Chapter 901 The places we have traveled through in those years.
Chapter 902 The places we have traveled in those years
Usually during the "royal expedition", in order to leave enough hope for the people who stayed behind, Chu Guang would drive the Heart of Steel and leave with great fanfare every time, and then come back with victory and glory with great fanfare.
.
But this time it was different from usual.
Chu Guang left quietly, taking only X-16 and Lu Bei's group with him. He bought a ticket and booked a carriage in a low-key manner without disturbing anyone else.
After all, he wasn't going to fight this time, he was just going to the place where he had fought before to see what it was like now.
Since he always wears the blue power armor when he appears in public, when he takes off that iconic equipment, not many people can recognize him at a glance.
Paired with holographic imaging equipment that can fine-tune the appearance, no passenger realized that they were sitting on the same train as the administrator of the alliance until the train started.
Chu Guang went to the bathroom on the way, and after a while, he heard people queuing up in the aisle outside the door talking.
"Where are you going, buddy."
"To Haiyia Province!"
"Haiya Province, the development there is really good. Many immigrants from the west have come to several settlements. I plan to buy a building there and collect rent."
"Heroes think alike, brother! I heard that many people there are still living in containers. When several settlements develop and there are more job opportunities, the rental market will definitely be hot!"
"You went there to buy a property too?"
"That's not like, hey, I'm going to build a building!"
"Oh! I'm a contractor! Nice to meet you! Well... I forgot my business card in my bag. Look at my memory."
"It's okay, it's okay. I also forgot about it in my bag. Let's leave your phone number and we can have dinner together when we are free."
Hearing that the residents of the alliance were so wealthy, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile with relief on his face.
At this time the year before last, the alliance authorities issued a lot of debt to release liquidity, and now this money has flowed into the wallets of alliance residents through the production process.
Now the residents of the alliance are taking this wealth to invest in the newly reclaimed land, helping the immigrants who have recently joined the alliance to live a better life, and leading them to create more wealth.
The days are getting better and better.
However, not long after, an inappropriate sound came through the crack in the door.
"You're bragging, you two are so rich, why don't you buy a plane ticket?"
Apparently there was more than one person dissatisfied with the bragging of these two people, and there were echoes in the aisles.
"that is!"
"Your prosthetic body was harvested from a coal mine, right? Even the anti-rust paint has not been peeled off. I'm afraid I'll resign after the surgery."
"The thief who stole taxpayers' money is bragging!"
The two of them were speechless by the rebuke, and they both glared hard at the guy who started the trouble in the first place, and left without saying a word.
Chu Guang, who was squatting on the toilet, looked slightly embarrassed.
All right.
Even Dawn City has not completely eliminated poverty.
It's too early to show off now, and the alliance still has a long way to go.
But thinking about it from another perspective, at least for now, ordinary people in the league still have dreams of changing their lives and becoming rich, and are willing to take steps to pursue them, instead of thinking that it is an unattainable daydream, or just a dream.
Dare to think about it when you lie down.
This is actually pretty good.
Compared with the residents of Dawn City, the residents of the South China Sea Alliance and Silver Moon Bay are much more restless. Some people have even caught up with the players and are ahead of the game.
Restlessness is not a bad thing, but it is the driving force for society to move forward.
As for the wealth that ordinary people pursue, it is not a scourge in itself, but will become a catalyst to accelerate social progress.
Only when they are monopolized will they become poison that harms the entire alliance.
Preventing them from being monopolized is exactly what Chu Guang is currently doing.
Without occupying the restroom for too long, Chu Guang used the holographic camouflage system to slightly modify his appearance, then left the restroom and gave way to the people in line behind him.
After returning to the carriage, he passed the security check at the door, turned off the holographic camouflage system, and then went straight back to the VIP box in the middle of the carriage.
X-16 made him a cup of black tea, placed it gently on the table, and then stood aside holding the tray.
Xiao Qi sat on the table holding her cheeks, tilting her head and asked curiously.
"Master, isn't there a toilet in the carriage? Why do you still go outside?"
Chu Guang said with a smile.
“Isn’t it nice to suddenly want to see how ordinary people live?”
Xiaoqi said in confusion.
