In the past, in order to leave enough hope for the people left behind, Chu Guang would leave with great fanfare every time he drove the Iron Heart, and then returned with victory and glory with great fanfare.

But this time it was different.

When Chu Guang left, he was quiet, only taking X-16 and Lu Bei and his party, and bought tickets and chartered a carriage in a low-key manner, without alarming anyone else.

After all, this time he was not going to fight, but to see what it was like to go to the place where he had fought before.

Since he usually wears that blue power armor when he appears in public, when he takes off that iconic piece of equipment, not so many people will recognize him at a glance.

Paired with holographic imaging equipment that allows for subtle adjustments of appearance, no passenger realizes that they are sitting on the same train as the Alliance's administrators until the train starts.

On the way, Chu Guang went to the bathroom, and after a while, he heard people in line in the aisle outside the door talking.

"Where are you going, buddy?"

"Go to Haiya Province!"

"Haiya Province, the development there is really good, there are a lot of immigrants from the west in several settlements, and I plan to buy a building there to collect rent."

"Heroes see the same thing, brother! I heard that many people there are still living in containers, and when several settlements develop and there are more job opportunities, the rental market will definitely be hot! ”

"You went there to buy a house too?"

"That's not it, hehe, I'm going to build a building!"

"Oooh! Package engineering! Fortunately, I will be glad to meet you! Cough...... I forgot my business card in my bag, you see my memory. ”

"It's okay, it's okay, I forgot in my bag, let's leave a phone number, and we have time to have a meal and get together."

Hearing that the residents of the alliance were all so wealthy, Chu Guang's face couldn't help but show a smile of relief.

At this time the year before, the Union authorities issued a lot of debt to release liquidity, and now this money has flowed into the wallets of Union residents through the production chain.

Now the residents of the Alliance are taking this wealth to invest in the newly cultivated land, helping the newcomers to the Alliance to live a better life and creating more wealth with them.

The days are getting better and better.

However, it was not long before an inappropriate sound came through the crack in the door.

"Shao Te is bragging, you two are so rich, why don't you buy a plane ticket?"

Obviously, there was more than one person who was dissatisfied with the bragging of these two people, and echoed in the aisle.

"That's it!"

"Your prosthetic body is all from the coal mine! I didn't even get rid of the anti-rust paint, and I was afraid that I would resign after surgery. ”

"The thief who steals taxpayers' money, blow Nima!"

The two were dumbfounded, and they glared at the guy who was the first to stir up trouble, and left without saying a word.

Chu Guang's expression on the squatting toilet was slightly embarrassed.

All right.

Even Dawn City has not completely eradicated poverty.

It's too early to pretend to be forced, and the alliance still has a long way to go.

But to put it another way, at least for now, ordinary people in the alliance still have dreams of changing their lives and becoming rich, and are willing to take steps to chase it, rather than thinking that it is some kind of far-away daydream, or only dare to think about it when they lie down.

That's actually pretty good.

Compared to the inhabitants of Dawning City, the inhabitants of the South China Sea Alliance and Silvermoon Bay are much more restless, and some have even caught up with the players and are ahead of the version.

Being restless is not a bad thing, but rather a driving force for society to move forward.

As for the wealth that ordinary people are chasing, it is not a flood beast in itself, but will become a catalyst for accelerating social progress.

Only when they are monopolized will they become poison that endangers the entire alliance.

And preventing them from being monopolized is also one of the tasks that Chu Guang is currently doing.

didn't occupy the bathroom for too long, Chu Guang used the holographic camouflage system to modify his appearance slightly, and then left the bathroom and gave way to the people in the queue behind.

After returning to the carriage, he passed through the security check at the door before turning off the holographic camouflage system, and then went straight back to the VIP box in the middle of the carriage.

X-16 made him a cup of black tea and placed it gently on the table, then stood aside with a tray in his arms.

Xiao Qi, who was holding his cheeks, sat on the table, tilted his head and asked curiously.

"Master, isn't there a toilet in the carriage? Why do you still go outside? ”

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"Wouldn't it be nice to suddenly want to see the lives of ordinary people?"

Xiao Qi was puzzled.

"Can't you see Dawning City?"

