Chapter 549.1: Messing With Boulder Town Arms Industry

On the official website.

[Official Lore Collection, Survivor Factions, Boulder Town, Entry Update: Two Centuries of the Grand Building]

[Overview:

This work, authored by Malvern, former president of Boulder Town Bank, details the 200 year history of the Boulder Grand Building, from its rise as the southern beacon of the River Valley Province to its ultimate collapse.

]

[Description:

(In progress, stay tuned...)

]

...

"This is the ledger compiled from Boulder Town Bank’s financial records, documenting every major expenditure by inner city residents over the past decade, along with traceable fund flows."

Inside Boulder Town’s City Hall...

It had been a week since the collapse of Boulder Grand Building. The operations of the Crisis Committee had gradually shifted from initial chaos to a more orderly track.

Elisa held the thick ledger with both hands and solemnly handed it to Chu Guang, giving a brief explanation.

That was their second meeting.

She was still wearing the same cotton dress from their first encounter, with the same cute fishbone hairclip.

In just two short months, it was as if she had matured more than ten years, transforming from a little crybaby into a young woman who understood duty and responsibility.

That was what impressed him the most.

Looking at the composed and graceful Elisa, Chu Guang felt both pleased and a bit puzzled.

They were about the same age, so why did that brat Lu Bei look the same as the previous year?

That fellow hadn’t changed a bit.

Seems like to gain experience, you really have to let kids loose...

While Chu Guang was admiring Elisa’s growth, she was also secretly studying the New Alliance’s Administrator.

The residents of the shelter were all strikingly good-looking. It was not really a surprise.

It was said that many young men had fallen for the girl who made porridge for them every morning, and even the blue coats helping with deliveries and lifting were popular with the female workers of the Merchant Guild.

The thing was, the dwellers of Shelter 404 had a unique aura that sometimes made them hard to interact with.

To be specific, it was their inappropriate optimism.

Add to that their habit of loudly speaking in their own language, one others couldn't understand, and their strange behavior became even more perplexing.

Their administrator was completely different.

How to describe it...

If the blue coats were like morning sunlight floating in the air, then he felt like sunlight on the ground. Just looking at him made her shoulders and heart feel warm, but not too hot or blinding.

Her cheeks were flushed by that warmth and a hint of hope appeared in Elisa’s eyes.

Would he praise her?

"Good job." Chu Guang flipped through the ledger briefly, then handed it to Xiaoyu, who stood beside him. "I’ll leave the verification work to you."

Pai had long ago discovered Xiaoyu’s talent for spatial reasoning and calculation. Even earlier, Chu Guang had noticed her keen sense for numbers, which was why he had her help players with counting and book keeping.

Now, it wasn’t just talent. She had learned a wealth of mathematical tools and methods. Verifying a ledger like this was nothing to her and would likely be done in just a few days.

But given Xiaoyu’s stubborn perfectionist streak, even something as trivial as counting silver coins would be done thoroughly and seriously.

"Mm! Leave it to Xiaoyu!" Xiaoyu nodded seriously, taking the heavy ledger in both hands.

Pai, standing beside her, beamed with pride. "Don’t worry! My Xiaoyu is amazing! She’ll get it done perfectly!"

The praised Xiaoyu smiled, lips curling up in joy.

But she seemed to recall something, frowning slightly and correcting Pai. "Xiaoyu isn’t yours. If anything, she belongs to Big Brother Chu."

Pai flinched at the serious gaze, shrinking her neck and muttering in grievance, "I was just... joking, why take it so seriously?"

Chu Guang cleared his throat lightly. "Don’t say that. You belong to yourself."

"

Mmhmmm

," Xiaoyu shook her head, then looked at Chu Guang with conviction. "Papa already entrusted Xiaoyu to Big Brother Chu."

Pai raised her eyebrows curiously. "???"

Chu Guang’s eyes also widened slightly. "...?"

What the hell?!

That was ages ago!

Seeing Pai staring at him, Chu Guang subtly averted his gaze. "

Ahem...

That was last winter... don’t look at me like that. It’s not what you think, he just asked me to take care of her. That’s all."

He believed he had done a pretty good job and hadn’t betrayed the old man’s trust.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Seeing that Chu Guang wasn’t joking, Pai let out a breath of relief and patted her chest. "I knew it... You scared me to death."

"..."

Even though it wasn’t what she thought, the whole part about him ‘scaring’ still rubbed him the wrong way.

Come on now, what’s so scary about this granddaddy here?

Watching the whispering duo, Xiaoyu frowned in displeasure and mumbled, "What are you talking about? Xiaoyu already said..."

"Alright, alright," Pai quickly covered her mouth with a goofy grin, trying to muddle through the topic. "No need to repeat it, I got it."

Growing up in a little place like Baker Street, it was normal not to understand things.

She would figure it out when she got a little older.

Chu Guang let out a sigh of relief.

Though Pai grown up in a small place too, Camp 101 was still a step ahead of Baker Street. And with Pai having been mentored by Dr. Methods, she was definitely more mature than Xiaoyu.