"Can't you see Dawn City?"
"You can see it, but the Alliance is not just Dawn City. There are many people living in places we can't see." Chu Guang took a sip of black tea and placed the tea cup on the bumpy tray. "And, we are here
What you see in the office is definitely different from what you see in reality.”
Not quite agreeing with this statement, Xiao Qi pursed her lips slightly.
"Well... Actually, even if you are sitting in the office, Xiaoqi can see it for you."
Although the current conditions in the wasteland cannot accommodate satellites, the Hummingbird drone controlled by the shelter server can be regarded as a "low-altitude satellite" in another sense.
The compact spherical shell hardly attracts anyone's attention when flying at a height of more than 10 meters, and the 360-degree wide-angle camera can take in a panoramic view of the entire area without blind spots.
A long time ago, when "players" and "NPCs" were not so reliable, it served as VM's communication relay and Chu Guang's eyes to observe the situation inside and outside the settlement.
"I'm not doubting your ability, we are not talking about the same thing." Looking at Xiao Qi who pouted slightly, Chu Guang replied with a smile, and then looked out the window.
The train has left Qingquan City for a while, and the station it just passed seems to be the last station in the south of the River Valley Province.
The rugged mountain road seemed to have come to an end after passing through a tunnel, and the slow-moving train gradually increased its speed.
Looking at the familiar scenery, Chu Guang had some memories in his heart and asked casually.
"What's in front?"
Xiaoqi, who was holding her cheek, replied in a sweet voice.
"Across the river in front is Jinchuan Province. There seems to be a town where lizards, rats and humans are worshiped."
Chu Guang's heart moved and he blurted out.
"It's called Dust Town."
Xiao Qi opened her eyes in surprise.
"Eh? Master, do you still remember?"
Chu Guang laughed and said.
"It's only been a few years, how can I forget it so quickly?"
That was the place where the Jungle Corps once fought, and that battle seemed to be the first battle of the Bolt Gun.
In that battle, they successfully thwarted the Qi tribe's raids on the survivor settlements around Jinhe City and moved the residents of Dust Town to a safe place.
Later, a large number of alliance troops went to the battlefield from here, heading to Jinchuan Province to fight against the Torch Church and its mutant vassals.
But having said that, it had only been two or three years, but the changes here were already so great that he could not recognize them.
The rumbling sound rolled over the undulating waves, and the train crossing the river then climbed over hills one after another. The endless plains and gentle slopes soon came into Chu Guang's eyes.
But the scenery that reflected in his eyes at this moment was even more shocking than before.
He saw that the land that was originally deserted in his mind was now covered with golden rice fields.
The heavy rice ears bent the rice stalks, and golden waves rose up with the breeze.
September is the autumn harvest season, and Dust Town has also reached its busiest time of the year.
Large machines pushing rollers plowed back and forth on the fields, and the places where the tracks and rollers ran over were like hair that had been trimmed by a barber, with only a layer of burrs remaining.
Those are chopped straw.
The machine that follows will mix them with nitrogen fertilizer and mix it into the soil to prepare for the next stage of farming.
In addition to the rice fields, there are also orchards planted with Camu trees and other tree species in the distance, which are also managed by gardening robots produced by Boulder City.
Although there are only a hundred households in Chenyi Town, with this mechanized planting technology, the area cultivated exceeds the land cultivated by tens of thousands of people from the Xilan Expeditionary Army.
Looking at the townspeople in the distance who were putting the threshed ears of rice into sacks, Chu Guang said with some emotion.
“I didn’t expect that Jinchuan Province would also use a mechanized planting system.”
I remember that when the Alliance first came here, the people who worked here were still serfs, and the working tools were still hoes.
The local farmers would rather buy a few more propeller planes that were eliminated by the alliance rather than replace them with more efficient tractors. Later, due to the chaos caused by the torch, they and their serfs were almost taken away in a wave.
Of course, the situation in Chenchen Town is somewhat different from other local settlements.
Since Mr. Junk and his two other friends spent their own money to buy some equipment for the locals, and later helped them sell the grain they produced to Boulder City, this was probably the first place to implement mechanized agriculture in the entire Jinchuan Province.
In other settlements, such as Mafu Town, the situation might not be so exaggerated.
