This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 414: Start Wool Pulling from OEM!

Chapter 414: Chapter 414: Start Wool Pulling from OEM!

A day had passed.

The highway leading west from the City of Dawn had been extended by four kilometers, which was significantly more than expected.

Two huge industrial giants steadily moved forward; their towering bodies and deafening roars became one of the great sights of the City of Dawn.

They attracted quite a crowd of onlookers.

Not just small-time players looking for entertainment.

Merchants traveling from the south to the north, travelers, mercenaries, Waste Land Wanderers, and residents living nearby couldn’t help but cast astonished glances at those behemoths.

And they were amazed, unable to look away.

"What are those things?"

"Machines for road-building?!"

"Great Antler God above... I’ve never seen one so big!"

"It’s said they were brought from Ideal City!"

"Ideal City?! It’s Ideal City... That’s over 3000 kilometers away from here, isn’t it?"

"How many oxen would it take to drag it over here?"

"Idiot! Don’t they use planes! Just fly over with wings attached."

"Hisss..."

"If only I could go there and see it in this lifetime."

Standing next to the newly formed highway, although Chu Guang wasn’t as astonished as those inexperienced Waste Land Wanderers or as incredulous as those few engineering geeks who deemed it unscientific, the shock and emotion in his heart were nearly the same.

Just look at the yearning in those Waste Land Wanderers’ eyes; they haven’t even started winning yet, and these folks from the East Coast were almost basking in victory.

Colonizing and border expansion?

Bestowing noble titles and appointments?

Those were the tactics of the Empire era.

A slightly more sophisticated form of "conquest" involved power projection combined with regional influence. It didn’t come with debuffs like decreased stability or production capacity. It saved the costs of repression, maintenance, and other fiscal expenses, and the benefits generated were far greater than direct control.

As for how to increase regional influence?

Advanced technology, abundant resources, prosperous culture, lofty ideals, and excellent education, among others, could all do the job.

Chu Guang felt that explaining this in detail could be quite complicated, but abstractly, it was pretty similar to matters of the heart.

Handsome or pretty, wealthy, eloquent, cultured, smart or shameless... Anyone with one or two of these qualities, as long as their other aspects weren’t so inferior as to be unacceptable, would never lack "confidants" or "bootlickers."

Take himself for example. Although a bit poor, rather inarticulate, and too thin-skinned, he still had a bunch of adorable little players surrounding him and showering him with affection all day long.

Ultimately, it was because he was too handsome.

The situation for the Alliance was somewhat similar.

Although they had won a few impressive battles and the confidence of the survivors was at an all-time high, when it came to heritage and wealth, compared to the veteran survivor forces of the Wasteland, they were still lacking.

These rich and handsome folks from the East Coast just stood here, and even without any intentional ostentation, and certainly without the necessity for it, the regional influence would rise rapidly.

Actually, forget about those impoverished Waste Land Wanderers.

Chu Guang too hoped that one day he could visit the East Coast and see for himself what the survivor settlement, said to be closest to the pre-war era, looked like.

How could a city less than half the size of Mumbai accommodate millions of people and build skyscrapers that reached into the clouds?

This might provide him with some experience in management.

Of course, while the objective gap existed, one must not undervalue oneself.

The Alliance had its own BUFFs.

Help from the "Degenerate Empire" was both an opportunity and a challenge.

If handled well, the newborn Alliance could save decades of development, but if not, it might end up taking decades more due to missteps.

And as a Manager,

His job was to maximize the use of their advantages.

Just as Chu Guang was pondering how to fleece some wool from these old friends, the expression on his face, in Luo Hua’s eyes, was interpreted as envy.

Glancing at Chu Guang and then at Li Changkong, who was stealthily enjoying his triumph, Luo Hua felt an inexplicable bitterness with his crutch in hand.

Back when they sent out the Pioneer, those guys from the Ideal Group were reluctant to make an effort, but now they were all too eager to make their presence felt.

This gave him the feeling of being hoodwinked by a Minotaur.

Driven by a sense of competition, Luo Hua couldn’t help but sabotage the mood.

"Don’t think too highly of these people... Over in Ideal City, their main business is actually real estate. If it weren’t for this, I would’ve almost forgotten they could build roads."

However, upon hearing his words, the expression on Chu Guang’s face grew even more astonished.

"Real estate?!"

Perhaps his imagination wasn’t enough.

What kind of real estate company could be so impressive?!

"Yep."

