he could serve as the Minister of Education, to establish more schools in Mammoth State and the Northern Three States.
As for whether there were additional political agendas like "actual domination of the Northern Three Continents" behind this, again, that’s another topic.
"Humans, or the depravity of human nature," Kaba Ha tapped his cigarette ash, sighed, and said, "The Poluo Province needs a complete ideological revolution, to demolish all the old things before truly embracing civilization."
"If not, even if they go to the Alliance, it’s the same; they are just moving a thousand pillars over."
Meng Jie chuckled and shook his head.
"Old sir, that’s too extreme, the ones blocking the cart are Poluo people, the ones fixing it are also Poluo people, and there are Poluo people sitting in that cart too. How can this be blamed on the depravity of human nature? The Alliance once sent scientific teams to Jinjaron Harbor for sociological research, and they’ve suggested that rather than seeing this as a flaw in human nature, maybe it’s more of a deficiency in education."
He paused, then continued.
"As a matter of fact, the issues escalating this far have also been aided by internal powers within the Alliance that fanned the flame. They neglected the conservative voices for too long, any counteraction now is inevitable. However, for the Alliance itself, it’s like a runaway horse, crashing after a century and a half, just like the new Alliance is no different."
They are simply speeding down another path, equally requiring a rein to hold them back, and equally needing change from within.
Watching the debate between Kaba Ha and Meng Jie, Niyan, who was sitting nearby smoking and reading the newspaper, laughed.
"Whether or not there is internal strength within the Alliance fanning the flame doesn’t change the problems we have within ourselves," he added.
"The Weilante people have their depravity, and the Poluo people have theirs. No one is more noble or inferior. Additionally, the more severe the suffering, the deeper the malady, and the harder it is to cure. Yet if we always rebut issues without proposing solutions, it feels lopsided, and making changes based on that would miss the mark even more."
Watching the argument, Jay, who was sitting and smoking while reading the newspaper, laughed as he looked on at Kaba Ha and Meng Jie.
"You flatter me too much, I’m just a principal, courtesy of your abdicating," said Meng Jie with a chuckle, continuing in a conversational tone.
"In my view, Poluo people are not significantly different from survivors elsewhere in the Wasteland; this place just lacks equality and fraternity. I agree with your point partly; we need an ideological transformation, but it’s not necessary to turn those thousand pillars into load-bearing walls for a new Alliance."
The crux of the matter is that they haven’t created any new theories, and the old doctrines have been recited for so long that when they fail to meet the needs of reality, they turn from theory into religion.
If Niyan and Kabaha are focusing on "change" in this ideological transformation movement, then what he advocates is "newness."
Even though he’s not confident in persuading them, there’s nothing wrong with everyone expressing their opinions and discussing together.
"I dare not agree." Kabaha shook his head, "Mr. Mengjie’s views are too conservative. It might be suitable if given a thousand more years or a century, but not at the critical moment of life or death."
"Forgive me for saying this is fallacy. Our road is long, and in fact, going a bit slower is still timely. Looking at a longer timeline, gentle reform may not necessarily lose to radical change."
Unwilling to continue the fruitless debate with these two "radicals," Mengjie turned the page of the newspaper in his hand and happened to see a celebrity making headlines. So he diverted the topic with a smile, saying, "Speaking of which, Zayed is quite popular recently. What do you two think?"
Niyan curled his lips.
"A bandit leader following Shaluk, similar in approach to Gopal and Arai Yang. Ruthless to enemies, even harsher to their own. I don’t even think much of Shaluk, why ask me about him? Aren’t there already enough full-stomached people in Jinjaron Harbor? In my opinion, every one of these guys will pay the price for their foolishness and naivety sooner or later."
Kabaha frowned.
"I actually met him, and he seems quite insightful in dealing and speaking with others, not as bad as you said."
Niyan looked at Kabaha in disbelief, eyes wide open.
"Are you serious?"
Mengjie closed the paper in his hand, shook his head in amusement and helplessness.
