Shuguangcheng North Street, a road hotel located next to the trading station.
Before it gets completely dark outside, the lobby on the first floor, filled with tables and chairs, is already filled with the aroma of beer foam and the bustle of people.
The news of victory seemed to have wings and flew back from the front line to Shuguang City in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.
Thanks to the broadcast in the square and the small screen hanging behind the bar, the drunkards sitting here did not become the last people to know the news.
Whether they were merchants or travelers, or caravan guards and mercenaries, when they heard that the New Alliance's army defeated the Bone Chewing Tribe on the frontal battlefield, everyone couldn't help but cheer for the manager wearing power armor in their hearts.
For a long time, the Bone-Chewing Tribe has been a name that has made countless wastelanders talk about it.
They spread from the north to the south like a walking plague. Wherever they went, there was a scorched earth. Hundreds of survivor strongholds were wiped off the map. No one could stop their footsteps...
But now, they were finally kicked on the iron plate, and their teeth were knocked out by the alliance's iron fist.
"Twenty-seven tanks were wiped out in one battle! My God, how many soldiers did they mobilize?!"
"I don't quite understand, what kind of tank... belch, is it very powerful?" The drunken mercenary lay on the bar and asked while burping.
"Awesome? Haha, are you kidding? That thing is a complete monster, a fortress walking on land! It is not something that ordinary people can deal with! I would rather face the death claw, at least my gun can still bring me
A little bit of security.”
The mercenary sitting next to him began to brag about what he had seen while working for the people in the Great Rift Valley in the north, attracting the attention of many people.
Naturally, this also included Sun Shiqi, who was sitting in the tavern.
Three days ago, he transported 6 tons of copper ingots, 2 tons of chromium, 1 ton of cobalt and nickel... and a lot of sulfur and phosphorus from Honghe Town.
However, what surprised Sun Shiqi was that the copper ore and sulfur he was originally most optimistic about almost lost the money he earned from other goods.
Xinlian seems to have really discovered a copper mine. It has transformed from the second largest copper importer in the southern part of the river valley province to a resource exporter overnight?
Although they have not yet started exporting ore, they have apparently suspended bulk imports of copper ingots.
Coupled with the rapid fall in the price of platinum metal, which serves as an industrial catalyst, it seems to indicate that this war has come to an end.
His intuition told him that the market in Dawn City might be about to change.
According to past practice, the new alliance after the war will quickly transfer part of the military production lines to civilian use, and the production lines for explosives production will be changed to the production of fertilizers and soaps. The most prominent sign of the cycle switching is the production of basic industrial raw materials such as nitric acid and sulfuric acid.
Capacity expansion stopped.
Not in a hurry to make the next deal, Sun Shiqi would sit on the first floor of the Highway Town Hotel every night these days, ordering a plate of potato chips and a glass of beer.
Even though he has purchased his own property in Shuguang City.
"Defeated the Bone Chewing Tribe on the frontal battlefield... It seems that nothing can stop the rise of the new alliance."
Zhou Nan, who was sitting opposite Sun Shiqi and staring at the small screen on the bar, said with an emotional expression on his face.
Hearing this, Sun Shiqi chuckled.
"Isn't this inevitable?"
inevitable?
Zhou Nan gave this guy a sidelong glance.
Stop bragging!
When the New Alliance announced the Northern Expedition two months ago, that's not what you said!
But it’s actually inevitable.
At that time, no one was optimistic that the new alliance could win, except for the blue coats who were optimistic about themselves and the residents who regarded the managers as gods.
On one side are the barbarians who have 30,000 soldiers and have inherited the equipment and even the command system of the legion's expeditionary force. On the other side is the emerging survivor settlement, which has a total population of only 5,000 and has only harvested one crop of food in the fields less than a year after its establishment.
.
No one could have imagined that the new alliance would actually win.
And he won so completely.
An armored centurion consisting of twenty-seven tanks, followed by a large group of anti-aircraft guns, was commanded by Dillon.
How can we win with those small planes that dive and drop bombs?
However, these are all hindsight now.
Seeing that he had invited him to have a drink, Zhou Nan did not complain about this guy, but just silently took a sip of the fragrant beer.
As for Sun Shiqi, he was still chattering endlessly thinking about the future.
"...the future River Valley province will be divided into three, with Stone City occupying the south and Great Rift Valley occupying the north, while the new alliance will fill the gaps in the central region."
"There is gold everywhere here! No, it is much more valuable than gold!"
Unlike most survivor settlements, the New Alliance has a strange attachment to the land.
Obviously, the total permanent population of Shuguang City is only five to six thousand, but they have already pushed the border to Xizhou City.
