This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 549: The "Ruined" Huge Rock Military Industry

Chapter 549: Chapter 549: The "Ruined" Huge Rock Military Industry

[Wasteland OL Official Website]

[Official Setting Collection - Survivor Forces - "Giant Stone City" Entry Update: "Two Hundred Years of the Building"]

[Introduction: This work, penned by the former manager of Giant Stone City Bank, Melvin, details the two-hundred-year history of the Stone Building, from becoming the beacon of the Southern River Province to its eventual collapse.]

[Main Text: (Currently in the process of writing, please stay tuned...)]

...

"...This is the ledger that I’ve compiled from the financial data of Giant Stone City Bank, which records every major expense and the traceable flow of funds of the Inner City residents over the past ten years."

Giant Stone City Hall, reception room.

A week had passed since the collapse of the Stone Building, and the work of the crisis office had gradually moved from utter chaos to a more systematic approach.

Alyssa held a thick ledger in both hands and solemnly handed it over to Chu Guang, giving a brief explanation.

This was their second meeting.

She was still dressed in the cotton skirt she wore at their first meeting, with a cute fishbone hair clip atop her head.

In just two short months, she seemed to have matured a decade, transforming from a crybaby into an adult who understood responsibility and duty.

This was the most remarkable.

Observing Alyssa’s composure, Chu Guang couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride, and at the same time, he was puzzled.

They were about the same age, but why hadn’t Lu Bei changed at all since last year?

Not one bit.

It seemed that real experience only came with real freedom...

While Chu Guang was admiring Alyssa, she, too, was stealthily studying this Manager of the Alliance.

It wasn’t surprising that the residents of the Shelter were all handsome and beautiful.

It was said that many young men had taken a liking to the girl who cooked porridge for them every day, and some of the Blue Jackets who helped with deliveries and moving stuff were popular among the female workers of the Workers’ Association.

However, the residents of Shelter No. 404 had a unique temperament that sometimes made it difficult to figure out how to interact and communicate with them.

To be specific, it might be termed "optimism out of place."

Add to that their own peculiar language, loudly discussing incomprehensible things, which made some of their strange behaviors even more puzzling.

But their Manager was completely different.

How should she describe him?

If the Blue Jackets were like the Sun floating in the morning sky, then the feeling he gave was like sunlight spilling on the ground – merely looking at him warmed the shoulders and the heart without being too scalding or blinding.

With her cheeks blushing warmly in the sunlight, anticipation flickered in Alyssa’s eyes.

Would he praise her?

"Well done."

Chu Guang flipped through the ledger and then handed it to Little Fish standing beside him.

"I’ll leave the verification work to you."

A long time ago, Pai had discovered Little Fish’s talent for spatial imagination and computational skills, and even earlier, Chu Guang had noticed her sensitivity to numbers, so he had arranged for her to help players count money and keep books.

Now, she not only had talent but had also mastered a wealth of mathematical tools and calculation methods; checking the ledger was a trivial task for her and would probably be completed in a few days.

But with Little Fish’s stubborn and serious nature, even counting silver coins – an incredibly minor task – would be done thoroughly and earnestly.

"Okay! Leave it to Little Fish!"

Little Fish nodded earnestly and took the thick ledger in both hands, while Pai beside her lifted the corners of his mouth in pride.

"Don’t worry! My Little Fish is super awesome! She will certainly get it done beautifully!"

Little Fish also happily curled the corners of her lips upward.

However, she quickly seemed to remember something, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she looked at Pai to correct him.

"Little Fish isn’t yours, she belongs to Brother Chu if anything."

Unable to stand her serious gaze, Pai shrank his neck and muttered with a sense of grievance.

"I was just... joking. Why are you taking it so seriously?"

Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"Don’t talk like that. You’re your own person."

"Uh-huh," Little Fish shook her head and seriously looked at Chu Guang again, "Daddy has entrusted Little Fish to Brother Chu."

Pai: "???"

Chu Guang: "...?"

Damn!

How long ago was that?!

Seeing Pai staring straight at him, Chu Guang subtly averted his gaze.

"That was something from last winter... Don’t look at me like that; it’s not the kind of entrusting you’re thinking of. He just asked me to take good care of her. Thanks."

He believed he had taken good care of her and had not let the old man down.

Seeing Chu Guang wasn’t joking, Pai breathed a sigh of relief, patting his collar.