"You can see it, but the alliance is not only in Dawning City, there are many people living in places that we can't see," Chu Guang took a sip of black tea, and Chu Guang placed the teacup on the bumpy tray, "Moreover, what we see in the office is definitely different from what we see with our own eyes in reality." ”

didn't quite agree with this statement, Xiao Qi pursed his lips lightly.

"Hmm...... In fact, even if you are sitting in the office, Xiaoqi can see it for you. ”

While the current conditions of the wasteland do not allow for satellites, the Hummingbird drone, controlled by the Vault's server, can be considered a "low-altitude satellite" in another sense.

The small spherical casing barely notices when flying at heights of more than 10 meters, while the 360-degree wide-angle camera offers a panoramic view of the entire area without blind spots.

Once upon a time, when neither the "players" nor the "NPCs" were so reliable, it served as a repeater for VMs and Chu Guang's eyes for observing the situation inside and outside the settlement.

"I'm not doubting your abilities, we're not talking about the same thing." Looking at Xiao Qi, who pouted slightly, Chu Guang replied with a smile, and then looked out the window.

It's been a while since the train left the city of Qingquan, and the stop it just passed seems to be the last station in the southern part of the province of River Valley.

The rugged mountain road seems to have come to an end after passing through a tunnel, and the slow-moving train gradually increases its speed.

Looking at the familiar scenery, Chu Guang had some memories in his heart, and asked casually.

"What's ahead?"

Xiao Qi, who was holding his cheeks, replied in a pleasant voice.

"Beyond the river in front of you is Geumcheon Province, where there seems to be a town dedicated to lizards, rats, and people."

Chu Guang's heart moved, and he blurted out.

"It's called Dust Town."

Xiao Qi opened his eyes in surprise.

"Huh? Do you remember the host? ”

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"It's not been a few years, how can it be forgotten so quickly."

It was where the Jungle Corps had fought, and it seemed to be the first battle of the Blasters.

In that battle, they managed to thwart the Qi tribe's sweep of the survivor colonies around Kinhe City and moved the residents of Dust Town to safety.

From here, large numbers of Coalition troops marched to the battlefield to fight the Torch Church and its mutant vassals in Geumcheon Province.

But then again, it's only been two or three years, and the changes here are so big that he can't recognize them.

The rumbling sound ran over the undulating waves, and the train crossing the river then turned over the hills, and the endless plains and gentle slopes soon came into Chu Guang's eyes.

And the scenery that caught his eyes at this moment was even more shocking than before.

I saw that the land that was originally deserted in his impression was now attached to the golden rice fields.

The heavy ears of rice bent the stalks and blew golden waves with the breeze blowing by.

September is the season for the autumn harvest, and Dust Town is at its busiest time of the year.

Large machines pushing rollers ploughed back and forth in the fields, and where the tracks and rollers had been run over, it was like a barber's hair, and only a layer of raw hair remained.

Those were chopped straw.

This is followed by a machine that mixes them with nitrogen fertilizer into the soil in preparation for the next crop.

In addition to the rice paddies, there are orchards planted with kamu trees and other tree species in the distance, all managed by horticultural robots produced by Boulder City.

Although there are only 100 households in Dust Town, with this set of mechanized planting technology, the cultivated area exceeds the land cultivated by tens of thousands of people of the Xilan Expeditionary Army.

Looking at the townspeople in the distance who were loading the threshed rice ears into sacks, Chu Guang said with some emotion.

"I didn't expect Geumcheon Province to use a mechanized planting system."

I remember that when the Union first came here, the serfs who worked here were still serfs, and the tools of work were still hoes.

The local farmers preferred to buy a few more of the League's obsolete propeller planes than replace them with more efficient tractors, and they were almost taken away with their serfs in a wave due to the chaos caused by the torch.

Of course, the situation in Dusttown is a little different from other local settlements.

Since Junkijun and his other two friends bought some equipment for the locals out of their own pockets, and later helped them sell the grain they produced to Boulder City, this is probably the first place in the entire Geumcheon Province to implement mechanized agriculture.

In other settlements, such as the town of Mav, the situation may not be so exaggerated.

