This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 724: The Contagious Flame

Chapter 724: Chapter 724: The Contagious Flame

Since becoming a Manager, Chu Guang had dealt with a multitude of survivor issues and had seldom trusted someone’s unilateral statements.

It wasn’t that he was worried about being harmed.

Rather, anyone who could speak was bound, whether consciously or unconsciously, to intersperse their speech with a little of their own perspective and thoughts.

It depended on a person’s self-awareness, and their awareness of others and the world.

Therefore, in explaining something, most people, even if they were telling the truth, were not necessarily "absolutely" objective.

If one were to completely believe them, it was easy to be led by the nose.

Of course, this didn’t mean that a less objective statement was a lie. After all, even a bona fide scammer would be foolish to directly lie.

Once their logic wasn’t consistent, they would be trapped in a deadlocked situation where no one could defend them, and to maintain logical consistency, they had to fabricate one flawed lie after another.

A more clever approach was to choose the parts of the truth beneficial to oneself, exaggerating them, and to interpret the harmful parts from a tricky angle.

For instance, if one only listened to Sun Yuechi’s side of the story, the survivors in the Southern sea area were probably left with a scanty reserve from the shelter.

Had Chu Guang not experienced household management and known the cost of essentials, he might have actually believed that nonsense and taken them for naive fools.

Of course, he did not solely rely on the accounts of the survivors from the Southern sea area.

After all, according to the terms broadcasted by Charles, all residents of Shelter No. 70 must be considered great villains from an era before the industrial revolution, awaiting judgement in the new epoch.

He most likely hadn’t lied; otherwise, he wouldn’t have confidently told those survivors to go back and ask their own family members. Clearly, some regrettable incidents had indeed occurred in the Southern sea area over the past century and had not been properly resolved; otherwise, so many people wouldn’t stand by his side.

This was also a lesson learned by the Alliance in their process of digging up graves. If a settlement had one or two madmen, that might be individual cases. But when everyone went mad, if someone produced a lighter, someone else would immediately hand over a can of fuel, and if others either watched or fanned the flames, then the entire settlement was seriously ill.

From the start, Chu Guang had a feeling that Sun Yuechi had either dug a huge pit for himself or had somehow managed to dump a massive problem into his hands.

And indeed, the reality was as such; nothing free was cheap, and something hastily handed over was likely not good quality.

The seemingly tranquil Southern sea area was, in fact, brewing a storm that threatened the entire wasteland.

Typical looters in the sea might manage small boats and commit petty robbery; his players were fortunate not to encounter them, for they could have crushed them with a mere flick of a finger.

But this group not only operated battleships, they also had well-equipped factories and research facilities, and even formed a mutually beneficial arrangement with the Torch—providing technology and resources respectively.

Considering all the intelligence listed by players on the forum, Chu Guang could confidently assert that the man had kept only one thing from him.

The mess handed over to him was indeed a disaster.

"...Is that so."

Shelter No. 404, browsing room on floor B4.

When Sun Yuechi learned from Chu Guang that the federation, which had formed without his knowledge, had also shattered into three parts without his knowledge, he couldn’t help but moan in pain.

His face was distraught, and the man aged at that moment.

Compared to his initial earnestness when asking for help, or his panic when hearing of the great change, perhaps this was his most genuine feeling deep inside...

What was meant to come, had come.

Actually, Chu Guang felt that this man might have known from the start that it would end this way, yet he still resolutely chose the worst possible shock therapy.

But whether that was actually the case,

Only he himself would know.

"...You place your hopes on others, I find this approach unwise," Chu Guang said, giving him a meaningful glance.

Sun Yuechi’s face faltered as he tried to defend that he wasn’t someone who would just accept anyone, or to say that he had seriously selected who would take over this mess.

"I’ve conducted thorough investigations, including your handling of the Sindison case, as well as your relations with the Wasteland Wanderers and residents of the refuge, and there were many aspects worth learning from; I saw the potential in your achievements..."

"That’s not what I’m discussing."

Watching Sun Yuechi busy making excuses, Chu Guang shook his head and continued seriously,

"Firstly, our methods are not omnipotent, as there are no omnipotent solutions in this world. Secondly, we do not fully understand your situation, and you have not clearly explained your condition... Even though we’ve been very cautious with our demining efforts, an unexpected flame still erupted."