Seeing that Chu Guang was very interested in those plowing machines, X-16, who was standing aside holding a tray, introduced them like a tour guide.
"That's a combine harvesting system designed by Jushi Heavy Industries."
Chu Guang was slightly stunned.
"Jushi Heavy Industry?"
X-16 nodded and continued.
"In June of this year, Mr. Ibbers separated the production of heavy mining equipment, agricultural machinery, and rail transportation tools from the production lines of Jushi Military Industry, and established a new company separately, hiring a human CEO to operate it. Currently, this company
The subsidiary has become a new profit growth point for Jushi Military Industry and plans to be listed on the Shuguang City Exchange."
It’s not just Lister’s Lister Group that has stepped out of the giant wall. Jushi Military Industry, the former giant, is also using its own methods to get out of the towering wall.
However, Chu Guang did not pay attention to Jushi Military Industry's business outside the military field.
The last time he met with Ibbers was when he took the lead in negotiating business cooperation with Beida Heavy Industries on behalf of the alliance authorities.
Of course, it may have been that cooperation with Beidao Heavy Industries that brought new inspiration to Ibers.
Since he got a new owner, the android that has passed the end of life seems to be slowly becoming normal again.
Chu Guang said with a smile.
"It's good, but I didn't expect that guy to be interested in things other than weapons."
The jet-black mirror flickered slightly, and X-16 continued in a calm tone.
"My father said that only by squeezing the value of land to the extreme will people start fighting for land again... Suppressing the price of food and increasing the birth rate are also long-term considerations for opening up sales for Jushi Military Industries' weapons."
Chu Guang choked on the black tea at his mouth and coughed.
"Ahem... the price of food is not the only factor that affects the birth of the population. I think he seems to be thinking too much."
X-16 nodded, thoughtfully.
"That's it...that's how it is."
Chu Guang didn't think this guy really understood what he said, but he didn't really care.
Ibers's fear of chaos in the world is not something that only happens in a day or two. It was like this long before he met that guy.
The train drove all the way to the vicinity of Chenchen Town and stopped at a simple station.
Two travelers chose to get off the bus here. Judging from their appearance, they seemed to be backpackers from Ideal City.
When Chu Guang looked out the window, he happened to see the wall outside the station.
I saw that the low wall that was originally made of granite and cement has been transformed into a neat, beautiful and more reliable concrete wall.
The locals did fulfill their original wish and built a larger and more beautiful village on the ruins.
There is a relief carved on the main entrance of the high wall, which shows a huge deathclaw, a fat rat, and a man wearing a cloak.
They are regarded as patron saints by the residents of this town, and are also landmarks for tourists to take pictures in Ideal City.
It is worth mentioning that although the mutant tribes in the nearby area have been wiped out by the players, there are still alien species wandering here from time to time.
Although the alliance's mind interference device can drive away alien species, due to some things that have happened before, the locals are more willing to trust the shotguns in their hands and the walls built by their own hands than the mind interference device, so they still continue the tradition of building turrets.
Since there were not many passengers getting off the train here, the train only stopped for three minutes before starting again and continuing towards Singularity City.
It used to be the logistics transit base for the Alliance's southward troops in Jinchuan Province, but now it has become the most populous settlement of the Alliance in Jinchuan Province, even more populous than the southernmost Weifu City.
To be honest, this was actually beyond Chu Guang's expectation.
Originally, in his vision, Singularity City, where everything was managed by AI, would serve as a large-scale detoxification center for the alliance. While helping the locals get rid of their dependence on the drug, it was also meant to help the locals get rid of the "giant baby" problem.
They can't always count on anyone to take care of them, they should find ways to live like human beings on their own.
What Chu Guang didn't expect was that the population here experienced an explosive growth, from the initial tens of thousands to an astonishing 200,000.
Unlike other settlements, Hanshuang welcomes those who choose to stay here.
Although alliance ID cards are not issued here, and there are no silver coins for work, the advantage is that you never have to worry about survival or what clothes to wear every day. You can stay here as long as you want, even if you stay for a lifetime.
The only requirement is that once you leave, you cannot come back.