Seeing that Chu Guang was very interested in those machines that cultivated the land, X-16, who was standing aside with a pallet, introduced like a tour guide.

"That's a combine harvesting system designed by Jushi Heavy Industries."

Chu Guang was slightly stunned.

"Boulder Heavy Industries?"

X-16 nodded and continued.

In June of this year, Mr. Ibers spun off the production of heavy mining equipment, agricultural machinery, and rail transportation from the production line of Jushi Military and set up a new business with a human CEO. At present, this subsidiary has become a new profit growth point for Jushi Military Industry, and plans to be listed on the Dawning City Exchange. ”

It is not only Liszt's Liszt Group that has walked out of the giant wall, but also the former giant of the Great Stone Military Industry is also using its own methods to get out of the towering wall.

However, Chu Guang did not pay attention to the business of Jushi Military Industry outside the military industry.

The last time he met with Ibs was when he led the negotiations with the North Island Heavy Industries on behalf of the coalition authorities.

Of course, it may have been that cooperation with Kitajima Heavy Industries that brought new inspiration to Ibers.

Since the new owner, the android who has passed the end of his life, it feels as if it has slowly become normal again.

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"That's good, but I didn't expect that guy to be interested in anything other than weapons."

The pitch-black mirror flickered slightly, and X-16 continued in a tone that didn't fluctuate.

"My father said that only when the value of land is squeezed to the extreme will people fight for land again...... Suppressing the price of grain and increasing the birth rate are also long-term considerations to open up sales channels for the weapons of the Great Stone Military Industry. ”

Chu Guang choked on the black tea in his mouth and coughed.

"Ahem...... The price of food is not the only factor that affects the birth of a population, and I think he seems to be thinking too much. ”

X-16 nodded, thoughtful.

"That's right...... I see. ”

Chu Guang didn't think that this guy really understood his words, but he didn't care very much.

It's not a matter of a day or two that Ibers is afraid that the world will not be chaotic, long before he knew the guy.

The train made its way to the vicinity of Dusttown, stopping at a makeshift station.

There are two travelers who choose to get off the bus here, and from their appearance, they seem to be backpackers from Ideal City.

When Chu Guang looked out the window, he happened to see the wall outside the station.

I saw that the low wall, which was originally made of granite and cement, has become a neat, beautiful and more reliable concrete wall.

The locals did pay back to their wish and built a bigger and more beautiful village on the ruins.

The main entrance of the high wall was carved with a relief of a large dead claw, a fat mouse, and a man in a cloak.

They are considered the patron saints by the townspeople's inhabitants and are also a photo spot for visitors to the city.

It is worth mentioning that although the mutant tribes in the vicinity have been killed by the players to extinction, there are still xenomorphs roaming here from time to time.

Although the Alliance's telepathic devices are capable of dispelling xenos, due to something that has happened before, the locals are more willing to trust the shotguns and walls they build than the telepathic devices, so the tradition of building turrets continues.

Due to the small number of passengers alighting here, the train stopped for only three minutes before resuming its journey in the direction of Singularity City.

It used to be the logistical transit base for the Alliance's southbound troops in Geumcheon Province, but now it has become the most populous settlement of the Alliance in Geumcheon Province, even more than the southernmost Weifu Castle.

To be honest, this was actually beyond Chu Guang's expectations.

Originally, he envisioned Singularity City, where AI manages everything, as a large-scale drug rehabilitation center for the Alliance, which not only helps the locals get rid of their dependence on Naguo, but also helps the locals get rid of the "giant baby" problem.

They can't always expect someone to take care of themselves, they should find a way to live their own life.

As a result, what Chu Guang didn't expect was that the population here ushered in a wave of explosive growth, from the initial tens of thousands to an astonishing 200,000.

Unlike other settlements, Frost is also a welcome visitor to those who choose to stay here.

Although there is no alliance ID card here, and there will be no silver coins to get for work, the advantage is that you never have to worry about survival and what clothes to wear every day, and you can stay here as long as you want, even for a lifetime.

The only requirement is that you can't come back after you leave.

And you can't take anything from here except for the luggage you deposited at the time of storage and a small amount of silver coins converted according to the score.

As for the passengers.

