Escorted by more than a hundred fully armed soldiers, the mighty alliance delegation of several hundred people advanced toward the depths of the valley.
"...Ahead of us is Origin City! The capital of the Great Rift Valley, the destination of our trip!"
The man who spoke was wearing gray power armor. The style looked somewhat similar to the dragoon power armor in the NPC shop, but upon closer inspection, it was completely different.
His name is Ma Kai, and he is the captain of the nearby patrol team.
When he heard that the Alliance's mission was carrying legion prisoners, he immediately volunteered to be the escort guide.
Since they only fought a war with the Legion last year, most people in the Great Rift Valley don't have a favorable view of the Legion.
At least that's the case with these soldiers.
Then the enemy of your enemy is naturally your friend!
Sensing those unkind glances, Antoinette's eyes were filled with nervousness, and her face had turned as white as a layer of paint from just now.
On the other hand, Captain Piman of Camp 530, who was captured with him, had a calm expression on his face at the moment.
He didn't look like a prisoner at all, but rather like he was on an outing accompanied by a group of protectors.
"...Relax, my friend, we have reached the Great Rift Valley, there is nothing to be afraid of."
Antonette glanced at him and said nervously.
"What's the meaning?"
Piman coughed slightly and replied in a very soft voice.
"It literally means that the most dangerous part of the road has passed."
There is no doubt that the people who want them dead the most are the Bugla Free State.
After all, if they were allowed to go to the Great Rift Valley, the business between the merchants and the legion would definitely not be possible.
The Alliance definitely doesn't want them to die, including the Great Rift Valley, and the most they can do is lock them up for interrogation, and then just answer whatever they ask.
In fact, they encountered at least five or six attacks along the way.
It's just that the Alliance soldiers are really ruthless. They just fought with them at Camp 530 and traveled nearly a thousand kilometers cross-country. Even though they were separated from the supply line, their combat effectiveness was not affected at all.
"be honest!"
The two prisoners were whispering there, and the soldiers next to them immediately glared at them, and then looked at their comrades.
"Separate these two guys. Yes!"
The recruit carrying the gun nodded and was about to step forward, but before he could reach him, Piman had already consciously slowed down.
The footsteps left Antoinette's side. The front of the team.
Walking next to Ma Kai was an ambassador from the alliance named Wu Huaide.
This dear friend previously served as Shuyu's secretary at the Alliance Embassy in Boulder City. After Shuyu was transferred to Boulder City, he took charge of the embassy-related work for a period of time, and then was transferred back to the Alliance to work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This trip to the Great Rift Valley was his first trip as an ambassador on behalf of the Alliance, and his expression and speech were somewhat reserved.
But from a manager's point of view, this is not a bad thing.
The strength of the Great Rift Valley may not be on the same level as the Enterprise Legion, and unlike them, it is in the River Valley Province.
When meeting a powerful neighbor on your doorstep for the first time, it is better to adopt a cautious diplomatic attitude.
"Before coming here, I thought the Great Rift Valley was just a valley. I didn't expect that my imagination was too conservative." As he said this, Wu Huaide felt a sense of emotion in his heart.
Ma Kai smiled.
"Haha, you are right. This is just a valley, but it stretches for hundreds of kilometers and looks a little bigger."
Is it just a little bigger?
The players around him couldn't help but complain.
It took them two full days to walk here from the north of the valley province, and then another half a day to walk here from the edge of the valley.
It’s so shameful that you can’t fast travel!
"Speaking of which, does the name Origin City have any special meaning?"
Hearing the ambassador's question, Ma Kai smiled and answered.
"It doesn't have any special meaning, just because this is where it all started."
"Where it all began?"
Wu Huaide didn't quite understand, and when he was about to ask more questions, he had already arrived at his destination.
Ahead is a towering giant door.
Rather than saying it is a door, it is more like a dam, embedded in the center of the valley.
The dark crowd of hundreds of people stood in front of the giant gate, like ants under a big tree.
The boy and Brick at the construction site looked up and looked around, scratched the back of their heads, and said with puzzled expressions.
"Isn't there a holy shield in the Great Rift Valley? Why didn't I see it?"
The debtor glanced sideways at him. "Do you hold an umbrella on sunny days?"
The boy at the construction site and Bian were stunned for a moment. "What...meaning."
"What he means is that the thing will only unfold when there is a fight. It is usually closed... I guess so too."
After interjecting a word, the regiment commander glanced ahead from the edge of the water. The towering giant door was slowly opening.
