At the same time that the Legion ambassador from Triumphal City secretly met with the Duke of Galava, who had been sent to Dawning City by the Empire, another secret meeting was also underway.

Spacious and empty meeting room.

Yang Kai, who was wearing a white coat, stood respectfully on the side of the chair that was pulled out, as if waiting for something.

At the moment when the minute hand reached the hour, a figure suddenly appeared on the chair directly opposite the conference table.

The man was unremarkable, without any memorable features. Coupled with that paralyzed expression, it belongs to the kind that can't be found when thrown into the pile.

However, even so, from the deferential demeanor of a certain B-class researcher, it is not clear that this person's status in the academy is extraordinary.

"Sit down."

Hearing the sound from the other side of the conference table, Yang Kai did not hesitate and immediately sat on the chair next to him.

At the same time as he sat down, the voice from above continued to be heard.

"Report on your work."

"Yes, Dear Mr. Chief Technology Officer."

Yang Kai said respectfully, and then reported in detail a series of things that had happened in the area south of the swamp during this period of time.

Especially on the part about the alliance, he focused on the detailed report.

“…… As far as we know, the Alliance is planning to build a space elevator. I suspect that they recovered the blueprints for Vault 20, including the idea of its trackless elevator, which can be traced in our monitoring equipment observation logs. ”

After a pause, Yang Kai continued.

"In addition, as we expected, they set their sights on the 'Celestials'."

There was silence in the conference room for a moment, and the CTO sitting at the conference table seemed to be lost in thought.

Yang Kai didn't speak, but patiently waited for the adult's thinking.

After a long time, the voice came from the front again.

"Good."

Just hearing the tone without fluctuations, Yang Kai couldn't tell whether this sentence meant good or bad.

After a moment's hesitation, he said in a tentative tone.

"If the current situation continues, the next step for the alliance should be to try to clean up the trash in orbit and even build a space station in orbit...... While that's not a bad thing, I'm worried that the situation could get out of hand. ”

"You know, the most taboo thing for the celestials is for someone to stretch their hands into outer space, if the alliance insists on advancing the space program, it will cause the celestials to advance the advent plan."

In fact, the Academy's research vessels equipped with anti-gravity devices have always been able to travel freely between the surface and outer space.

However, almost no one will try to drive a research ship close to low-Earth orbit, and even if it does, it will not stay long.

The locking of space junk and automatic weapons is only one reason, and more importantly, the academy does not want to touch the bottom line of "celestial beings".

As early as the period of the post-war reconstruction committee, the technical department was aware of the blockade intention of the Lagrange point space station to block the earth through continuous exploration and exploration.

For some reason, the descendants of the Expeditionary Force do not want the survivors of the Wasteland Era to return to outer space.

It's not hard to understand.

While rebuilding the wasteland requires the technology and resources of the Age of Prosperity, the technology and resources left behind by the Age of Prosperity may in turn exacerbate the chaos on the surface and become the sustenance that sustains the Wasteland Era.

It's like giving a superweapon to a primitive tribe, which will not make this primitive tribe evolve to a more enlightened era, but may make this primitive tribe "cool" in the old era.

It was for the same reason that the academy deliberately restricted the outflow of technology, and even their vassal, the Golden Lizard Kingdom, failed to obtain too many technical favors.

Confusingly, however, the Celestials did not set a standard for the end of the Wasteland Era.

As a result of this action, their blockade of the home planet is indiscriminate.

It is precisely because of this that the Academy's Ark Project can only be carried out secretly on the surface, and cannot be carried out in outer space with great fanfare.

It is highly likely that Vault 20 was ultimately abandoned for the same reason, in favor of the extremely volatile Option 2 of "Mind Projection".

The irony lies in this, where the "Celestials" try to create a pure "sterile environment" for human civilization, completing the transition from the Wasteland Era to the New Era at a smaller cost, but as a result, they have created one hell after another.

And that's not all.

