Chapter 555 The Taste of Blood

  Vault 101...

   It seems like a long time ago when I last visited Dr. Method.

   Inexplicably, a little nostalgia arose in his heart, Chu Guang said after thinking for a moment.

   "It's a hard place to describe."

   Alisa was slightly taken aback.

   "It's hard to describe what it means..."

   Seeing the longing and yearning in those eyes, Chu Guang probably guessed that Pai should be bragging about something with her, so he thought for a while and said.

   "Other shelters mostly preserve survivors, a certain technology, a certain plan... but what is preserved there is the memory of the era of prosperity."

   Alisa's eyes really brightened up, and she couldn't help clenching her two small fists.

   "A Prosperous Era!"

   That legendary great era!

  She has only seen a few words about that era in some books and picture books!

  Looking at the yearning eyes, Chu Guang probably guessed what she was thinking. Although he couldn't bear it, he still poured cold water on her.

   "It's just a memory of the prosperous era. It may not be as beautiful as you imagined. The premise of entering Vault 101 is to give up the physical body, otherwise you can only take a brief glimpse like sitting in a sightseeing car."

   "Give up the flesh..."

   "It means physically dead."

   Alisa held her breath involuntarily.

   After a long time, she said stiffly.

   "Sounds...like a grave."

  Chu Guang nodded in agreement.

   "It is true that it is no different from a grave to those outside, but it may not be so to them themselves."

  Before, Chu Guang didn’t quite understand what Dr. Method said, but after being exposed to so many AIs with different styles, he understood a little bit.

  For AI, there is not much difference between 1 second and a century. Of course they knew that Vault 101 was doomed to sleep completely one day in the future. After all, this was not a difficult outcome to predict, but they didn't really care.

  Even the sun has a lifespan.

   What's more, a person or a civilization turned into a bubble?

  They have already experienced a better and longer life than anyone else in that never-ending dream, and they have no memory of the outside world.

  From a personal point of view, even if it is virtual, there is nothing to regret. Their task is to live well according to their own ideas.

  For that refuge, the meaning of its existence is to record their memories, thoughts, interpersonal relationships, lifestyles, etc. about that era, and leave it to the future as some kind of inspiration.

  Chu Guang seldom told others that there was such a good place in the Alliance, and it was not a good idea for the living to indulge in the kingdom of the dead.

  In a sense, it is a more poisonous poison than the ideal of Ideal City, and even he had the idea of ​​staying there.

  Although it was just for a moment...

   Alisa was silent for a while.

   "Actually, I don't think about living there, but sometimes I think... If only I could go to that era and have a look."

  Maybe she also felt that her thoughts were a little naive, she smiled shyly, and continued in a low voice.

   "That way we know where to go."

   She's not alone.

  Occasionally, everyone in the Workers Association feels confused.

  They have overthrown those feudal landlords and gained a bright future, but no one can tell them where they will go in the future.

  Although everyone has reached a consensus to only do the present well, it is impossible not to consider the future at all.

   It would be great if I could go to that era to take a look.

  She had imagined this more than once.

   Seeing the confusion in Alisa's eyes, Chu Guang thought for a moment.

   "I don't think there may be the answer there, and what we are going to may not necessarily be a certain past era, but some of the knowledge and experience there do have a lot of reference."

   "So I communicated with the managers of Vault 101 and plan to build a university from the camp they keep on the surface."

  Alyssa looked at him blankly.

"…University?"

   Chu Guang nodded.

   "Well, you can understand that there is a school. But unlike other full-time schools in the alliance, people are not only learning what we have already mastered, but also exploring the future and the past."

   Seeing the blank eyes gradually turn into half understanding, Chu Guang continued to speak in a gentle tone.

"It's normal for you to feel confused. You are now at the age of the most curious in your life, and you just have the courage to pursue your ideals desperately, but these alone are not enough. You also need to see more things and understand the world , understand the natural sciences, and then sum up experience and methods to find the answer...In this process of exploration, you will naturally know where you are going."

