Chapter 906: Chapter 906: I Am Not Your Ten Thousand Leader
Unlike Singular Point City, which has intricate historical ties with the War Construction Committee, Weifu City is a settlement built by survivors from all over the world, rising from nothing in the Weifu wilderness.
The only traceable things here, aside from the vanished old era city, are the remnants of a populous Slave Owner’s Manor.
However, after the Torch Church arrived, even that populous slave manor was gone, leaving only some Mutants and the Nago they loved to eat.
The near-complete Heaven once descended on this land, and the mycelium of Nago had infiltrated every inch of soil here. However, the corroded soil has now gradually been purified into nutrients by the "mutated slime fungus" lair assimilated by Xiaoyu.
This area has vast plains and rivers with rich water systems, which may one day become fertile land as good as the banks of the Tasang River in the Poluo Line.
The only thing missing here might just be people.
Compared to the more developed City of Dawn, Dawn City, and Giant Stone City, this place lacks basic infrastructure as well as medical facilities.
Fortunately, these immediate difficulties have not deterred the Alliance’s pioneers from stepping onto this soil.
Factories in Giant Stone City and Dawn City provide those pioneers with abundant tools.
They construct trailer-like tents in the wilderness, install solar panels on top of the tents, use exoskeletons with Explorer plugins to locate mineral deposits, drive agricultural machinery to cultivate the land, and occasionally issue commissions to nearby players to clear dens of Variants, Mutants, or Looters.
Besides pioneers from other Alliance settlements, there are Weifante people from the distant Western World, Waste Land Wanderers from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, settlers migrated from the Wandering swamp, and Poluo people from the City of Thousand Pillars.
Their specialties vary; some excel in combat, others in mining, farming, or brewing.
Of course, most here are wanderers from the Brocade River Province area.
With the threat of the Torch eliminated, Weifu City, equipped with Mind Interference Devices, has become a utopia in this basin, second only to Singular Point City.
Unlike Singular Point City, there is no AI here trying to control everything and acting like a mother to people.
They can do whatever they want, as long as they do not violate the Alliance’s laws and do not infringe on others’ equality.
Just like when City of Dawn was rising.
Producers formed industry representatives, and then those beyond producers also elected people who could represent them, eventually leading to the birth of the representative assembly.
Within the framework of the Alliance constitution and laws, local survivors gradually clarified their rules and announced representatives to participate in the formulation of the first two laws in City of Dawn.
Besides, they can also exercise every citizen’s inherent right to supervision, ensuring the Alliance’s executive branches operate within the law and submitting cases to the court for arbitration if they detect unlawful actions.
This system operates independently of the Alliance’s municipal system and, so far, seems quite appropriate.
As for the rules to be adopted in the new era after the "Settlement Era" ends, that will be a matter for the future.
By then, the Alliance will likely have larger administrative divisions and more population, with territory perhaps spanning dozens of light-years and encompassing several Star Systems.
By then, the increasingly marginalized city lords and governors might also fade from history, together with the position of Managers.
Including "Residents of the refuge."
From then on, they will no longer be Blue Jackets or Blue Ground Squirrels.
Their kids, along with other Waste Land Wanderers’ and Weifante people’s kids, will become proud Alliance citizens, and they won’t be divided into inner and outer cities like in Giant Stone City or classified by letters like in the Academy.
But that is probably something far into the future.
Chu Guang does not intend to plan out hundreds of years of future for the Alliance.
After all, even things within a few years seldom go as he and others expect.
He believes that his children will surely find a balance between tradition and innovation, passing on their past to a more distant future.
At this moment, the train stopped at the station platform.
Chu Guang stood up, preparing to disembark, when he noticed Lu Bei walking in with a serious expression.
"Sir, there’s some situation at the No.1 Settlement."
Although Chu Guang had already read about it on the forum earlier, he still smiled and said to Lu Bei.
"Tell me."
Watching the Manager head towards the train aisle, Lu Bei quickly followed him, speaking in a low and serious tone about the situation noticed by the Guards Corps.
After listening, Chu Guang nodded and smiled.
"Is there a problem?"
Lu Bei hesitated for a moment and then voiced his opinion in a deep voice.
"You once said that to end the Wasteland Era, we must unite everyone we can and save all suffering survivors. Yet, that representative named Gu Ning seems to be inciting hatred against Poluo people..."
His loyalty to Chu Guang is beyond doubt, as it was this very gentleman who once pulled him out of Hell long ago.
It’s precisely because of this that he doesn’t like that silver-tongued guy.
In his view, that person is completely twisting the Manager’s intentions, even exploiting people’s emotions for personal gain, rather than truly understanding the gentleman’s teachings.
