Chapter 616.3: Price Of Growing Stronger

“A 10 meter tall giant?!”

“Is that real...”

“Wouldn’t that make him stronger than Bore?!”

“Wait, I think I heard about this... Survivor’s Daily reported it! That thing even had wings, they said it was a Torch Church engineered Mutant Human, leading over 10,000 offspring up onto the Heart of Steel. Then the administrator glared at it, and it dropped to its knees on the deck right there.”

“

Sssss....

”

“Come on, that’s a tall tale! No such creature exists!”

“I’ll ask Spielberg next time. He’s met the administrator!”

Watching the noisy drunks, White Shark’s lips curled into a pleasant smile.

Seeing those airheads spread rumors was part of life’s little amusements.

Besides, he was also a part-time intelligence dealer, and an informant for the Guard Corps.

Spreading rumors brought business.

Lately, wastelanders from the north had been digging for intel about the administrator, especially his activities in the south.

The Bugra Free State seemed increasingly interested in their neighbor, the New Alliance.

Some seekers were journalists and some were spies from the Flintstone Group.

He usually got paid from both sides.

On one hand, with the Guard Corps’ tacit consent, he used his network to sell watered-down insider news to those snoopers. On the other hand, he handed the Guard Corps leads about those snoopers’ movements.

The tavern grew lively again, though the topic had shifted from the south and the Tide to the administrator and mutants.

There, people admired strength far more than cleverness.

And so, at a time and place Chu Guang knew nothing of, his reputation quietly climbed again...

At the bar, a man had sat in silence the whole time, ignoring the noise around him, glancing now and then at his watch.

Compared to the other patrons, his attire was undeniably refined. His watch was an import from the Camel Kingdom, its face inlaid with blood diamonds, and his shoes were made from Deathclaw hide.

Clearly, he was a merchant, and a wealthy one at that.

White Shark cast him a glance and said softly, “No need to worry. Your daughter is safe... I’ve already confirmed it through my channels.”

When the members of Shelter 404 took a job, it was rarely left unfinished.

They valued their missions more than their own lives, especially those missions they believed in.

Like rescuing an innocent girl from an evil lord.

Other mercenaries might weigh difficulty and profit, even betray employers and their families, but the blue coats almost never would.

“Thank you.” Yang Shu drew a deep breath, took a sip of chilled lemon water, and after a pause, spoke. “Maybe... I just don’t know how to face her.”

“She’s your own flesh and blood. What’s so difficult about it?” White Shark replied gently.

Yang Shu gave a bitter smile. It was precisely because she was his flesh and blood that he felt guilt. He had burdened her with far too much she should never have borne, all for his own ambitions.

He knew very well, he had her only to put Zhao Tiangan’s mind at ease, even preparing for ruin and destruction before she was born.

Yet at the moment she was born, the instant he truly became a father, the ice in his veins melted instantly.

She had become his weakness, and that was the most painful thing.

100,000 silver coins had been his wager. Win or lose, he had prepared himself for the outcome.

Now he had won. Yang Xiaoyang was still alive. But he felt no joy, only deep guilt and dread.

Just then, the door chimes tinkled.

He turned instinctively, and when he saw who stood there, a spark of excitement flickered in his eyes.

Yang Xiaoyang looked at her father, but she quickly hid herself behind Falling Feather the very next moment.

Falling Feather gently patted her hand, looked at his employer at the bar, and forced a lighthearted smile. “I’ve brought your daughter back. A lot happened along the way and it wore us out.”

“Thank you...” Yang Shu gulped once as he looked at Falling Feather who was alone.

He had prepared many words, arranging the meeting just to say them. Once he saw Falling Feather in person, the words stuck in his throat.

Falling Feather didn’t know that Yang Shu was grieving for his Little Feathers. If he had, he would surely have comforted him, telling him those creatures were like mushrooms and they would grow back in a few days.

Sensing the gratitude, Falling Feather laughed heartily. “No need for thanks. I took this as a mercenary job, doing it for money is natural. Besides, your daughter actually helped us too.”

He had heard that the New Alliance’s Biological Research Institution had already developed a drug from her blood antibodies that could suppress the effects of Na Fruit.

That would help survivors in Brocade Lake Municipality shake off Na Fruit’s influence more quickly.

Because of that, Falling Feather also felt relief.

Frost had originally planned to keep a Na Fruit plantation to help locals wean off slowly and avoid mass relapses. But with the substitute drug, the plantation was no longer needed.

