Chapter 545.1: We Choose Our Own Path

Why?

Kneeling in the plaza, Wolfur stared blankly at the sky. The afternoon sunlight pierced through his swollen eyelids, making his eyes sting unbearably.

He would have preferred it to start snowing right then.

It would be best if the snow was heavy enough to bury him. If that was the case, everyone would end, all debts would be cleared.

It would also signify that they had lost everything.

The New Alliance didn’t allow free exchange between chips and silver coins. Although his father probably had some unconventional methods of doing conversions, the amount couldn’t have been much.

There wasn’t even a need to mention CR and Dinar. The exchanges had already been shut down. Even if Kishur had some CR left in his account in Ideal City, it would never be enough to maintain their standard of living.

Money was no longer the issue. What pained him most was the fact that he lost all his authority.

Wolfur would’ve rather been killed by the militia than live a life without power. Death would’ve been the quickest release.

It would’ve been best if they had killed his wife, his child, his mother, and that useless brother of his too.

He would rather the corpses of his family plant a seed of hatred in Elisa’s heart. That seed might never sprout, but it would torment her for the rest of her life for what she did.

So long as one day she saw the ugliness of the new order she had created and began to doubt the righteousness of the past, she would act. She would raise another chip high in her hand, one that no one could refuse, and reopen the casino that was Boulder Town...

His death could help her escape the reckoning. And she was still young. She’d definitely outlive those muscle-brained brutes.

She had Malvern’s blood running through her veins.

She was smart. Resourceful, maybe even more so than himself...

Even though the old kings of Boulder Town were dead, their family could become the new royalty!

They absolutely could!

"Heh heh..." Wolfur chuckled suddenly at the thought, then abruptly began to sob.

Why?!

Why didn’t they shoot me...?!

Two guards stood nearby, looking at his sorry figure with disgust. Most of the people in the plaza had already dispersed, only he still lay there unmoving.

Glenys had taken Kishur away. His wife and child had followed too. No one dared approach him, especially after he had just been beaten up by the guards who were part of the new order.

Wolfur felt his consciousness slipping. Suddenly, a warm, damp handkerchief pressed against his face, dragging his dazed mind back from the edge of darkness.

"... Big Brother." Wiping the mud and blood from his face, Elisa looked at him with a mix of pain and fear and whispered, "I’m sorry... I listed all of our family’s assets in the report, but we snatched those things from others in the first place."

"You don’t need to apologize..." Wolfur’s swollen lips parted as he gasped, "You did the right thing. If I were outside, I’d have done the same. But... don’t gamble with your life again. Give yourself two more years, and you’ll understand. If they really want to do something to you, it won’t just be a beating or insults..."

Elisa looked at him with pain flashing through her eyes. "Why do we have to be like that?"

She couldn’t put her feelings into words, but she could feel it. Her brother harbored another kind of hope for her. A hope she had absolutely no desire to fulfill.

"Why..." Wolfur’s eyes flashed with momentary confusion.

He really didn’t know how to answer her. didn’t even know where to begin.

In a casino where people devoured one another, wasn’t it only natural to eat others first?

Elisa sniffled before speaking firmly, "It’s over. This casino... and its chips. There won’t be any more black cards. From now on, we will follow the new laws."

Wolfur suddenly smiled, his gaze softening as he looked at her. He tried to reach out and pat her head, but hesitated. In the end, he pulled his hand back. "Father wrote a fairy tale in your heart. If he had his way, he would’ve wished you had never left that story... Who would have thought... You jumped out the window..."

"We’re family. If you can see through those things, how could he not? But some things... doing them now is meaningless. It’ll only get you all killed. And even if it works, everything will just go back to how it was."

Elisa gently shook her head and looked at her brother earnestly. "The future can wait. For now, let’s just do the right thing. At least right now, everyone is trying to be good."