  Calendars were born in the fields, not imagined out of thin air lying on straw mats. At least in his opinion, the process of exploration is more important than the answers.

   Alisa lowered her head.

   A moment later, as if she had made up her mind, she nodded her chin vigorously, raised her head and looked at Chu Guang again.

   "That little fish... became so powerful after studying in the school built by Vault 101, right?"

   "I want to go there too, if I can!"

   She needed a week or two of overtime to complete the work, and the little girl who was about her age checked it in only three days, and pointed out all the things she didn't do well.

  This also includes the time to understand the content of the work.

   This seemed incredible to Alisa.

  But after seeing those magical mathematical tools and methods, all the unbelievable became convinced.

   That is knowledge that you will never understand in your entire life in Boulder City.

  She hopes to learn that knowledge back and help everyone here.

   Maybe as the manager said.

  During this process, I may slowly find my way to the future.

   "Xiaoyu...she is a special case, she just happens to be good at mathematics, but she did grow into what she is now after studying in Camp 101."

  Looking at those eyes with renewed expectation and longing, Chu Guang said seriously.

   "As for going to Camp 101 to study, you should discuss it with your father."

   "I have actually asked my father. My father said that I am already an adult with my own opinions. I will think about things on my own in the future. If I don't understand, I will ask you... He will not give me any life advice anymore."

   When it came to this, Alisa secretly glanced at him with some embarrassment, and continued in a low voice.

   "...when I am undecided, can I ask you for advice?"

  Although he didn't think he could help, looking at the anticipation in his eyes, Chu Guang couldn't say those unkind words.

   "Yes, but all I can give you is my suggestion. In the end, it is up to you to decide how to choose."

  Those eyes filled with anticipation instantly burst into a smile.

   Nodding vigorously, Alisa said happily.

   "Yeah! Thanks!"

  Looking at this polite little girl, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"You're welcome."

  Thinking about tomorrow, he picked up a document from the desk.

   "You're here, I might have to ask you for a favor-"

   "No problem! Just leave it to me!"

  Looking at the energetic Alisa, Chu Guang smiled and handed her the document in his hand.

   Taking the file, Alisa flipped through it roughly.

"This is?"

"For the New Year's Eve event, every year we will select the most popular recipes. This is... a tradition of our shelter. In order to promote the communication between the residents of the shelter and the survivors outside the shelter, last year we added the 'Most Popular Wastelander' "Gourmet food" selection, so several judges are needed."

  This year's judges are selected by voting on the official website. Each settlement will select a few judges, and the players who are active in the local area will vote.

   Afraid that this guy would become inflated, Chu Guang was embarrassed to say that her popularity in voting on the official website forum was relatively high.

   But Alyssa didn't ask him why he asked herself to be a judge, she only thought it was out of trust. After understanding the content of the event, her eyes suddenly lit up.

   "Hmm! I'll be hungry all day in advance to make room for my stomach!"

   Facing the "death-like" eyes, Chu Guang coughed lightly.

   "You don't have to work so hard..."

  …

  Alyssa wasn't the only one chosen to be a judge for the New Year's Eve event, someone seemed to get more votes than her.

   And it's a lot higher!

  Single house on the edge of Linghu Lake.

  Dolly, who had just arrived home from get off work, had a surprised expression on her face after hearing Fang Chang's explanation.

   "Huh? Let me be the judge?"

   "Well... Of course, this is just an invitation. If you are not interested, you can decline it."

  After telling Dolly all about the New Year's Eve event, Fang Chang's expression was slightly awkward.

  This year's New Year's Eve event was chosen by the players themselves as judges. He never expected that his good brothers would vote for his wife one by one.

  Those who are familiar with him know that he is a person who doesn't like to show affection.

  Rather than showing off everywhere, he prefers to live his own two-person world quietly, but he can't hold back a group of bad friends who inquire about his private life every day.

   These dogs.

  Being interested in other people's wives all day long!

  So curious, find one yourself!