You can rest at an inn near the station, or you can visit the farm, but you can only stay for a day and you will not come into contact with the locals.

Even in order to ensure fairness in a certain sense, even the staff of the station hotel are specially imported from the ideal city.

The train stopped here for a little longer, and the flow of people getting on and off here was much denser than at the previous stations, and the hurried footsteps came and went on the tiled platform.

However, unlike the several stations in the southern part of the province of La Valley, most of the passengers who get off here are backpackers from Ideal City, and few are immigrants who intend to settle here.

Especially those backpackers in Ideal City.

They seem to have a particularly strong interest in this settlement with unique rules and a special relationship with the Kangmao Group, and their faces are full of excitement and even fanaticism.

Chu Guang also learned later after reading the post of the mole brother that the "cloud friends" on the point cloud at the end of the ideal city seem to regard this place as some kind of sociological experimental base.

Not only do they have an unusually high opinion of it, but they even regard it as the ultimate form of the development of human society.

That is, a perfect utopia where AI dominates and manages everything, and there is no longer human exploitation of people.

Equality here goes even further than the Union.

The local people have achieved a complete sense of average, and there is an incredible balance between production and consumption.

However, if Chu Guang wants to say, the residents of Ideal City are still too full.

There are many people in the wasteland who envy their lives, and even players from the peaceful world are crying out for their prosperity, and they instead regard a backcountry in the wasteland as their spiritual home.

Of course, it's their freedom.

The alliance relied on tourism income to earn Cr in Ideal City, and he certainly had no reason to complain.

Intending to stay here for one night, and by the way to meet an old friend who he hadn't seen for a long time, Chu Guang took X-16 and Lu Bei and his party to get off the train in a low-key manner, and then went straight to the official channel.

Honestly, it's changed a lot, just not as amazing as Dusttown.

After all, there used to be vast farmlands and orchards, and now those farms and orchards are still the same, but the area has expanded considerably.

In addition, the biggest changes are the infrastructure within the settlements and the housing of the residents.

A wide road leads from the entrance to the settlement to the manor, located in the deepest part of the farm, flanked by uniform street lamps, green belts and precast concrete buildings.

The buildings are divided into block-like neighborhoods with green parks for rest, boiler rooms for hot water, and unified canteens.

Between several larger communities, there are also larger public facilities such as schools, libraries, and hospitals.

Of course, Chu Guang would not be unfamiliar with those concrete buildings made of prefabricated slabs, after all, this thing was the emergency plan he came up with in order to solve the housing problem of the wasteland guests.

Today's prefabricated concrete buildings are also one of the pillar industries of Boulder City, and they have even been sold as far as the Golden Gallen Port and even Tiandu in Borneo Province.

It's just intriguing that Boulder City, which has come out of the crisis and become rich with this business, has long since stopped building this thing, and has even been considering exporting this backward production line to the in-demand province of Borneo.

However, I am afraid that even the residents of Boulder City themselves did not expect that due to the skyrocketing demand for housing in Singularity City, this backward production line that should have been eliminated was retained.

The moment Chu Guang stepped into Singularity City, Hanshuang, who was working in the manor, immediately noticed him and greeted him with a surprise to the door of the manor with an eclipse.

"Dear Mr. Manager, what is blowing you here?"

"Long time no see, come and see you."

Looking at the frost and solar eclipse in the maid's costume, Chu Guang nodded with a smile and continued.

"It's changed so much that when I first came in, I thought I had sat on the station...... until I saw you. Speaking of which, you're the same as before, you haven't changed at all. ”

"Of course, my pursuit of art is eternal, and the artists of the alliance always bring me different surprises."

Gracefully lifting the hem of her skirt and turning around, Frost's face had a confident smile, but soon there was a hint of sorrow.

"If only the survivors of Singularity could be like the rest of the Alliance, I tried to teach them the art, but they tried to accept it...... But it rarely gives me that kind of ...... Sorry, I don't know how to describe that feeling. ”

Xiao Qi, who was sitting on Chu Guang's shoulder, interjected.

“…… Intellectual plug-ins are burning? ”

Frost's eyes lit up, and he continued to talk endlessly.