"That’s what I thought... You scared me."

Chu Guang: "..."

Even though it wasn’t what she thought, that "scared to death" still irked him.

What about me is scary, huh?

Watching the two whisper to each other, Little Fish frowned in dissatisfaction, muttering softly.

"What are you guys talking about? Little Fish already said—"

"All right, all right," Pai clumsily covered her mouth, grinning and glossing over the topic, "Don’t talk about it anymore, got it, got it."

Growing up in the small area of Bet Street, it was normal not to understand much.

She wasn’t little anymore; she might understand when she got a bit older.

Chu Guang sighed with relief.

Although both grew up in small places, Camp 101 was a bit more progressive than Bet Street, and Pai had been under Doctor Principle’s care. After all, she was much more sensible than Little Fish.

Looking at the playful Pai and Little Fish, who was unilaterally suppressed, Alyssa’s expression was slightly blank, and a faint sense of loss surfaced in her bright eyes.

"Just ’good job’?"

Feeling slightly dissatisfied, she couldn’t help but speak up.

"That..."

Hearing the voice beside him, Chu Guang turned to look in Alyssa’s direction.

Seeing that she seemed to have something to say, he smiled and asked.

"Is there something you want to talk about?"

Embarrassed, Alyssa glanced away and said softly,

"Could you... praise me a bit more?"

The room’s air quieted for a moment.

Pai, who was hugging Little Fish from behind, took the opportunity to poke Little Fish’s puffed cheeks while Chu Guang watched Alyssa, her face full of expectation, her cheeks getting redder in the silence.

After pondering for a moment,

Chu Guang stood up and walked to the office window, his gaze crossing the frost-covered windowsill, looking toward the settlement that was returning to normal.

"You’ve done something very incredible, so incredible that I don’t want you to take such a risk a second time, which is why I hesitate to award you this medal."

He paused, then turned his head back to look at Alyssa.

"But now I suddenly feel that I should not hesitate over this. To do the right thing is to be praised, otherwise, it’s a betrayal of courage."

"You’ve done very well. Survivors both inside and outside the Giant Wall will be proud of your bravery, including myself. I also sincerely hope that you will continue to work hard in the future to make this settlement more prosperous than before, so that people will not regret today’s pride and choices."

The sunlight just happened to pass over the frost-covered windowsill, shining through the misty window onto Alyssa’s face.

Her bright eyes sparkled with the light of a calm lake, like ripples from a gentle spring breeze rippling across the water’s surface.

"Thank you!"

Chu Guang smiled.

"I’m the one who should be thankful, as I’ll need your help with Little Fish’s verification work later."

With a radiant smile on her face, Alyssa nodded vigorously.

"Okay! Leave it to me!"

...

Time passed day by day, and soon it was the end of December.

Just before the night of the Alliance’s New Year’s Eve, the first batch of prefab apartment buildings was officially completed.

Similar to the corn-shaped buildings to the east of the City of Dawn, these apartment buildings were made of concrete prefabricated slabs produced in advance by Giant Stone City’s factories, and were assembled on site with cranes like building blocks.

The newly completed community had thirty buildings, each with six floors, ten single rooms per floor plus two small public bathrooms, accommodating a total of 1800 households, and taking up less than one-third of the area of the original shanties, leaving ample space for road planning and public facilities.

Furthermore, every five buildings had a concrete public bathhouse to facilitate washing for the residents of the community.

This style of buildings with uniform design quickly became the most striking scenery near the Giant Stone City Industrial Zone.

It was not perfect, and indeed, it had many shortcomings.

Such as problems with soundproofing, small living space, crowded living environment, and so on.

But for the survivors on the Wasteland, especially the workers living in the industrial area, these were hardly considered flaws.

Compared to their original, drafty shacks, these corn buildings were so much better!

Life always got better day by day, no one expected to suddenly live in wealth.

After the first batch of apartment buildings was completed, the new authorities quickly fulfilled their promise.

These homes would be provided free of charge to the families of survivors who had no housing, and those whose original homes had been demolished, as well as the workers who participated in construction, were given priority in allocation.

These young and middle-aged people were also the labor force needed by the nearby industrial zone, and most of them hoped to live closer to their workplace.

As a batch of apartments came into use, the underground passage between Giant Stone City and City of Dawn was also initially cleared with the combined efforts of players and survivors.

The incubation rooms hiding in the dark corners were thoroughly eliminated, as were the spores that roamed in the dark.