He had no doubt that his small players had already become excellent "bomb disposal experts."

This included his most dependable Brother Fang Chang, whose skills had been proven in practice, not just appointed by him.

Subsea freshwater pipelines were a clever move, mirroring the ingenious approach of Luo Xia Province’s railways. If all went well, they might indeed be able to win over most settlements and destabilize the shaky foundation of the Federation.

After all, the Federation hadn’t been established for long. The autonomy of each settlement was quite high. It was surprising that the governor was responsible to the island’s residents first, and only secondly to the president.

However, regretfully, the Wasteland was not like the 21st century world the players lived in. The opposition didn’t give him time to unify the islands but directly launched a plan, sending Cannon Fodder near the pipelines to sacrifice themselves, bringing the concealed problems to the surface and completely alienating the Torch Church allies within the Federation.

Even if Elder Fang had predicted that the Torch would cause trouble on the day the pipeline was operational and had strategically nullified their efforts, it was to no avail.

The opposition was clear on their role; they were destroyers of order. If they had to compete with the Alliance on establishing order, they would stand no chance.

So, they flipped the table right from the start.

However, from this one could also see, the Bishop in charge of the Southern sea area from the Torch Church and Luo Gan, who attempted to establish twisted orders in Brocade River City, were completely different type of players.

That guy might indeed be a "real person."

Faced with this sharp accusation, Sun Yuechi was speechless for a moment, eventually sinking despondently into the sofa behind him.

"...You’re right, I shouldn’t have pinned my hopes on you, who are completely unfamiliar with the situation. Moreover, I indeed have hidden some facts in this matter, but I had to do so to get you involved sooner."

He swallowed, then continued,

"I am indeed not entirely ignorant about the affairs of the Federation. The signs of division appeared not in my generation, but in my great-grandfather’s. I still remember when my predecessor gave me the authority, he said, perhaps the younger generation will have a solution... My God, what solution could I possibly have? He might as well have thrown this trouble to another old man who wouldn’t live much longer! Can you imagine? When the island’s residents heard I was just over thirty, everyone almost went mad, and I even suspect that old bastard did it on purpose. He wanted me to be the scapegoat on the gallows!"

He took a deep breath, burying his face in his hands.

"I also thought about whether it would be better if I took on everything alone, but I don’t want to die, at least not so pathetically, so I picked up the broken clock and repaired it again. The residents of the shelter praised me, saying that transferring the patrol team from the fleet to the Cabinet was a masterstroke, and that I effectively delayed the crisis by gouging the wolves’ eyes and attaching them to the dogs. But who doesn’t know, it’s just like removing planks from the deck to patch the ship’s bottom! Both the dogs and wolves on the ship are annoyed with us!"

Then he looked at Chu Guang with a bitter expression and said,

"Whether you believe it or not, that ship has sailed to its end; even if I stayed there, it would be futile. Or rather... if there was even a hint of hope left, I wouldn’t have left there. The shelter isn’t a wishing machine; there’s no button there that solves all problems when pressed."

Chu Guang nodded slightly,

"I understand your feelings, but I’m afraid your residents might not."

Sun Yuechi sighed, looking at the ceiling with a forlorn expression,

"I understand too... after all, I’m still young, and I won’t die from a few punches."

For some reason, Chu Guang suddenly felt a twitch of amusement, but felt it somewhat inappropriate to laugh out loud at that moment.

His predecessor and even the next one had considered the possibility of being beaten, deliberately choosing a young and resilient successor.

He wondered if his own predecessor had left him a body with extraordinary combat capabilities for the same reasons.

Watching Chu Guang’s facial muscles twitching, Sun Yuechi made a somewhat helpless gesture,

"I know you want to laugh, go ahead, but after that, can you tell me what you plan to do next?"

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, gently placing the teacup in his hand back onto the tray on the coffee table,

"Since the Torch Church has already intervened in the local situation, this is no longer just your problem. We had planned to launch an attack on the southern part of Brocade River Province and Haiya Province at the end of the year, but now it seems... we need to move up our timetable."

Just as his words fell, the sliding door of the browsing room clicked open, and a man in formal attire hurried in.