However, while he dislikes that person, he still remembers what Chu Guang told him—to simply observe whether all parties involved in the whirlpool act out of line without taking any further action.
After carefully considering Lu Bei’s view, Chu Guang sighed lightly and said.
"Your previous observations are very objective, but in evaluating specific individuals, you forgot the principle of objectivity. For instance, I don’t like the term ’inciting.’ That Mr. Gu merely expressed his opinion, and in his expression, I didn’t see any hatred towards specific people or any distortion of facts."
"I..." Lu Bei was stunned for a moment, eager to explain.
Chu Guang looked at the anxious young man, smiled gently, and continued to speak.
"I know you mean no harm, you’re just a bit too eager."
Pausing for a moment, he continued.
"Everyone has their own thoughts. We should give them the opportunity to express those thoughts. This is why, even in the toughest times, we need to select representatives from various sectors, from the workshops of the factories, and the fields of Changjiu Farm."
"If the opinions of the masses go unnoticed, we will become a runaway horse, like the former Giant Stone City. There, the survivors, whether ordinary people or elites, were tracing an outdated blueprint, constructing a building that most did not like. The harder they worked, the more painful it was, straying ever farther from their dreams, except for those living in that building."
"In the end, whether it was the tenants of the building or the survivors outside, they all made the worst choices without exception and headed toward a lose-lose situation. It wasn’t until that building collapsed that they truly found release."
Lu Bei whispered.
"We will not become Giant Stone City."
Chu Guang smiled and said.
"I hope not, but the ’Black Card’ won’t disappear just because we ignore it. However, we can distribute it to more people to mitigate the risks we may face in the future."
Lu Bei couldn’t help but ask.
"Is there no way to completely eliminate risks? For example, by taking preventive measures?"
Chu Guang gently shook his head.
"Even The Sun will extinguish one day, let alone a civilization just tens of thousands of years old, or us, only a few years old... Risks can only be reduced, not eliminated. Don’t think about unrealistic things; they’re either bold hypotheses of dreamers or flowery deceptions of frauds."
Foolproof ideas are the most to be wary of. Invisible risks are more dangerous than visible ones because they often aren’t truly foolproof, just the 10,001st worst possibility buried underground.
Once on that path, everyone will be passively involved in a gamble with no return.
And the outcome for gamblers is rarely novel; either a fleeting rush into the sky, self-exiling into the weak gravity of outer space, or a glorious crash to the ground, shattered by the gravity of reality.
Watching Lu Bei deep in thought, Chu Guang paused at the car door, tapped his shoulder softly, and continued in a gentle tone.
"A long time ago, I said I have only one requirement for you all, and that’s loyalty."
"This statement will always apply to the Guards Corps. I hope you always remember it, along with the part I didn’t say back then."
"You should always be loyal to the Alliance citizens and the law they pledge allegiance to, and dedicate everything to defending their dignity and rights."
"If one day I’m gone and someone tries to use my name to bind you, that person will be the enemy of all the Alliance, as well as your undisputed adversary."
He must not only guard against becoming the lord of Giant Stone City but also against becoming Marshal Julius.
A vast army filled with unmentionable traitors.
The Alliance must never become like them.
A glimmer of understanding rose in Lu Bei’s eyes, accompanied by a hint of shame.
His head lowered, he placed his right fist over his chest.
"I will remember."
Smiling at the promising young man and stepping off the train, Chu Guang stood on the train station platform.
Just as he got off, Captain Li Jinrong and the leadership team of Weifu City stood not far from the platform, looking as if they wanted to approach but couldn’t make up their minds.
Seeing those familiar faces, Chu Guang knew the news of his southward inspection had indeed spread.
Even though the Alliance hadn’t popularized the internet, the speed of information exchange was no longer what it used to be.
Moreover, he hadn’t deliberately concealed it, and during interactions with the public, he used a holographic image; someone seeing it or guessing was possible.
To be honest, managing to reach here before the news got out was quite an achievement.
Making eye contact with Chu Guang, realizing he had caught the Manager’s attention, Li Jinrong finally approached with a smile.
"Honorable Manager, what brings you here?"
Perhaps due to his administrative experience, the man who used to guerrilla fight against the Iron Tower Organization and the Torch Church had become much steadier than before.
Even more tactful.
Chu Guang shook his hand with a smile and said in a warm tone.
"It’s been a while since I’ve been here, so I came to take a look, see how the survivors are doing after my departure. You don’t need to be nervous; just go about your usual work."
Li Jinrong smiled and said.
