Chapter 328 Cheers to the Alliance's victory!

   "Let's toast to victory!"

   "Ha ha ha, cheers!"

   "Long live the Alliance!"

  Dawn City North Street, the road hotel next to the trading post.

  The sky outside has not yet completely darkened, and the lobby on the first floor filled with tables and chairs has already begun to fill with the smell of beer foam and the noise of people's voices.

  The news of victory seemed to have wings, and flew back from the front line to Shuguang City, which is far away in the northern suburb of Qingquan City.

  Thanks to the radio broadcast in the square, and the small screen hanging behind the bar, the drunkards sitting here were not the last to know the news.

  Whether they were merchants or travelers, or caravan guards and mercenaries, when they heard that the army of the New Alliance had defeated the Bonechewer on the frontal battlefield, everyone couldn't help applauding the manager in power armor in their hearts.

   For a long time, the Bonechewer Tribe has been a name that has caused countless wastelanders to talk about it.

   They spread from the north-central to the south like a walking plague. Wherever they went, there was scorched earth. Hundreds of survivor strongholds were wiped off the map, and no one could stop their footsteps.

   And now, they finally kicked on the iron board, and were beaten out by the alliance's iron fist.

   "Twenty-seven tanks were annihilated in one battle! God the Great Horned Deer, how many soldiers did they mobilize?!"

   "I don't quite understand, what kind of tank... hiccup, is it very powerful?" The drunken mercenary asked while lying on the bar, hiccupping.

"Excellent? Haha, are you kidding? That thing is a monster, a fortress walking on land! That is not something that ordinary people can deal with! I would rather face Deathclaw, at least my gun can bring me A little bit of security."

  The mercenary sitting next to him began to brag about what he had seen and heard when he worked for the people in the Great Rift Valley in the north, which attracted the attention of many people.

   Naturally, this also includes Sun Shiqi sitting in the tavern.

  Three days ago, he transported 6 tons of copper ingots, 2 tons of chromium, 1 ton of cobalt and nickel...and a large pile of sulfur and phosphorus from Honghe Town.

  However, to Sun Shiqi's surprise, copper and sulfur, which he was most optimistic about, almost lost the money he earned from other commodities.

  Xinlian seems to have really discovered a copper mine, and overnight the import of the second largest copper mine in the south of the River Valley Province became a resource exporter?

  Although they have not yet started exporting ore, they have apparently suspended bulk imports of copper ingots.

  Combined with the rapid decline in the price of platinum metal, which acts as an industrial catalyst, seems to indicate that the war has entered the end.

  Intuition told him that the market in Dawn City might be about to change.

According to the past practice, after the war, the new alliance will quickly turn some of the military production lines to civilian use, and change the production line of explosives to the production of fertilizer and soap, and the most prominent symptom of cycle switching is the production of basic industrial raw materials such as nitric acid and sulfuric acid. Capacity expansion stopped.

  Not in a hurry to make the next order, these days Sun Shiqi would sit on the first floor of the Road Town Hotel every night, ordering a plate of French fries and a glass of beer.

   Even though he has already purchased his own property in Dawn City.

   "Defeated the Bonechewer Horde on the frontal battlefield... It seems that nothing can stop the rise of the new alliance."

  Sitting across from Sun Shiqi, Zhou Nan, who was staring at the small screen on the bar, said with an expression of emotion on his face.

  Hearing this sentence, Sun Shiqi laughed out loud.

   "Isn't it inevitable?"

   Necessary?

   Zhou Nan gave this guy a sideways glance.

   Stop bragging!

  When the new alliance announced the Northern Expedition two months ago, you didn't say that!

  But in fact, it is inevitable.

  At that time, no one was optimistic that the new alliance could win, except those blue coats who were optimistic about themselves, and those residents who regarded the administrators as gods.

On one side are the barbarians with 30,000 soldiers, who have inherited the equipment and even the command system of the Legion Expeditionary Force, and on the other side are the new survivor settlements with a total population of less than 5,000, established less than a year ago, and only harvested a crop of food in the field. .

  No one could have imagined that the new alliance would actually win.

   And also won so thoroughly.

  An armored centurion composed of twenty-seven tanks, followed by a large group of anti-aircraft guns, was commanded by Dillon.

   With those small planes that dive and drop bombs, what is there to win?

  However, it is now an afterthought.

   Seeing that he had invited this drink, Zhou Nan didn't complain about this guy, but silently took a sip of the mellow beer.

  As for Sun Shiqi, he was still chattering about the future.

  “…the future River Valley province will be divided into three, with the Boulder City occupying the south, the Great Rift Valley occupying the north, and the new alliance will fill the gap in the central region.”

   "Gold is everywhere here! No, this place is much more valuable than gold!"

   Unlike most survivor settlements, the New Alliance has a strange obsession with land.