Sun Yuechi looked over and saw a somewhat familiar face, which he finally recognized after a while as Yi Chuan, the representative of the Enterprise faction stationed in the City of Dawn.

Signaling to X-16 standing on the side to pour a cup of milk tea for the guest, Chu Guang looked at him and smiled faintly,

"You’ve arrived just in time, I was just discussing the situation in the Southern sea area with the former manager of Shelter No. 70. As I mentioned in the email I sent to you, the situation there is probably worse than what the council understands."

Sitting down on the sofa, Yi Chuan nodded solemnly, his eyes intense.

"Thank you for the information you provided; we have understood the situation there. The council takes the situation in the Southern sea area very seriously. We will never allow anyone to arm those scaled devils, nor will we allow that group of lunatics to continue their insane plans, even spreading Nago’s pollution to the ocean—"

Chu Guang cleared his throat softly, interrupting his lengthy phrasing.

"Relax, this isn’t a Sticky Community meeting, and there are no reporters... Let’s discuss something practical."

Yi Chuan gave an embarrassed smile and awkwardly touched his nose.

"...How much money?"

Chu Guang nearly choked on his milk tea, coughing several times before stopping and glaring at him.

"That’s a bit too practical..."

Yi Chuan blinked in surprise and timidly asked.

"Isn’t that what you asked?"

"That’s true, but I still hoped for something a bit more tactful," Chu Guang looked at Sun Yuechi, "Tell our friend here about the situation, especially how the Torch Church got in touch with you, up until you came ashore."

Sun Yuechi looked blankly at them both and nodded.

"Alright..."

...

Shelter No. 70.

After a delay at the entrance, everyone finally entered the interior of the shelter.

The space behind the door was spacious.

Because it was an engineering entrance, it didn’t lead to the main hall of the shelter but to a vast and empty warehouse.

Judging by the dust on the floor, it seemed it hadn’t been used for some time.

This layout was somewhat similar to that of Shelter No. 404, which besides its surface entrance, also had one connected to the subway lines, and even a sealed passage leading to an unknown location.

Thousands of residents of the shelter had gathered here, both the "orthodox" Blue Jackets and the survivors who had retreated here from an incident in Coral City.

Without hiding the fact that he carried a key, Si Si, after crossing the threshold, immediately confessed.

"I have a proxy authority password, and I will use manager authentication to obtain temporary access soon. Of course, if you don’t trust us, or the arrangements of your managers, we will take the key and leave."

People crammed into the spare warehouse looked at each other, and no one objected; some individuals dressed in exoskeletons even voluntarily cleared the way to the terminal.

Under non-excessive circumstances, a beautiful face indeed tends to make a good first impression, whether for men or women.

Of course, the residents standing here weren’t entirely reliant on emotions to judge right from wrong; it was also a process of rational thinking.

Although acknowledging the truth was disheartening, they weren’t foolish to the extent of being blind to the obvious facts—

The problems here were beyond their capability to solve.

Had they been able to, they would have resolved them already, and not dragged on until the crisis fully erupted.

Nodding to those who made way, Si Si walked through the bustling crowd to the terminal, closed his eyes to copy the homework from the official website, then entered the dynamic password on the screen.

[Temporary access recognized... Registering biometric information.]

[Registration complete... Welcome back, proxy manager.]

Watching the pale blue text appear on the screen, Si Si withdrew his index finger from the screen, then looked towards Captain Chen Jianhong.

"Could you take me to the place where the security equipment is stored?"

Lowering his crossed arms, Captain Chen Jianhong nodded.

"No problem."

Having been part of the Alliance for some time, he was relatively assured of these people’s professional ethics.

Watching Captain Chen walk towards the depths of Shelter No. 70, Tail followed behind with his companions.

As for Captain Dongwen of the Glory, nearly two hundred crew members aboard, and the crew of the Dolphin, they temporarily moved into the vacant residential area arranged by the residents of Shelter No. 70.

According to the preliminary exchange of opinions, they planned to establish a new authority.

It wasn’t just about the abandoned Coral City but also included Shelter No. 70—a part not mentioned in the Federal authorities’ proclamation.

After all, they needed a common enemy to unite them at that time.

It turned out that this shortcut was unworkable, even if no one pushed them, they could collapse on their own.