Watching the bickering pair, one playful, the other completely suppressed, Elisa looked a bit dazed, a slight hint of disappointment rising in her bright eyes.

All he said was ‘good job’?

Feeling a little reluctant, she couldn’t help but speak up. "Um..."

Hearing the voice beside him, Chu Guang looked in her direction.

Seeing she had something to say, he smiled gently and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Looking away shyly, Elisa mumbled, "... Could you praise me a bit more?"

The room fell silent.

Pai, who was hugging Xiaoyu from behind, took the chance to poke her puffed-up cheeks. Chu Guang, speechless, looked at Elisa’s face turning redder and redder.

After a moment’s thought, Chu Guang rose and walked to the office window, looking out past the frost-covered sill toward the settlement returning to normal. "You did something truly admirable, so admirable that I hesitated to give you this medal, because I didn’t want you to take that risk a second time."

He paused, then turned to look at Elisa. "But now I suddenly think, maybe I shouldn’t hesitate on this. Doing the right thing should be rewarded. Otherwise, it would be a disservice to courage."

"You did very well. I, and all survivors inside and outside the great wall, are proud of your bravery. I sincerely hope you’ll keep up the good work, make this settlement more prosperous than ever, so people won’t regret today’s pride and choices."

The sunlight passed just right over the frost-covered sill and through the foggy glass, falling across Elisa’s face.

Her bright eyes shimmered like a lake under a spring breeze. "Thank you!"

Chu Guang chuckled softly. "I should be the one thanking you. I’ll still need your help assisting Xiaoyu with the verification."

Wearing a radiant smile, Elisa nodded firmly. "

Mm

! Leave it to me!"

...

As the days passed, the end of December arrived.

Just before the New Year’s Eve, the first batch of apartment blocks was officially completed.

Like the corn buildings in Dawn City’s east district, these apartments were built by assembling concrete panels pre-made in Boulder Town’s factories using cranes on-site like stacking blocks.

The newly finished neighborhood had 30 buildings, each six stories tall. Every floor had 10 single rooms and two small public restrooms, housing up to 1,800 families on less than a third the land of the previous slums. The freed space could now be used for roads and public facilities.

Moreover, every five buildings shared a cement-structured public bathhouse for residents’ hygiene needs.

These uniformly styled apartment blocks quickly became the most vibrant new scenery near Boulder Town’s industrial zone.

They weren’t perfect, in fact, they had many flaws.

They had poor soundproofing, small floor plans, and it was extremely crowded.

But for survivors on the wasteland, especially the workers in the industrial zone, those weren’t really flaws at all.

Compared to their old drafty shacks, those buildings were a massive improvement!

Life was getting better day by day. No one expected to become rich overnight.

Once the first apartment batch was completed, the new authorities quickly fulfilled their promise.

Those units would be given free to homeless survivor families, with priority for those whose homes had been demolished and construction workers who helped build them.

These young laborers were exactly the workforce needed nearby, and most preferred to live close to where they worked.

At the same time the first batch of apartments went into use, the underground tunnel between Boulder Town and Dawn City was preliminarily cleared thanks to joint efforts by players and survivors.

Slime Mold incubation chambers in dark corners were destroyed, along with the Mutant Slime Mold roaming the shadows.

Players even destroyed a Mutant Human tribe hidden in the tunnel, rescuing over a dozen survivors from cages.

With the clearing done, travel time between Boulder Town and Dawn City was greatly reduced.

Dawn City was currently planning a ramp to connect to the tunnel, integrating Boulder Town into the New Alliance’s train system.

Conveniently, the New Alliance was also planning to replace their old coal train with a cheaper, eco-friendlier electric locomotive.

The two projects could proceed in parallel.

Infrastructure work continued methodically, and with New Alliance assistance, the Crisis Committee actively transitioned power to the new authorities.

Their first order of business still, was selecting a governor.

Unsurprisingly, the new city lord was the Worker's Union representative, Lorette. After the broadcast announced the vote results, Survivor’s Daily also published them.

His speech during the uprising had inspired survivors citywide. His performance after the victory proved he was up to the task.

To use an imperfect metaphor, the city lord and city hall governor were like a village party secretary and village chief.

In practice, the city lord handled macro-level decisions, signing key documents and setting major goals.

The governor and other officials handled the actual municipal work, deciding how things got done. Most of these roles were filled by professionals.

Additionally, the city lord would supervise the governor and city hall. His powers were constitutionally granted and jointly overseen by Boulder Town’s residents and the New Alliance.

Lorette promised to prioritize restoring industrial production and improving worker welfare over the next three years.

If any profiteers tried to break their new laws, he wouldn’t just throw them out, he would kick them out the door and close it behind them.

Every union member voted for him.

They knew Lorette was just a carpenter, but they didn’t care. Even a dim-witted carpenter was better than the clever Mr. House. And carpentry wasn’t brainless work, he could read, do math, and draw blueprints.

It didn’t matter if their city lord wasn’t yet experienced. They were willing to wait.

Spielberg hadn’t written a proper sentence on day one either, it took half a year of reading newspapers for him to learn anything.