And except for the luggage deposited during storage and a small amount of silver coins converted according to points, nothing can be taken away from here.
As for the tourists.
You can rest in a hotel near the station, or you can visit a farm, but you can only stay for one day, and you will basically not have contact with the locals.
In order to ensure a certain sense of fairness, even the staff of the station hotel are staffed by androids specially imported from Ideal City.
The train stopped here for a little longer, and the flow of people getting on and off here was much denser than at the previous stations, with hurried footsteps coming and going on the tiled platform.
However, unlike several stations in the southern part of the River Valley Province, most of the passengers who get off here are backpackers from Ideal City, and few are immigrants who plan to settle here.
Especially those ideal city backpackers.
They seemed to have a particularly strong interest in this settlement, which had unique rules and a special connection with the Kangmao Group. Excitement and even fanaticism were written on every face.
Chu Guang also found out later after reading Brother Mole's post that the "cloud friends" on the Ideal City Endpoint Cloud seemed to regard it as some kind of sociological experimental base.
Not only do they have an unusually high evaluation of it, they even regard it as the ultimate form of human social development——
That is, a perfect utopia where AI dominates and manages everything, and no one exploits humans anymore.
Equality here goes even further than in the Alliance.
The local people have achieved a complete sense of averageness, and have achieved an incredible balance between production and consumption.
But if Chu Guang can tell, the residents of Ideal City are still too full.
There are countless people in the wasteland who envy their lives. Even players from the peaceful world marvel at their prosperity. Instead, they regard a remote place in the wasteland as their spiritual hometown.
Of course, this is their freedom.
The alliance has made a lot of money from Ideal City through tourism revenue, so he certainly has no reason to complain.
Planning to stay here for one night and meet old friends he hadn't seen for a long time, Chu Guang took X-16 and Lu Bei and his group to get off the train in a low-key manner, and then went straight to the official passage.
To be honest, the changes here are also great, but they are not as amazing as in Dust Town.
After all, there used to be vast farmland and orchards here, but now those farms and orchards are still the same as before, but the area has expanded a lot.
In addition, the biggest changes are the infrastructure in the settlement and the housing of the residents.
A wide road leads directly from the entrance of the settlement to the manor located at the deepest part of the farm, with uniform street lights, green belts and prefabricated concrete buildings on both sides.
These buildings are divided into square-shaped communities, which have green parks for people to relax, boiler rooms that supply hot water, and unified canteens.
Among several larger communities, there are larger public facilities such as schools, libraries, and hospitals.
Of course, Chu Guang was no stranger to those concrete buildings made of prefabricated panels. After all, this was the emergency plan he came up with to solve the housing problem of the wastelanders.
Today's prefabricated concrete buildings are considered one of the pillar industries of Boulder City, and are even sold as far away as Golden Gallon Port in Borneo and even Tiandu.
But what is intriguing is that Boulder City, which relied on this business to get out of the crisis and become rich, has stopped building new ones for a long time, and has even been considering exporting this backward production line to Borneo, where demand is strong.
However, I am afraid that even the residents of Boulder City themselves did not expect that due to the skyrocketing housing demand in Singularity City, this backward production line that should have been eliminated was unexpectedly retained.
The moment Chu Guang stepped into Singularity City, Hanshuang, who was working in the manor, immediately noticed him and greeted Sun Eclipse at the door of the manor in surprise.
"Dear Mr. Manager, what brought you here?"
"Long time no see, I came to see you."
Looking at Hanshuang and Sun Eclipse in maid uniforms, Chu Guang nodded with a smile and continued.
"The changes here have been so great. When I first came in, I thought I had passed the station... until I saw you. Speaking of which, you are the same as before, and there is no change at all."
"Of course, my pursuit of art is eternal, and the artists in the alliance can always bring me different surprises."
Lifting the hem of her skirt and turning it around gracefully, Hanshuang had a confident smile on her face, but soon a hint of sadness appeared on her face.
"It would be great if the survivors of Singularity City could be like the rest of the Alliance. I tried to teach them the art, but although they tried to accept it... they rarely brought me that... I'm sorry
, I don’t know how to describe that feeling.”
Xiao Qi, who was sitting on Chu Guang's shoulder, interrupted.