Now, the new authority had to learn from this lesson right before their eyes and quickly come up with a better plan.

In the meeting room, representatives elected by both sides stood together, discussing how to draft this new proposal.

Watching the exchange of opinions, Lin Nuo, who was stroking his chin, suddenly raised his hand.

"This new authority... how about we call it the Southern Sea Area Alliance?"

The people who heard this were momentarily stunned.

It wasn’t that the idea was particularly innovative, but everyone was considering the content of the draft, and this fellow had started thinking about the title.

A tall man shook his head, his expression serious.

"It doesn’t matter what it is called, what matters more is what we do. Right now, our urgent task is to make contact with the warring parties; we must at least gain the support of one side."

His name was Yang Lirong, a former environmental engineer and a conservative in politics.

Since Sun Yuechi had left, the residents of the shelter had elected him as the temporary manager, not only because he had a loud voice but also because he represented the opinions of most residents.

Hearing his statement, many who shared his view nodded in agreement, but others expressed different opinions.

"Indeed, what we do is very important, but before that, we need a slogan that can unite everyone together." A tall, thin man raised his hand, speaking earnestly.

His name was Wang Sihai, a crew member of the Dolphin and also a member of Shelter No. 70, who had accompanied Captain Chen Jianhong on a "pilgrimage" to the City of Dawn.

In that miraculous place, he saw a different model—the model where the residents of the shelter and the Waste Land Wanderers treated each other equally.

They might not be able to successfully replicate it here, but it was at least worth referring to.

Another middle-aged man standing next to Yang Lirong shook his head.

"I know what you mean, but they’ve already grown tired of that kind of slogan; it would likely be difficult."

Wang Sihai didn’t give up and continued to argue his point.

"That’s why we need to remove as much of the Shelter No. 70 label from the slogan as possible, like... ’Survivors Unite,’ how about that?"

The others looked at each other, murmuring among themselves in private discussion.

Honestly, it wasn’t a very rousing statement.

It couldn’t compare to Charles’ impactful speech, not even to Li Minghui’s impromptu inauguration speech.

But, it had its own merits, such as being sufficiently concise and to the point... Wasn’t this difficulty precisely due to false unity?

Moreover, this borrowed slogan was not entirely without a "mass base" in the Southern sea area.

At least the residents of Ring Island had seen those united people and deeply experienced the order they brought.

The residents of other islands had also more or less heard about the Alliance’s stories or about those who had been sheltered in the Baiyue Strait to establish new homes.

The wind that started in River Valley Province had blown across the seas to here, and already, a group of brave people had set an excellent example—

Survivors can unite!

Now they just needed to courageously take that step forward, thoroughly redress past mistakes, and move towards true unity.

Watching the people nearby gradually change from skepticism to hesitancy, to a flicker of barely noticeable hope—whether it was Captain Dongwen of the Glory, Lin Nuo of the radio station, or Wang Sihai and other representatives of the Dolphin—everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the road ahead was long, the first step they had just taken allowed them all to see a glimpse of the dawn that promised to end the long night...

On the way to the armory.

With several small braids, Meat Meat excitedly swallowed a gulp of saliva and murmured excitedly with his thick bear paws.

"Could there be nuclear bombs!"

He had heard that friends from the Burning Corps found a tactical nuclear bomb the size of a bowling ball at Giant Stone City!

It would be great if we could find one here too!

Tail, walking beside him, said in an old-fashioned tone,

"The scope is too small, my Meat Meat! Just looking at the background settings, there are many things more powerful than nuclear bombs during the Prosperity Epoch... like neutron annihilators, for example."

"There couldn’t possibly be such things in the shelter," said Sesame Paste, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Exactly, there couldn’t possibly be such things in the shelter. If you’re expecting to find very powerful weapons there, you’ll probably be disappointed."

To accommodate the NPC who couldn’t understand human speech, Si Si deliberately used the language of the United Human when she spoke this.

However, unexpectedly, Captain Chen Jianhong, walking in front, laughed and exposed her presumption.

"...Well, you can’t exactly say that. For example, the ’back door’ you saw earlier actually was never connected to the shelter’s security system. Mr. Sun Yuechi told me this."

Si Si paused for a moment, looking at him in surprise.

"That means..."

