Chapter 962: Chapter 962: The Enemy at the Gates
[Chaos of the Crazy Rats?! Household cats and wild cats lie dead everywhere, Tiandu is overrun with rats! Sava, the second figure in the Family Meeting, once again convenes a meeting, calling for the family to unite once more to declare war on the rats in the Poluo Province area!
——Survivor Daily, Jinjaron Harbor Edition]
[The cat ban is showing early results, feeding people first before feeding cats, Tiandu survivors are harmoniously content, thanks to Zayed for providing us warmth and satiety.
Under the pressure from the Family Meeting, Southern Legion leader Shava released five hundred undergraduate and preparatory hostages; all the children from Tiandu have safely returned home and received a meeting with Zayed’s parents! Let us welcome the future pillars!
In contrast, the Southern Legion defectors who fled to New West Port live in hardship, crying day and night, truly deserving such an end!
Moreover, locust plagues have erupted in multiple places including Baiyue Strait, the Southern Sea area, and Death Coast, leading to food shortages, rampant plagues, and variants running wild... Expected to cause up to a million deaths! Tiandu University Professors analyzed that the root cause is the Alliance’s hostility towards the Family Meeting, and the Waste Land Wanderers there lack the guidance of family, with no family members stepping in to help.
Let us have a moment of silence for three minutes for the survivors suffering on the wasteland, we will eventually go to save them.
——Survivor Daily, Tiandu Edition
]
[First Beauty Pageant at Potato Harbor! The champion "Drunk and Laughing at Beauty" turns out to be a man in women’s clothing!?
Population influx surges! Representative from Baiyue Strait Area is planning to establish the fourth settlement! Now soliciting votes from the public!
This month’s most popular delicacies are hot pot, crab roe sauce, coconut pudding, and ice cream!
——Survivor Daily, Potato Harbor Edition
]
[Free State’s "Company" War continues to heat up! Gang members and Hound Special Forces erupt in gunfire on the streets! At this morning’s meeting, Salen spun a pen with his right hand, possibly hinting the Alliance conservatives are getting restless and might stealthily intervene?!
Poluo Province’s murder contest enters the second round! Guryang, who ordered the bombing of Lion City, can only rank third?!
(Image: Zayed and Shava arm wrestling, crushing a tomato in their hands, Guryang stands shocked in the corner)
General Mclen’s opinion is that he refuses to comment.
——Survivor Daily, New West Port Edition]
...
The Grand Canyon.
As guests from all directions gradually returned home, this sacred land, which holds the last flame of human civilization, returned to tranquility, and a once unserious old man finally grew somewhat serious.
A sparse small conference room.
The leader sitting at the obsidian long table fiddled with the holographic screen in front of him with his index finger, suddenly a gratified smile appeared on his face.
"If even one survives, that’s not bad."
Everyone has their own "destiny," or rather "historic mission."
This destiny is not something that any one person can decide but rather the result of the same or different choices made by everyone in the collective.
Although the Manager of the Alliance calls his theory "fortune-telling," he prefers to call it "civilization studies."
Faced with his own destiny, Absek ran into the problem of letting go, while Mayor Otto encountered the problem of picking up.
Now one has let go, and one has picked up, their futures are both bright.
As for Shava...
Although he had chosen a relatively easy path for him, Shava didn’t follow his expectations and instead chose another solution buried in his riddle—
Which is total annihilation!
This is the most difficult path.
Not only does he have to inherit Laxi’s legacy, but he also has to break the taboo that Laxi dared not break!
The leader suddenly thought of Rezer, the young man who was always by Julius’s side.
They are actually the same kind of people, burning themselves for the dreams of others...
The leader shook his head, lightly swiped his index finger to close the floating holographic window in front of him.
"What a sin..."
...
Absek wasn’t joking.
After leaving Jinjaron Harbor, he indeed went to Potato Harbor to register a company, named Ah Bu Aerospace, with the business mainly focusing on "aerospace modification of plasma engines for aviation use."
Although the business name sounds high-end, in practice it’s not all that complicated.
Simply put, it’s about fitting the engines of airplanes onto spacecraft.
In the distant old era, plasma engines were first born in the aerospace field, and were only later applied back to aviation after chemical engines were almost completely phased out.
What Ah Bu Aerospace aims to do is to return advanced plasma technology to its rightful place.
From the perspective of conforming to historical trends, this business direction isn’t problematic, and it’s quite possible that the Alliance already has numerous big companies doing this quietly.
However, for the Poluo people who are still preoccupied with internal conflicts, this undertaking is quite advanced, as most "River Valley People" still think of them as having barbecues on the rail tracks.
As for aerospace.
That seems more like something survivors from City of Dawn and Giant Stone City would engage in.