Luo Hua nodded, then continued with a sneer.

"... Fixing water pipes, cleaning the exterior of buildings, cleaning air exchangers, maintaining elevators, generating electricity. They used to have a logistics distribution service, but that’s been outsourced too... As for this kind of heavy construction equipment, they don’t have the capability to make it."

Seeing the unconvinced look on his face, a thought struck Chu Guang, and he said,

"I heard that heavy construction equipment is one of the main businesses of Silver Wing Group?"

"That’s right," a hint of pride surfaced on Luo Hua’s face, "The Pioneer is our masterpiece! More than 80% of its components were independently completed by us."

Chu Guang immediately followed up with a question.

"Could you make a road-builder like this? How much would it cost?"

"Uh... I’m not familiar with that," Luo Hua scratched his head, "Five or six million? Ten to twenty million? The price depends on the model. For a specific quote, you should ask Yi Chuan, I haven’t been back for three years, and he’s more in tune with the market than I am."

...

Hearing this quote, Chu Guang finally realized how cheap the magnetic confinement plasma cutting machine tool that Li De had sold him was.

117,000 Cr.

It was just a tiny bit more expensive than fixing one kilometer of concrete road, an incredibly fair deal!

But then again, the value of Cr back then was actually different from now.

As a general equivalent for exchange, money’s significance can vary in different contexts.

At that time, the Pioneer needed local resources and labor, while Chu Guang needed technology from the Pioneer, with Cr merely serving as pricing and exchange.

Therefore, the credit guarantee for Cr at that time was not actually provided by Ideal City, but by the Pioneer itself.

The price lists offered by both parties didn’t represent the intrinsic value of the products but were more like the result of negotiation.

Even now, the price lists provided by the five major groups to him obviously couldn’t match the market prices of Ideal City; they resembled a balance reached through their internal negotiations.

Chu Guang believed that fixing one kilometer of emergency concrete road in Province of Yúnjiānxíng shouldn’t cost as much as 100,000 Cr.

However, that didn’t really matter to the Alliance.

Being a part of the 300 million in military aid, it wasn’t like he had to pay out of his pocket.

He just had to spend the money.

...

With Li Changkong in charge of road construction, there was no need for Chu Guang to watch over it constantly, and after a while, he turned his attention to his own matters.

All sorts of infrastructure related to the supply line, including railways, optical fiber cables, electric cables, and high-voltage power, were all undertaken by the Ideal Group.

Holding the enormous sum of 300 million Cr, Chu Guang experienced the feeling of being maintained.

Of course.

Since the money was provided by others, it certainly wasn’t as freely spendable as if it were from his own pocket. Out of the total, only 70 million could be used for infrastructure development, and a quarter of that was already gone.

The remaining 230 million was mostly allocated for military aid in weapons and heavy equipment to counter the Army.

Only just over 30 million Cr was available for industrial upgrades.

To make full use of this budget, Chu Guang held meetings with representatives of various industries on the one hand, and on the other, he opened a post on the Forum to solicit ideas from the players.

After some thought, he felt it wasn’t fitting to use the planner’s alt account, so Chu Guang simply used the NPCs’ accounts.

Anyway, they couldn’t go online.

[Beta 0.4 Version Update: Industrial Upgrade!]

[Old Luka: Allies from the East Coast plan to provide us with 30 million Cr to help improve our production technology. The Alliance is about to undergo an industrial upgrade! The budget is limited; does anyone have any good ideas?]

Tail: "Huh?! Wait, isn’t the new expansion about fighting?! (Surprised)"

Si Si: "emmm... it looks like the game is finally updating some high-tech equipment, looking forward to it."

Quit smoking: "Awesome! Fighting a war and upgrading at the same time?"

Turn the volume down I’m Bron: "Do you even need to ask? Every time there’s a war, the prices of copper, coal, and sulfur soar. If you’ve got the means, you definitely start with mining!"

Ya’er I need to go to the toilet: "Mining’s fine, but the current production capacity of the mines from Qingstone County to West State City isn’t low. The main cost lies in transportation. Once we boost our transport capacity, costs will naturally go down... I think we should upgrade the trains; that camel engine sucks!"

Voldemort Athlete’s Foot Levin: "Machine tools! The magnetic confinement plasma one is good! More machine tools! (color) (color)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Giant Stone City has more powerful machines. Sure, the ones we buy from the Alliance are advanced, but they might not suit our environment. I’d suggest focusing on the light industry first. The Alliance’s consumer goods have a significant export advantage over Giant Stone City, we can definitely continue to expand our advantage!"