She hesitated for a moment if to reveal it or not, but Captain Chen Jianhong finally sighed and disclosed the inevitable.

"During the three-year war, that door very likely was secretly opened once, and probably shortly after the Tiangong had crashed... after all, with such a commotion happening outside, it makes sense to check if the bike parked at the door was still there."

He paused, then added in a low voice,

"Of course, this is just a metaphor. Shelter No. 70 is located under the sea after all; what was parked outside could have been a submersible or something similar."

He remembered that documented materials mentioned that Shelter No. 70 originally deployed a large amount of construction equipment and building materials near the entrance, but those were lost due to the crash of Tiangong.

If the door was really securely closed, how did the people who had just left a century ago know what had happened to those items?

It was possible that the Wasteland Wanderers had scavenged them, and those outside survivors were not truly indigenous but tough people who built man-made islands using sand-sailing ships. Before they came out of the shelter, those people were also slowly developing, albeit slowly and abnormally.

Si Si swallowed her saliva.

"Did they bring some things back at that time?"

"Exactly, concerned about future scenarios where the ’enemy’ might prevail, the first generation manager of Shelter No. 70 likely reclaimed some objects that fell from the sky after the tsunami subsided, taking advantage of the war-time government not yet searching the Tiangong space station, and brought them back through that spare back door to the shelter."

He paused again, and Captain Chen Jianhong continued with a complex expression.

"Like the battleship parked at North Island; the cannons on it were actually taken from an escort starship and then transported through the back door into the shelter."

Tail’s eyes shone with excitement as he said,

"Oh! There really are such powerful weapons!"

Meat Meat, similarly enthusiastic about the unfolding excitement, eagerly looked at the captain.

Not sure how to respond to this overly expectant gaze, Captain Chen Jianhong scratched his head and coughed as he said,

"There definitely are some, but they’re not as exaggerated as you and those outside imagine... just some wrecks dismantled from starships and some power armor from the Space Force. We repaired a part of it in the first century, and after opening the door, we shifted our main focus of work back to construction outside the shelter."

Unexpectedly, having his assumptions proven wrong, Si Si embarrassingly changed the subject.

"By the way, how did you know about the engravings next to that back door just now? Did Sun Yuechi also tell you that?"

Chen Jianhong shook his head.

"That’s not exactly it... Mr. Sun actually never went there. To be precise, since the main entrance of the shelter was opened, it seems that no one has used that door. As for the reason, you might guess, it’s not something to be proud of. As for why there are words engraved, that was my guess."

Si Si was initially a bit confused, but soon she suddenly realized.

The words were engraved at the back door, not the main entrance that was connected to the security system...

In other words, the identities of those who first entered this shelter were highly doubtful.

With eyes wide in surprise, Si Si looked at him.

"You mean..."

Chen Jianhong looked aside with a complex expression and voiced his speculation.

"There are two possibilities, they were the people on the list, but because the entrance was blocked by a group of ’troubles’ seeking survival, they took the back door and then wrote their regrets on the wall."

"The other possibility, a bit more conspiratorial, is that they might not have been the people on the list at all, but were contractors or those familiar with the shelter. They managed to acquire the identities of the contractors or found other ways to infiltrate the shelter and modified the shelter protocol, replacing those who were supposed to enter..."

Chen Jianhong paused for a moment then added a third possibility he himself didn’t quite believe.

"Of course, we can’t completely rule out the third scenario, where they were indeed the people listed, truly entered through the main entrance rightfully, but while using the back door, they thought of their compatriots who died outside, so they left their regrets there... just like going out to the balcony to smoke a cigarette."

The truth is like Schrödinger’s cat, if no one opens the box, perhaps no one will ever know what really happened.

It’s hard to say whether the First Generation Manager would leave this memory in the logs.

It’s also hard to say whether it’s better to keep the truth buried or to dig it all out impulsively.

Watching Si Si, who was dumbfounded, a complex expression floated on Chen Jianhong’s face.

"I don’t ask about your affairs, but do you really think... were all those who could enter the shelter 200 years ago good people? You must have seen what the situation at the shelter’s entrance was like."

Si Si, snapping back to her senses, shook her head and spoke concisely.

"I never thought so, and, I don’t think I can be considered a good person either."