"Rest assured, we’re doing quite well, and life here is now on the right track."
At this point, he smiled sheepishly and awkwardly continued.
"It’s just... could you let us know in advance next time you visit? So we can prepare, since this isn’t the City of Dawn, and it’s best to be safe!"
Chu Guang laughed at his words and joked while looking at the slightly tense Li Jinrong.
"You don’t need to worry about my safety; no one who can threaten it exists in this world."
This isn’t just him bragging.
Those who can rely purely on individual combat power to surpass the X-16 are rare as hen’s teeth on the Wasteland, let alone directly taking him as an opponent.
As for ascending to the level of a War Machine, that’s another matter entirely.
For example, things like tanks, planes, artillery, and missiles, it’s still quite difficult to sneak up on him unnoticed.
However, due to the limited space for individual Strength in the confrontation of systems, he rarely charges into battle on the front lines like the players do.
And whenever leading a charge was necessary in the early days of the Alliance, he did it too.
Seeing Li Jinrong’s wry smile, Chu Guang didn’t make things difficult for him, and said in a broad tone.
"Since you’re here, if you want to report on your Work, go ahead and do it, just try to focus on the key points, I’ll verify the rest myself... besides, let’s talk after we leave the station, don’t want to bother the passengers here."
He suddenly noticed that more and more people were gathering around to watch the commotion.
Among them were local Residents, Waste Land Wanderers, and players who had come to do missions in this area.
A pair of curious eyes were watching this side.
Rather than being curious about him personally, people were more curious about why he appeared here.
The players were focused on the new expansion, while others living on this Land were concerned about whether this meant that the Alliance was having another major move down south.
Actually, they weren’t wrong in their guess.
After the Gravity Well activates, this Land will quickly enter a new era.
Seeing Chu Guang was really here just to take a look, and not because he messed up his Work, Li Jinrong finally sighed in relief, and his smile became more genuine.
"Please follow me."
...
Due to the disturbance on the station platform, the news of Chu Guang’s visit to Weifu City spread like wildfire, and by the next day, it had become the headline for the entire Alliance and even the South Sea Union’s Survivor’s Daily.
Not only were the survivors of Weifu City excitedly discussing this matter, even the survivors of No.1 Settlement were eagerly chatting about whether the gentleman would also pay a visit to their gathering place.
Although truly, there’s not much to see at No.1 Settlement, aside from the district near the port.
Near the pier, the breakfast stalls, with white mist floating over large iron pots, dockworkers wearing hard hats were chattering away.
"Why did the Manager suddenly come here?"
"Could it be because of that matter with City Hall?"
"What nonsense, such a trivial matter wouldn’t catch the Manager’s attention."
"Then what else could it be... Lately nothing of value has been fished out from the sea."
"Probably to visit the South Sea Union. I heard recently that Coral City finally got fully electrified, and people who used to live there and some Residents from Shelter No. 70 have moved back. That must be it."
"I feel it doesn’t relate to that stuff, most likely because of that elevator thing."
"The space elevator?"
"And the Gravity Well! I heard that thing can drag down the debris from orbit."
"Hiss... let’s hope it doesn’t drag down the nuclear bombs our ancestors left up there too."
"Even if there are any, they would’ve long since lost functionality, right?"
Amid the people’s chatter, a well-dressed man walked to the side of the clock-in point.
The foreman, wearing a hard hat, was yawning when his gaze suddenly settled on a pair of well-shined leather shoes.
Thinking it was the supervisor or manager, he quickly shook off his drowsiness and sat up straight, just to see Hank’s gloomy face.
The foreman rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, grumbling.
"What the hell is wrong with you."
Hank, who was dressed sharply, grinned and placed a resignation letter on the table.
"I’m here to resign."
"Did you find a new job?" Picking up the resignation letter, the foreman raised an eyebrow in surprise.
There was a lot of turnover on the dock job, and none of the workers under him ever wrote this stuff, especially the daily hires.
Usually, it was assumed they resigned if they couldn’t be contacted for several days.
A confident smile appeared on Hank’s face as he nodded.
"To be precise, I’ve found a new starting point for a career... Wish me luck, brother."
The foreman froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Haha! Alright, alright, I wish you luck, hope I don’t see you here next month."
Hank said with a smile.
"Absolutely not... But when I make it big, I’ll definitely come back and show off to you. I hope you won’t find me annoying then."
As he spoke, he placed the neatly folded exoskeleton from the suitcase onto the table, along with the work uniform and safety helmet he had used recently.
The foreman smiled at him and wrote him a note, handing it over.
"Go to the finance department to get the rest of your pay... damn, you’re squeezing a meal out of me before you leave."