  Obviously the total permanent population of Shuguang City is only five or six thousand, but they have pushed the border to Xizhou City.

  Yes, the war is not over yet. These blue coats have included Hope Town in Xizhou City, and even provided food to the residents there.

   In Sun Shiqi's opinion, this is simply too strange.

   However, this is a good thing for him.

  If the new alliance is willing to open up the no-man's land in the north and take in the displaced refugees and herdsmen, he is happy to provide them with shovels or other tools.

   At this moment, Sun Shiqi suddenly thought of something, looked at his wine and meat friend sitting opposite and said.

   "I remember you said before, you are also from Hope Town, right?"

  Zhou Nan froze for a moment, then laughed.

"My friend, there are more survivors living in Hope Town these days than people who name themselves after spring, summer, autumn and winter, mountains and rivers. I am indeed from Hope Town...but it's Hope Town in Jinchuan Province. We There aren’t many Bonechewer tribes there, the only headaches are mutants and countless mutated poisonous insects.”

  In addition to this, there are cultists on the southern coast of death, and pirates who have traveled inland across the southern coastal provinces.

   But these are not really big problems.

   After all, life is like this every year, and the locals have already found a balance between chaos and death to survive.

   Speaking of this, Zhou Nan couldn't help feeling emotional.

  “…In any case, thanks to the new alliance, otherwise we would have a headache for the Bonechewers who bypassed Boulder City and headed south by this time next year.”

   "Indeed, thanks to them," Sun Shiqi sighed with mixed feelings as he looked at the beer bubbles in the glass, "Otherwise, I'm afraid I'd still be a small business peddler..."

   It wasn't just him to be thankful for the win.

  All the merchants, mine owners, and chambers of commerce in Honghe Town owe that manager a thank you.

  The reason why the Snake Clan was unable to use all its strength to deal with Honghe Town was largely due to the containment of the new alliance.

   Now that Xizhou City has been captured by the New Alliance, even if the Snake Clan does not want to save their compatriots, they have to end the siege of Honghe Town.

  The war is finally coming to an end.

  The two smiled and clinked glasses, and sent their heartfelt blessings.

   "Here's to the great league!"

   "Cheers to the wise and powerful managers!"

   "May he live long!"

  …

  Highway outside the town hotel.

  In the corner of the adjacent street market, an old man wrapped in a scarf and robe was sitting on the street corner and setting up a stall. The faded old pipe was full of smoke, adding a sense of mystery to the wrinkled face.

   In front of him was a carpet made of camel skin, on which were placed some strange small pieces of wood.

  Two mutated camels whose humps grew into one were lying on the side and taking a nap, and the huddled facial features looked scary.

  However, in the wasteland, this appearance of the alien is quite common.

  “…As long as you have 2 silver coins and write his name on the wooden sign, the spirit of the sand sea will bless him to return safely.”

   Lifting half of his drooping eyelids, the old man glanced at the worried girl in front of the booth, and thought to himself that tomorrow's dinner was settled.

   "...But is it okay if there is no sand here?" The girl asked in a low voice.

  The old man said solemnly.

"Of course it doesn't matter. A long time ago, the vast and boundless sand sea covered the entire central part of the Central Continent, spreading tens of thousands of kilometers. Including the plains under your feet, the nearby mountains and lakes, were once the territory of the spirit of the sand sea... There was no such thing at that time. What's the big horned deer god, only the sky filled with yellow sand can gallop on this land."

  Looking at the nagging old man, Shuangxue who stopped in front of the booth hesitated for a while, thinking that it was only two silver coins anyway, so she reached for her wallet.

  It is different from other residents celebrating the victory.

  She is more worried about the safety of the manager.

  Since half a month ago, she has rarely seen that adult sitting in the library working. Occasionally, when documents or recycled books are sent over from the Merchant Guild, the little robot like a tree stump docks with her.

   Later she learned from colleagues that the manager had gone to the front.

  Although there are many good news from the front line, bullets have no eyes after all. I heard that the commander named Dillon on the opposite side was killed by stray bullets on the battlefield.

  I hope he can pay more attention to his own safety...

  Looking at the little girl who took out the wallet, the old man's eyes were almost smiling, but at this moment, a white arm stretched out from the side.

   "Hey... you don't really believe it, do you?" Shuanghe looked at his sister who had even taken out her wallet with a look of surprise, "Writing a name can keep you safe. How can there be such a good thing."

  Facing her sister's surprised eyes, Shuangxue couldn't help but blushed, and whispered.

   "Anyway, it's just two silver coins..."

"Little girl, don't talk nonsense." Seeing that the cooked duck was about to fly, the old man glared at the woman who ruined his business with dissatisfaction, "as the saying goes, it's better to believe it, It’s unbelievable, if something unexpected happens, don’t blame me for not reminding you.”