   "Oh **** ho ho... such an interesting event, how could the lady reporter of Survivor Daily miss it!"

  Hanging the handbag on the hanger at the door, Dolly had a narrow smile on her face, and poked Fang Chang's arm with her index finger.

   "Dear Mr. Fang Chang, you won't let me go alone?"

   Seeing that she didn't seem to have any intention of refusing at all, but instead looked excited, Fang Chang said with a helpless expression.

  "...Of course, how can I rest assured that my dear reporter will go so far alone."

  Seeing the rare embarrassment on that bad guy's face, Dolly proudly slightly raised the corners of her lips, her heart was as sweet as honey.

  Suddenly recalling what she had heard from her colleagues these days, she said with some emotion.

   "But having said that, it seems that a lot of things have happened in Boulder City recently."

   Whether it is inside or outside the giant wall.

  The alliance actually sent troops to take over the gangs in the slums in one pot, which was something she, a reporter, never expected.

  Fang Chang nodded.

   "Well, a lot of things have indeed happened. Although it is still called Boulder City, it is probably completely different from the Boulder City you are familiar with."

   "Just go back and have a look!" Dolly couldn't help but look forward to it.

  The inner city completely disappeared.

  What will it look like there?

  Looking at the twinkling light in those eyes, Fang Chang could feel the emotion in her heart, and reached out to touch the fluffy emerald green hair.

"Um."

   "When we go back, let's go shopping together."

  …

   Boulder City.

  In a certain kitchen of the Union Army Station, looking at the plates filled with indescribable things on the long table, Feng Qing said guiltily.

   "So you guys still fail?"

  After going back that day, the market was blocked, and she ran to Dawn City again, but she still didn't buy what was on the list.

  Although the mosquito didn't blame her, she was still very embarrassed and stayed in Dawn City until today before returning to Boulder City.

   Immediately afterwards, she received a new task—to vacate the kitchen rented by the Goblin Corps.

   Along with her, her best friend Guigui also received the task.

   I don’t know why, but the reward for this apparently simple errand task is as high as 200 silver coins! But also added a risk label.

   But she wasn't panicking at all.

   Just move things out of the kitchen, which is much safer than a test flight of a new model!

  She followed without hesitation.

  Guigui standing aside helplessly spread his hands.

   "There is no way, because we didn't buy those spices, we can only use other things instead."

"sorry!"

  Looking at Feng Qing who bowed his head in apology, Guigui hurriedly comforted her.

   "Ah, no need to apologize, I think you have reduced our loss by not buying it. As I said earlier, cooking with myriads is definitely not going to work!"

  Feng Qing said hesitantly.

   "But... what about the New Year's Eve event?"

  Guigui scratched the back of his head.

   "Think about other ways. If it's not possible, you can get some random things to get in there. Anyway, as long as you participate, you will get a mysterious gift."

  Feng Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

  Originally, cooking was not something they professional combat players were good at, especially since she knew nothing about cooking.

   As soon as I came up, I challenged the difficult ingredients of myriads, and it was really too strong.

  Looking at the supplies piled up in the corner of the kitchen, Feng Qing couldn't help asking curiously as he saw a pile of black lumps.

   "What are those? Are they edible too?"

   As she spoke, she walked over and reached out to pick up a piece.

  Just as she was about to take a sip, the ghost next to her saw her and quickly stopped her.

   "Wait! That can't be eaten, it's charcoal!"

  Feng Qing was stunned.

   "Wood, charcoal?"

   "Well! At the beginning, the leader planned to use charcoal to grill. Someone told him that the fragrance released by burning wood can also cover up the smell of some food, but it failed later."

   From Guigui's expression, he could probably imagine the situation at that time, Feng Qing looked at another sack full of yellow hard lumps.

   "What about... those?"

  Egg yolk?

  Looking in her direction, Guigui said hastily.

   "Ah, there's sulfur over there, and there's saltpeter or something next to it."

   Silently put down the sulfur in his hand, Fengqing gave Guigui a subtle look.