Quit smoking: "Wait, do you have access to the closed beta?"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Ah, talk too much and the tears start flowing. T.T"

Less than half a minute after the post went up.

The debate in the comments section quickly intensified.

Chu Guang surprisingly found that, for issues not so closely related to the game itself, backseat drivers were much more enthusiastic than closed beta players.

However, unfortunately, these intense debates didn’t yield many constructive results and mostly went off-topic.

In the end, the comment that got upvoted by the closed beta players was still from Brother Fang Chang.

Fang Chang: "This topic is too abstract. The problem with the Alliance isn’t a lack of something; it’s that we lack everything. Heavy industry provides materials for production, light industry produces consumer goods—one is internal, the other is external. Is the former important, so the latter is not? Not to mention agriculture; currently, the Alliance’s highest output isn’t consumer goods, but the tens of thousands of acres of farmland north of Rhombus Lake! I think agricultural technology needs an upgrade as well."

Makabazi: "Agree with this! Agricultural technology should indeed get an upgrade. The Alliance’s population is about to break a hundred thousand! If it grows further, we won’t be able to sustain everyone! (gritting teeth)"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Isn’t this a discussion about priority?"

Fang Chang: "A discussion is a discussion, but this issue can’t be resolved through debate alone. It needs to be based on the actual situation. Instead of central procurement by the Alliance, it might be better to establish a currency exchange and procurement channel, letting each industry decide which equipment to import. Those with textile factories will naturally upgrade their textile equipment when they make money, and the same goes for those with steel factories."

Canyon Fugitive Mole: "+1, insiders are clearer about what they need and can solve the most critical technical pain points with the least expense. They’re much more efficient than a bunch of clueless outsiders trying to pick and choose."

Chu Guang browsed through the comments with interest and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Interesting."

In fact, when Giant Stone City sourced industrial equipment, he adopted this method of establishing a currency exchange mechanism and procurement channels, allowing lifestyle occupation players and factory-owning NPCs to purchase suitable equipment based on their needs.

However, the situation in Ideal City was clearly different from that of Giant Stone City.

With a distance of three thousand kilometers, it was difficult for both sides to form a stable trading market, making it challenging for the Alliance to earn foreign currency from Ideal City.

He only had 30 million Cr to use, and it wasn’t viable to completely leave it to the market to regulate.

The procurement lists provided by industry representatives totaled 317 projects, with 57 marked as top priority.

Of these 57 projects, 80% were concentrated in the heavy industry sector, and 20% were in light industry. Based on the quotation assessed by Yi Chuan, the costs far exceeded the budget of 30 million.

At least 50 million Cr was needed to manage it all.

To get more aid, it was necessary to achieve sufficient military results on the battlefield. Only when corporations saw the money being spent effectively would they be willing to bet more.

Yet, Chu Guang always had the feeling that as he was dangling the carrot for those on the East Coast, they were also dangling one for him.

Want a munitions factory that can produce 10,000 shells a day?

"Do you want a coal mine with an annual production of 10,000 tons?"

"Including automated cable factories, car repair shops, tractor factories, and so on, do you want them?"

"Beat up the big noses on the West Coast, and I’ll give them to you."

"That first aid of thirty million is more like a down payment."

Seeing the financial gap of at least twenty million on the list, and the production lines proposed by the players, Chu Guang couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

"If only we could find a way to make some Cr."

Sitting in front of the computer, Xiao Qi tilted her head.

"Master, isn’t thirty million enough for you?"

Chu Guang shook his head.

"Not enough, I have consulted with the representatives from the Silver Wing Group, and the quote for just one paving machine is close to thirty million... and that doesn’t even include the maintenance costs."

The puppet controlled by Xiao Qi showed a surprised expression and said softly,

"Thirty million... that’s enough to build 300 kilometers of road."

Chu Guang, leaning back in his chair, nodded.

"Yes, including maintenance costs, the total mileage would be less than 500 kilometers. It’s better to outsource the project directly to the Ideal Group, so I haven’t even included it in the first batch of procurement."

Xiao Qi: "Then how do you plan to solve the funding gap?"

Although she didn’t have any good ideas, she felt that her master definitely had a way.

Chu Guang sighed and stared at the ceiling above him, murmuring to himself.

"Right now, there’s only one way, and that is to achieve impressive victories on the front lines. With that, we would have enough leverage to request increased support from the corporations."