At the same time, in the name of "preserving the flame of civilization", they are absorbing the "extreme consciousness" that has created one hell after another as part of themselves.

According to Dr. Conclusion's speculation, with the continuous accumulation of extreme consciousness bodies, it is very likely that the "celestials" will directly intervene in the affairs of the wasteland after triggering a certain tipping point.

This tipping point may have something to do with the time they have left, or it may have something to do with the phenomena they have observed from the wasteland.

It is for this reason that the researchers of the Academy have been carefully defusing bombs that could detonate the crisis in the wasteland.

The Torch Church is one of them.

In fact, they are not ignorant of the increasingly direct interference of the Celestials in the affairs of the wasteland, as the Alliance administrators have accused.

They have noticed it a long time ago!

And it is this that worries me the most......

After listening to Yang Kai's report, the CTO pondered for a long time, and finally sighed softly.

“…… It's useless to worry about this kind of thing, it will happen sooner or later. And I would rather see if their actions would turn the tide of a stagnant situation than the risks that might arise from the Alliance's actions. ”

Yang Kai's face showed a hint of abruptness.

“…… Do you want them to be spoilers? ”

The CTO said slowly.

"It's the least costly and risky approach...... Don't you see that corporate councils do this all the time? ”

Yang Kai smiled bitterly.

"That being said...... But I'm always worried that they're going to pull us into the water, and they're not honest. ”

The CTO said in a very soft voice.

"We can't expect things to go 100 percent to our heart's content, but if we only have to pay a small price, I think it's acceptable to be pulled into the water."

"Understood...... Yang Kai nodded seriously and continued respectfully, "Then do you have any new instructions?" ”

The CTO thought for a moment and said.

"Not yet, let's wait and see what happens...... By the way, consider transferring the gravity well technology to them, which should help their space elevator program. ”

Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, it seemed that there were finally no new problems waiting for him.

He bowed his head slightly and said respectfully.

"Obey ......"

At the same time as his words fell, the pale blue holographic light and shadow around him immediately turned into dots of pixels, dissipating like sand blown away by the wind......

……

In the middle of the great desert, the yellow sand was rolling in the sky, like clouds rolling on the ground.

This is the middle of the entire Zhongzhou continent.

To the west along the equator line is the territory of the legions, and to the east across the ocean is the province of Borneo.

At this moment, a man in a blue coat is standing on a sand dune, looking out at the horizon of the Far East.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and his mouth smacked softly.

“…… These stupid things are miserable enough. ”

His name is Guixu, and he is the president of the Enlightenment Society and the director of Vault 0...... Although both titles are self-appointed by him.

Ever since the outbreak of the "Battle for Heaven", he has been closely following the situation in Haiya Province.

And the final result was not as he expected, the group of heretics in the East were beaten violently by the ancient survivor forces, and they were beaten to the ground.

Those guys were like a cockroach that had been crushed to death, and they were pressed to the ground without any suspense.

Regarding the fate of the Torch Church, his heart was naturally full of ridicule.

Those people are really not smart, and they are too high-profile. They have almost offended everyone they can, and if they can still not die, it would be a coincidence.

The Enlightenment, the true inheritor of the "Torch Project", is completely different.

The stealthy style of behavior makes the ancient survivor forces, even if they hate them, they can't find where they are hiding, and can only go back and forth in circles under their shadows.

Again, the wind and sand on the desert all day long is the best cover.

The rusty sand not only blocked all the sight, but also shielded the noisy electromagnetic waves, dividing the inside and outside of the great desert into two worlds with no information exchange.

As long as they don't go out from here, no one can help them.

Glancing coldly in the direction of the east, Guixu was about to turn around and leave.

However, at this moment, there was a sudden movement above his head.

Sensing the rapidly approaching object, he stopped and looked up, only to see a black shadow slash across the sky and crash heavily into the sand dunes in the distance.

“…… What's that? ”

Scrapped satellites?