Hank took the note with a smile and said,
"Mainly because I’ll miss it, won’t get to eat it later."
"Damn it, stop the nonsense and get lost."
The foreman laughed and gestured for him to leave. The latter did not disturb his work further and went to say goodbye to others.
Honestly, he didn’t dislike the big-nosed Hank, rather, he quite liked him.
Even though Hank was a bit slow with work and often absent, he got along well with others and was always helpful.
Maybe people like him shouldn’t be working at the docks; he should be on a broader platform to reach his full potential.
His only wish was for Hank to use his wits and intelligence in the right direction...
As Hank said his final goodbyes and headed towards the first office the Hank Group had rented at No.1 Settlement, Gu Ning from the representative council was inspecting the new homes of over five thousand Weilante immigrants with their elected representative, Yarman.
It is worth mentioning that this representative is not the same as a council representative.
Yarman, who had just started applying for Alliance citizenship, still held the status of a "supervised" individual and was not an official citizen of the Alliance, nor did he have full political rights. Naturally, he couldn’t propose or vote in the representative council yet.
However, in Gu Ning’s view, with Yarman’s ability and popularity, joining the Alliance and becoming the representative of the Weilante people was just a matter of time... as long as he wanted to.
Although Gu Ning was a conservative in the representative council, he was not against the "newcomers." After all, he wasn’t born in the Alliance either; he was attracted by the Alliance’s ideals and joined this organization dedicated to ending the Wasteland Era.
He only resented those who didn’t follow the rules, and those who treated the Alliance like a trash can, throwing all sorts of garbage in without considering if it fit.
He had no intention of targeting the Poluo people, but their shenanigans had gone overboard, and the so-called progressives in the radical faction were too soft on them.
In comparison, he preferred the Weilante people a bit more.
They liked vodka, and he liked whiskey, both popular at No.1 Settlement at 40 degrees; the only difference was one used potatoes, and the other wheat as raw material.
At this moment, Yarman did not know that Mr. Gu beside him already considered him a potential ally.
If he knew, he would probably be crying and laughing at the same time.
After going through so much crap, he had no interest in politics.
He only wanted to open ten chapels for the Silver Moon Goddess to fulfill his vow and pray for his family’s safety.
"This is the eastern part of No.1 Settlement, an open plain. Since it’s far from water sources, not many people live here... but these aren’t issues. As long as the money is in place, the water pipes can be brought over, including roads and so on."
"In short, there’s plenty of water for daily needs, no worries. Besides, I imagine you won’t be farming by the sea. Also, other needed supplies can be imported from the South Sea Union. Their factories are incredible, claimed to copy books on a hair strand... ha, sounds like a boast, but I’ve actually seen it."
Looking at the barren land in the distance, Gu Ning squinted slightly and said with a smile.
"As for public opinion, don’t worry, the news of the Manager moving south has taken over all the headlines, including the ’Vellante Street’ new district and certain annoying protests... Since you have your start-up funds, I believe you’d prefer to keep a low profile rather than act like those guys always shouting for handouts."
Yarman smiled shyly and earnestly said,
"Thank you for considering so much for us, I really don’t know how to thank you."
These days, his fellow people were living on boats; some elderly and children got sick due to the water and land not suiting them, some young people wanted to get off the boat to find work, and a pregnant woman was about to give birth.
Problems seem to increase with the number of people.
No.1 Settlement had never received this many immigrants, and he had never cared for so many people at once.
Thanks to the help of this representative and Hank, they got hospital beds and necessary medicines.
Moreover, those young men looking for work found jobs to support their families through Mr. Gu’s introduction and moved into employee dormitories.
Although the living conditions were average, and most positions required physical labor without any thresholds, they were good transitions.
Given the local conditions, the survivors had no complaints, and neither did they have any reason to complain.
People with ability can naturally find more suitable work.
"Heaven helps those who help themselves. It’s a truth I’ve adhered to on the Wasteland. You don’t need to thank me. We welcome all capable survivors to join us in overthrowing this messed-up Wasteland and sending everything from the old era into the grave."
Gu Ning shook Yarman’s hand, patted his shoulder, and said to this man who had been through so much.
"But honestly, I must speak practically. Even if you have your street, I hope you will regard your traditions and culture more as a symbol than a rule of identity, and try to integrate into your surroundings... after all, even people we sympathize with, if they behave unreasonably, will meet our disapproval."
Yarman earnestly said,
"I will convey your advice to my compatriots."
Gu Ning released his hand with a smile.
"Relax, don’t be so serious. I’m just your spokesperson, not your Ten Thousand Leader."