And when the door was halfway open, all the players present had expressions of surprise and even shock on their faces.
Rows of concrete houses are located on the slopes on both sides, and the top of the slope is a long glass curtain wall, embedded in the mountain. There should be a cave inside, but the situation inside is completely invisible from the outside.
The middle of the valley is intertwined with steel-structured bridges and corridors, and elevators on both sides of the mountain railway connect the upper and lower floors.
What is shocking is not this, but the fact that in the center of the rift valley is an abyss that reaches downwards and cannot see the bottom.
The mountains on both sides of the abyss are also inlaid with square concrete buildings, forming a large-scale building complex.
Since the sun only shines below at noon, the street lights on both sides of the road are on day and night starting from the mountainside part of the hills on both sides.
This is a city buried in a mountain col, and at its feet are buried trillions of tons of hydrogen, oxygen, chlorine, etc. produced by the electrolysis of seawater as well as many mineral elements, which are preserved in solid form.
What surprises Edgewater is not its background setting, but the architectural layout here.
After being silent for a while, he finally couldn't help but complain.
"Aren't they afraid of landslides?"
Even if there is no landslide or rain, this rift valley is simply a natural river bed.
Not to mention that they built such a big gate, and the whole thing is just a man-made reservoir.
Kakarot said with a subtle expression.
"Maybe...it's black technology."
The technological content here does seem to be a lot lower than that of the ideal city, but you can't just look at the appearance when looking at the problem.
Along the way, they saw at least one hundred powered armors and various types of exoskeletons.
At least in terms of combat effectiveness, no one dares to underestimate them.
These people are not inferior to the Legion in any way, and naturally they are not inferior to the enterprise.
A man in a brown gown stood at the entrance of the giant door, nodding slightly to show respect.
"Welcome to Origin City. I am the secretary-general of His Excellency the Chief of the Great Rift Valley, Yang Wei, who is responsible for external contact matters."
"Alliance Ambassador, Wu Huaide," stepped forward and shook hands with the man in a brown gown. Wu Huaide made negotiations with a sincere expression, "Our visit this time is mainly for matters related to Luoxia Province."
Yang Wei nodded, expressing understanding.
"I have reported your matters to Mr. Chief. Please move to the lounge and wait for a while. Then he will receive you personally."
"Thank you very much."
"You're welcome, please come with me."
After saying that, Yang Wei then looked at Ma Kai, who was standing next to Wu Huaide.
"Leave the guests to me. Those two prisoners from the legion, you take them to where they should go.
Ma Kai grinned and said, "Okay!" The prisoner handover was quickly completed.
Piman did not resist and followed the approaching guard calmly.
The same goes for Antoinette.
Although there was a frustrated expression on his face, he was a smart man and knew that being honest and obedient at this time would save him some trouble.
There are still more than 300 players left in the Death Corps who have successfully reached this point. They are nominally soldiers of the Alliance. It is impossible for all of them to follow the leader of the Great Rift Valley.
That makes no sense either emotionally or rationally.
Wu Huaide followed the manager's instructions and selected the players with the highest contribution points to follow the secretary-general to the lounge.
The others followed the captain named Ma Kai and moved to the temporary station prepared for the alliance in the Great Rift Valley to rest.
It's getting late outside, and it's time to go offline.
Although it's a pity that I won't be able to see the next plot, there is such a thing as the official website forum, so I won't miss any key information.
After temporarily handing over the command to Kakarot, Edge Paddling and the others followed Yang Wei and took the elevator up to the floor at the top of the Great Rift Valley.
The structure here is completely different from that below. The wide halls and corridors are entirely made of alloy, and they look like space capsules suspended in high orbits in science fiction blockbusters.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows arranged on one side of the corridor, you can directly overlook the depths of the valley.
While walking through the corridor, the construction site boy and Brick suddenly spoke.
"I seem to understand."
"What do you understand again?" Liability glanced at him sideways with big eyes.
"This place feels like... like a space colony in a science fiction movie."
Several players around were stunned. "What?"
"Don't you feel that way?" The construction site boy and Bian scratched their heads and said sheepishly, "The Great Rift Valley
The buildings below are not at the same level as the sense of technology here, but the quality of life is decent. And structurally, I always have the feeling that those buildings... are like eggs under this space capsule.
.”
"Pfft... What a metaphor, hahaha." Debt laughed uncontrollably.
The edge of the water was paddling with a thoughtful expression.