Did you just drop it here?

A cloudy expression appeared on Guiru's face, his eyes constantly wandering between the sky and the ground, as if he was making some kind of trade-off in his heart.

Although some rail garbage occasionally fell from the Great Desert, this was the first time that it happened to fall near the entrance of the Enlightenment Society's headquarters.

It didn't look like it had fallen on its own, but like someone had sent it to them......

He pointed his index finger to his ear and said in a cautious tone.

“…… Night pigeon, something has fallen near us, you go over and take a look. ”

An answer soon came from the communication channel.

"Yes."

At the same time as the words fell, a series of figures appeared from the sandstorm that covered the sky and walked towards the sand dune that had been hit by something.

They are well-armed, holding the standard assault rifles of the People's Union Army, and the exoskeletons on their bodies are all desert paint.

The disciple at the head of the group was the Night Dove.

Unlike the rest of the party, he is not a Vault dweller in the true sense of the word, but a droid designed by the Vault dwellers.

It is precisely because of this that he is deeply trusted by Guiru, who regards him as his right-hand man.

Looking at the team in the distance, Guiru waited patiently for a moment.

It didn't make him wait long, and an answer quickly came from the communication channel.

“…… It's a scrapped satellite, sir. ”

And so it was.

Hearing that it was just a scrapped satellite, Guiru immediately lost interest and commanded succinctly.

"Let's take it back and leave it to the technical department to figure it out."

There are tens of millions of satellites in the era of the People's Union, and hoping to find something useful from them is no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

He didn't have much hope in mind about what treasures he could find inside.

The night pigeon answered "yes" in the communication channel, and then stepped forward to pick up the satellite from the ground.

However, the moment it touched the satellite with both hands, a mutation suddenly occurred.

Its eyes widened violently, and it froze in place, its shoulders shaking as if it had been electrocuted, and then a stream of pale blue data flashed through its pupils.

The soldiers standing around were stunned by this scene, not knowing what happened to their captain, and stood in place at a loss and didn't know what to do.

"What's going on?!"

"It's the satellite!"

"Get that thing out of his hands!"

The vice-captain standing next to him immediately made a decision, and hurriedly went up to snatch the satellite from the captain's night pigeon's grasp, but he had just stretched out his hand to show his intention to do so, and as soon as it arrived, a cold light flashed through his wrist.

The beam seemed to shoot from somewhere in the abandoned satellite, piercing his wrist as he watched as his hands separated from his exoskeleton.

Blood gushed out from the leveled section.

It was only then that the heart-piercing pain slowly crept up to his nerve endings.

"Ahhh!!h The vice-captain screamed and fell to his knees with a thud, and in just a few breaths, the sand in front of him turned red.

Seeing this sudden scene, the surrounding soldiers were blinded, and almost reflexively set up their rifles in their hands and aimed them at the out-of-control night pigeon.

However, at this moment, the night pigeon's pupils suddenly became a layer of scarlet, and as if it had changed into a different person, it glared at the soldiers with guns around them.

Then the soldiers were horrified to find that their limbs were firmly chained to their exoskeletons, unable to move no matter how they struggled.

Looking at the lambs to the slaughter, the night pigeon's neck moved, and the corners of his mouth curled up with a faint mockery.

Just as it was about to teach the impudents a lesson, a drone popped out of a soldier's backpack.

But blue holographic beams shot out from underneath the drone's chassis, weaving together the figures of the ruins on the soft sand.

"Stop!"

Night Dove slowly lowered his outstretched hand and glanced up and down at the hologram, the corners of his mouth curled upward.

"Fortunately."

Guiru, who was standing in the holographic light and shadow, stared at it coldly and said expressionlessly.

"What are you?"

Although he didn't know what was happening, he could clearly feel that his henchman was occupied by something dirty.

And the root of all this is the satellite that suddenly fell from the sky......

As he spoke, his gaze shifted downward, landing on the hands held in front of his chest and the silver-white orb in his hands.

