Feather-like snow was floating in the sky, and a towering stone monument stood in the center of the square.
This monument was located there as early as the founding of the Union.
It is shaped like a sword, pointing straight to the sky, and the unfinished square tip is still extending upward.
Every once in a while, it will extend upward.
Sometimes it's one or two meters, sometimes it's as high as several people stacked on top of each other.
There are many names engraved on that monument.
And every name engraved there is a memory of blood and glory.
In addition to commemorating sacrifices, this is also the place where Alliance soldiers triumph and receive medals...
…
Just like when Vault 404 opened its doors for the 777th time, it was another cold winter this year, and the first snow fell before the end of autumn.
And now, winter has just begun, and heavy snow like goose feathers is falling in the sky.
Seeing snow for the first time, especially such heavy snow, Dora was as excited as a child. She chased the snow on her back, but she didn't see the road ahead and tripped over a stone ridge on the roadside.
Be careful and knock the passing vines into the flower bed.
The spherical green plants were covered with snow, but the two of them were not injured in the collision.
However, after suffering such an unforeseen disaster, Teng Teng's spirit seemed to have been greatly impacted. His soul seemed to float out of his body, and his bright eyes gradually lost their light.
The look of losing her dream shocked Dora. She wiped the snow off her body helplessly and kept saying sorry.
The players who were joining in the fun on the side saw the situation here and did not go to help. One or two others just looked around and started making noises.
"Referee! Someone hit someone with the ball here!"
"Pass it on! Teng Teng was knocked unconscious by the ball!"
"?Aren't you dizzy?"
"Don't worry about how you fainted! Quick! Dora, give artificial respiration!"
"???"
The scene was chaotic. Dora could understand what they were saying, but she didn't know what to do.
This bunch of crazy people just give random instructions, but no one is willing to give a demonstration on the spot.
Until the warm-hearted mosquitoes arrived at the scene.
"I come--!"
Hearing the broken voice of the drake, Teng Teng, whose face was squeezed out of shape, suddenly woke up from Dora's arms and reflexively kicked the mosquito into the flower bed.
"Wu Ka——"
Looking at the mosquitoes flapping in the snowdrift, she roared with shame and anger.
"Go to hell!"
Seeing Miss Teng Teng going crazy, all the players immediately dispersed and ran away.
Not far from the flower bed, after hearing that Teng Teng was knocked unconscious by a snowball, Tie Teng suddenly had a whim, and pulled Rourou to have a snowball fight with a group of newbies who were new to the world.
Facts have proved that there is no supersonic snowball in "Wasteland Online", or that it disintegrates the moment it breaks the sound barrier.
Watching the snow foam flying in the air, Bai Ge, who was standing at the edge of the square with Xiao Hong, had an interested smile on his face.
"It's really lively."
Xiaohong didn't speak, she just looked quietly in the direction of the center of Qingquan City, with a faint smile on her face, just like an old mother looking at her children.
As if sensing its presence, a crisp cry came from far away, just like the sound made by a dolphin.
"Uh-huh--!"
"Uh-huh -" Xiaohong responded to the vast snowy curtain, looking in the direction of Qingquan City.
'Luo Yu... is amazing!'
'Really? Your relationship is very good.'
'Um!'
"..."
In just a short moment, they had finished talking about the past that ordinary people would not be able to finish talking about in several days, starting from the French Fries Port in the south to the Whirlpool Sea in the west of Middle-earth.
And those places have never been seen by Xiaohong who stayed in Lost Valley...
At this time, a strange voice suddenly came from the side.
"Are you... Baige?"
Hearing the sound coming from the side, Bai Ge turned around and saw a walking iron can.
The man wore round armor, with iron sheets covering every inch of his body, with only two eyes exposed through the gaps.
Smelling the smell of mutant slime mold spores from his body, Bai Ge's face showed surprise for a moment, but it soon turned into a warm smile.
It's the same kind.
Like him, this guy has established a symbiotic relationship with mutant slime mold to some extent.
The only difference is that he doesn't seem to be as lucky as himself, and he meets a guy who lacks a sense of boundaries.
"It's me, what's wrong?"
"Nice to meet you! I have long admired you!" The tin can made a clanking sound, and he said with an embarrassed smile, "My name is Bach... Hehe, I originally wanted to go to Fallen Leaf Valley to find you, but I didn't expect that.
You actually came to Dawn City."
"Then you are here at a good time," Bai Ge smiled faintly and looked up at the sky, "In a few days, I may go to other places."
"……other places?"
Butch was stunned for a moment and didn't react. Bai Ge didn't explain, just looked at him and asked.
"What do you want from me?"