"Hmm... maybe it's really possible. The drum shampooer nodded thoughtfully.
"I think it makes sense." Debt-eyed: ".·····?"
No matter what the origin of this facility was, some people finally arrived at the door of the lounge.
There are many tables and sofas in the empty room, and bookshelves are displayed around them, with many books that appear to be old.
According to this game, generally high-value information is either hidden in books or in the mouths of NPCs, and players need to collect it on their own.
However, the people standing here are all "illiterates". Everyone's listening and speaking skills are just okay, and their reading and writing skills are average. They can only rely on the offline translation function of VM to roughly understand.
but······
Taking a photo first and synchronizing it to the official website when there is signal is also an option.
I picked the book off the bookshelf, scratched the edges, flipped it over in my hand, and finally turned it back to the cover.
When he saw the badge printed on it, he was slightly stunned, with a strange expression on his face.
"Is this... the company's emblem?"
"There are also those from the legion and the academy." Standing next to another bookshelf, he took down two books and flipped through them.
"...I didn't see the Torch Church."
Drum hair washing machine: "Maybe the Torch Church doesn't have a plan? After all, the setting has only been established for more than 20 years."
Liability Big Eyes frowned.
"But why is there the mark of the Legion Enterprise Academy? Forget about the academy, both the Legion and the Enterprise have fought against the Great Rift Valley, right?"
The boy at the construction site and Bian scratched the back of their heads.
"I see that the setting on the official website is centralized. Legions, companies, and colleges all once belonged to the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, and the headquarters of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee is in the River Valley Province..."
Halfway through his words, he suddenly paused.
Origin City······The place where everything began.
The Adam's apple moved, and the construction site boy and Brick whispered in uncertain tones.
"...Could it be right here?"
A pair of eyes looked over, looking at him feeling a little panicked.
"I guessed...don't laugh at me if you guess wrong."
However, no one laughed at him, including Big Eyes in Debt.
Staring at the book in his hand, he furrowed his brows and swallowed unconsciously.
"Maybe...it's really possible."
While the players were collecting clues in the lounge, no one noticed that the alliance's ambassador had been invited to the next room.
Although they followed all the way, they still missed the key main plot.
Sitting on the sofa.
Wu Huaide looked at the old man in front of him with gray hair and sleepy eyes with a reserved expression.
From the previous exchanges, he already knew that this old man's name was Ge Yan, he was the chief of the Great Rift Valley, and his status was similar to that of the alliance's manager.
But they are different from tall, mighty, heroic and energetic managers.
His eyes were cloudy, his face was covered with wrinkles, and he looked like he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
Although it was rude to think so, Wu Huaide couldn't help but have this idea in his heart, and he felt a sense of pride.
The old man sat quietly, his eyes always looking at the young man opposite him, but his eyes did not seem to stay on him, but passed through him and looked at someone who was not present.
After a long silence, he seemed to have gotten the answer he wanted, and his dry lips finally moved.
"...I have already learned about your affairs. I have sent an investigation team to the Bugla Free State. I promise to give you an explanation within three days."
The Bugla Free State is a vassal of the Great Rift Valley. If the leader of the Great Rift Valley speaks out, the business of those profiteers and legions will definitely not be completed.
Unexpectedly, it would go so smoothly. Wu Huaide's brows relaxed slightly and a happy smile appeared on his face.
"Thank you very much." The old man smiled lightly and said.
"I can't bear to say thank you. This matter was originally our mistake. I should have said sorry to you at that time for causing you so much trouble."
Unexpectedly, the old man's attitude was so sincere, Wu Huaide couldn't help but feel moved in his heart.
If the Great Rift Valley can be persuaded to send troops to deal with the Legion, this war will undoubtedly be ended more quickly.
Although this was not a task assigned to him by the manager, he decided to give it a try.
"Speaking of which... Actually there is one thing that I don't quite understand." Taking advantage of the good atmosphere of the conversation, Wu Huaide found a suitable entry point and said.
The old man looked at him kindly. "What's the matter?"
"The legion's deployment in Luoxia Province is obviously heading here. Why did you... let them do this?"
Looking at the old man in front of him, Wu Huaide continued in a sincere tone.
"Once they complete this supply line, more soldiers will be sent to the front line, and you will inevitably have to fight again. Why not join forces with us now to eliminate future troubles once and for all!"
After hearing these words, the old man was silent for a while and then spoke.
"The fact that the Legion came for us, and that we allowed them to do what they did... are both inaccurate."