   "I said... is he really planning to cook?"

   "Uh, maybe?"

  The expression also subtly moved his eyes away. Guigui, who was very sure at first, suddenly couldn't make up his mind, "Anyway, the luckiest luck...he probably gave up."

  She thinks this is a good thing.

  The things that Lao Na made were weird at most, but the things made by the mosquito boss would send people away, and they would be locked up in a small dark room again.

   But it's rare that he is so interested in food.

  Feng Qing looked at the white crystals in the bucket beside him.

   "What about those?"

   "Ah, those are white sugar! Mosquito Boss's last attempt! He tried to mask the smell of meat with sweetness, but everyone ended up going to the toilet."

   It was another memory that he didn't want to recall, and Guigui had a regretful expression on his face.

  But this barrel of sugar is probably the only thing in the entire kitchen that can be stuffed directly into the mouth.

  Looking blankly at the bucket of white sugar, Feng Qing said with a heartache.

   "So much sugar, it's a shame to waste it."

   "Really?" Guigui sighed, folded his arms and said, "I wanted to complain a long time ago, that guy is wasting food."

   Use spices to mask the stench of myriads.

   I'm afraid that the spices used are more expensive than the meat!

   Staring at the bucket of white sugar for a long time, Feng Qing's eyes suddenly lit up.

   "How about... let's just use this sugar to make some simple food!"

   Guigui was stunned for a while.

   "Just use white sugar? Then... what can you do?"

candy?

   It seems that the taste is a bit monotonous.

  Looking at the bewildered best friend, Feng Qing raised the corners of his mouth triumphantly.

"Marshmallow!"

  Although she has never done it, she heard that the principle is very simple.

  As long as the sugar is heated and melted into syrup, the heating chamber is continuously rotated, and the syrup is sprayed out from small holes under the action of centrifugal force, and then it can be solidified into sweet sugar silk in the air.

  Hearing these three words, Guigui's eyes lit up.

   "What a great idea! This is much better than myriad stewed vermicelli!"

   "Uh... What kind of strange food is that?"

   "The inspiration comes from snail noodles... Anyway, it's settled! I'll go to Mosquito Boss and ask him to get a cotton candy machine!"

  The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this idea was great, and Guigui clenched his fists excitedly.

   The mosquito boss should be moved to cry!

  His hands-on ability is finally useful in normal places!

   Cheers bro!

   Seeing that her suggestion seemed to come in handy, Feng Qing smiled sheepishly.

   "Hey, I want to make some more, and I'll send some to the oranges by the way."

"Tangerine?"

"Hmm! A very cute child, very obedient, and very sensible! I promised her to visit her when I am free," Feng Qing said with sparkling eyes, looking at Guigui who tilted his head, " I'll introduce you tomorrow!"

   "Hmm! Looking forward to it!"

  The two of them worked together to move out the most dangerous sacks and barrels first.

   Soon there were only some glassware such as beakers and Erlenmeyer flasks left in the kitchen, and some bottles and cans on the shelves.

  Removing a glass bottle from the shelf, Feng Qing opened the cap and sniffed it, frowning.

   "The smell of kerosene."

  Why use kerosene for cooking?

  In addition to kerosene, there are some white particles the size of fingernails in the glass bottle.

   Whether there was any mark on the bottle, she couldn't make up her mind what was in it.

   "Do you still want these things? If you don't want them, I'll pour them out." Gently shaking the glass bottle in her hand, Feng Qing yelled at Guigui who was busy packing up not far away.

   "Ah, it's all down." Without turning back, Guigui said casually, "The mosquito said that there are no materials in the kitchen, so let's help him dispose of them when we empty the kitchen."

   "This idiot leader, it's too wasteful."

  Fengqing shook her head, unscrewed the bottle cap, poured the contents of the bottle into the sink, and turned on the faucet to flush them away.

  However, almost the moment she turned on the faucet, the pale yellow liquid burst into flames with a bang.

  Thanks to the agility department's reflexes being well developed.