Unexpectedly, even within the "radicals," there are divisions.
Watching the two at odds, he couldn’t quite tell for a moment whether he was standing on the left or the right.
...
West Sail Port.
At the command headquarters of the Southern Legion in the Poluo Province War Zone, General Giulion was reporting the previous phase’s battle situation to the Southern Legion’s general staff in the meeting room.
Since the northern and eastern lines entered a strategic stalemate, there has been no significant change in the actual controlled areas by the warring parties, with the only variations being the casualty numbers on the battle reports and the equipment losses on each side.
Overall, the exchange ratio for the Southern Legion was controllable at around 1:3.
This statistical figure may vary slightly from the war reports of Poluo Country and Mammoth Nation, but it’s not far off.
It’s human nature to report the good, not the bad, and Giulion naturally focused his report on the casualty ratio of both sides and the bombing effects on Tiandu.
In short, the Southern Legion had a considerable strategic advantage, with tactical advantages also not being small.
Due to the deployment of many new equipment, the Southern Legion’s casualty rate significantly declined, and they no longer were as unprepared as before when facing the Alliance’s electromagnetic weapons.
Everything was moving in a positive direction.
Although the Evernight Harbor Broadcasting Station incident sometime ago dampened the morale of some frontline soldiers, due to timely news blocking and adequate ideological preparation, it did not shake the frontline soldiers’ confidence in affecting this war.
Yet, right as Giulion was vividly describing another victory by the frontline troops, the Chief of General Staff suddenly coughed to interrupt him.
"General Giulion, do you know how many people are born each day in a former province of the old era with over a hundred million survivors?"
Giulion was stunned, not understanding why the Chief of General Staff suddenly posed this question.
Before he could respond, the holographic image suspended in front of the conference table continued.
"Ten thousand, and that’s at least."
"The poorer the place, the more they can reproduce, and as for why, I shouldn’t need to remind you. In the Lion State alone, which is under our control, there are tens of millions of them, and their reproduction and vitality are like cockroaches. Their actual numbers very likely exceed our imagination."
"So don’t emphasize to me how many you killed today or a few yesterday. If you extend the timeline, the numbers you report to me don’t really matter, at most lowering their average age."
"If trapped in a prolonged war of attrition, our enemies will get younger and even more numerous as they fight... Conversely, during this process, our excellent soldiers and commanders will constantly be worn down until drawn to the same level line."
Giulion’s expression became somewhat awkward.
He of course knew there were issues, but it was an unavoidable matter.
Since the failed general offensive on Tiandu, the entire Poluo War Zone lost five airships and retreated embarrassingly by over a hundred kilometers, resulting in his forces actually losing the ability to continue the offensive.
Unless he completely disregarded his subordinates’ casualties, or unless more airships were dispatched from headquarters to reinforce.
The former wouldn’t favor long-term war, and the latter wasn’t practical until the cause of the airship crash was clearly investigated.
Although he didn’t want to say it, the fact was—which was also the reality—
The outcome of this war erupting in the Poluo line isn’t one that can be decided by those trapped in this quagmire.
If the Southern Legion wants to completely win this war, perhaps they can only adopt more aggressive tactics and open a second front on the Alliance’s home soil.
Unfortunately, such a major strategic decision isn’t something he has a say in.
Involved here is not just the gambit between the Southern Legion and the Alliance, but also that between Yavente City and Triumph City.
Looking at General Giulion, who could hardly utter a word, the Chief of General Staff suddenly let him down lightly with an effortless line.
"I already have a basic understanding of the frontline situation. You go ahead and maintain as is. Also, there are two pieces of news, which I suppose are good for you."
General Giulion immediately assumed a respectful demeanor.
"Please, go ahead!"
The Chief of General Staff slowly began speaking.
"The first thing is, our intelligence personnel have confirmed the true cause of the airship crashes, which is suspected to be related to the Gravity Well technology transferred by the Academy to the Alliance."
Giulion’s expression instantly turned serious.