But.

Relying on others’ charity was never a long-term solution.

When the war ended and the Army was expelled, the aid from the East Coast would naturally be suspended.

If only there was a way to fleece some sheep.

Unfortunately, this time they were faced with a bionic man team, whose metal clunkers didn’t even have wages, didn’t consume anything, and even turned off their power to save electricity, giving him no chance.

Depending on those four representatives alone, no matter how rich they were or how recklessly they spent money, at most they would spend ten or twenty thousand.

In the face of the vast scale of the Alliance, such money was but a drop in the bucket.

Just as Chu Guang was mulling over his troubles, a new email notification suddenly popped up in the lower right corner of his computer screen.

The email was sent from Camp 101.

The sender was Pai, that extremely clever girl.

"Master told me to let you know that the fusion reactor is almost fixed! It will be ready to start up in a couple of days, are you coming over?"

The moment he saw this message, Chu Guang’s eyes brightened, and he sat up straight from his chair.

Right.

There’s still the reactor!

He had been so busy with meetings these past days that he completely overlooked this money-making machine.

"We’ve got it!!"

Watching her master suddenly perk up, Xiao Qi, sitting on the table, blinked curiously.

"Got what?"

"Subcontracting!" Chu Guang laughed, his eyes shining as he continued, "We can start by introducing some spare parts production projects from the corporations. This will not only fulfill our industrial upgrade but also provide a market for the upgraded industries!"

It was all due to inertia in thinking!

He had been so focused on the subsidies from the corporations and the little bit of wages in the employees’ pockets that he almost forgot this profitable business!

Xiao Qi, puzzled, said, "But... didn’t you say that 3,000 kilometers is too far, and that goods produced by the Alliance can’t be transported there?"

Chu Guang answered without hesitation.

"That was before!"

"Once the reactor is restarted, the cost of electricity in West State City will drop to the same level as that of Ideal City! Our electricity could even be cheaper than theirs!"

The reactor used by West State City was a relic left by the Prosperity Epoch, based on the principle of the third-generation controlled fusion with a pure helium-3 reaction, using the same technical principles as the reactors widely used in Ideal City.

Technically speaking, there is not much difference in nuclear power costs between the two.

However, calculating costs cannot solely consider material consumption—operation, maintenance, and other aspects must also be taken into account.

Since West State City’s level of electrification is currently low, even if a part of the industry is relocated there from the City of Dawn, it still cannot fully utilize the energy generated by the controlled fusion reactor.

In other words, even if the reactor operates at the minimum output power, there will be a surplus energy issue.

Therefore, economically speaking, the Alliance’s cost of electricity is actually far lower than that of Ideal City. No matter where it is used, as long as this surplus electricity is utilized to create even a tiny bit of value, it’s all pure profit.

For the corporations, the planes transporting military aid will have to fly over anyway, and flying back empty would be a waste of hundreds, if not thousands, of tons of carrying capacity. It’s better to take some goods back.

With its rich electrical and mineral resources, moving some of the less profitable industries from the East Coast to West State City would definitely be profitable for them!

Although this might sound counterintuitive, with a controlled fusion reactor in West State City, the transportation costs between the corporations and the Alliance might actually be lower than those between the corporations and the survivors’ settlements in neighboring provinces.

Even if they are 3,000 kilometers apart!

The limit to air transport capacity is an issue, but from the current economic scale of the Alliance, it’s completely sufficient!

When the transport capacity starts to become tight, the industrial output value of West State City will probably have already increased exponentially, and the River Port on the Tributary of Tianshui should have developed by then.

Building a few more ships with a displacement of a thousand or ten thousand tons, they could not only do business with Ideal City but also bring all the survivor settlements within thousands of kilometers along the river into the Alliance’s trade map.

Painting a blueprint of the future in his mind, Chu Guang couldn’t help but smile at the exciting prospects.

This was more than a win-win.

It was an overwhelming victory!

Though reluctant to interrupt her master’s daydream, Xiao Qi couldn’t help but softly remind him.

"But Master... nuclear fuel is limited, right? Xiao Qi thinks it’s better to conserve it."

Chu Guang replied without hesitation.

"You’re right, but no matter how frugal we are, the finite supply will eventually run out. The problems created by development must be solved by development!"

Humans cannot stop eating for fear of choking.

As long as we can develop the Alliance to the point where it can reinstate the Earth-Moon flights before the nuclear fuel in the southern River Valley Province is depleted, these problems will naturally be resolved!