As the saying goes, "To know shame is to be courageous."
Though he has accepted his fate, Absek still harbors a smoldering fire that hasn’t been extinguished.
He wants to prove to the other tribes on the wasteland that the Poluo people are capable of more than just infighting, they’re also capable of achieving something progressive, even leading ahead of other tribes in the world!
Clearly, he wasn’t the only one with this thought.
Upon hearing this news, Ah Xin, who had originally decided not to fund the Poluo Province’s reform efforts, immediately drafted a check of ten million silver coins, entrusting it to a confidant to deliver to Absek.
This young Rat Clan member was still as impulsive as before, despite not having any clue what aerospace entails.
Not just Ah Xin, even some Moon Clan members who had earlier moved to Potato Harbor and made a fortune got involved.
Though massive reforms seemed unlikely, they thought burning the money on futile fireworks would at least etch a few lines of their names in this stirring epic.
Thus, the startup company, with a registered capital of less than ten thousand silver coins and established for less than a month, gathered nearly fifty million silver coins in funds within a brief half month with the support of Ah Xin and other Moon Clan sponsors!
Even Absek didn’t expect that he, a dethroned leader, would still have such a rallying power.
Grateful for so many who didn’t abandon him, he also made a silent vow in his heart to achieve something in the aerospace field!
On the other hand, Absek’s close associate—Internal Affairs Committee Member Wadia, after bringing his family from Poluo Country’s Wolf State to Jinjaron Harbor, took a similar path to Absek.
Unlike Absek, he didn’t wait in Jinjaron Harbor for the committee to dismiss him but proactively wrote a resignation letter to the Poluo Country’s embassy in Jinjaron Harbor.
His war has ended.
Unsure of what to do next, after much thought, he bought a ticket and, after settling his family, went alone to Potato Harbor, joining his "old leader" in the "second venture."
Absek did not mind that this intelligence officer’s specialization did not suit his role, and warmly welcomed him, appointing him as head of the Supervision Department, responsible for risk control of confidential projects and background checks of confidential employees.
These tasks were mandated by the Alliance.
After all, hoping to buy off key technology from the Alliance with just a few million silver coins is somewhat unrealistic.
Regardless of whether this technology was unearthed from beneath relics or borrowed from allies, these things belong to all of the Alliance’s citizens.
Anyone can use and improve upon these technologies, even registering their own patents based on them, provided they undergo a background check.
This check involves various fields such as founder background, funding source, and application scenarios and isn’t conducted by economic departments but directly overseen by the Guards Corps.
Additionally, the Alliance’s intelligence department collaborates long-term with the supervisory departments of confidential non-public enterprises to jointly eliminate potential risks of technology leakage.
As the former head of the intelligence department during the war periods in Poluo Country, Wadia, due to his work, had contact with many members of the Alliance Guards Corps, and was quite adept at coordinating with them.
With such an impressive resume, taking a role as the head of the supervision department of a startup company is undoubtedly overqualified, but Wadia does not feel any regret. Instead, he is delighted to once again receive the trust and appreciation from his former leader.
Although he had considered other jobs, the only time he felt at ease was when he was next to Absek, without having to tread carefully just because everyone around him was smart.
Perhaps this is the charm of personality.
Or rather, the ability to make talented people feel secure in dedicating themselves to you...
...
As days passed by, February arrived soon, and the blossoming season of spring in the northern hemisphere was just around the corner.
The battle situation on the West Coast of the Great Desert was still intense, but the severity was no longer as fierce as at the end of last year.
The Southern Legion’s military power was at its end, both in manpower and materials, it had reached the point of exhaustion.
Meanwhile, the Company on the other hand was getting more vigorous as the fight went on, with reinforcements to the front line increasing from the initial two divisions to ten divisions, involving over a hundred thousand citizens from Ideal City directly in the ground war against the Southern Legion!
The last time the Company launched a large-scale military operation outside was a century and a half ago when the mutants had just fled the laboratory...
Faced with the Company’s mechanized forces and the Alliance’s continuous assaults from various corps, the troops the Southern Legion sent to the front were like dry kindling thrown into the fire, unable to mount effective resistance, ending up beaten black and blue.
It wasn’t just a failure on the front lines, the same was true on the battlefield of public opinion.
Although the Southern Corps Victory Report was still racking its brains concocting lies about the imminent victory, as these lies were shattered time and time again, even the soldiers of the Southern Legion no longer believed what was written in the newspaper.
Not only that.
The Weilante troops who, no matter how tough the situation, could always fight until the last moment, had finally begun to surrender in organized formations.
These surrendering units were mostly companies of over a hundred people.
They were either tasked with impossible missions or were unable to find their commanders, or were simply thrown into battle with just a rifle.