Yes, the war is not over yet, these blue coats have already included Hope Town in Xizhou City into their territory, and even provided food to the residents there.
In Sun Shiqi's opinion, this was simply too strange.
However, this is a good thing for him.
If the new alliance is willing to open up the no-man's land in the north and take in the displaced refugees and herders, he will be happy to provide them with shovels or other tools.
At this moment, Sun Shiqi suddenly thought of something, looked at his fair-weather friend sitting opposite and said.
"I remember you said before that you are also from Hope Town, right?"
Zhou Nan was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
"My friend, these days there are more survivors living in Hope Town than there are people who name themselves after spring, summer, autumn, winter, mountains and rivers. I am indeed from Hope Town... but it is Hope Town in Jinchuan Province.
We don’t have any bone-chewing tribes there, the only headaches are mutants and countless mutated poisonous insects.”
In addition, there are the cultists on the Death Coast in the south, and the pirates who have crossed the southern coastal provinces and fled inland.
But these are actually not big problems.
After all, this is how they live every year, and the locals have long found a balance between chaos and death to survive.
Speaking of this, Zhou Nan couldn't help but sigh.
"...Anyway, thanks to the new alliance blocking us, otherwise we would have had a headache next year at this time because of the bone-chewing tribe that was going south by bypassing Boulder City."
"Indeed, thanks to them," Sun Shiqi sighed with mixed feelings while looking at the beer bubbles in the cup, "otherwise I'm afraid I would still be a hawker doing a small business..."
It's not just him who has this victory to thank.
All the merchants, mine owners, and chambers of commerce in Honghe Town owe that manager a thank you.
The reason why the Snake Clan is unable to use all its strength to deal with Honghe Town is largely due to the constraints of the new alliance.
Now that Xizhou City has been captured by the New Alliance, the Snake Clan has to end the siege of Honghe Town even if it doesn't want to save its compatriots.
The war is finally coming to an end.
The two smiled, clinked glasses, and sent heartfelt blessings.
"Cheers to the great alliance!"
"Cheers to the wise and powerful administrator!"
"May he live long!"
…
Outside the Highway Town Hotel.
In the corner of the market next door, an old man wrapped in a scarf and robe sat setting up a street stall. The clouds of smoke on his faded old pipe made his wrinkled face feel a bit more mysterious.
In front of him was a carpet made of camel skin, with some strange small pieces of wood placed on it.
Two mutated camels whose humps grew into one were lying aside and taking a nap. The huddled features looked strange and scary.
However, in the wasteland, this alien appearance is quite common.
"...As long as he has 2 silver coins and writes his name on the wooden sign, the spirit of the sand sea will bless him for his safe return."
Lifting half of his drooped eyelids, the old man glanced at the worried girl in front of the stall, and secretly thought that tomorrow's dinner was settled.
"...but is it okay if there is no sand here?" the girl asked in a low voice.
The old man said firmly.
"Of course it doesn't matter. A long time ago, the vast sand sea spread all over the central part of the Central Continent, spreading for tens of thousands of kilometers. Including the plain you called, and the nearby mountains and lakes, they were all the territory of the sand sea spirit... At that time
But without the big-horned deer god, there is nothing, only the sky full of yellow sand can gallop on this land."
Looking at the nagging old man, Shuangxue paused in front of the stall and hesitated for a while, thinking that it was only two silver coins anyway, so she reached for her wallet.
Unlike other residents who celebrated their victory.
She is more worried about the safety of the manager.
Since half a month ago, she rarely saw the adult sitting in the library working. Occasionally, documents or recycled books were delivered from the Hong Merchants Guild, and it was the small tree-stump-like robot that connected with her.
Later, she learned from her colleagues that the manager had gone to the front line.
Although there were good news on the front line, bullets have no eyes after all. I heard that the commander on the opposite side named Dillon was killed by a stray bullet on the battlefield.
I hope he can pay more attention to his own safety...
Looking at the little girl taking out her wallet, the old man's eyes were about to smile, but at this moment, a white arm stretched out from the side.
"Hey...you don't really believe it, do you?" Shuanghe looked at his sister who even took out her wallet with a surprised look on her face, "Writing your name will keep you safe. How can there be such a good thing?"
Facing her sister's surprised look, Shuangxue couldn't help but blush, and whispered.
"Anyway, it's only two silver coins..."
"Little girl, please don't talk nonsense." Seeing that the cooked duck was about to fly, the old man glared at the woman who had ruined his business with a dissatisfied look, "As the saying goes, I'd rather believe it."
Don’t trust me. If something unexpected happens, don’t blame me for not warning you.”
Seeing that the old man was actually threatening him, Shuanghe looked at him with a smile and said.
