Chapter 804: Chapter 804: Schemes from All Sides
At the same time that the legion ambassador from Triumph City secretly met with Duke Garava, the imperial envoy stationed in City of Dawn, another secret meeting was also underway.
A spacious and empty conference room.
Wearing a white lab coat, Yang Kai respectfully stood beside the pulled chair, as if waiting for something.
Just at the moment when the minute hand reached the hour mark, a figure suddenly appeared on the chair opposite the conference table.
The man looked plain and ordinary, without any memorable features. Coupled with his expressionless face, he’d be the kind of person that would blend into a crowd, impossible to pick out.
Yet despite this, judging by the respectful demeanor of a certain B-level researcher, it was clear that this person held a significant status within the Academy.
"Sit down."
Upon hearing the voice coming from the other side of the conference table, Yang Kai hesitated not a bit and immediately sat down beside the chair.
As he settled in, the commanding voice continued.
"Report your work."
"Yes, esteemed Chief Technical Officer."
Yang Kai spoke reverently, then proceeded to meticulously report on a series of events that had occurred over this period in the regions south of Wandering Swamp.
He placed special emphasis on providing a detailed account regarding the Alliance.
"...Based on our understanding, the Alliance is planning to construct a space elevator. I speculate that they have likely recovered the blueprint from Shelter No. 20, including its non-orbital elevator concept, as hints can be found in our monitoring equipment’s observation records."
After a pause, Yang Kai continued.
"Furthermore, as we anticipated earlier, they have set their sights on the ’celestial beings’."
The conference room fell silent for a moment, the Chief Technical Officer sitting at the table seemed to be in deep thought.
Yang Kai did not speak, patiently waiting for the consideration of the official.
After a long period, the voice came from the front once more.
"Good."
Just from hearing the unremarkable tone, Yang Kai found it difficult to discern whether this remark was genuinely positive or negative.
After hesitating for a moment, he spoke tentatively.
"If things continue to develop as they are, the next step for the Alliance will likely attempt to clear debris from the orbit, or even establish a space station on it... although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I’m worried the situation may spiral out of control."
"As you know, celestial beings are most fearful of anyone who extends their reach into outer space. If the Alliance insists on advancing the space plan, it might prompt an early activation of their intervention plan."
In fact, research ships equipped with anti-gravity devices in the Academy were always capable of freely commuting between the surface and outer space.
However, almost no one would attempt to bring research ships near the low Earth orbit, and even if they did, they wouldn’t linger for long.
Space debris and automatic weapons locking were only part of the reasons; more pressing was that the Academy did not wish to cross the "celestial beings’" boundary.
As early as the time of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, the Department of Technology, through continuous probing and exploration, detected the intention of the Lagrange Point Space Station to blockade Earth—
For some reasons, the descendants of the Expeditionary Army did not wish for the Survivor Forces from the Wasteland Era to return to outer space.
This mindset is not particularly difficult to comprehend.
Though rebuilding the wasteland requires technology and resources from the Prosperity Epoch, the leftover technology and resources from the Prosperity Epoch could conversely escalate surface chaos, thus sustaining the Wasteland Era further.
It’s akin to giving a superweapon to a primitive tribe, it will not evolve the tribe into a more enlightened era but might instead leave the tribe stuck in a former era.
The Academy for similar reasons actively restricts the outflow of technology, even their vassal, Gold Lizard Kingdom, has not received much technical favor.
However, the perplexing aspect is that "celestial beings" have not set a standard for ending the Wasteland Era.
The result of this approach is their indiscriminate blockade on the mother planet of the United Human Alliance.
This is precisely why the Academy’s Ark plans can only be carried out secretly on the surface, without the ability to operate openly in outer space.
Shelter No. 20 likely abandoned the "non-orbital elevator plan" for the same reasons and instead adopted the extremely unstable second plan of "thought projection".
The irony lies herein: "celestial beings" attempt to create a pure "sterile environment" for human civilization, aiming to effortlessly transition from the Wasteland Era to a new epoch, yet paradoxically created one hell after another through the results.