Regarding the inquiry of the ruins, the person who occupied the body of the night pigeon did not hide anything, and said bluntly.

"I am a heretic in your mouth."

Guiru's eyes narrowed completely, and there was a hint of danger in his tone.

At the moment when the phrase "heretical" was spoken, he had already guessed the identity of this guy.

No need to guess at all.

This guy is the forerunner of the torch!

“…… What are you doing here? ”

"Save you."

Save us?

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

"Save us...... It's a pity, we don't need you to save it, you have the time to save yourself. ”

The Precursor who controlled the night dove waited quietly for him to finish laughing, and then spoke slowly.

“…… Look at your current nest, hiding in the depths of the great desert and eating sand, hoping for what torch plan can be realized...... Hehe, with all due respect, the survivor forces out there don't take you seriously at all. ”

Listening to this mocking voice, a trace of annoyance flashed in Guiru's eyes, and he lowered his voice dangerously.

"We're just keeping a low profile...... Do you think we're just like you? ”

"I never thought of it that way, it would be an insult to us," the Precursor said in a flat voice, looking at the ruins already on the verge of an attack, "You have inherited all the shortcomings of the blue coat, including weakness, arrogance, and self-righteousness. We've lost, but we've at least burned vigorously, and you've been rats hiding in the gutter throughout. Is it something to be proud of surviving? It seems to me that the only difference between you and the dead is that you have not yet been in a coffin. ”

Guixu looked at him coldly and said.

"No matter how much you say, it won't change the fact that you're a loser."

"That's right."

Without taking this to heart, the forerunner just said in a very soft voice.

"Although I am very unwilling, the Heavenly Kingdom of Haiya Province has indeed collapsed...... But aren't you really interested in us at all? We've left behind a huge legacy, and even the old survivors are fighting over it. ”

Guiru's eyes narrowed again, staring intently at the android in front of him.

"How do you want to help us?"

Seeing the interested expression on the face of the person in front of him, the corners of the forerunner's mouth finally curled into a smile.

Under the gaze of Guiru, he spoke slowly.

"The project of the completed lifeform, I know that not only us, but you have also been working on it...... But it's clear that your scholars don't go as deep as our scholars. ”

Guixu: "...... So? ”

"So, I'm going to transfer the knowledge we have to you."

The moment he heard this, Guixu was stunned for two seconds, looking at the guy in front of him in disbelief.

Two very different emotions, vigilance and greed, were constantly changing in his eyes, and in the end it was the latter who prevailed.

He admits that he was indeed moved.

However, out of deep suspicion in his heart, he still asked cautiously.

“…… Why are you doing this? ”

The forerunner said in a tone of course.

"Isn't that obvious? I want to take advantage of your ambitions, and for now, you are the ones most qualified to use this legacy we have left behind. ”

Those gray-black skinned "improved varieties" were the work of the Enlightenment.

The same techniques that can be applied to green-skinned mutants can also be applied to gray-black skinned mutants.

Guiru's heart couldn't help but float a trace of ecstasy.

Especially after hearing this guy's confession, he laughed out loud again.

"Hahaha! It's funny...... What do you expect from us to take advantage of our ambitions? ”

The forerunner said slowly.

"I don't need a lot for the time being, just lend me this body."

Hearing such a simple request, Guiru didn't care about any henchmen or not, and under the stunned eyes of the soldiers, he readily agreed.

"No problem, it's already yours."

Compared to just a android, it would be worth it to hire the forerunners of the former Torch Church as helpers!

In particular, the research results of the "Completed Lifeforms" project will be included!

Through the Torch Church's technology, he has full confidence that he can build an army of mutants that is far larger than the Torch Church!

This is a legion of tyranny and destruction, and the word fear will be engraved in the hearts of all survivors!

After receiving an affirmative answer, the Precursor who controlled the android had a smile on his face.

"Thank you."