"Don't do this to me. Our manager said that materialist warriors do not worship ghosts and gods. It is better to use money to worship gods than to support the people."
After that, she ignored the old man whose eyes were staring like light bulbs and looked at the sister next to her.
"If you have a sweetheart on the front line, instead of praying for his safety here, you might as well wait for him to return from the front line in triumph and buy him a bouquet of flowers."
Shuangxue's face was covered with red clouds, not because of her sister's words, but because more and more people were watching the excitement around her.
Make her feel embarrassed.
She reached out and pulled her sister's sleeve, and she whispered.
"Okay, okay, I know it's useless. You don't have to argue with me... I just won't buy it."
After that, she took her sister's sleeve and trotted out of the crowd, and didn't stop until she reached the other end of the market.
Stopping in her tracks, before Shuangxue could take a breath, her sister who was following her poked her waist enthusiastically.
"Tell me honestly, whose name you were planning to write just now, let me see which lucky boy it belongs to."
With a blush on her face from just finishing her run, Shuangxue felt coy for a long time, but finally couldn't stand her sister's repeated questioning and whispered.
"...I told you not to laugh at me."
With the light of gossip in his eyes, Shuanghe, who had said something like "materialist warriors don't believe in ghosts and gods" just a second ago, immediately raised three fingers and said confidently.
"I, Shuanghe, swear to God! I will never laugh at my smart, lovely, beautiful and generous sister, and I will never tell any third person!"
"..."
Shuangxue rolled her eyes at her sister angrily.
After hesitating for a moment, unable to hide what was going on in her heart, she finally approached her sister's ear and whispered the name she had just planned to write.
Shuanghe was stunned after hearing this, and then looked at her with wide eyes.
That expression was even more exaggerated than when he saw his sister giving money to the magic stick.
"You haven't given up yet?"
Shuangxue said with a red face.
"You, you said you wouldn't laugh at me."
"How can I make fun of you..." Shuanghe sighed, shaking his head like a rattle, "No chance."
Shuangxue looked at her sister with a complicated expression, and after a moment she sighed softly.
"I didn't say there must be a drama... I just hope that he can be safe on the front line, don't you?"
Shuanghe nodded thoughtfully.
"really……"
She could not imagine what Dawn City would be like without that adult. Maybe this oasis would not exist in the first place.
Those blue coats who are only loyal to the manager will probably leave here, maybe go back underground, maybe go somewhere else.
The refugees will definitely not stay in the collective dormitories waiting for resettlement in the future. They will try their best to squeeze into the nearby city. The prisoners of war will definitely not be honest either. They will seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Break free from the shackles.
The various corps will probably continue to abide by their loyalty, and even inherit the "legacy" of the administrator to revive the People's League, elect a military strongman to come to power, and use stronger means to suppress chaos... However, this will often sow the seeds for greater chaos.
.
As for those merchants who have no loyalty at all, they don't belong here. They will do everything they can to use the guise of the free market to squeeze all the value from the residents until even the silver coins themselves become worthless.
.
Working at the trading post, she knew very well what kind of ethics those wastelanders had. Not only did they have flexible moral standards and professional ethics, they even had flexible identities.
Maybe in other places they were slave-catching teams, or even bandits who robbed homes, but here, no matter what they were before, they only dared to obey the law honestly.
This is simply a miracle.
Shuanghe, who had been thinking for a long time, nodded.
"...If something happens to him, everyone will be very sad."
Upon hearing this, Shuangxue suddenly felt like a little white rabbit whose tail had been stepped on, and quickly reached out to cover her mouth.
"Bah, bah, bah, you said something unlucky! Let dad hear it and don't spread your ass!"
"Uh-huh! What does it matter? I didn't say anything nonsense in front of daddy."
After breaking free from his sister's little hand, Shuanghe dodged and said with a playful smile.
"Besides, the manager said that if someone mentions his name behind his back, there is no need to make the atmosphere so serious. Names are meant for others to use."
"Are you a parrot? The manager...says this and that all day long." The red-faced Shuangxue said breathlessly.
She was doing clerical work at the Merchant Guild, so she couldn't possibly have better physical strength than her sister who worked at the trading post. After running for a while, she put her hands on her knees and was out of breath.
Shuanghe stopped and looked at her, blinking.
"Huh? You're not jealous, are you? Don't worry, your sister is a person who lives a stable life. I won't daydream. My future husband only wants to"
"Ghost, only ghosts can be jealous!!"
Seeing the two sisters laughing and playing, Yao Yao, who was squatting on the steps at the door of Teng Teng Hut branch, put his chin in his hands and said with envy on his face.
"I wish I had a sister too."
Or my younger brother, too.