"There's something... that's it. I heard that you are an expert in the study of mutant slime mold, so I wanted to ask you to help me see if I can be saved like this?"
As he spoke, Bucky reached out and touched the back of his head, took off his helmet, and revealed a face that could make a child cry.
Bai Ge looked at his face, but did not show any disgust or fear. He just touched his chin with interest, and then stretched out the index finger of his right hand.
"Let me see."
While he was speaking, his index finger had already touched Bach's forehead, and a thread-like flesh-red spore emerged from his fingertip.
The spore was like a needle, piercing the skin of Bach's forehead and drilling towards the skull.
However, at this moment, a change suddenly occurred.
The skin of all kinds of rotten flesh suddenly twisted into ripples as if it came alive, like a wild dog guarding its food, biting off its thread-like spores.
Bai Ge's face showed a true expression, and he took back the index finger that was resting on his forehead.
Bucky, who looked confused, didn't know what happened, so he just looked at the former and blinked.
"In the end what happened?"
"It's grown into your brain."
Upon hearing this answer, Bucky's eyes widened for a moment, with a look of fear on his face.
"How could it be possible?! But...I, I have been using inhibitors..."
Bai Ge nodded.
"Indeed, I can feel it. And maybe it's because of the inhibitor that you didn't realize that you were not actually Butch... but a slime mold that inherited Butch's memory, and still used Butch's memory.
The name lives on."
Hearing this shocking thing, Bucky couldn't bear it and covered his face, repeating in his mouth.
"I... am a slime mold? I'm not Butch?"
"Yes and no," Bai Ge looked at him who couldn't accept the reality, and said in a very soft voice, "You are a slime mold, and you are also Butch... At least you are the Butch that people here know."
Looking at the man who raised his head blankly, he thought for a while and continued.
"Whether a ship with all the planks replaced is still the same ship, I think it is. Although all the elements that make up it have changed, the form of its existence has not changed at all. Our cells themselves are constantly changing
Metabolism will be replaced once every ten years at most...but in your and my case, we added a little something else to this metabolic process."
"You can think that it swallowed your body, or you can think that your consciousness replaced its original existence. It doesn't matter. But one thing is undoubtedly, whether to become a human or a slime mold or something else
What you choose depends on you."
"It depends on myself..." Bach looked blankly at the senior in front of him, staying in place speechlessly, as if he understood, but also as if he didn't.
Bai Ge smiled and turned his attention to the monument in the distance and the administrator standing under the monument, with a look of interest in his eyes.
"Is a slime mold with human consciousness considered a human being... It seems that the Alliance has already considered this issue, haha. In fact, you don't have to be so sad. People here have already accepted you, but you just can't accept it yourself.
"
"'Budge' became the new 'Budge' a long time ago, probably before he used the inhibitor... It's a pity, but there's nothing you can do about it. After all, even if you kill this part, the original you will still be there.
You can’t come back. The alliance’s doctors prescribed inhibitors for you out of good intentions, allowing you to live as if you were sleepwalking all day long. In fact, you know in your heart that you are lying to yourself.”
"Your rejection reaction is because you resist the change and feel disgusted with your body."
"Why not try to accept it? Like think of it as a new beginning and stop the inhibitors."
"You will slowly integrate and harness this power... Before you start to get tired of the long time, you can have fun."
"After all, this is an 'immortal body'."
After saying these words, Baige waved his hand, leaving Butch, who was staring at his hands thoughtfully, where he was, and left with Xiaohong.
The crowds coming and going didn't take a second look at Butch...even with a face that could make a child cry.
This is an alliance.
And it is the starting point of the alliance.
What weird things haven’t the wastelanders living here seen?
People didn't look at him strangely because of the slime mold growing on his body. That heavy suit of armor only trapped his past self in his heart...
Shortly after the white pigeon left, the snow battle started by the tail became larger and larger, and its scope became wider and wider. It looked like a world war!
In the end, not only the newcomers, but also the veterans who returned to Dawn City from the center of the desert to participate in the medal ceremony also joined the battlefield.
In this melee between the Awakened and the Awakened, the war criminal Awei was finally unable to defeat seven or eight balls with both fists, and was drowned in the snowdrift with a tragic giao.
"let me go--"
"I have made contributions to the alliance! I want to see Brother Guang!"
"Wait a minute, the tail wants to stand in position C when taking pictures - giao! Someone move your butt! The head of the tail is blocked!"
Everyone took turns to take photos, and finally rescued Awei from the snowman before her nose fell. She was "trembling but will dare next time".
Just when everyone was having a great time, they waited at the edge of the square for a long time and finally arrived at Jiang Xuezhou, who was half an hour late.