Not only that.
Under the pretext of "preserving the seed of civilization," they absorb those "extreme consciousness entities" responsible for creating hell into their fold.
According to Dr. Conclusion’s speculation, as extreme consciousness entities accumulate, "celestial beings" are likely to directly intervene in the wasteland affairs once a certain tipping point is triggered.
This tipping point may relate to the time celestial beings have left themselves, or it could correlate with phenomena observed from the wasteland.
This is precisely why Academy researchers cautiously dismantled those potential crisis-inducing bombs on the wasteland.
Torch Church is one of them.
In reality, they’re not as unaware as Alliance Managers accuse them to be, regarding the increasingly direct meddling of "celestial beings" in wasteland matters.
They had noticed it long before!
And this remained the primary concern...
After listening to Yang Kai’s report, the Chief Technical Officer pondered for a long time, finally sighing lightly.
"...Even worrying about these matters is futile; what is meant to happen will inevitably happen. Moreover, rather than concern about the risks associated with the series of actions by the Alliance, I am more hopeful that their actions might breathe a fresh breeze into this stagnant situation."
Yang Kai had a sudden realization on his face.
"...You hope they’ll become disruptors?"
The Chief Technical Officer spoke at a leisurely pace.
"This is the approach with minimal cost and risk... haven’t you noticed that corporate directorates have always acted in this manner?"
Yang Kai let out a wry smile.
"Though saying this... I always worry they’ll drag us into trouble; this bunch isn’t trustworthy."
The Chief Technical Officer spoke in a soft voice.
"We can’t expect everything to go exactly as we wish, but if the price is small, I think it’s acceptable even if we have to get involved."
"Understood..." Yang Kai nodded seriously and continued respectfully, "Do you have any new instructions?"
The Chief Technical Officer thought for a while and said.
"Not for now, let’s just observe... By the way, consider transferring the gravity well technology to them, it should aid their space elevator plan."
Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed there were no new challenges waiting for him.
He nodded slightly and said respectfully.
"As you command..."
And at the very moment he finished speaking, the surrounding pale blue holographic image instantly disintegrated into tiny pixels, dissipating like sand blown by the wind...
...
In the center of the Great Desert, the yellow sand flew wildly, rolling like clouds on the ground.
This is the center of the Central Plains Continent.
Heading west along the equator is the domain of the Legion, while crossing a vast ocean to the east is the Poluo Province.
At this moment, a man in a blue jacket stood on a sand dune, gazing at the horizon to the Far East.
He squinted slightly, clicking his tongue softly.
"...These fools are truly miserable."
His name was Gui Xu, president of the Enlightenment Society, and also the director of No. 0 Shelter... although both titles were self-proclaimed.
Since the outbreak of the "War of Heaven", he had been closely monitoring the situation in Haiya Province.
And as expected, the heretics in the east were united by the ancient survivor forces and got thoroughly beaten, left in ruins.
Those guys were like cockroaches crushed to death without any suspense, pinned to the ground.
He naturally took schadenfreude at the Torch Church’s demise.
Those people were indeed not smart and acted too ostentatiously. They practically offended everyone they could. If they didn’t die, that alone would be a miracle.
In stark contrast, the true successor of the "Torch Plan"—the Enlightenment Society—was completely different.
Their secretive actions made even the ancient survivor forces, although annoyed by them, unable to pinpoint where they hid, only circling in their shadows.
Moreover, the endless wind and sand on the Great Desert served as the best cover.
The sand mixed with rust not only blocked all prying eyes but also shielded from noisy electromagnetic waves, splitting the inside and outside of the Great Desert into two worlds without communication.
As long as they didn’t leave here, no one could do anything to them.
With a cold glance towards the east, Gui Xu was about to turn and leave.
However, at that moment, a movement suddenly came from above his head.