The players even destroyed a cannibal tribe hidden in a tunnel and rescued more than a dozen survivors from cages.

With the clearing work completed, the travel time between Giant Stone City and City of Dawn was significantly reduced.

Currently, the Dawn City Town Hall is planning a ramp that connects to the underground tunnel to integrate Giant Stone City into the Alliance’s rail transport system.

Coincidentally, the Alliance was also planning to replace the coal-burning train with a cheaper, more environmentally friendly electric locomotive.

Both projects could proceed simultaneously.

Infrastructure construction continued in an orderly manner, and the crisis office, with the help of the Alliance, actively transitioned to the new authorities.

The first matter was the selection of the city lord.

Without any surprise, the new city lord was elected to be Lovett, president of the Workers’ Association. After the voting results were announced on the broadcast, Survivor’s Daily also published this outcome.

His speeches during the uprising had inspired all the survivors in the city, and his performance after the victory proved he was more than capable of the position.

To make an evocative yet improper metaphor, the positioning of the city lord and the town hall mayor would be similar to that of a village party secretary and a village head.

On a detailed responsibility level, the former mainly handled macro-level decision-making, signing important documents, deciding what tasks to undertake.

While the latter, along with other town hall officials, mainly managed specific municipal tasks, with more roles filled by professionals, deciding how to execute them.

Additionally, the city lord would oversee the town hall’s work, and the power of the former was granted by the constitution, subject to the joint oversight of the citizens of Giant Stone City and the Alliance.

Lovett pledged to focus on "restoring industrial area production and improving worker conditions" as the primary task for the next three years.

If any unscrupulous merchant dared to defy the Alliance’s laws, he would not only kick them out but also give them a kick in the rear.

Nearly everyone in the Workers’ Association had cast their vote for him.

They certainly knew Lovett was just a carpenter, but they didn’t care. Even a not-so-clever carpenter was better than the cunning Mr. Hauser. Besides, carpentry wasn’t completely brainless; not only could he read and calculate but also draw.

Inexperience with city lord duties was fine; they were willing to wait.

Spielberg wasn’t adept at writing fluent sentences the first time either; he had to read newspapers for half a year to slowly learn a bit.

Considering the Workers’ Association’s performance during the disaster, most citizens also cast their votes for Lovett.

Indeed, this moment required the workers to shoulder the burden, and other citizens couldn’t nominate a representative everyone agreed on.

The Alliance had no objections to Giant Stone City’s result.

However, to appease the concerns about legitimacy from the "imperial loyalists" within the Alliance and within Giant Stone City, Chu Guang still wrote a formal appointment letter to Lovett after the vote.

In the letter of appointment, he wrote—

"The Worker Report has voiced progression, I hope you live up to the trust of others and carry the voice of progression forward."

With that, the crisis office formally completed its transition to the new authorities.

Although there was still a significant distance from people’s lives getting back on track, with factories starting up one after the other and the first batch of windproof apartment buildings completed through everyone’s joint efforts, all saw the dawn of a new life.

The laws of the Alliance would be enforced here.

Blood and sweat factories and the Stone Building had become history.

People had no doubt that everything would get better...

...

While the NPCs of Giant Stone City were busy rushing towards a new life, the players of the Alliance were not idle either.

In fact, they might be said to be busier than usual...

At the Boulder Military Industrial Building, in the prosthetic surgery room.

Yibers stared at the three-dimensional model on the tablet, scratching his chin with his index finger, and glanced at a certain someone who had already settled down on the operating table, buttocks in the air.

"Are you sure you want to have this thing installed in your body?"

Considering the fragility of organic life and the potential risks of surgery, he still asked one last question out of professional ethics.

However, Mosquito Brother lying on the operating table was unappreciative, rushing him and saying,

"Stop the nonsense, hurry up! I’ve already paid!"

Such an NPC chatterbox!

Directly above the operating table were dense lines and equipment, including welding torches and electric saws, enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine if they were to face such tools.

Looking at the engineers and leading surgeons exchanging glances with one another, Yibers scratched his head and, eventually setting aside the tablet and his professional ethics, said cheerfully,

"Alright, I respect your choice... After all, the customer’s preference comes first."

That statement seemed to be directed at some sort of restraint program within him.

Waiting for a moment and seeing no reaction, Yibers happily snapped his fingers, signaling the engineers and doctors in the surgery to pick up their devices and get to work.