  Seeing that the old man threatened himself, Shuanghe looked at him with a smile and said.

   "Don't do this with me. Our manager said that materialist fighters don't worship ghosts and gods. Instead of using money to worship the gods, it is better to use it to support the people."

   After finishing speaking, she ignored the old man whose eyes were staring like light bulbs, and looked at her sister next to her.

   "If you have a sweetheart on the front line, instead of praying for his safety here, you might as well wait for him to return from the front line and buy a bouquet of flowers for him."

  Shuangxue's face was covered with red clouds, not because of her sister's words, but because there were more and more people watching.

   Make her feel embarrassed.

   Reached out and pulled my sister's sleeve, she whispered.

   "Okay, okay, I know it's useless to do this, and you don't have to argue with others... I just don't buy it."

   After finishing speaking, she pulled her sister's sleeve, trotted out of the crowd, and didn't stop until she reached the other end of the market.

  Stopped, before Shuangxue had time to take a breath, the elder sister who was following her poked her waist enthusiastically.

   "Be honest, whose name you were going to write just now, let me see which lucky young man it is."

  Blush from just running, Shuangxue was coy for a long time, but finally couldn't hold back her sister's repeated questioning, and said in a low voice.

   "...I told you not to laugh at me."

  Gossip flashed in his eyes, and Shuanghe, who was saying something like "materialist fighters don't believe in ghosts and gods" a second ago, immediately raised three fingers and said swearingly.

   "I, Shuanghe, swear to God! I will never make fun of my smart, cute, beautiful and generous sister, and I will never tell a third person!"

   "..."

  Shuangxue gave her sister a bad look.

  Hesitating for a moment, she couldn't hide what was going on in her heart, and finally she leaned closer to her sister's ear, and whispered the name she planned to write just now.

   Shuanghe was taken aback after hearing this, and then stared at her with wide eyes.

  That expression was even more exaggerated than when he saw his sister handing over money to the magic stick.

   "Have you not given up yet?"

  Shuang Xue blushed.

   "You, you said you were not kidding me."

   "How can I laugh at you..." Shuanghe sighed, shaking his head like a rattle, "It's no use."

  Shuangxue looked at her sister with a complicated expression, and sighed softly after a while.

   "I didn't say that there must be drama... I just hope that he who is far away on the front line can be safe, don't you want it?"

  Shuanghe nodded thoughtfully.

"really…"

  She couldn't imagine what Dawn City would be like without that lord. Perhaps this oasis would not have existed in the first place.

   Those blue coats who are only loyal to the individual managers are expected to leave here, perhaps going back underground, or going to other places.

  The refugees will definitely not stay in the dormitory and wait for the indefinite resettlement. They will try their best to squeeze into the nearby city. Those prisoners of war must not be honest, they will seize this golden opportunity to break free from the shackles.

  The corps will probably continue to abide by their loyalty, and even inherit the "behavior" of the Fuxing People's Federation, elect a military strongman to power, and use tougher methods to suppress chaos... However, this will often plant the seeds for greater chaos.

  As for those merchants who have no loyalty at all, they do not belong here. They will do everything they can to squeeze all the value out of the inhabitants under the guise of a free market until even the silver coin itself is worthless.

  Working at the trading post, she is too aware of the virtues of those wastelanders. Not only do they have flexible ethics and professional ethics, they even have flexible identities.

  Maybe in other places they were slave catchers, or even bandits who robbed houses, but here, no matter what they were before, they only dared to obey the law honestly.

   This is nothing short of a miracle.

   Shuanghe nodded after thinking for a long time.

  “…If anything happens to him, everyone will be very sad.”

  Hearing this, Shuangxue immediately stretched out her hand to cover her mouth like a little white rabbit whose tail had been stepped on.

   "Bah, bah, bah, what unlucky words did you say! Let the old man hear it, and don't blow your ass!"

   "Uh-huh! What's the matter, I didn't talk nonsense in front of my father."

   Breaking free from his sister's little hand, Shuanghe said with a playful smile while dodging.

   "What's more, the manager said that if someone mentions his name behind his back, there is no need to make the atmosphere so serious. The name is originally for others to use."

   "Are you a parrot, the manager all day... talking about this and that." The blushing Frost Snow said out of breath.

   As a clerical worker in the Merchant Union, it is naturally impossible for her to have better physical strength than her sister who works in the trading station. After chasing her for a while, she put her hands on her knees and was out of breath.

  Shuanghe stopped to look at her, and blinked.

   "Huh? You're not jealous, are you? Don't worry, your sister is a person who lives a stable life. I don't daydream. My future husband only needs to—"

   "Ghost, only ghosts are jealous!"