She was wearing a white cashmere coat, and around her neck was a scarf that he had given him before. She was wrapped tightly like a snowman.
But even so, Ye Shi still recognized her from the crowd at a glance, and he immediately recognized that she was different from before.
Staring straight at that exquisite face that looked like a 3D model, Ye Shi held it in for a long time before he couldn't help but say.
"By the way, why did you become like this?"
"Doesn't it look good..." Jiang Xuezhou panicked for a moment and raised his fingers like a child who failed an exam.
Ye Shi shook his head and looked away with a blushing face, a little embarrassed.
"That's not true..."
how to say.
It looks good, but I feel like I have seen it in the 3D area.
After staring into Ye Shi's eyes for a long time and confirming that this guy was shy, Jiang Xuezhou's originally straight corners of his mouth suddenly turned up to the sky in triumph.
"snort."
She folded her arms in front of her chest, brushed her hair that fell on her shoulders, and raised her straight nose in a coquettish way.
"I'm sorry, this lady looks like this... I just used scientific methods to restore it."
"Yes Yes Yes."
Ye Shi made a helpless expression and said to her heart, just be happy.
He didn't dislike it before, but it's not like he became more beautiful and couldn't talk anymore.
It may be a bit disgusting to say this, but it is indeed that kind and beautiful soul that he fell in love with.
No matter what she becomes, this remains the same.
Perhaps his eyes were really a little numb, and his pretty fair face suddenly became coy.
The hooked index fingers rubbed each other. She hesitated for a long time, and finally whispered.
"By the way, um...there's something I have to say sorry to you for."
Ye Shi looked at her doubtfully.
"whats the matter?"
"Some things are just theories after all. Although I know that, at that time I was just trying to save you. There was a key part... I didn't think of that. Anyway, you know what I'm talking about..."
Her index finger circled the end of her hair on her temples, her face was as red as a lantern, she stared straight at the side and glanced at him from time to time.
"...Do you want to install it?"
Even though it was just a light touch with his eyes, Ye Shi felt as if his heart had been hit by a bullet.
Maybe this is a virgin.
According to Elder Brother Fang's ridicule, this is the most typical form of embarrassment for a virgin - but let's be embarrassed, he doesn't bother to argue with the old man about this kind of thing.
For a moment, he even had the urge to tell the other party his QQ password.
No--
He even thought about what to name the child.
"You wait for me for three days!"
Jiang Xuezhou was stunned for a moment.
"Three days? Why three days..."
"Don't worry about it, just wait for me for three days-"
"If you have something to say, please speak it carefully and don't suddenly point the gun at yourself!"
For a moment, Jiang Xuezhou was really frightened by this guy.
Fortunately, the knowledgeable guards arrived in time and "reported the bug" while catching someone who had fainted...
…
The eight o'clock bell rang on time, and before I knew it, the square was filled with people. The sights of pairs of people focused on the monument in the center of the square almost melted the thick snow.
It is different from the cold winters of previous years.
Although there was a lot of snow this year's cold winter, it was far from unbearable.
Supermarket shelves are filled with a wide variety of goods that are affordable to ordinary citizens working in even the most unskilled jobs.
Survivors who have just arrived here will hardly believe that just five years ago, people living here had to stuff paper money from the pre-war era into sacks to use as cotton-padded clothes.
This is undoubtedly a miracle.
People living here no longer have to fear the silvery hell, and young children happily build snowmen in front of their homes.
Before Wasteland Era 211, this kind of thing had never happened. After all, most people at that time didn't even have homes.
That manager really didn’t break his promise——
He built a miracle on this piece of land that was no less than an ideal city.
even--
This miracle that illuminates the entire wasteland is more dazzling than the light emitted by Ideal City!
Of course, as he said, this is not his alone.
This credit belongs to everyone.
No matter who is alive.
Still someone who died in the past.
Looking back at the pairs of admiring eyes and the faces full of longing and even fanaticism, Chu Guang's thoughts, standing under the monument, couldn't help but drift back to the past.
That was the 777th time Vault 404 opened its doors.
It was probably near Linghu Wetland Park at that time. When I first arrived, I was confused about everything around me. I was even chased for several miles by a wild dog with two heads, and I almost died in the dog's mouth.
Facts have proven that people don’t know how good they are unless they push themselves.
Although the price was a bit too painful, so that he died again and again in various weird ways, but fortunately, everyone was happy in the end.
However, that is all in the past.
Even to this day, the echoes of those deaths still occasionally appear in his dreams in the form of nightmares with the help of spontaneously formed morphogenic fields.
"It's not easy to get here, Master."
Xiaoqi's voice came from next to her ears.
Chu Guang could tell that the joyful voice was coming from the bottom of his heart and he was happy for himself.