However, once truly developed to that extent, it’s likely that the Alliance, with its size, will no longer need to rely on anyone else...

His fingers drummed a rapid-fire tap-tap-tap on the keyboard, and Chu Guang hit the enter button, sending an email back to Pai in West State City.

"I will!"

"I’m coming over right now!"

...

While Chu Guang was busy communicating with Camp 101 about reactor ignition matters, The First Hospital of Dawn City at the front door welcomed a guest of special identity.

Walking down the hospital corridor alongside Yun Yi, Yu Feng explained in a low voice.

"...We ran into a bit of trouble passing through Yongdong City. The ’Mutated slime fungus’ there is different from other places, quite a tricky evolution. It’s not only highly aggressive but also disguises itself as typical survivors."

"In order to break out, twenty assault troop soldiers were infected by the mutated slime fungus and can no longer fulfill the upcoming mission. Our captain has left them here for medical treatment."

He is an apprentice and employee of He Ding, logistics officer of the long-distance team.

To help the Alliance set up an ammunition production line and to introduce instant noodle production techniques, his boss had him stay here to coordinate with the reinforcements arriving later.

It’s worth mentioning that since the logistics of the long-range team were outsourced to corporate partners, both he and his boss were not employees of the corporation and didn’t have resident status in Ideal City. They were just ordinary Waste Land Wanderers born in a Survivor Settlement in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

For him, the high-level staff of the corporation were undoubtedly important figures.

Even engineers and other technical personnel.

After hearing his account, Yun Yi slowly nodded her head.

"I’ve heard about your situation. Employees of the Silver Wing Group mentioned the abnormal situation in Yongdong City in their report, but we can’t spare any attention for that area at the moment. The crew of Pioneer and the No.0 Shelter are our top priority... How are their injuries?"

Yu Feng shook his head.

"It’s bad... The Alliance has some excellent biological experts and experience in combating slime fungus, but as you can see, the medical conditions and research infrastructure here are too primitive."

"All they can do is maintain the status quo, preventing the condition of those wounded from further deteriorating. For a complete cure, I’m afraid they need to be transferred to the hospitals in Ideal City."

Yun Yi sighed softly and spoke in a consoling tone.

"You’ve worked hard... Once the energy supply is replenished, our planes will take you home."

Yu Feng smiled awkwardly.

"Actually... it’s not that tough, the living conditions here are alright. Of course, it’s definitely not as lively as in Ideal City."

Yun Yi didn’t respond.

In her view, this was clearly a comforting lie.

After all, from any perspective, the development here was far behind Ideal City, not even comparable to some larger Survivor Settlements in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

It could only be said that compared to other survivor villages inland, the lifestyle here was relatively more civilized.

After all, several residents of the refuge also lived here, which could play some role.

Led by Yu Feng and the hospital nurse, Yun Yi approached the entrance of the ward, faintly hearing voices inside.

"Go for A!"

"Damn, I can’t afford that..."

"Where’s your bomb?"

"Where the hell would I get a bomb?!"

"Hahaha, the bomb’s with me! Bye-bye, three fours!"

"@$%#!"

"Quit dawdling, hurry up!"

Standing at the door, Yun Yi paused slightly, not quite understanding their discussion.

Go for A?

Bomb?

Are they... discussing combat plans?

Thinking of these poor Kids being sent to distant battlefields, to bleed and sacrifice for people they had never met, she felt somewhat heartbroken.

If it weren’t for that obstinate expedition, they wouldn’t have had to endure this pain.

Taking a deep breath, Yun Yi pushed open the door.

However, upon seeing the situation inside the ward, she stood frozen on the spot.

In the disordered ward, more than a dozen bare-chested men were gathered in a circle around a small table.

On the table lay a scattered deck of cards and silver coins, and beer bottles and cigarette butts were strewn about on the concrete floor.

Seeing Yun Yi at the doorway, several men continued to deal cards with a grin, seemingly oblivious, whereas the one with his arm bandaged, Shen Rui, changed his expression.

Others might not recognize her.

But being an Old Soldier under Yun Song, he certainly did...

Noticing Yu Feng’s frantic eye signals, Shen Rui was about to say something to lighten the awkwardness of the moment.

But before he could speak, a light cough from the doorway interrupted the laughter and banter in the room.

Looking at the young men, Yun Yi slowly spoke from the doorway.

"What are you... doing?"

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