"Academy... Have they also joined the war?"
This was not exactly good news for him.
However, the Chief of General Staff wasn’t too concerned about it.
The Academy’s conspiracies are hard to predict, but their ultimate goal is unambiguous.
The things that enterprises have given up are what they strive their entire lives to pursue.
And stopping them is very simple.
Making a complex-structured starship crash in the atmosphere is far easier than launching it into space.
It is precisely for this reason that the Academy, although appearing more proactive than enterprises on regional affairs, actually has a very low ceiling on what they can do.
Transferring one or two technologies is already close to the limit of their support.
Looking at the serious expression of General Giulion, the Chief of Staff slowly continued to speak.
"They’ve been making moves from the shadows more than once or twice, but the fact that those misers are willing to transfer technology to the Alliance was indeed beyond our expectations. I suspect there’s likely some other deal behind this."
"However, that’s not the point. The point is that we have deciphered the secret behind them shooting down our airships. These gravity wells need to be deployed in advance and are only effective in specific areas, and their energy consumption is enormous... In fact, shortly after they used the gravity well, that ’Heavenly Palace’ in Tiandu crashed."
"Perhaps they have deployed other gravity well devices, but these targets can be identified in advance, whether using our drones or ground forces."
At this moment, a trace of joy appeared on General Giulion’s face.
"So... we can re-enable our airships?!"
The Chief of Staff nodded.
"I’ll send a few more airships to the front line, but I still hope you will use them more for logistical transport. Our opponents are different from the past, and using airships against them is not the most effective way."
"I hope you can flexibly utilize the new aircraft, solo armor, lasers, and guided weapons delivered from the rear to the front line. The opponents standing in our way are no longer just primitive men, and we need to adapt with the times."
"This is not just to win the current war, but also to lay long-term preparations for opening a second or even third battlefield on the Alliance and even corporate territory."
Opening a second or even a third battlefield!
A hint of ecstasy appeared on General Giulion’s face.
This was undoubtedly the best news he had heard all month!
The only issue was that the Southern Legion didn’t have independent diplomatic rights.
So, the current war against Poluo Province was being conducted under the name of the Xilan Empire.
It seemed like those above already had a plan for how to unite other Weilante people onto the Southern Legion’s chariot.
Once the entire legion united and attacked the common enemy of the surrounding people of the fence, the current adversity would be completely reversed!
Seeing General Giulion’s excited demeanor, the Chief of Staff smiled lightly and continued to speak.
"The second good news is that we have received intelligence that public opinion within the Alliance is shifting as the war drags on. Apparently, their resources are not unlimited, and the support from the Academy and corporations isn’t enough to entirely fill this gap. Once their ideological trend turns right, cutting support for the rebels in Poluo Province, our opportunity will come."
"That’s basically the situation... By the way, how’s the progress on that Mortal Serum research?"
"The resident of the refuge named Martin told me it still needs some time, and... he wants the genetic source code of the Weilante people, claiming it’s for more efficient enemy and friend identification. But that stuff is in Triumph City, and we don’t even have it ourselves, so we can only make do by getting a few Weilante people to cooperate with his experiments." General Giulion hesitated for a moment but ultimately reported Martin’s request.
The Chief of Staff frowned.
"I’ll think of something."
After throwing out this sentence, the light blue particles disappeared from the room.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Giulion wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm and, looking at the empty conference room, felt invigorated once more.
Those above were considering opening a new battlefield.
If this could be achieved, he would no longer have to carry all of this on his own.
Just then, a knock suddenly sounded at the door outside the conference room.
Gathering his expression into a stern demeanor, Giulion coughed towards the door, assuming an authoritative stance.
"Come in."
An officer pushed the door open, stood upright, performed a military salute, and reported seriously.
"Report! Our logistics units stationed in Wolf State were attacked from the direction of Snake State! The enemy numbers are considerable, about nine teams of ten-thousand, and most of our stations and logistics transfer stations in the southern part of Wolf State were destroyed."