Keenly sensing the fast-approaching object, he stopped and looked up, only to see a black shadow streaking through the sky and crashing heavily into a distant sand dune.
"...What is that?"
A scrapped satellite?
Coincidentally fallen here?
Gui Xu’s expression showed uncertainty, his gaze shifting between the sky and the ground as if weighing something in his heart.
Though some orbital debris occasionally fell in the Great Desert, it was the first time something landed near the Enlightenment Society’s headquarters entrance.
This thing didn’t seem to have fallen on its own but rather like someone delivered it to their doorstep...
He placed his forefinger at his ear and spoke cautiously.
"...Night Dove, something has fallen near us, go check it out."
A response quickly came from the communication channel.
"Yes."
At the same moment the words fell, several figures emerged from the dust storm that covered the sky, heading towards the sand dune hit by the object.
They were well-equipped, holding standard assault rifles of the Human Alliance Army, with exoskeletons all in desert camouflage.
Leading the group was Night Dove.
Unlike the others in the team, he was not a true resident of the shelter, but a bionic designed by the residents.
For this reason, he was deeply trusted by Gui Xu, who regarded him as a right-hand man.
Watching the squad moving in the distance, Gui Xu patiently waited for a moment.
He didn’t have to wait long; soon, a response came from the communication channel.
"...It’s a scrapped satellite, sir."
As expected.
Upon hearing it was just a scrapped satellite, Gui Xu immediately lost interest and instructed concisely.
"Retrieve it, hand it to the technical department for examination."
There are millions of satellites from the Human Alliance Era; hoping to find something useful in them is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
He didn’t hold much hope of finding any treasures within.
Night Dove acknowledged with a "Yes" over the communication channel, then walked forward to pick up the satellite from the ground.
Yet, at the instant he touched the satellite with both hands, something unexpected suddenly happened.
His eyes widened sharply, his whole body rigidly frozen in place, shoulders shuddering as if electrocuted, followed by a string of pale blue data streams flashing across his pupils.
The soldiers standing around were stunned by this scene, unsure of what was happening to their captain, standing helplessly in place with no idea what to do.
"What happened?!"
"It’s the satellite!"
"Quick, get that thing away from him!"
The vice-captain standing nearby made a quick decision and hurriedly moved to take the satellite from Captain Night Dove’s hands. However, just as he reached out with the intent to do so, a glint of cold light flashed past his wrist.
The beam seemed to shoot from the discarded satellite and directly pierced through his wrist, and then he watched in horror as his hands separated from the exoskeleton.
Blood spurted from the smooth cut.
Only now did the excruciating pain slowly crawl up his nerve endings.
"Ahhh!!!" The vice-captain screamed miserably, collapsing to his knees with a thud. Within a few breaths, the sand before him was dyed blood red.
Seeing this sudden scene, the surrounding soldiers were dumbfounded, almost reflexively raising their rifles, aiming at the out-of-control Night Dove.
Yet, at this moment, Night Dove’s pupils suddenly turned a shade of crimson, as if he were a different person, glaring at the soldiers pointing guns at him.
Soon, those soldiers were horrified to discover that their limbs seemed to be locked onto the exoskeleton, unable to move no matter how hard they struggled.
Looking at this group of lambs waiting to be slaughtered, Night Dove’s neck moved slightly, a faint mocking smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
Just as he was about to teach these impudent intruders a lesson, a drone suddenly popped out of a soldier’s backpack.
A blue holographic beam shot from the bottom of the drone, weaving the figure of Gui Xu in the soft sand.
"Stop!"
Night Dove slowly lowered his extended hand, his eyes scanning the holographic image, a smirk forming on his lips.
"Nice to meet you."
Standing in the holographic light and shadow, Gui Xu coldly stared at him, speaking expressionlessly.
"What are you?"
Although he didn’t know what was happening, he could clearly feel that something filthy had occupied his confidant’s body.
The root of all this was the satellite that had suddenly fallen from the sky...
As he spoke, his gaze moved downwards, landing on Gui Xu’s hands cradling the silvery-white sphere.