  Looking at the two sisters who were laughing and playing, Yaya, who was squatting on the steps in front of the branch of the Fujiteng House branch, put her hands on her chin and said enviously.

   "If only I had a younger sister."

  Or younger brother.

  Although it’s a pity that I can’t buy him a small skirt to wear, it’s nice to have someone to play games with. For a person like her who stays at home all year round, it is too difficult to have someone to communicate with in reality.

  Damn...

  She actually started to envy the NPCs in the game!

   Fujiteng, who was sitting next to him drinking sparkling water, had a completely different emotion.

   "Recently, there are not many familiar faces in Dawn City."

  In the past two months, most of the consumers in the store have been NPCs.

  Although the business has not been affected, and she has designed a lot of ordinary clothes, but without those weird custom commissions, she always feels that her creativity and talent have lost their use.

  Compared to conservatively dressed NPCs, it is the players' weird imaginations that make her eyes shine.

  Of course, it would be nice to be a little more serious.

   Yaya comforted his friend and said.

   "After all, everyone is on the front line."

  Teng Teng squinted at her.

   "Speaking of which, don't you call yourself a professional combat player? Why are you so idle?"

  She originally thought that Yaya would go to the front line with Tail and the others, but she didn't go to the front line to join in the fun this time.

   It seems that the somersault she fell last time taught her a lesson.

   "Hmph, don't look at me as if I'm very idle," Yaya smiled triumphantly, "I made a small fortune recently."

   "Oh?" Letting go of the straw he was biting, Fujito looked at Yaya curiously and asked, "What task?"

   Yaya said proudly.

   "Didn't I find that turquoise pointed mushroom before, and then I sent it to the medical laboratory of the shelter for testing. The white-haired NPC lady found that it contained a substance similar to penicillin."

   Fujiteng nodded, suddenly said.

   "When you say this, I seem to be a little impressed... Later, it was updated in the illustrated book on the official website. It is called green mushroom and green pine mushroom? So you discovered it."

"What do you mean I discovered it! There is a full server announcement!" Yaya protested dissatisfiedly, cleared her throat, and continued to say happily, "In short, I received a hidden mission issued by the shelter later. , to collect 20 tons of green pine mushrooms for the survivor settlement in Xizhou City."

   "20 tons?!" Fujiteng looked at her blankly, and asked in surprise, "Is there that much?"

   Yaya said with the corner of her mouth curled up.

"Of course there are ducks. Everyone thought that the mushrooms were poisonous and no one picked them. But with so many orders, I definitely can't handle them all by myself. Fortunately, the young lady from the Merchant Union kindly helped me to register the company. Procedures, hired about ten aborigines, and finally completed the task."

   "Not bad, our Yaya has finally embarked on this path. In the future, you can earn silver coins without picking mushrooms yourself." Fujiteng nodded happily.

   Yaya thought for a while and said.

   "emmm... That's what I said, but I really prefer the feeling of exploring alone than worrying about a lot of things."

   This game is always discovering new things she hasn't seen before.

  As for the silver coins, she didn't care that much.

   "Are you guys in Versailles?"

  Teng Teng rolled her eyes, looked up at the sky, and stretched comfortably.

   "Everyone is working so hard, it seems that I have to work hard for the new version."

   Yaya laughed and patted his best friend on the shoulder.

"Don't be so fussy. Playing games is not about becoming something. The experience process is actually quite fun. By the way, there will be a fireworks display in the square to celebrate the victory, and it is said that there will be sugar sent from the Luoxia Province. .”

   "White sugar?" Fujiteng asked strangely, "Isn't that kind of thing already there?"

   There was a time when sugar was cheaper than salt before the commercial roads were opened. After all, Brown Farm grows sugar beets, and with a little improvement in technology, pure sugar can be obtained. However, things like salt still have to be imported in the inland areas.

   Yaya said with a smile.

   "No, it's sand. Isn't Luoxia Province a desert? It's probably a local specialty food. I also saw it on the forum... It is said that Xiaoyu discovered it."

   While talking, the fireworks have risen into the sky.

   If you don't pay attention, the time is up.

  Hearing that it was a snack that he had never seen before, Fujiteng immediately showed an expression of interest, and jumped up from the steps.

   "Go, take me to have a look."

  Among the splendid fireworks, the people living in the rear sent blessings to the distant front.

  Sun Shiqi, who came out of the tavern drunkenly, looked up at the bright fireworks in the sky, froze for a few seconds, then lowered his head and muttered softly.

   "The green...should be copper sulfate."

   Zhou Nan, who was supporting each other with him, also muttered in a low voice.

   "What a waste... Are these people rich enough to use their inexhaustible supply of dynamite?"

   "It seems that the war is really coming to an end."

  While the people of Dawn City were celebrating the great victory on the front line, the looters far away in Xizhou City were suffering from dire straits...

  (end of this chapter)