Of course, these reasons might all be secondary.
The key point was those fanatical militarists, who had already burnt out in previous battles.
The remaining individuals were either young soldiers or civilians with only basic military training thrown to the front line, or some aliens who had no desire to be buried with the Legion.
Almost three hundred thousand regular troops and servant army were surrounded by the Company’s forces in the northwest corner of the Great Desert, and the remaining ten-plus thousand troops were compressed near Yavente City, retreating toward the urban area to tighten their defenses.
The southern part of the Batoya Province had already opened wide to the Alliance, and truckloads of supplies were being sent along the railroad and highway along the edge of the Great Desert to the front lines in southern Batoya Province.
This included not just military supplies, but also some engineering machinery for clearing bunkers and minefields.
Like large bulldozers and forklifts, etc.
Resolving the remaining forces of the Southern Legion was just the first step. After that, they had to carry out post-war reconstruction work in the Batoya Province area.
Simply killing the beasts won’t eliminate the savagery.
They still needed to sow the seeds of civilization there, allowing the new order to replace the old one.
Outside Yavente City.
The Death Legion, having traveled by truck to the front, had already reached the battle position first.
Seeing Debt Big Eyes, carrying big bags in both hands, getting off the truck, the chatting players all paused, casting surprised glances his way.
"Woah!"
"Why do you have so much luggage?"
"Goodness, are you moving?!"
Debt Big Eyes, embarrassed, smiled and tried to hide the bags behind his back.
"What are you talking about, it’s just some supplies—"
Before he could finish, Midnight with Umbrella without Knife had already sneakily unzipped one of the bags behind his back, not expecting "whoosh," the contents poured out like an avalanche.
"Woah! What the hell!" Seeing the things scattered all over the ground, Debt Big Eyes panicked and reached out to pick them up, but the sheer amount was overwhelming for him to handle at once.
"Sorry, sorry, bro, I was just joking, why don’t you wrap these things up..." Midnight with Umbrella without Knife squatted down to help him pick up, but at this moment, Construction Kid and Brick picked up a palm-sized packaging box from the ground.
The packaging looked delicate, with a carefully tied bow on top.
Construction Kid and Brick shook the box, looking bewildered at Big Eyes.
"...Chocolate? Why did you bring so much chocolate?"
Most of the other similar boxes probably also contained chocolates or candies, roughly about a hundred, no wonder the bags were stuffed full.
Debt Big Eyes’ face instantly turned as red as a monkey’s butt, snatching the delicately packaged chocolate gift box, stammering out an excuse.
"Cough Cough! Isn’t Yavente City experiencing famine, I read in the newspaper that many people are starving, just wanted to see if anyone needed help...you know, just trying to spread some joy, you guys get it."
Seeing his flimsy excuse, several good buddies burst into laughter.
"Pfft! Trying to spread joy and happiness, huh."
"Tsk, your excuse...might as well say you’re afraid your harem might go hungry."
"+1, If this guy’s motive is that pure, I’ll eat a lump right here!"
"Woah! Can you guys not be so nasty! I’m very pure, okay!" Debt Big Eyes blushed, desperately trying to defend himself, but no one believed him.
Just then, Construction Kid and Brick, who was still treasure hunting on the ground, looked up again, confusedly waving a bag in hand.
"Then why did you bring menstrual pads?"
Outlaw Maniac: "???"
Laplace: "Woah!"
Madame, You Don’t Want That: "Hahaha! Didn’t expect that from you, Big Eyes!"
Seeing the crowd laughing ’til they cried, the roller-washer had no choice but to face-palm.
"...It’s like you guys are meeting this guy for the first time."
Isn’t it just wanting to help some homeless girls, say it clearly, what’s there to fear!
Worst case, give your helmet to someone in need.
Getting fed up, Edge Shoveling came over from the side, coughing once as he spoke.
"Though the Southern Legion is cornered, don’t underestimate our enemy. Each and every one of them are like cornered beasts now, who knows what surprises they have for us in the city."
Laplace smiled at those words.
"Isn’t that perfect! They’ll directly send us back to the City of Dawn!"
Outlaw Maniac: "Hahaha!"
I’m the First to Die: "You’re a natural talent!"
They are players.
Immortal spirits.
What is a fatal "mortal serum" to ordinary people is nothing more than a three-day wait for them.
They fought from Akale County in Poluo Province all the way here, not a single one of them had ever uttered a discouraging word, and now with victory at hand, they naturally have no reason to be afraid.
Edge Shoveling also chuckled along with the group, then turned his gaze toward the direction of Yavente City in the distance.
That fortress of steel resembled reefs hidden beneath turbulent waters.
As expected, this would be the final battle...
-
(Low fever, shorter today...)