   Seeing that the situation was not right, she lowered her body in a jerk, and the fragments from the explosion almost flew out of her head.

"what happened?!"

   Seeing the bottle rolling on the ground, Guigui's expression changed instantly, and he said in shock.

   "Sodium! Oops...I forgot!"

  The explosion ignited the kerosene without any suspense, and the flames splashed from the pool ignited the shelf with bottles and cans not far away.

  Under the effect of high temperature, some bottles and jars began to undergo wonderful changes.

  Looking at the shelf that started to have a chain reaction, Feng Qing swallowed, and instinctively took a step back.

"That…?"

   "It's that sodium! Sodium metal!"

   "??? What is he doing with that thing in the kitchen?!"

   "Ghost knows!"

  From the explosion of the first glass bottle, what happened next seemed destined.

  Suddenly there was a violent explosion in the originally calm resident, and the flames and thick smoke came out of the kitchen window together.

   Fortunately, the power is not particularly strong, and the house was not blown down.

   Thinking that they were being retaliated by gang members, the barracks immediately sounded the alarm, and a large number of heavily armed soldiers rushed over.

  Finally, it was discovered that it was a false alarm.

  After learning that it was the goblin corps that made the noise, the logistics chief didn't ask any more questions, but asked his subordinates to send a ticket to a certain corps leader with a dark face.

   This kind of thing is not the first time.

  Looking at the dazzling string of zeros, Mosquito signed the ticket with tears in his eyes.

   Fortunately, people are fine.

  The charcoal, white sugar and other things have been moved out ahead of time, and the two little players affected by the explosion were only slightly injured.

   If you lie down for three days because of such a trivial matter and miss the New Year's Eve event, you will be at a loss...

  【Mission: Evacuate the kitchen used by the goblin corps (failed)】

  …

  The commotion at the player's residence was just a small episode. Most of the food prepared by the players was relatively normal. After all, there were only a few ruthless people who risked their lives to develop new recipes.

  Except for the bosses who are actually chefs like scrambled eggs with tomatoes, most people don’t expect to be able to win the top spot by relying on their swords and brains.

   This kind of festival event is just as lively as in Figure 1. Although there are a lot of team-up monsters and materials, everyone still participates with a playful attitude.

  Because of the active players, Boulder City, which had been deserted for more than half a month, finally regained some of its former excitement due to the approach of the festival.

   Just like that, it finally came to the night of New Year's Eve.

  The decorated streets were filled with lights and festoons, survivors took to the streets one after another, and many shops that had been closed for more than half a month reopened their doors.

  Since last week, the construction team has begun to pay some wages according to the minimum wage standard of the league, and the factory has started to pay salaries in silver coins earlier.

  Commodities "grow" out of the shelves again. Although people's purses are not bulging, they can already buy some things.

  Everything is getting better.

  The night sky is lit up with colorful fireworks.

   Not only the Heart of Steel parked in Dawn City, but even the anti-aircraft guns on the huge wall began to release fireworks into the sky.

  In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Jushi Military Building, looking at the colorful flames in the night sky, Ibers smiled and clapped his hands.

   "Not bad... It's rare for me to watch an ingenious show."

  In the name of hunting aliens, they quietly cleaned up the predator tribes around Boulder City, and then vigorously and bloodbathed the gang forces in the slums.

   So far, the performance of this new shareholder has exceeded his expectations. He has not been so surprised by an organism for a long time.

  Originally he thought that the chaos in Boulder City would cause Qingquan City to be in turmoil for at least five or six years, but now it seems that this good show has come to an end in just one month.

  The time bomb buried in the huge wall seemed to be dismantled quietly without even starting the countdown.

   Now that the rectification of the slums has been completed, and most of the factories in the city have resumed production, it may not be long before the state of emergency will be lifted.

  Maybe this celebration is the opportunity.

  But Ebbers was not disappointed, but even more excited.

  Under that piece of peace and tranquility, he already faintly smelled the smell of blood...

  (end of this chapter)