"That's right, it's that feeling of an intellectual plug-in burning! Of course, it's not that I'm tired of what I'm doing, it's just that their creativity is either a cookie-cutter amplification of the elements I provide them, or a cut-and-mill scale-down, and I always feel that something new is missing. ”

Chu Guang coughed lightly when he heard this.

"You can't have both, some buffs...... I mean traits, which are inherently contradictory, and you can only choose one from them. ”

"Contradiction?" Hanshuang was slightly stunned, lowered his head and thought, "Is it a contradiction?" Logically...... It doesn't seem to be a contradiction. ”

Chu Guang was silent for a while, and gave an answer that he was not sure about.

"Perhaps, this is the biggest difference between man and machine, man is not a creature that follows the laws of logic or mathematics."

"What's that to follow?"

Chu Guang thought about it.

"Maybe it's intuition, maybe it's instinct."

Unlike machines designed for a purpose, humans do not come into the world with a purpose.

In other words, the meaning of human life is actually found in the process of life, rather than being predetermined.

But the question was too philosophical, and he wasn't sure if the android in front of him could really understand.

At this moment, the glutinous voice suddenly came from behind Frost.

"Actually, it's not that hard to understand...... Dad's farm used to be like that, and I didn't think it had changed much. ”

"Yinyin?"

Looking at the little girl who came out from behind the frost, Chu Guang showed a surprised expression on his face.

He just wanted to smile and politely say "You've grown taller", but soon remembered that she couldn't grow anymore, so he changed the words that came to his lips again.

"Are you feeling okay? New body. ”

Yin Yin nodded lightly and whispered.

"I've adapted...... But I always feel that after becoming a robot, it seems that every day has lost its meaning. ”

Hearing her answer, the expressionless Eclipse suddenly opened his mouth to correct.

"It's androids, we're not like robots."

Yin Yin made a helpless expression, as if she was saying, "Just take it."

That mature and sensible appearance is distressing.

After a great change in her life, she seems to have become precocious like a lamb.

Looking at Yin Yin, who looked helpless, Chu Guang pondered for a while and said in a gentle tone.

"Meaning is something you need to find yourself, but we can't help you with this one...... But I'm sure you'll find it, just like the frost next to you. ”

Although he was not sure if she could still be considered a child, he still hoped that she would not slide into the abyss of nihilism.

Yin Yin nodded slightly, and she didn't know if she understood his kindness, but said in that pleasant voice.

"Well, I know, Mr. Administrator, though I don't envy Sister Frost's strange hobby at all...... By the way, dear Mr. Manager, is the lamb okay? ”

Chu Guang touched her head and said with a smile.

"Then I don't know, I just heard that she has met her father and gone to school like the other children in Dawn. If you miss her, I'd suggest you go straight to her. ”

Yin Yin's expression suddenly became worried.

“…… I'll go. ”

Chu Guang could probably guess the troubles in her heart, but it was her own business.

Straightening up, he looked at Frost again and said politely.

"I'm sorry I didn't make a reservation, but I didn't travel south this time...... Can you prepare some rooms for me? I'm going to stay here for one night. ”

A bright smile appeared on Frost's face, and he said in a warm tone.

"No problem, this manor is usually only me and Yin Yin and the eclipse, and the most important thing here is empty rooms...... Please come with me, Dear Mr. Administrator. ”

Chu Guang nodded, and then followed behind Frost and walked into the manor where the Burning Legion had fought.

From the moment he stepped into the manor, he noticed that Lu Bei's hand had been on his waist, and his eyes looked around nervously, as if there was a person hidden in the grass.

Especially when he walked to the front of the annex building, the expression on his face was even more tense like a string.

Coalition planes have landed here, and bullet holes can even be seen in the wall next to it.

Looking at this young man's appearance, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile and said.

"Did you find anything?"

Unexpectedly, Chu Guang noticed his small movements, Lu Bei's face suddenly turned red with embarrassment, and he reached out and scratched the back of his head.

"I ......"

"It's 214 years now, and it's been a long time since the fighting here ended."

Chu Guang reached out and patted him lightly on the shoulder, and said in a gentle tone.

"I told you before we left, this time we are just here to see, not to fight."

(End of chapter)