"...the intellectual plug-in is burning?"
Hanshuang's eyes lit up and he continued talking.
"Yes, it's that feeling of burning intellectual plug-ins! Of course, I'm not tired of my current job, but their creativity is either amplifying or shrinking the elements I provide them.
I feel like it lacks some new ideas.”
Chu Guang coughed slightly when he heard this.
"You can't want both. Some buffs... I mean traits are contradictory in themselves. You can only choose one from them."
"A contradiction?" Hanshuang was stunned for a moment, lowered his head and thought, "Is it a contradiction? But logically...it doesn't seem to be a contradiction."
Chu Guang was silent for a while and gave an answer that he was not sure about.
"Perhaps, this is the biggest difference between humans and machines. Humans are not creatures that follow logical or mathematical rules."
"What does that follow?"
Chu Guang thought about what he wanted to say.
"Maybe it's intuition, maybe it's instinct."
Unlike machines designed for a certain purpose, people do not come into this world with a purpose.
In other words, the meaning of human life is actually found in the process of life, rather than being preset.
But this question was too philosophical, and he was not sure whether the android in front of him could truly understand it.
At this moment, Nuo Nuo's voice suddenly came from behind Han Shuang.
"It's actually not that difficult to understand...Dad's farm used to be like this. I don't think it has changed much here."
"Yin Yin?"
Looking at the little girl coming out from behind Han Shuang, Chu Guang had a surprised expression on his face.
He was about to smile and say politely, "You've grown taller," but he soon remembered that she was no longer growing taller, so he changed his words.
"Are you feeling okay? New body."
Yinyin nodded slightly and whispered.
"I have adapted...but I always feel that after becoming a robot, every day seems to have lost its meaning."
After hearing her answer, the expressionless Sun Eclipse suddenly corrected her.
"We are bionic humans. We are different from robots."
Yinyin made a helpless expression, as if she was saying "Just take it as such."
That mature and sensible look is heartbreaking.
After encountering a huge change in her life, she seemed to have become precocious like a lamb.
Looking at Yin Yin who looked helpless, Chu Guang pondered for a while and said in a gentle tone.
"Meaning is something you need to find by yourself. We can't help you with this alone...but I believe you can find it, just like Hanshuang next to you."
Although he was not sure whether she could still be considered a child, he still hoped that she would not slip into the abyss of nihilism.
Yinyin nodded slightly, not knowing whether she accepted his kindness, but just said in that sweet voice.
"Well, I know, Mr. Manager, although I don't envy Sister Hanshuang's strange hobbies at all... By the way, Dear Mr. Manager, is Xiaoyang okay?"
Chu Guang touched her head and said with a smile.
"Then I don't know. I only heard that she has already met her father and went to school like other children in Dawn City. If you miss her, I suggest you go to see her directly."
Yinyin's expression suddenly became anxious.
"……I'll be there."
Chu Guang could probably guess the troubles in her heart, but that was her own business.
After he straightened up, he looked at Hanshuang again and said politely.
"I'm sorry I didn't make a reservation. My trip south this time is not a formal trip... Can you prepare some rooms for me? I plan to stay here for one night."
Hanshuang had a bright smile on his face and said in a warm tone.
"No problem, this manor is usually only occupied by Yinyin, me, and Sun Eclipse. The most indispensable thing here is empty rooms... Please come with me, dear manager."
Chu Guang nodded, and then followed Han Shuang into the manor where the Burning Legion had fought.
From the moment he stepped into the manor, he noticed that Lu Bei's hands were always on his waist, and his eyes were looking around nervously, as if there was someone hiding in the grass.
Especially when he walked to the annex building, the expression on his face was as tense as a string.
Alliance planes landed here, and bullet holes can even be seen on the wall next to it.
Looking at this young man's appearance, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile and said with a smile.
"Did you find anything?"
Unexpectedly, Chu Guang noticed his little move. Lu Bei's face suddenly turned red with embarrassment, and he stretched out his hand to scratch the back of his head.
"I……"
"It's already 214 years now, and the fighting here has been over for a long time."
Chu Guang reached out and patted his shoulder gently, speaking in a gentle tone.
"I told you before we set off, this time we are just here to see, not to fight."