"Ha, don’t joke, you seem decent enough to us," Chen Jianhong laughed and stroked his scruffy chin, but soon fell silent again.

This was not a laughing matter.

The Prosperity Epoch achieved widespread equality, that’s an objective fact, yet the crises of survival also released the suppressed beastial nature within humans, and that is a fact as well.

United Human needed a group of brave, capable, and faithful people to go to a distant future, to rebuild a new homeland on the possibly vanished soil of civilization.

For this reason, they needed to select some real good people.

However, the contradiction is, when a set of rules is designed to filter out the "good people" from a group, what it might actually filter out might not necessarily be the "good people", but might just be truly ruthless individuals.

There was never a claim that only genuine elites could enter the shelter.

The truly harsh truth might be that it was because they lived in the shelter, that they became so-called elites...

Having learned about other shelters, Chen Jianhong also somewhat felt that the residents of the shelter were not truly "naive".

After all, humans are complex and varied creatures, capable of changing their minds three times a day; using a naive term like ’naive’ to describe a group is itself the most naive arrogance.

Those guys... that is, his forebearers, were likely just the winners of the test 200 years ago.

There were many ways to win: some complied with the rules, while others broke the rules, or even cheated by finding another way.

Also, being "elite" was not a survival pass; the outside world had operated for 200 years, and had changed countless sets of "tests".

That’s why, upon emerging, they "didn’t always" manage to compete with the Waste Land Wanderers, thus unconsciously tying authority with lineage.

"We’ve got many of us wrong; a shelter is not a nation, nor a political group, but rather a special disaster relief agency akin to police, firefighters, except its specialty bestowed it an excessively transcendental status and benefits... like the extremely scarce right to survival in that era. Hence, those children thought their forebears were one in a million elites, and they were elites too, thinking that by speaking like them, they would be worshipped by ordinary folks. To think that, it’s not only inappropriate now, but even in that era, it was never the case."

Si Si looked at him slightly surprised.

"That you can think so much indeed surprises me."

Mainly because when I first met this guy, he didn’t seem like this at all, he seemed more like a potential supporter of the Enlightenment Society.

Going to City of Dawn could have such a big impact?

Chen Jianhong, faced with the surprised gaze, felt a bit embarrassed and scratched the back of his head, laughing as he spoke.

"It’s rather embarrassing... I was actually inspired by a Waste Land Wanderer."

"Who?"

"Pol."

Si Si paused for a moment before remembering who that was, and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Tail’s eyes shone brightly as he interjected.

"Oh! Was it written by Spielberg?"

Chen Jianhong’s eyes suddenly lit up, not expecting to encounter a kindred spirit here, and he said with a laugh.

"Haha, I knew you guys had seen it too!"

Tail, feeling a bit shy, scratched his head and muttered softly.

"Uh, actually, no, our Meat Meat was still drifting on the sea then."

There were actually people on the forum moving it, but reading books in the Game World still felt different than reading them in the real world.

Just like "The Elder Scroll 5", even though people had compiled the books from the game into texts, it just didn’t feel the same when moved into the real world.

"Suddenly remembering, we haven’t been back for a long time." Hearing the sudden mention of "hometown," Sesame Paste’s face also showed a hint of nostalgia.

Even though the ramen shops from City of Dawn had opened in Jinga Lun Port, they hadn’t gone to the North Street ramen joint in a long time.

Chen Jianhong was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding this nostalgia, especially since it only took two days by airship from Potato Harbor back to City of Dawn.

However, he soon remembered that this flight route had only been opened two months ago; maybe they just haven’t had the time to spare.

"That... is really too bad."

...

Passing through the long corridor of the refuge.

Everyone entered a huge cargo elevator and went into a warehouse deep inside the refuge.

According to the rules set by the First Generation Manager, only those with Manager access could enter here.

It was a vast space, about the size of four football fields.

Standing at the top of the warehouse gangway and looking down, rows of neatly arranged mechanical structures were displayed in the center of the open space.

Some of these included repaired devices—like Dragon Cavalry power armor—pile up in a corner of the warehouse, counting up to a hundred units!

Even more than what the Alliance had previously discovered in the Arsenal of Giant Stone City armory!

Not only that, but there were also types of single-soldier equipment like Gauss Rifles and energy weapons that had been repaired and were shelved in the warehouse...