"Due to the current situation, the local garrison was forced to move northward to regroup for defense."
Snake State?
Giulion squinted his eyes and looked at the map hanging on the conference room wall.
That was Shaluk’s territory, and also the ’domain’ of the logistics department, so much that he’d almost forgotten about this nook.
"What’s the casualty count?"
"The Regular Army lost over nine hundred, and the Servant Army lost nearly three thousand!"
The Servant Army suffered more, but the Regular Army’s casualties were not severe.
Giulion continued to ask.
"Who is the opponent’s commander?"
The officer continued to report.
"The commander is named Grov, a member of the Wolf people, suspected to be a subordinate of Gopal from the old Gray Wolf Army... However, the main force of the Gray Wolf Army hasn’t made any moves, and the General Staff suspects it’s Shaluk probing us. If we don’t respond with a sufficiently strong counterattack, they might conclude our rear is vulnerable and take advantage of it."
"Probing?" Giulion sneered, "I don’t see it that way, it looks more like an ungrateful wolf."
The logistics department scoundrels.
In the past, considering Shaluk’s ’low-key’ conduct, he turned a blind eye to those sleazy transactions, planning to settle accounts with them after dealing with the Alliance, but these guys must have gotten too fat on smuggling and thought they could act on their own.
Then they shouldn’t blame him for being merciless.
With his back to the officer standing at the door, General Giulion issued a cold order.
"Notify Gibson commander, I’ll give him three teams of ten-thousand, a hundred thousand Servant Army, and an aviation squadron. Give those uncultured people a harsh lesson, push them back to the Snake State border, bomb them into oblivion! Do not worry about civilian casualties!"
Gibson commander used to be the commander of the 34th Ten Thousand Troops under Ryan’s command.
Due to tactical mistakes, the 34th Ten Thousand Troops unfortunately crashed into the elite of the Alliance, virtually obliterated by the Skeleton Corps and the 110,000th Squad of Poluo in Lion State.
After that, Gibson sat on the cold bench and became a drunkard in the bar at West Sail Port.
That was after all soldiers he had brought out, and Giulion didn’t want to see him fall like this.
Just as well, the 60th Armored Division had just finished their riot control mission at Evernight Harbor, so letting him lead those new recruits south for some action would be good.
Not only would it help him regain his confidence, but it would also give him a chance to redeem himself.
That officer stood at attention, performed a military salute, and swiftly accepted the order.
"Yes!"
At the same time the Alliance halted a train, a massive offensive was quietly unfolding.
Two seemingly unrelated events happening thousands of miles apart had an intricate connection behind the scenes.
The focus shifts back to Weifu City, within the territory of the Alliance.
Though the delayed train resumed operation five hours after the incident, Chu Guang’s journey south was postponed for an entire week.
This was partly due to the possible appearance of a "copycat," but also because Chu Guang did not wish to engage in the internal debate within the Alliance between radical and conservative views.
The citizens of the Alliance are not children. They should decide some matters themselves, rather than calling for parental intervention or hiding behind his back at the first sign of trouble.
Rather than one day abruptly handing them everything of the Alliance and then washing his hands of it, he preferred to complete this process step by step.
For instance, right now he was gradually handing over the brake and accelerator to them.
After all, with his hands still on the steering wheel, he wasn’t afraid of the car overturning.
Once they, like the players, learned how to control the car’s speed, he would gradually relinquish the steering wheel, just like the First Generation Manager of Shelter No. 404 slowly handed over the authority to him.
He had always had a premonition that the B5 level, which remained locked, might open only after that event, and all his doubts would be resolved thereafter.
Chu Guang was quite confident about completing this final task.
No one is born knowing how to drive, but everything can be learned.
Moreover, he was a Manager pushed onto the stage, who couldn’t even build a house earlier on; his abilities, while not too deficient, weren’t particularly impressive, and he wasn’t terribly broad-minded.
He once remembered years ago watching the players construct houses, worried they might build strange obstacles to block his "view" and "movement," and secretly trying to interfere as a result, thus establishing a "height limit order."
