Chapter 391 Ideal City

   red light flashes.

  A meteor streaked across the sky, landed in the easternmost part of the Zhongzhou Continent, and smashed into a field heavily.

The muffled sound of    could be heard hundreds of meters away, not to mention Wang Dashan, who was working in the fields with a tractor.

   "Damn... what was that just now?"

Startled by the sound, the sloppy man jumped out of the tractor, pulled out the shotgun hanging on the side of the cab, and walked in the direction of the sound, while stuffing a gun in the chamber. shotgun.

  This is located on the edge of the province of Yunjian, and it is also the northwest corner that no one cares about.

  No one usually comes to this poor place. Even the merchants think that there is too little oil and water here, so they would rather go further and try their luck in the province next door.

   But things are not absolute.

  Last month he saw a few mutants—presumably deserters dispersed by corporate patrols.

  Those ugly guys, even if they just looked at them from a distance, he felt disgusting enough.

   It was a dirt pit more than ten meters wide, as if it had been blasted out by a cannonball.

   Looking at the destroyed crops, Wang Dashan felt a pain in his heart, but he leaned over cautiously.

   There seems to be something in the pit.

   He glanced at the Geiger counter on his wrist to confirm that the radiation indicator was normal, and then leaned in to take a look.

  I saw a silvery-white metal sphere lying in the pit, and there was a trace of hot air around it, and the scorching high temperature even evaporated the water in the soil.

   "What the **** is this?"

   Looking at the metal ball in the pit, Wang Dashan did not understand it after studying for a long time.

   pressed the communicator hanging on his shoulder, and he reported the situation to the guards in the village.

   Not long after, a pair of headlights appeared on the edge of the field, and the exoskeleton-clad guard jumped out of the car and strode toward him.

"What happened?"

   As soon as the words came out, the guard noticed the dirt pit in front of him, and lit a flashlight into it, his eyes narrowed slightly.

   Wang Dashan, who was standing beside him, said quickly.

   "I was working in the field just now when I suddenly heard a loud noise, so I walked over to take a look... Then I found this thing in the field."

   The guard continued to ask.

   "Did you see where he fell from?"

   Wang Dashan pointed to the top of his head.

   "Heaven."

   "Heaven?"

The    guard's face showed a surprised expression. He looked up at the sky, and then at the metal ball. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something, and his eyes suddenly floated.

   "You watch here, I'm going to call the enterprise—"

The    voice just fell.

   Wang Dashan, who was beside the station, didn't have time to agree when he saw a black figure flying in the distance.

   That's a corporate plane.

   The jet-black fuselage is about ten meters wide, like a big bird. The two drum-type engines slowly rotate, and the blue arcs are sprayed backwards to blowing downwards.

  The air wave overwhelmed the wheat in the field, and the plane landed smoothly in the field.

  As the cabin door opened, six soldiers wearing exoskeletons walked out of the cabin one after another.

   One of them was carrying a large box that was higher than his head. I saw that he went straight to the pit, picked up the silver ball, and put it into the box.

   "Hey, wait, you broke my—"

   Seeing that these people were about to leave with something, Wang Dashan, who was holding a shotgun, chased after him, summoning up his courage and shouting.

   However, before he could finish speaking, a banknote was shoved into his hand, blocking the words from his mouth.

   The soldier in the exoskeleton stared at him and asked succinctly.

"Is it enough?"

   "Enough, enough, hehe..."

   Looking at the banknotes in his hand, Wang Dashan's originally indignant expression instantly turned into a smile, and he politely watched the soldiers return to the plane.

  100Cr.

   Not to mention the crushed wheat, it is more than enough to buy all the crops in his field.

The    guard gave the guy an envious look, then turned around and returned to his car.

  If only he had found out earlier, he had to have his share of the money.

   There is absolutely no disadvantage in helping companies work. It has almost become common sense to save in the clouds.

  Those people are not generous, but they will never be stingy with their rewards...

  …

  If there is another place in this wasteland where you can look up to the last rays of the People's Federation, it is undoubtedly the pearl of the east coast - the utopia called "Ideal City".

  The layers of concrete and steel skeletons extend from the ground to the sky. Standing on the ground and looking up, you can’t even see the end at a glance.

  The neon light pollution is the most vivid portrayal of the city. The holographic images projected on the outermost buildings can be seen even if they are dozens of kilometers away.

   No matter how prosperous the wastelanders come here, they will look around with wide eyes like a bumpkin, and be overwhelmed by the flashing lights and the traffic in all directions.

   Maglev trains shuttle between high-rise buildings, like a school of fish swimming among seaweeds.

   Only a few big fish can swim to the highest point and enjoy the first rays of the early morning sun...

  Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, the man quietly looked out the window, like admiring the fish tank in the living room.

   His name is Luo Yong, and he is one of the core members of the board of directors of Silver Wing Group, holding 17% of the shares.

   "Emergency means of communication... It seems that our Pioneer is really in trouble." The guest sitting on the sofa looked at the wine glass in his hand with interest, and suddenly said something casually.

   His name is Kang Le, and he is one of the core members of the Kang Mao Group Board of Directors.

   Unlike Yinyi Group, which is mainly engaged in the manufacture of heavy engineering equipment, Kangmao Group's business scope is mainly auxiliary equipment and medical equipment.

  Although the two are drinking friends, when they get together, the topic of discussion is always irrelevant to alcohol.

"Um."

   "I heard that your son was on the Pioneer?"

"Yes."

   Seeing this guy so calm, Kangle raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.

   "Aren't you worried?"

   "Don't you have a custom clone business, just clone another one." Luo Yong said in a normal tone, and his calm voice could not hear any waves.

  Kang Le raised his eyebrows slightly and glanced at him unexpectedly, as if he didn't expect him to say this.

   looked away from the back in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, he said with a faint smile.

   "...We can clone cells, but not memories, let alone souls."

   "You still believe in that thing?"

"Believe it or not, it's just an abstract statement. I think that man is a concept that distinguishes it from things, and flesh and blood is just the vehicle for that concept. It's easy to make a container, and we were able to do it a long time ago, even We can do better than what is born naturally, but we still cannot transfer abstract ideas from one container to another..."

  Kang Le continued to talk incessantly, but Luo Yong, who was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, didn't want to hear it, just stared out the window intently.

   Not far away, an "Electric Ray" transport plane slowly passed through the row upon row of tall buildings and landed on the apron on the top of the building.

   He saw several soldiers with a box and walked quickly into the building.

   The satellites that will be packed in that box soon will be sent to a professional technical department to disassemble and download the data inside.

  Although he has not read the data stored in that satellite, Luo Yong can already guess what is written inside.

   This means of emergency communication should only be used in the most critical moments.

   Since that satellite left its orbit and landed here, it already contains a lot of information...

   "I'm not interested in your theories."

   looked away from the window, and Luo Yong interrupted Kangle's eloquence.

   Staring at the man sitting on the sofa, he continued in a serious tone.

"Vault 0 is the belief of the inhabitants of the ideal city, after two centuries... We finally found it. As long as we can open that door, we can end all the chaos in the wasteland and return this land to that Great times."

  Kang Le was stunned for a moment, and then he laughed out loud as if he had heard a funny joke.

   He shook his head and put the glass back on the table.

   "...You laugh at me for believing in souls, but you believe in an even more unreliable legend."

  Royong corrected his words and said.

   "That's not a legend, but a conclusion drawn through rigorous and precise calculations."

  The attitude of Recreation has not changed in any way.

   "Calculation... Hehe, if there is such a technology to deduce the future, those guys lying in the graves never thought they would become what they are today?"

   "What can be deduced is not the future, but the possibility in the sense of probability. Isn't our existence the best proof?"

  Ideal City is built on Vault 6, and everything here is strictly a product of the "Fortress" plan.

   Unable to refute this sentence, Kangle was silent for a while, and suddenly said in a very soft voice.

   "...Let's assume that Vault 0 really has the ability to correct the chaos in this wasteland like the wind and clouds. Who can guarantee that it will not affect our existing prosperity?"

   If only the Blazers were just going out for a walk.

  Whether it is to spread the idea of ​​​​the enterprise, sow the seeds of civilization, or show off prosperity and power... It is of great benefit to the enterprise.

   After all, if you trade with a group of primitive people, you can exchange a few shells or a few animal skins at most.

But if you sell the exoskeletons and drilling rigs of miners to those wastelanders, like those wastelanders show the good life of the ideal city, when their caravans pass by again, they only need to spend some pieces of paper to exchange to a truckload of ore.

  The expedition for the ideal is just a slogan. Even if they come back with nothing, no one will blame them.

   However, no one expected that the group of Lengtou Qingzhen had found Vault 0.

   It is precisely because of this that the attitudes of the major groups that originally supported the expedition began to become ambiguous.

   The only one who unswervingly supports the expedition is the Silver Wing Group.

   It’s not for any lofty ideals, mainly because they invested in the construction of the Pioneer.

  The land-based fortress not only embodies their hard work, but the crew on it is the backbone of the elites cultivated by the group.

   Don’t speak to others.

   His son was on that fort...

   Although he said that if he died, it would be good to regenerate another one, but that was just talk.