Seeing the indifferent expression, Wu Huaide couldn't help clenching his fists on his knees.
"Isn't that true?" The old man looked at him calmly.
"It's the part you see, but not all of it."
The old man continued before the young man in front of him could speak.
"Let's change the topic. How do you think we can end the wasteland? Build a lot of houses? Build a lot of schools to pass on knowledge? Or produce a lot of weapons? Or let the residents live in a prosperous era?"
Wu Huaide opened his mouth and looked at the old man in front of him blankly. He didn't come back to his senses for a while, and he didn't understand why he suddenly mentioned this.
Seeing that the young man did not answer, the old man continued speaking at a gentle pace.
“These things are actually very important, but which one to do first and which one to do next must have corresponding plans.
"We need to clear away the slime mold and radioactive materials on the surface and revive the decayed atmospheric environment... This is the basis for the continuation of our civilization, and it is also the general line of the post-war reconstruction committee."
"To complete these tasks, we need a strong military, technicians responsible for recycling and preserving civilizational heritage, and production personnel to produce industrial supplies and daily necessities."
"But people are not machines. Everyone will have different ideas. Even if we are all aiming for the same goal, we will still have differences on many issues."
"Does this have anything to do with... our previous topic?" Wu Huaide couldn't help but ask. "
"Of course it does matter," the old man nodded. Whether it was the legion, the college, or the company... they all once belonged to the post-war reconstruction committee. Even if conflicts and differences caused us to part ways, we still have not forgotten our work.
Those tasks are like a sophisticated machine, still being carried out in an orderly manner, but in a different form."
Wu Huaide: "Including detonating a nuclear bomb? Is that part of the job???"
The old man coughed slightly.
"That matter... really went too far." Wu Huaide couldn't help but continue to ask.
"Even if the Legion tries to conquer you?"
However, facing that aggressive tone, the old man just smiled faintly.
"If the entire legion intends to conquer us, it won't be an expeditionary force. Moreover, we have already dealt with those people."
Wu Huaide stared blankly at the old man in front of him.
Completely different from those young soldiers outside.
The old man didn't seem to have any emotion of hatred at all, and he didn't even care about the war at all.
It's like...it's just a side effect of antibiotics, and it's completely acceptable for the purpose of treating the disease.
"I don't understand..."
Looking at the confused face, the old man replied in a very soft voice.
"That's not important. It's enough that your manager can understand. If he came out of the shelter, then he must understand what I mean.
Wu Huaide couldn't help but feel a surge of anger in his chest. Although he knew that this kind of emotion should not appear in a diplomat, he was a survivor of the River Valley Province and a refugee who was displaced because of the collapse of the expeditionary force.
He hates the Legion as much as he hates the Bone-Chewing Tribe, and now that anger has reached here.
That calm expression is like that war
It's just a small thing that has nothing to do with the overall situation, and the price paid as a long-term plan is completely acceptable.
What does it mean to proceed in an orderly manner? What does it mean to change the form?
All was planned by the post-war reconstruction committee.
But he was the only one who didn't hear about his part in this plan.
where is he?
Where are the survivors who live neither in the Great Rift Valley nor in Boulder?
It would be okay if the old man didn't mention the manager, but he did mention their manager...
Taking a deep breath, Wu Huaide restrained the anger in his chest, knowing that now was not the time to be emotional. He was not representing himself.
But the alliance!
Even though he knew that he was talking to a duck, he couldn't help but raise his voice and made a last-ditch effort to wake up the old man who didn't know whether he was asleep or pretending to sleep.
"The Legion not only intends to eliminate alien species, they even plan to eliminate everyone except the Valantians! Is this also part of your salvation plan? When the Valantians rule the world, where will we be? Nose
Do you want a lifting operation?"
The old man shook his head.
"That's the thinking of some of the Velantans, like a tumor in the muscle. This is an individual case, but I believe it is not all. If nothing else, their marshal himself is not a Velanter. As a legionnaire
Leader, how could he agree with this crazy idea?"
"Of course, I don't agree with many of his actions. Ending chaos requires violence, but his condonation of violence is indeed a bit excessive."
Wu Huaide had a surprised expression on his face.
It's not because of the old man's words itself, but because of this
"The marshal of the legion...isn't he from Wilant?"
"Yes. How do you know?"
There was an expression of nostalgia on the old man's face, although the nostalgia turned into a gentle sigh.
"Of course I know, after all, I watched that child grow up."