Before the anesthesia needle had even plunged, Mosquito Brother rolled his eyes back, departing his flesh to another world.

Sparks flashed over the operating table.

One moment there was the buzz of electricity, the next was the grating sound of sawing bone.

With the bustling of several construction staff, plasma sprayed everywhere, and the surgery room was filled with the burnt scent.

Although the scene was chaotic, the effect was spot-on.

They sawed off a large section of the patient’s spine and replaced it with an alloy structure mechanical spine; after suturing the wound, they mounted a mechanical hand onto each of the eight interfaces.

Mosquito, after the surgery, had his back resembling an eight-legged spider curled up in wait.

Several hours passed, and the anesthesia fully wore off.

Mosquito abruptly opened his eyes. Without moving his limbs, the eight hands behind him fluttered first.

Savoring that strange sensation, he swiftly climbed down from the operating table, and looking into the mirror handed to him by the lead surgeon, his face was filled with fervent delight.

"Damn! Awesome!"

This skin is the bomb!

The eight mechanical hands moved as naturally as his own arms under the control of his thoughts, and they even had tactile sensations similar to touch.

"Ha ha ha ha! Now I’m Doctor Octopus!"

Watching the excited patient dance around, although Yibers didn’t understand what he was ranting about, he still kindly reminded him,

"If you have regrets, we can still reverse the procedure. We’ve cryogenically preserved your original spine. Besides, if you don’t want to bleed out, please don’t walk on prosthetics... I remind you again, these are mechanical hands, not mechanical legs."

Completely ignoring his advice, Mosquito Brother, with a mischievous grin, picked up a prepared backless cotton vest, slipped it on, and patted Yibers on the shoulder with a mechanical hand.

"Thanks, mate! If it works well, I’ll recommend you to others who need it!"

"Mate? Old iron? Is that referring to me?" Yibers touched his chin and arched an intrigued eyebrow, muttering "what an interesting name..."

Quite fitting for him.

After all, his AI core indeed had some age on it.

Although they were annoying organics, these guys were quite entertaining.

At least they were much more interesting than his previous clients.

Seeing the resident of the refuge who went by "WC There are mosquitoes" leaving the surgery room in ecstasy, Yibers also sincerely shared his joy.

He was very satisfied with his new creation.

He just hoped this not-so-smart organic wouldn’t be crying in a few days.

Picking up the tablet, Yibers slid his index finger across it, mumbling to himself,

"Someone wants to install a fist as big as a casserole pot. What is a casserole? An arm capable of launching ’dove’ type missiles... Tsk, do these guys realize how heavy that is?"

But—

It seems interesting.

A pleasant smile appeared on Yibers’s face as he put away the tablet and turned to the engineers and lead surgeons in the surgery, clearing his throat,

"We’ve got some new work."

The engineers exchanged wry smiles with one another.

"Eight mechanical arms shouldn’t be a problem..."

"I’m more worried about his head not holding up; we should at least install a cooling plugin for the cerebellum."

"I’m afraid it’s not just a cooling issue."

"It’s a pity... If only we had bionic chips."

Returning to normal life was good and all, but these engineers couldn’t help feeling that the weapons their factory was producing were becoming increasingly bizarre.

Is it really okay to perform "human experiments" on those wearing Blue Jackets?

And all self-funded too...

It’s not just about feeling insecure; their conscience was somewhat troubled.

However, their cybernetic boss Yibers didn’t see it that way.

These residents of the refuge who "sincerely liked his designs" were far more adorable than those picky customers!

Indeed, selling himself to that man was a decision smart beyond measure!

"Customer opinions come first! Tsk, let me think, fitting the firing mechanism between the radius and ulna, and making a fist as large as a cast-iron pot should satisfy the customer’s needs."

"However, that would probably make the arm heavier than the customer’s own body weight. The scapula and spine would also need to be replaced with more robust prosthetics..."

"Let me calculate, a fair price would be... 500,000 silver coins should be reasonable!"

The self-muttering voice grew more and more excited, as the smile on Yibers’s face became increasingly cheerful.

It seemed that for at least the next five years, he wouldn’t be bored!

At that moment, an assistant drone floated in, hovering behind him. At the same time, an emotionless electronic voice also reached his ears.

"New order from the Burning Corps."

Yibers’s expression showed a bit of surprise as he reached for his tablet, opened the list of new orders, and found the new order that his AI assistant had reported.