Guixu also looked at him with a smile, and his voice unconsciously carried a hint of respect.

"What shall I call you? Pioneer? Or...... Do you want to be an elder with us? ”

"No need, I have my own name."

The android holding the satellite in both hands thought for a moment, then spoke.

"You can just call me ...... 'Apocalypse.'"

"Apocalypse...... Haha, not bad, it's a good name! The smile on Guiru's face became more and more pleasant, and the soldiers standing next to the holographic light and shadow did look at each other.

Looking at the vice-captain on the ground who was in shock due to excessive blood loss, one of the soldiers swallowed and whispered in the communication channel in a low voice.

"Grow up...... Our sub-team, what to do? ”

Hearing this whispered reminder, Guixu finally noticed the guy who had lost his hands and was lying on the ground unable to move.

Without wasting much time thinking about such inconsequential matters, he casually commanded in an indifferent tone.

"Find a place to bury it."

Hearing this, the surrounding soldiers looked at each other, exchanging stunned eyes, unable to believe that this sentence actually came from the mouth of their respected elder.

And yet the order is just that.

Thinking of the consequences of disobeying the order, even if they were ten thousand dissatisfied in their hearts, they could only lower their stiff heads and receive the order in a deep voice.

"Yes......"

Seeing the group of soldiers dragging the corpses on the ground away, Guiru then looked at the apocalypse who was standing in place with a satellite in his arms, and said with a smile.

"The body you occupy was originally their captain, and they will be your subordinates in the future...... Please come with me, and I will take you to the place where we usually rest. ”

Knowing that this guy didn't fully trust himself, Apocalypse didn't say much, just glanced meaningfully at the ruins, and then followed him, disappearing into the yellow sand with the drone projecting light and shadow......

A new confrontation has quietly begun, but the trivial troubles have not affected the joy and celebration of the victory in the battle for heaven among the survivors of the wasteland for the time being.

Chu Guang is still visiting the islands in the southern seas.

At the same time, Camp 101 has officially established the space elevator program, and the experts of the project team have also arrived in the southern waters by special plane, accompanied by engineers from Vault 70, to investigate the waters near Coral City.

Before designing the base of the entire space elevator, they first had to do a good job of selecting the site.

In this way, when the representatives of the coalition take the PPT to the meeting of the Coalition and discuss it with the representatives of the other survivor forces, it will also be a little "less like a joke".

And while Chu Guang was working hard for the survivors of the alliance, his little players were not idle.

As is customary, after each expansion, the server will usher in a period of relatively peaceful development.

This is the cycle that belongs to the life pro gamer.

After all, combat professional players are happy enough, and they have to make life professional players happy, not to mention that development and construction are the main theme of "Wasteland Online", a casual development game that focuses on joy.

At present, most of the core settlements of the alliance have entered a bottleneck period of development, and some players have gradually turned their attention to Borneo Province, and some players have turned their attention to Haiya Province, which has just been defeated by the Adhesive Community Alliance.

Of course, in addition to those players who are in their right minds, "Wasteland Online" is always full of players with novel brain circuits.

While most players are thinking about how to keep up with the version, a small number of players have already begun to figure out how to lead the trend of the version, and find their own trouble.

For example, the mosquito brother who walked the red carpet with the managers not long ago hit the 370,000 people of the Legion, who were digging the front line.

On the ruins of Haibei City.

Looking at the 10-year-old Willant in front of him, who looked like he had just crawled out of a coal mine, Mosquito politely handed him a cigarette and lit it.

“…… It's too hard for you to dig little by little with a shovel, so you might as well buy two excavators. ”

The Willant blushed, and held back for a long time before he could say a word.

"We don't have any money."

"No money? That's easy to say! Our excavators just don't cost money! The mosquito smiled, enthusiastically hooked the shoulders of the bewildered big nose, and continued, "Just exchange your equipment, I will suffer a little loss...... What do you think of a tank for an excavator? ”

(End of chapter)