Wolfur looked at her in despair. "Why can’t you understand... fairy tales are never real. Inequality is human nature. If it weren’t, why did the Prosperity Era end? Those people will eventually return to what they were!"

"You just said we’re family, of course I understand," Elisa gently embraced her brother and patted the back of his head to soothe him. "It’s okay. I’m still young... When I grow old like Father, my children will take on my responsibility and look after everyone else."

The corners of Wolfur’s eyes twitched. For over 30 years, he had never truly cried. This time... He couldn’t hold his tears back.

His sister had chosen the hardest path. It was a path with no visible future, at least not one he could see. After all, he was already a dead man.

It seemed as though their family was truly finished.

Looking at his sister still trying to comfort him, Wolfur didn’t even know what exactly he felt sorry for. Maybe it was just for himself.

He had steeled himself for death, made his final, meticulous move, only to become a joke. His scheme was undone by a bunch of fools countless times dumber than him.

Maybe the casino really wouldn’t reopen again.

Still kneeling in the plaza, he broke down in sobs, howling for the first time in years...

...

At the same time, before the grand doors of the Wind from Afar Hotel, a group of kind-hearted people approached under the afternoon sun.

They brought weapons. But more than that, they brought food, blankets, and the hope of surviving another winter.

Those shelter residents had never forgotten. All survivors on this land were kin under the banner of the Federation. Even if fallout buried the shelters, they would still rise and fulfill the mission they swore under that flag.

Besides, much of these supplies had been looted from Boulder Town in the first place. Compared to what they had taken from the settlement, their delivery was nothing!

And it wasn’t just the survivors who used to stay within the walls. The New Alliance also intended to save the impoverished in the slums beyond the wall.

Players installed an elevator beside the overpass next to the Wind from Afar Hotel, lowering crate after crate from trucks parked roadside.

Other players pitched tents in front of the hotel, setting up barricades to keep order and coordinate movements.

Most of them were Lifestyle Profession players. Since Boulder Town was now the New Alliance’s fifth city, it was the perfect time to grind their regional reputation.

No one had ever seen such a strange sight. Curious onlookers gathered from both the slums and the plaza outside the wall. Merchants and beggars alike stopped what they were doing to watch.

"What’s the New Alliance up to?"

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Are they planning to swallow Boulder Town whole?"

"Hahaha! I knew collecting silver coins was a genius move!"

"Damn it! I hoarded chips hoping the change would boost their value! What a fucking loss!"

The players didn’t care about the survivors’ chatter, nor could they understand them. They simply turned on their megaphones and played pre-recorded announcements.

"Anyone who is strong enough, come register as a worker! There is no pay, but food and housing are provided!"

"Children and elderly, this way! We’ll arrange accommodations!"

"God damn it! There’s way too many people!"

"Seeking kind big sisters over 18! My home’s pretty big. You can come play, nap when you’re tired of playing, There’s no problems..."

"Fuck you! Hey, we’ve got a creep in the line!"

"Drag him over and throw him out!"

"Ahhh! Stop! I came to help! I’ve bled for the New Alliance, earned medals for the New Alliance, I demand to see the administrator!"

There was no joke. Some ragged girls actually considered going with him. A little girl curled in plastic sheets even started counting her age on her fingers.

After all, those guys in blue coats did look decent, didn’t stink, and if something happened... Well, it wasn’t clear who would be taking advantage of whom.

Most importantly, people in blue coats wouldn’t eat them for real. That couldn’t be said for other Wastelanders.

Some merchants looked respectable, but once they got them far from the city wall, they might just butcher them like lambs.

Not to mention the gangs hiding in the slums, sometimes picking lambs to sell off. The lucky ones would end up in the Bugra Free State, earning cash for wealthy bosses. The unlucky ones might land on a marauder’s dinner plate, or even worse, their operating table.

Unfortunately for the girls, the blue coats were just too disciplined.

They were so disciplined it was frustrating.

That bastard who was most likely joking got dragged off quickly, like some clown playing a prank gone wrong.