"For a full set of infantry equipment for mutants, including armor and weapons... Quantity: five hundred sets, budget ceiling: five million silver coins."

The order listed detailed requirements.

Of course, it wasn’t as simple as fobbing them off with a few bulletproof vests and rifles—they needed a set of infantry equipment that could clear mutants as easily as slicing watermelons and chopping vegetables.

What could be anticipated was that this was just the beginning.

There would surely be other orders to follow!

Rubbing his chin lightly with his forefinger, Yibers’s electronic eyes sparkled with intense interest, and a meaningful smile crept onto his face.

What intrigued him, of course, was not this seemingly ordinary order.

But the message that the order hinted at.

"... Preparing for the eradication of mutants in the south even before the Tide has begun?"

Interesting.

His new customers were becoming more and more interesting!

...

After Giant Stone City joined the Alliance, the official website added a bunch of new NPC entries, among which Yibers of Huge Rock Military Industry was undoubtedly the most popular.

Especially after seeing Mosquito Brother’s octopus-like mechanical hand, many players’ eyes turned green with envy.

However, upon seeing the exorbitant prices for cybernetic enhancements, most calmed down.

Indeed, custom orders were playthings only the wealthy could afford; they should wait until the technology matured and purchase the relatively cheaper mass-produced models.

In the Goblin Technology factory.

Enviously looking at the eight arms on Mosquito’s back, Discourage reached out to touch them and couldn’t help saying,

"...Your new gear is pretty badass!"

Just a few days ago, when Mosquito mysteriously said he needed to travel far, they thought he was up to something, but it turned out he had gone next door to get a cybernetic makeover.

Soul Chaser couldn’t help but sourly comment,

"It looks impressive, but who knows what use it has."

Mosquito, his nose almost reaching heaven with pride, rolled his eyes at him.

"You don’t know jack! I’ve got ten hands now! I can screw bolts five times faster than you!"

Soul Chaser laughed and said,

"Big deal, so what if it’s faster."

Before Mosquito could react, another of his apprentices, Kill God, followed up with a question.

"I don’t get it, so I’m asking—won’t this affect your real life?"

"No big deal, if I take off the helmet, you wouldn’t even feel those eight arms..." The mechanical hands behind his back scratched his head, and after thinking for a while, Mosquito corrected himself, "Okay, maybe not completely without impact, it just feels like something’s missing, kind of inconvenient."

If only he could have a set in real life as well—that would be awesome!

Just imagining that scene made Mosquito’s mouth curl into a grin.

Discourage was still drooling over it, not taking his eyes off the eight mechanical arms and couldn’t help but smack his lips.

"Damn...once I have enough money, I’m definitely getting a set!"

Kill God continued with curiosity.

"Don’t understand, so asking again—how much did this cost you?"

Mosquito proudly curled his lips.

"400,000."

As soon as the words fell out, all four people were shocked.

"Holy shit!"

"Are you insane?! 400,000 for this thing?!"

"???"

What shocked them even more was that this guy had made so much money on the down low that he could throw it around without hurting his wallet!

Looking at these guys with no vision, Mosquito sneered.

"Pfft, you don’t appreciate quality, no vision! What do you mean 400,000 for this thing? Once I get it and figure it out, isn’t making our own even better?"

Discourage couldn’t help but give a thumbs up.

"That’s brilliant! Typical you!"

But then again, how exactly to figure it out?

He worked with drones, Soul Chaser was in chemical engineering, Kill God fixed cars, and adding the purpose-unknown Mosquito Brother, none of them knew anything about nerve connections.

And was there similar technology in real life?

Although there were nerve connections, but comparable to the outrageous tech in the Game, it was a totally different dimension, right?!

Just then, the ever-silent Soul Chaser suddenly spoke,

"I’ve been thinking about one thing all this time—you got this gear... how will you fly planes from now on?"

It was fine when W-2 was cheap and not a big deal when crashed.

But this set of equipment cost 400,000...

Holy smokes!

That was the cost of countless planes!

Not only Soul Chaser, but the other three also paused and quickly realized the issue, silently turning their gaze to their annoying boss.

The air was awkwardly silent for a moment.

Mosquito’s expression moved from stunned to bewildered, and finally, painful as if wearing a mask of agony, with two metal claws covering his head.

"Damn it!"

He had been too hasty!

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