Chapter 155.1: Not Enough NPCs!

After sending Chu Guang away, Li De returned to the Pioneer and thought for a while before finally filling in the recommendation reasons he thought were appropriate on the electronic application form.

"This is an ideal station. They don't have anything special, but you can get delicious food at cheap prices. In addition, you don't have to worry about getting your throat cut in your sleep at night. If you're going to places further west, it's safer to stay here than anywhere else, and I vouch with my credit score that they're trustworthy."

There were also electronic signatures of dozens of other crew members on the Pioneer.

The encrypted letter would be sent to the Silver Wing Corporate Group's board of directors who would respond within three days.

Li De believed that there shouldn't be any problems. After all, even Captain Lu left his signature.

The sacrifices they made in this battle deserved their respect.

As for setting up a factory or whatever they brought up...

Honestly, that was the first time Li De had heard such a whimsical request. Would any bank be willing to lend to such a high-risk project? It was hard to say.

In any case, he couldn't interfere with decisions at that level, and the Pioneer didn't head all the way over there to open up the market. Besides, he had no way to call over a dozen caravans with one phone call.

Li De suggested to Chu Guang that when an Enterprise caravan passed by their settlement, he could discuss cooperation with them himself, but he shouldn't hold out much hope.

After all, doing business in the wasteland was inherently risky, let alone starting a factory in the River Valley Province that was not controlled by Enterprise...

How could those caravans bring their profits back and who could guarantee their interests?

This was a question worth thinking about. It was not something that should be decided rashly.

However, these issues that were worth pondering in Li De's view were not a problem in Chu Guang's eyes.

Whether it could be negotiated was one thing, and whether there was a chance to do so was another.

Moreover, if it was really true as Li De said that after getting the title of Enterprise's Permanent Strategic Partner, a large number of Enterprise's caravans would include them in their trade routes, even if they didn't want to set up a factory, he would still be able to make money by opening a post station and setting up food stalls.

By then, his currency would not be useless waste paper. When there were more caravans coming through his settlement, would he need to worry that no one would be interested in his market?

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The huge traffic of caravans was also a market in itself. The biggest advantage of Shelter 404 over Boulder Town was that it was closer to the suburbs and had more convenient transportation routes.

Whether serving as a trade node for Enterprise caravans to and from the central and western regions, or as a trade hub for foreign caravans and Clearspring City's local merchants, it could generate a considerable income for the outpost.

It would be epic enhancements for Lifestyle players and it would be amazing!

...

At the north gate of the outpost, torches in the snow flickered.

It was twelve o'clock in the morning in the wasteland, and it was noon in reality.

Except for a few Lifestyle players who were still online in the living area, most of the players went offline to eat.

After all, it is impossible to stay online for 24 hours. Even if the player's real body could withstand it, the cloned body in the game had to close their eyes and rest.

Otherwise, a fatigue debuff would appear on their VMs and directly affect their work efficiency the next day.

When Chu Guang, wearing a Type 5 police light exoskeleton, came from the north, Wrench who was patrolling the gate happened to see him and immediately went to greet him. "Sir, you are back."

Chu Guang nodded. "Mhm, where's the loot?"

Wrench reported, "Half of it has been unloaded, and the other half is still on the truck! There are so many things, Luca said that he will find a few people to build a new warehouse for those weapons tomorrow."

Chu Guang nodded.

Things like arms had to be separated from other materials. In the future, as the resources of the outpost become more and more varied, a separate warehouse should be built for each type of resources, and a specialist should be hired to store them properly.

Thinking about it, Chu Guang couldn't help sighing in his heart.

There aren’t enough NPCs.

If only the people who were studying in the literacy class at Old Charlie's place could graduate faster.

If Shelter 404 got the title of Enterprise's Permanent Strategic Partner, there would definitely be Enterprise caravans passing by in the spring of next year.

When that happened, he would need a lot more people...

Chu Guang couldn't help but wonder if he should set up a literacy class in the nomadic camp. Without education, it would not be easy to arrange work for them.

Passing through the door of the outpost, Chu Guang noticed that the lights in the Weapon Shop were still on, and a figure leaning on crutches was standing at the door.