Although it's a pity that I can't buy him a small skirt to wear, it's nice to have someone to play games with. For people like her who stay at home all year round, it's very difficult to have someone to communicate with in reality.
hateful……
She actually started to envy the NPCs in the game!
Teng Teng, who was sitting next to him and drinking sparkling water, had a completely different emotion.
"There aren't many familiar faces in Dawn City these days."
In the past two months, most of the people spending money in the store have been NPCs.
Although the business has not had any impact, and she has designed a lot of ordinary clothes, but without those weird customization commissions, she always feels that her creativity and talents have lost their use.
Compared to NPCs with conservative dressing styles, it was the players' weird ideas that made her eyes brighter.
Of course, it would be nice if it could be a little more serious.
Crow Crow comforted his friend and said.
"After all, everyone is on the front line."
Teng Teng glanced at her sideways.
"Speaking of which, don't you call yourself a professional combat player? Why are you so idle?"
She originally thought that Crow Crow would follow Tai Wei and the others to the front lines, but she didn't go to the front lines to join in the fun this time.
It seems that she learned a lesson from her fall last time.
"Humph, don't look at me as if I'm very idle," Crow Crow smiled proudly, "I've made a small fortune recently."
"Oh?" Teng Teng let go of the straw he was biting, looked at Crow Crow curiously and asked, "What's the mission?"
Crow Crow said proudly.
"Didn't I discover that green pointed mushroom before? Then I sent it to the medical laboratory of the shelter for testing. The white-haired NPC girl found that it contained a substance similar to penicillin."
Teng Teng nodded and said suddenly.
"When you said that, I seemed to have some impression... Later, it was updated in the official website illustration. They are called green mushrooms and green pine mushrooms? It turns out that you discovered them."
"What do you mean, it turns out I discovered it! There is a server-wide announcement!" Crow Crow protested dissatisfied, cleared his throat, and continued to talk happily, "Anyway, I later received a hidden mission issued by the shelter.
, collecting 20 tons of green pine mushrooms for the survivor settlement in Xizhou City."
"20 tons?!" Teng Teng looked at her blankly and asked in surprise, "Is it that many?"
Crow Crow said with the corner of his mouth raised.
"Of course there are ducks. Everyone used to think that those mushrooms are poisonous and no one picks them. But with so many orders, I definitely can't handle it alone. Fortunately, the lady from the Hong Merchants Union was very considerate and helped me register the company.
To go through the formalities, I think I hired about ten aborigines, and finally the task was completed."
"Yes, yes, our crow has finally embarked on this path. From now on, you can earn silver coins without picking mushrooms yourself." Teng Teng nodded happily.
Crow Crow thought for a while and said.
"emmm... That's what I said, but I really prefer the feeling of exploring alone than worrying about a lot of things."
This game always allows her to discover new things she hasn't seen before.
As for the silver coins, she didn't care that much.
"Are you in Versailles?"
Teng Teng rolled his eyes at her, looked up at the sky, and stretched out comfortably.
"Everyone is working so hard. It seems that I have to work hard for the new version."
Crow Crow smiled playfully and patted his best friend on the shoulder.
"Don't be so pretentious. Playing games is not about becoming something. It's actually quite fun to experience the process. By the way, there will be a fireworks show to celebrate the victory in the square soon, and it is said that there will also be sugar sent from Luoxia Province.
."
"White sugar?" Teng Teng asked strangely, "Isn't that kind of thing already available?"
There was a time when the trade routes were not yet open, and sugar was cheaper than salt. After all, sugar beets were grown on the Brown Farm, and pure sugar could be obtained by slightly improving the process. However, salt was not available in the inland areas.
It mainly depends on imports.
Crow Crow said with a smile.
"No, it's sand. Isn't Luoxia Province a desert? It's probably a local specialty. I also saw it on the forum... It is said that it was discovered by Xiaoyu."
While he was talking, fireworks had already risen into the sky.
It's time to be silent.
Hearing that it was a snack he had never seen before, Teng Teng immediately showed an expression of interest on his face and jumped up from the steps.
"Come on, take me to see you quickly."
In the splendid fireworks, people living in the rear sent their blessings to the distant front line.
Sun Shiqi, who walked out of the tavern drunkenly, looked up at the bright fireworks in the sky, was stunned for a few seconds, lowered his head and muttered in a low voice.
"The green one...should be copper sulfate."
Zhou Nan, who was supporting each other with him, also whispered in a low voice.
"What a waste...Are these people rich enough to use the endless explosives to light up cannons?"
"It looks like the war is really coming to an end."
While the people of Shuguang City are celebrating the victory on the front line, the looters far away in Xizhou City are currently suffering from the torment of water and fire...