  Technology can solve a lot of troubles, but not all troubles can be solved with technology.

  Luo Yong looked at Kangle sitting on the sofa and said in a serious tone.

   "...I don't expect to convince you by reasoning, let's talk about the conditions."

   didn't ask the conditions, Kangle stared at him.

   "Oh? What do you want me to help you with?"

   "In another two hours, the analysis of the data should be completed..."

Luo Yong lifted the cuff with his index finger and glanced at the time on his watch, "We will submit a plan to expand the scale of reinforcements at noon today, we have already received the support of the Changge Group, and we are only one vote away... I hope you can Convince Kang Mao Group's board of directors to support our proposal at the company's top board meeting."

  Changge Group is the largest arms dealer in Ideal City.

  Kangle is not surprised that the Silver Wing Group can get the support of those guys.

  Those arms dealers are eager to fight outside. Their favorite thing to do every day is to give discounts to their own products, while shouting that the company's armament is too expensive, and asking to expand the size of the commando.

Although the company has tens of thousands of subsidiaries, and each subsidiary that holds shares of the parent company has the right to vote on major resolutions, since the vast majority of the shares are in the hands of the five giants, when a proposal has When the three giants support, there will be no suspense in the passage of the proposal.

   On the contrary, if the three giants object, a proposal will not pass anyway.

  Kang Le pondered in his heart, this guy found his head, 80% of the time he ran into a wall at the other two.

   It is also true that the "Endpoint" group, which is mainly engaged in intelligent business, and the "Ideal" group, which is mainly engaged in public utilities and urban construction, are completely indifferent to affairs in the wasteland.

   It is possible to be drawn...

   seems to be only on his side.

"Expanding the scale of the increase... Kang Mao Group can accept equipment and economic assistance, but it can only accept this. I don't know what agreement you have reached with Chang Ge Group, but the scale of the commando is large enough, and you also Don't want to see those war madmen grow bigger?"

  Royong said without any change in his expression.

   "The agreement we made with them was not about expanding the size of the commandos, it was about other areas."

  Kang Le stared at him for a while, then nodded slowly.

   "Okay, I can help you, but I'm just a shareholder on the board of directors of Kang Mao Group, you can't expect me to persuade others with just one mouth."

  Royong did not speak, waiting for him to continue to ask for conditions.

   After a moment's pause, Kangle continued.

   "If you guys are willing to let go of the proposal for androids to participate in public affairs...I think they should agree to your request."

   Hearing this request, Luo Yong breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense expression finally stretched a smile.

"make a deal."

  …

  The remote river valley province.

   There was a touch of morning and evening on the horizon, and the residents of Dawn City opened their windows and walked out of their homes to welcome the new day.

   At this moment, someone in Vault 404 hadn't slept all night and was still sitting in front of a fancy computer in high spirits.

   "...Unbelievable, guess what I found out of that data?!"

   did not look at Yin Fang, whose eye bags were deeper than that of a panda, Chu Guang, who was sitting on the sofa beside him, replied absentmindedly.

"what?"

"The order for the reconstruction project of the connecting module of the Lagrangian space station!" Yin Fang continued to speak quickly with a happy expression on his face, "I knew that a research institution that can have an independent scientific research satellite really does not Simple!"

  The Lagrangian space station is ok.

   That is really far enough.

   Right now, the legion is pressing step by step, and Chu Guang can't think about things that far away for the time being.

   He cares more about reinforcements on the east coast than distant space technology.

   However, he still joked casually.

   "Are you going to complete the order for them?"

   Hearing this, Yin Fang couldn't help rolling his eyes.

   "What are you kidding, that's an order from more than 200 years ago! As of the outbreak of the Doomsday War in 2125, 50% of the design work has been completed..."

  Chu Guang: "And then what?"

   "...then, they were going to replace the telescope on the 41 link arm with a two-kilometer-long mass accelerator. Then, we found some recoverable technologies from the list."

   "These include 12 technologies related to electromagnetic control, and 4 key technologies for gas molecule manipulation, 5 of which have reached the E-level standard, 3 technologies have reached the D-level standard, and 2 have reached the C-level standard!"

   Good guy, C-level tech!

   And there are two! ?

   A surprised expression appeared on his face, Chu Guang, who was originally lacking in interest, immediately sat up straight from the sofa.

   At present, there are only two C-level technologies mastered by the new alliance, one is solid hydrogen and the other is a3 aerospace aluminum alloy.

   The high-end technical reserve has doubled directly, which can be said to have completely exceeded his expectations.

  Technology is the foundation of alliance development.

   For Chu Guang, recovering new technologies is more exciting than seeing more and more players breaking through LV20.