In answer to Gui Xu’s inquiry, the person occupying Night Dove’s body didn’t conceal anything, speaking directly.
"I am what you call a heretic."
Gui Xu’s eyes narrowed into slits, a hint of danger in his tone.
At the moment "heretic" was spoken, he had already guessed this guy’s identity.
No need to guess.
This guy is a Torch Pioneer!
"...What are you here for?"
"To save you."
Save us?
Gui Xu was first stunned, then laughed out loud as if he’d heard a very funny joke.
"Saving us... what a thought. Unfortunately, we don’t need your salvation. If you have the time, save yourselves instead."
The pioneer controlling Night Dove quietly waited for him to finish laughing, then spoke slowly and deliberately.
"...Look at your pathetic state, hiding deep in the Great Desert eating sand, still hoping to achieve some Torch Plan... Heh, excuse my bluntness, but the survivor forces outside don’t consider you a threat at all."
Hearing this mocking voice, a hint of anger flashed in Gui Xu’s eyes, and he lowered his voice dangerously.
"We’re just keeping a low profile... Do you think we’re like you?"
"I’ve never thought that, it would be an insult to us," the pioneer said in a calm tone, looking at the edge-of-eruption Gui Xu. "You inherited all of the Blue Jacket’s weaknesses, including timidity, arrogance, and self-righteousness. We lost, but at least we burned brightly, while you have always been rats hiding in the sewers. Is surviving really something to boast about? In my view, the only difference between you and the dead is that you haven’t been laid in a coffin yet."
Gui Xu coldly looked at him and said.
"No matter how much you say, it won’t change the fact that you’re a failure."
"That’s right."
Not taking this to heart, the pioneer spoke softly.
"Although it’s frustrating, the Heaven of Haiye Province indeed collapsed... But really, isn’t there even a little interest in us? We left behind a vast inheritance, even the ancient survivor forces are fighting over it."
Gui Xu’s eyes narrowed again, staring intently at the humanoid before him.
"How do you plan to help us?"
Seeing the look of interest on the other’s face, the pioneer finally allowed a hint of a smile to appear at the corner of his mouth.
Under Gui Xu’s watchful eyes, he slowly began speaking.
"The Perfect Life Form project, I know it’s not just us, you’ve also been researching... But clearly, your scholars haven’t delved as deeply as ours."
Gui Xu: "...So what?"
"So, I’m planning to transfer the knowledge we possess to you."
At the moment this sentence was spoken, Gui Xu froze for two seconds, looking in disbelief at the guy before him.
Two conflicting emotions, caution and greed, flickered in his eyes, but ultimately the latter gained the upper hand.
He admitted, he was indeed tempted.
However, driven by deep-rooted suspicion, he cautiously asked a question.
"...Why are you doing this?"
The Pioneer spoke in an unsurprising tone.
"Isn’t it obvious? I want to exploit your ambition, and for now, it seems you are the most eligible to use the legacy we’ve left behind."
These gray-black skinned "improved breeds" are the handiwork of the Enlightenment Society.
The technology applicable to green-skinned mutants can also be used on these gray-black skinned mutants.
In Gui Xu’s heart, a hint of ecstasy involuntarily surfaced.
Especially after hearing the guy’s confession, he laughed loudly once again.
"Hahaha! It’s really interesting... exploiting our ambition, what do you expect to get from us?"
The Pioneer slowly said.
"For now, not much. Just let me borrow this body."
Upon hearing such a simple request, Gui Xu didn’t care about anything else. Under the surprised gaze of the soldiers, he happily agreed.
"No problem, it’s yours now."
Compared to a mere android, being able to enlist the former Pioneer of the Torch Church as a helper was simply invaluable!
Especially with the added bonus of the "Perfect Life Form" project research results!
Through the technology of the Torch Church, he is fully confident in creating a mutant army far larger than that of the Torch Church!