Yang Shu glanced awkwardly at White Shark, who smiled and nodded. “The final payment was transferred the moment this mercenary stepped through the door. Or would you rather buy him a drink?”

Yang Shu turned to Falling Feather and asked sincerely, “May I buy you a drink?”

Falling Feather quickly waved his hands and laughed. “No need, no need. What’s the point of drinking first thing in the morning? I’ve got another job soon. Besides, this is your family reunion. I’m an outsider, I won’t intrude. The air here isn’t great either. You should take her out for a walk.”

Yang Shu nodded gratefully. “Thank you...”

Falling Feather scratched his head with an exasperated smile. “I told you, no need to thank me.”

Still, knowing his effort had reunited a family, he felt a quiet sense of accomplishment.

As for the rest... They had to deal with it themsleves.

...

On the forums

A notificagion popped up on the homepage.

[Limited time event, Extinguishing the Torch Church has concluded successfully. Rewards have been distributed to all player accounts, please check your inbox.]

[A new threat is emerging. The Tide in Clearspring City is already beginning to stir. The aftershocks of the Three Year War have never ended. This will be the continuation of a struggle from two centuries ago.]

[The new event will officially begin in spring. For more details, follow the official announcements. Stay tuned!]

The most outstanding performers in the event were undoubtedly the Jungle Corps monsters, followed by the Skeleton Corps’ Chimeras.

Those machines of brutal beauty hit just the right aesthetic nerve for both players and spectators.

Everyone began looking forward to the new spring event, the annual Tide.

In all of Clearspring City, perhaps only the little players of Vault 404 could be so optimistic.

Not only did they not fear the Tide after the warm winter, they even wished it would come harder.

The Hive in the center of Clearspring City had no idea that itself, the very being wastelanders feared like death had, in the eyes of certain blue coats, already become nothing more than a coin-dropping New Year’s beast.

The forums were buzzing with merriment.

Aside from bragging about rewards from the last event and predicting the next one, the main focus of jokesters was undoubtedly Night Ten.

Night Ten miserably discovered that whenever he posted, no matter what he said, the thread went off topic.

Makka Pakka: Hahahaha, isn’t this Night Ten? Bro, where’s your brother?

Tail: Maybe he’s shy. Tail thinks you should drop a hint. (///ω///)

Irene: So terrifying! Who knew Miss Teng Teng’s words had such divine power? (teehee)

Teng Teng: ?

Eye Owe Money: You’re all wronging Night Ten. Maybe he just... couldn’t find his little brother?

Night Ten: Get lost! Damn it! I’m restarting right now!

Drumhead Washing Machine: Don’t, brother! Your gear’s insane. Restarting would be such a waste. :)

That hit the point. Dying and spawning again three days later wasn’t hard, especially for veteran players.

The real problem was letting go.

Though he had lost one tool, that electric-discharge ability was simply too powerful!

It was no exaggeration, it was stronger than Spring Water Commander’s

Blastoise

exoframe.

His hands could do more than just stun enemies, they could turn any conductor into a railgun shot.

Yes, even silver coins.

If he withdrew all the money in his account, he could literally kill people with money.

And with capacitors releasing stored arcs, in theory he could even pierce directional shields!

Most outrageous of all, even though most of his body parts had been replaced, his perception hadn’t weakened, nor had his experience gain suffered much.

Ample Time speculated it was because those of the Perception type, unlike the Agility type players, didn’t enhance optic or olfactory nerves, but instead boosted the brain’s processing of signals.

In other words, perception was like Intelligence, so long as the brain itself wasn’t altered, or only lightly modified, experience gain would hardly be affected.

Because his power was so absurd, Gale even wanted to swap heads with him.

Without a second’s hesitation, Night Ten refused.

Escaping Mole: Going by RPG logic, hidden functions unlock through Affection. Why not raise your sugar mama’s affection? Maybe she’ll install the upgrades herself?

Night Ten: Holy crap, seriously?!

Escaping Mole: How the hell should I know? Try it yourself.

In fact, Ideal City sold far more varied, flashy bionics.

The only uncertainty was whether they were compatible with Academy-made ones.

Whatever it was, Night Ten figured that was a small matter.

In Wasteland Online, where lives reset every three days, worrying about that was too narrow-minded.

If it really came to it... It wouldn’t be just one upgrade. Even make a few more would be no problem at all.