What’s more astonishing was the object displayed in the center of the warehouse, a metal track—or rather, a gun barrel—as long as two high-speed train carriages!

Undoubtedly!

This thing was definitely the electromagnetic cannon used on space escort ships!

And the inventory here had a total of four!

As for the other odd gadgets, probably the reaction cores or anti-gravity devices from starships, they were surprising enough.

Thinking that the Meat Meat would soon be flying in the sky, Tail clenched his fists excitedly, his eyes turning into the shape of silver coins.

"Giao! Si! We’ve struck it rich!"

Si Si couldn’t help but facepalm softly, and reminded in a low voice,

"Ah Wei, wake up, this isn’t our reward, it’s a mission prop."

Meat Meat was so shocked that her jaw almost dropped to the railing, momentarily lost for words. Sesame Paste also showed a surprised expression, albeit not as exaggerated as Meat Meat and Ah Wei.

Seeing the shocked looks on everyone’s faces, Chen Jianhong couldn’t help but curl his lips slightly, speaking with a hint of pride,

"A century ago, when we were still in the shelter, we already modified the shells for these four cannons, allowing this railgun to be used within the atmosphere. Not to mention anti-ship capabilities, this thing could even send a 500-kilogram mass bomb to a near-Earth orbit!"

kilograms?!

Hearing this, Meat Meat couldn’t help but exclaim,

"Good heavens, a half-ton launch payload?! Could you possibly... use this thing to launch satellites?!"

Of course, whether or not satellites could operate in outer space is another matter.

I’ve heard there’s astronomical-level trash drifting out there; even the big shots from Ideal City are stumped.

Si Si commented,

"Launching satellites might not be feasible, considering electronic components that could withstand a muzzle energy of 32 mega-joules... at least they don’t exist in reality."

Typically, the muzzle energy that missile tubes can withstand is about that.

And the muzzle energy of this cannon clearly isn’t measured in mega-joules.

After all, the Alliance’s self-developed No. 60 electromagnetic cannon already reached 60 mega-joules, which is about three times that of the conventional naval guns used in the real world.

This thing probably starts at 30 times that, but who knows what the upper limit is.

However, considering that the semiconductor materials used in the Wasteland differ from those in reality, she didn’t want to speak too definitively.

Seeing the awestruck residents of Shelter No. 404, Chen Jianhong smiled and continued to introduce the unique capabilities of his shelter,

"At first, when we considered the Army as a hypothetical enemy, we thought about using missiles with terminal deceleration to deal with airships carrying deflection shields. But then we considered they might install point defense systems on the airships to counter slow targets, so we thought of mounting this railgun onto a battleship of sufficient tonnage."

"Even without the assistance of phase guns to break shields, relying on the kinetic energy of the projectiles themselves could overload the shields. Theoretically, three rounds would be sufficient to bring down the Army’s conventional airships!"

"As for whether they have other tricks up their sleeves, we don’t know... at least let them know we are not to be trifled with."

Si Si couldn’t help but remark,

"This is already quite an extraordinary display of power... If Charles got his hands on these, he might genuinely have a chance at dominating this sea with you guys."

Just like this guy said, their enemies are not without opportunities, both sides are cautiously waiting for the right moment.

"Dominate the sea? Hahaha!"

Chen Jianhong simply grinned, casting his gaze toward the wreckage stripped from the escort ships, slightly narrowing his eyes,

"...If that’s the scope of his ambition, then it’s far too petty."

"Following your Manager and reentering the Star Sea, wouldn’t the scene be far more spectacular than a small pond?"

To be honest.

Whether it was the previous Mongo or now Charles, those guys’ visions were too small, even their dreams are so confined.

A Federation dominated by survivors of the Southern sea area?

The frontier of United Humans is out at five light-years!

Compared to that, indeed, that gentleman’s words sounded better, and his metaphorical ’cake’ tasted better... whether it’s for the current Wasteland Wanderers, or those Blue Jackets dreaming of returning to the Prosperity Epoch, they could find their favored tastes with him.

They wouldn’t go to the Prosperity Epoch.

But from now on, they would start creating an even greater Epoch!

No wonder Sun Yuechi that guy stays in City of Dawn and refuses to come back...

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