Seeing Chu Guang coming from the north gate, Xia Yan, whose cheeks were flushed with cold, finally breathed a sigh of relief and limped up with a cane. "You're finally back, I was almost going to send a mission to get people to find you."

Chu Guang glanced at the VM she was wearing on her arm and joked, "I'm very pleased that you are getting more and more proficient in using it."

Xia Yan raised her eyebrows. She was about to speak when a voice suddenly floated from the direction of the nursing home.

"Weewoo, Weewoo, Master, you’re back!" The paper bin-shaped robot rushed to Chu Guang's side, happily circling his legs several times.

"Master, you're finally back! The electronic pulse outside was so big just now, Little Seven is so worried about you!"

Chu Guang patted Little Seven's head lightly and said with a smile, "Don't worry, that thing has no effect on me, but are you okay?"

"Little Seven is fine! That level of EMP can't affect Little Seven!"

Huh?

Didn't expect you to be that sturdy.

Chu Guang touched its round head, only to find that his hand was covered with dust. It seemed that he should find a chance to give it a bath.

Looking at Chu Guang who was only interacting with the robot pet, Xia Yan couldn't help rolling her eyes. She coughed lightly to remind him that she was still there, and continued, "What happened in the north? Was... Was that really a nuclear explosion?"

Chu Guang picked up a handful of snow at the door of the weapons store and cleaned the ash from his hand.

"A small nuclear bomb with a payload of about 10 tons, it's not a big deal."

Xia Yan was stunned. "... Was it the Army?"

"Mhm, it's a thousand-person brigade led by a brigade commander, Vanus. It was said that when Lu Yang found him, the dude poured a glass of red wine and calmly asked him if he wanted to have a drink together. There were more than 2000 light infantry clones, and their blood filled the trenches... But no matter what, their equipment is now ours."

Seeing the smile on Chu Guang's face, Xia Yan said worriedly, "I always feel that you are a little too optimistic."

"How so?"

"In every way possible." Xia Yan sighed and continued, "A year ago, the Army's expeditionary force was fighting against the people of the Great Rift Valley in the north. They claimed to be an army of one million... It seemed as though they weren’t exaggerating. Do you know what that means? You don't know how many brigades of this kind they have."

Chu Guang raised his hand and stopped her. "You want to say that we shouldn't intervene in this war, right?"

Xia Yan nodded with a serious expression. "It's not a wise decision to meddle in the affairs between the Army and the Enterprise. If the Army knew that they lost a thousand soldiers because of your meddling, what would you do if you were their commander."

"Me?" Chu Guang smiled and said, "It depends on what I'm doing. If the battle situation on the front line is not going well, I'll put this aside for now and deal with it when I'm free."

Xia Yan looked at him in disbelief. "Since you know, then why do you still..."

"So you think their battle is going well?" Chu Guang said lightly, "If it really went well, they wouldn't have split up their force and come to the south. It's definitely because they cannot continue fighting anymore, so they plan to get whatever they can get their hands on before retreating."

"... This is just an ideal analysis, those people are marauders, they wouldn't think about everything so carefully."

Chu Guang said with a smile, "I know, I'm thinking from their standpoint. So have you ever thought about what would happen if this force didn't catch the Pioneer?"

Xia Yan was stunned for a moment.

"... Didn't catch them?"

Does this have anything to do with the topic they

were discussing

earlier?

Xia Yan couldn't help but be a little confused.

Chu Guang nodded. "Yes, whether it's a war or negotiating a contract, you'd better have two strings to your bow. After all, things won't always go as smoothly as you think. If everything went smoothly and they successfully intercepted the Pioneer, the supply of 2000 clones could be taken from Pioneer."

After a moment's pause, he continued, "But in fact, they were actually a step behind. If it wasn't for the Pioneer breaking down in the northern suburbs of Clearspring City, they probably would have missed this fat sheep. With 5 light trucks, the insufficient supplies they were carrying would not be able to help them survive the winter. Moreover, it's impossible to travel hundreds of kilometers back in such heavy snow... so what do you think they will do then? Stand silently in the heavy snow? Or look at the roots on the ground and curse?"

Xia Yan fell into deep thought, looking a little troubled.

Obviously, that was beyond the thinking boundary of a small mercenary.

She only thought about the possible revenge of the Army, but she didn't expect that it was the same whether they provoked the Army or not.