   "Can you elaborate on that C-level technology?"

   "I was going to do that."

  Yin Fang had a proud expression on his face, cleared his throat and continued.

"One is the synthetic route of N10-anion azide compounds used in ejection buffer balloons... This thing is similar to solid hydrogen, and has a very high energy density. However, unlike solid hydrogen, azides are naturally unstable and more difficult than batteries. Good for bombs."

"The other is about nitrogen molecular control... The gas shield can be formed through the gas manipulation field. Your hammer uses a similar technology, you should be familiar with it. However, this thing consumes a lot of energy, and there is no portable reactor. It can only be used for a short time with chemical batteries and capacitors.”

  Chu Guang said with a smile.

   "It's okay! My shelter residents won't mind! By the way, what is that electromagnetic control related technology?"

   "That, it has something to do with mass accelerators. Simply put, it's an electromagnetic gun. You won't be able to use it for the time being... um, but not necessarily."

   Having said that, Yin Fang suddenly paused for a moment, then changed the conversation and continued.

   "Wait until the fusion reactor in Xizhou City is re-ignited, and it should be no problem to get a few mass accelerators as anti-aircraft guns."

   "It's not too difficult to get the required materials, that thing is much easier to use than your artillery."

   Railgun!

   Thinking of the electromagnetic point defense system on the Pioneer that can even stop artillery shells, Chu Guang was immediately excited.

   "Can you put a mass accelerator on a tank?"

   As if he had guessed that he would ask.

   Almost at the same time as Chu Guang's voice fell, Yin Fang shook his head and said.

"Don't think about it, unless you can get the technology related to the miniaturization of the electromagnetic gun... This thing is the electromagnetic gun for the space station, and it needs to be used with the fusion reactor. Even if it is scaled down, it is impossible for you to put it in the car. superior."

   is nuclear fusion again...

   "Well, when I didn't ask."

   restrained his excited expression, Chu Guang sighed slightly regretfully.

   When will the Alliance be able to produce fusion reactors on its own.

   But it seems useless to think about it now.

   More critical than fusion technology itself is the nuclear fuel required for fusion.

   The closest helium 3 collection station to him is the moon 380,000 kilometers away.

   Looking at Chu Guang's unsatisfied expression, Yin Fang couldn't help but complain.

   "Be content, two C-level technologies! In the academy, this credit is enough for a D-level prospector to upgrade to a C-level."

   "No, I'm not dissatisfied, just wondering when our reinforcements will arrive."

   "Then you have to ask the people in the company, but I advise you not to expect too much, those people may not be easy to deal with." When he said this, Yin Fang's expression was a little subtle.

   Looking at the delicate expression, Chu Guang suddenly thought of something and said.

   "Speaking of which, there's something I've always been curious about."

"What's up."

   "The relationship between the college and the business doesn't seem to be very good?"

   Yin Fang thought for a while.

   "That's true, and while I don't personally hate corporate people, we do disagree with them on some things."

   "Because of their development of the ruins?" Chu Guang asked thoughtfully.

  Yin Fang smiled lightly.

"That's just an appearance, how to use the ruins is their freedom... In the end it's disappointing that they have a precious heritage, but they're not aggressive. Whether it's territory, or knowledge, you can see that they're not really that much. Desire. Wealth? Maybe, but I think it's not so much a desire for wealth as a greed for enjoyment."

"You can see them decorating their homes beautifully, and the luxury there is almost the same as in Prosperity, and many wastelanders and old popsicles dream of living there for the rest of their lives. But in my opinion, there is clearly a distance from prosperity. The farthest place in the epoch."

"The Prosperity Era left a lot of things, whether it's fusion batteries that haven't been used up, or garbage that can be recycled and black boxes that can turn waste into treasure... But all these things will run out sooner or later, either today or today. tomorrow."

   "As soon as we finish sorting out the technology left over from the previous civilization, we will immediately start exploring new topics and finding ways to restore the ecology of this planet to the pre-war level."

   "And they are just squandering their little inheritance."

   Having said that, Yin Fang paused for a moment.

   "Of course, there are also some respectable people in the company. It's a good idea to find Vault 0... I remember that the college also sent a scientific expedition team into the desert before."

  Chu Guang was slightly stunned.

   "The academy also went to Vault 0?"

   "That was all years ago," Yin Fang sighed, "I only remember that the scientific expedition team disappeared in the desert... After that, no one mentioned it again."

-

   (Thanks to the leaders of "ぶ心ぐ爱﹍ぇ", "Ayanami Little Angel", "DevilMayCry5", "ぉButterflyぁ", "Cloud Neverwinter", and "Cloud Cliff" for their rewards!)

   (end of this chapter)