This is an army composed of brutality and destruction, which will permanently etch the word fear in the hearts of all survivors!
After receiving a definite answer, the Pioneer controlling the android showed a smile on his face.
"Thank you."
Gui Xu also smiled, his voice inadvertently carrying a hint of respect.
"How should I address you? Pioneer? Or... would you like to be an elder here?"
"No need, I have my own name."
The android holding the satellite thought for a moment before speaking.
"Just call me... ’Apocalypse’."
"Apocalypse... Haha, not bad, not bad, it’s a good name!" Gui Xu’s smile grew more pleasant, while the soldiers standing next to the holographic image exchanged bewildered looks.
Looking at the vice-captain on the ground, who had passed out due to excessive blood loss, one soldier swallowed and whispered in the communication channel.
"President... what should we do about our vice-captain?"
Upon hearing this whisper, Gui Xu finally noticed the guy lying on the ground, missing both hands.
He didn’t waste much time thinking about such trivial matters, casually ordering in a dismissive tone.
"Just find a place to bury him."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding soldiers exchanged bewildered looks, unable to believe that the words had actually come from the respected president.
However, orders are orders.
Considering the consequences of disobeying orders, despite a thousand unwillingness in their hearts, the soldiers could only lower their stiff heads and accept the command solemnly.
"Yes..."
Watching the group of soldiers dragging the corpse away, Gui Xu then turned to Apocalypse, who was standing with the satellite and smiled.
"The body you’ve taken over originally belongs to their leader, so now they are your subordinates... Please follow me, and I will take you to our usual resting place."
Aware that the guy didn’t completely trust him, Apocalypse didn’t say much, just gave Gui Xu a meaningful glance before following his footsteps, disappearing into the yellow sand flying all over the sky along with the drone projecting light.
A new confrontation had quietly begun, but for now, the survivors on the wasteland were still unaffected by these petty troubles, immersed in the joy and celebration of the victory in the Heaven battle.
Chu Guang was still engaged in visits on the islands in the southern sea area.
Meanwhile, Camp 101 had officially initiated the space elevator project, and the expert team had already arrived in the southern sea area on a special flight, accompanying the engineers from Shelter No. 70 to conduct surveys in the sea area near Coral City.
Before designing the base for the entire space elevator, they first had to select a site.
This way, when the Alliance representatives take the PPT to the Sticky Community meeting to discuss with representatives of other survivor forces, it would seem "not so much like a joke."
While Chu Guang was working hard for the Alliance’s survivors, his little players were also busy.
Traditionally, every time after the conclusion of a DLC, the server enters a relatively peaceful development period.
This period belongs to the cycle of lifestyle professional players.
After all, combat professional players have had their fun, it’s time to let lifestyle professional players enjoy, since development and construction are the main themes of "Wasteland OL," a game focusing on joyful leisure cultivation.
Currently, most of the core settlements in the Alliance have reached development bottlenecks, and some players have gradually shifted their attention to Poluo Province, while others have focused on Haiye Province, which was just taken by the Sticky Community Allied forces.
Of course, besides those players who think normally, "Wasteland OL" never lacks players with novel thinking.
While most players are pondering how to follow the update’s pace, a small group of players have started thinking about how to lead the trend of the update, creating new tasks themselves.
For example, not long ago, Mosquito Brother walked down the red carpet with the Manager and set his sights on the 370,000th Legion hard at work on the front lines.
On the ruins of Haibei City.
Looking at the Vellante Centurion before him, whose face was covered in soot as if he had just crawled out of a coal mine, Mosquito politely handed him a cigarette and lit it.
"...Digging bit by bit with a shovel is too tedious. Why not buy two excavators?"
That Vellante man flushed red and struggled to utter a word.
"We have no money."
"No money? That’s easy! Our excavators don’t need money!" Mosquito chuckled, enthusiastically hooking the confused big-nosed man’s shoulder, and continued, "Just exchange them for your equipment. I’ll take a slight loss... How about trading a tank for an excavator?"