However, as trust was built, he gradually began to find that his players felt as connected to this indescribably realistic world as he did when he first arrived.
It was for this reason that many versions ago, he felt secure in letting players handle many things themselves, allowing them to lead the Indigenous People on the Wasteland towards a new era in his stead.
Once again, it was proven that they weren’t doing a bad job, and were even more efficient than if he had meticulously implemented everything himself.
The Alliance could not, and should not, aspire to fulfill all of its goals in one fell swoop, squandering a future hundreds of years ahead to build a boundlessly great Utopia, leaving only ruinous remnants in its wake after demise.
Instead of the upheaval of a plunge and ascent, he hoped his children would walk a sustainable path.
Of course, those were distant plans— the Gravity Well wouldn’t be operational until the end of the month.
For now, disguised under holographic camouflage, Chu Guang sat in a small tavern in Kuntown, playing that wildly altered card game with an old friend not seen for years.
Honestly, Chu Guang never imagined such a messy set of rules could become popular.
It must be said, Mosquito Brother is truly a genius in marketing.
In contrast, Mole, who directly copied the Game, seemed a bit dull.
Yet, fair is fair, his card-playing skills weren’t great; he was intellectually crushed by Chu Guang, a newcomer just familiarizing himself with the rules.
Watching Mosquito, who couldn’t play a card for ages, Chu Guang rested his chin on his right hand and couldn’t help but yawn.
"Hurry up, I’ve been waiting so long the flowers have wilted."
Mopping up the sweat from his forehead, Mosquito, clutching a handful of cards, chuckled sinisterly, making the bodyguards from the Guards Corps hidden among the crowd nervous enough to reach into their pockets.
"... Heh heh heh, brother, you’ve really got something, I didn’t think you could corner me, the founder."
Amused by the comment, Chu Guang chuckled lightly.
"Alright, alright, you’re supposed to concede when you lose, if you can’t handle it, then yield."
"Yield? You’re happy too soon."
Mosquito chuckled sinisterly again, grabbing three cards slowly and methodically placing them on the table like a villain.
"If I unveil this fusion card, sacrificing two cards to summon the Manager riding Nicole... what might you do in response?"
Mingling with NPCs and teasing the Manager always carried some risk, and he usually kept such a card hidden for safety, in case he encountered someone who couldn’t handle it.
However, given this guy understood all his jokes and could communicate in plain language, he figured Chu Guang was also a player.
Since they were both players, it didn’t matter if they were sensitive.
Seeing the digit 8 crisscrossing its attack and defense stats, Chu Guang threw down his cards in exasperation.
MMP!
The Army printing my likeness on cards is one matter, but for this bastard to follow suit.
He finally realized why other card players avoided playing with this so-called "founder."
"Alright, alright, so you’re playing like this."
Seeing the victorious grin on Mosquito’s face, Chu Guang lifted his hand and tapped twice next to his ear.
The holographic light covering his face flickered, spreading ripples from his nose, revealing the true face beneath the illusion.
Meeting the almost-smiling eyes, Mosquito’s grin froze on his face.
It was as if he’d seen a ghost on the path at night.
"Mana... Holy shi—!?"
As Mosquito shivered, awaiting divine punishment to befall him, Chu Guang did not disconnect him but merely took the card, "himself riding on Nicole," from the table.
The pale blue ripples gathered again on the nose, and Chu Guang transformed back into the nondescript figure from before.
"A Manager is watching over you, henceforth do more good deeds and harbor no illusions."
Mosquito nodded trembling, his right fist swiftly pressed to his chest, almost standing straight as a ramrod.
"Yes sir!"
Waving the card, Chu Guang tucked it into his pocket, tossing a few hundred-dollar bills onto the table.
"I won’t charge you for using my image rights, but consider this card sold to me, and don’t use it anymore."
Seeing that singular golden legend card, Mosquito nodded painfully.
"Darn... ahem! What I mean is, I understand, sir."