With a faint smile on his lips, Chu Guang said in a voice that only two people could hear.
"Indeed, it's not easy to get here. And it's not just me, you are too..."
"Thank you for all your hard work."
He is not the only one who has been reborn 777 times.
He will remember that promise all his life and treat this little guy well.
"Owner……"
The electronic sound that floated into my ears had a slight tremor, as if I was so moved that I was about to cry.
Chu Guang believed that this guy had feelings, and he did have emotions and emotions.
But crying is definitely just an act.
At this time, the eight o'clock bell came from afar, breaking the hustle and bustle in the square.
The bustling sounds magically became quiet in an instant, and the only sounds left in the square were the sounds of falling snow and the blowing wind.
The subconscious reaction was unanimous, and even the people who stopped talking felt a little surprised.
Time is up.
The triumphal ceremony is about to take place.
Not only that, today's triumphal ceremony has another extraordinary meaning that is completely different from before!
In addition to awarding medals to the warriors who participated in the final battle, their respected administrators will also draw a final end to this war that has lasted for more than two centuries at this solemn and solemn moment of victory——
What they defeated was not just the Church of the Torch and the Corrupt Legion, nor just the Enlightenment Society or the Celestial Beings.
But the Wasteland Era!
From now on, a new global order will be formed on earth, and no one or any force will tolerate the growth of evil and barbarism.
The various survivor forces will unite together like never before and form a de facto alliance!
Looking at those scorching pupils, Chu Guang's Adam's apple moved slightly and he spoke in a eloquent tone.
"Wasteland Era 211, I remember it was also a cold winter that year... I just walked out of the shelter and I was not fully prepared, and I even acted a little hastily."
"Especially when I saw the first snow, I even had a fleeting thought in my mind: 'Is it too early to open the door now?'"
"I think it's not just me who has thought this way, many people have thought this way."
He did not prepare a speech in advance, nor did he try to awaken the fire in people's hearts, because there was no need for that.
They are no longer just waiting there, and have already become the light that lights up the horizon.
Moreover, this was just the opening speech of a triumphal ceremony, not a war mobilization or political performance.
He just wants to have a heart-to-heart chat with those who support him as an ordinary person.
"It's not a great reason or a grand goal that drives me to make these decisions."
"Simply because when I woke up from the wasteland, I saw a skinny girl with eyes full of desire for an inconspicuous candy. A simple, kind, hard-working family could not even meet the most basic survival needs.
, but the people who were supposed to lead them to rebuild their homes were sitting on top of them and dominating, bowing to the barbarians, and striking hard at civilization... Even the residents of the shelter who were supposed to set an example were not much better.
, we who should have stood up and done something not only chose to remain silent, but also used the knowledge of the Prosperity Era to prepare pills for those beasts and settle the accounts."
"I saw people eating people, and what was even scarier was that no one thought it was wrong - neither the one eating people nor the one being eaten. Soon I thought about myself, if my child was
One day in the future I will have to make a choice in order to survive, so is it still worth it for me to live at all costs today?"
The square was quiet.
Chu Guang could feel the resonance.
Because he knew very well that that was a choice that every wastelander had made.
In order to survive, they more or less did things they didn't want to do.
Whether it's right or wrong.
"...It's not shameful to live, but I know we can't go on like this anymore, we have to do something. Because if we do nothing and just wait for fate to make choices for us, we will no longer have this future.
Plant something.”
"We who are alive will die in silence, and the traces of our existence will be meaningless. It can't even be called a shame, because we will be the last generation, and no one will even cover this hair for us.
Smelly coffin!"
"From that moment on, I decided to try to do something, start from where I can, no longer take ugliness and filth for granted, no longer just live to live... but to become the light myself,
Light the fire in your own hands and be the light that those around you can see before lighting them on fire.”
Chu Guang gently took a deep breath, letting the turbid air in his chest blend into the white mist.
A smile appeared on his face, he lowered his voice a few decibels, and continued speaking at a gentle pace.
"...I am honored that you are all me, allowing me to see countless times when I faced chaos and barbarism, and made the same choice without hesitation."
"This is a miracle we have created together. We will continue to move forward with the memories of these two hundred years of decline, and a new civilization will rise again from the ruins of the old prosperity at this moment."
"Our descendants will live in a brighter future and don't have to fear the coming of winter and night like we do now! Because the wasteland era that their fathers ended has created impossible miracles with their courage, unity and determination!
"
"We won not only a victory in a war, but also a victory over our past!"
"History will turn a new page, and every day from now on will be a new era!"
"This great victory belongs to us——"
"Every one of us who fights to end the Wasteland Era!"