Chapter 188.1: Officer and Researcher

In the preparation room of Shelter 117.

Holding a cup of hot water to warm her body, the woman who finally figured out the situation calmed down, then looked at the two guards sitting behind the long table. "Can I see your administrator?"

The two guards looked at each other, and then the slightly older one looked at her cautiously and said. "We will report this matter to the administrator... Could you please clarify your identity, are you a resident here?"

"Hyrja, Ph.D. in Bioengineering, from the Year 190 of the Wasteland Era... You don't look like a shelter resident."

The guard nodded. "I'm indeed not, the two blue coats who brought you here just now are, but the administrator treats us equally."

Hyrja's expression suddenly became tense. "Are you Torch?"

"Torch?"

"What is that?" The two guards asked in confusion.

Seeing the reactions of the two guards, Hyrja breathed a sigh of relief, slowly loosening her tensed shoulders, and leaning back on the chair.

She muttered to herself, "It's nothing... It's great that they are not..."

Twenty years have passed after all.

The older guard frowned. "What are you saying?"

Hyrja paused and said, "I will explain the situation to your administrator later. This is my obligation... Speaking of which, which shelter are you from?"

"404."

404?

Hyrja's eyes widened in shock and she was a little bewildered.

Was there a shelter like that in the vicinity of Clearspring City?

She originally thought that the shelter near Shelter 117 would be Shelter 116 or Shelter 115...

...

In the meantime, in Longevity Town.

Discuss the problem with me?

Hearing what Chu Guang said, Vanus's expression suddenly became tense. However, Chu Guang's next sentence made him feel a little relieved.

"The expeditionary force has failed, General Klaas has been killed, and now the war is over, you can write to your family. You only need to pay a ransom of 2 million Dinar for our losses in the war, and then you can go home."

Hearing the number, Vanus almost choked on his own saliva. He coughed dryly. "Sir, even if I sold all my property, it would be impossible for me to scrape together so much money."

2000 Dinar could buy 1 able-bodied slave, 2 million Dinar would mean that they could get 1000 slaves.

Those weren’t the cheap ass clone slaves who had short lifespans either. Those were real survivors who had a full lifespan and could do good work.

1000 slaves...

One at least had to be a Division Commander with a fief to have such strong financial resources.

He could gather 200,000 Dinar at most, but that would mean that he had to sell everything he had.

Not surprised by Vanus' answer, Chu Guang continued, "In that case, I need to train a group of recruits here. Do me a favor and I can give you a discount on the ransom."

Vanus froze for a moment.

Training new recruits?

... Me?

Seeing that he didn't speak, Chu Guang continued, "Any questions?"

"No, sir...Thank you very much for your trust," after a pause, Vanus said, "May I know the reason?"

Chu Guang said without hesitation. "As you have heard, a huge marauder tribe is on the rise. If we are lucky, they will attack us early next year. If not, maybe we will meet before the end of winter. If you don't want a group of barbarians as your new master, you'd better show us some real skills."

"I'll give you ten people first. If the training goes well, I'll give you 10%off your ransom, and then I'll give you ten more, and so on. If you're doing well, maybe I'll just waive your ransom. Whether you can go home early or not depends on your own performance."

Vanus' Adam's apple bobbed up and down again, and a complicated look appeared in his eyes.

He looked surprised and seemed to be stuck in a state of disbelief. There were also other emotions that were hard to suppress.

He nodded slightly and said respectfully. "I'm at your disposal, sir."

He suddenly understood why that man could gain the loyalty of so many people.

Looking at the obedient Vanus, Chu Guang nodded with satisfaction. "You may leave now."

"Yes."

After Vanus left, Jiu Li, who was standing beside him, looked at Chu Guang nervously. "Sir, are you sure you want to make an Army's member an instructor of our men?"

In the central and even northern parts of the River Valley Province, those people with the bulge in the middle of their nose bridges were synonymous with demons and the source of plagues and disasters.

He couldn't trust someone from the Army no matter what, let alone a mid-level officer.

As for Wrench and Luca, they didn't feel much. The people of the Army were almost invisible in the south of the River Valley Province, and they hated the local marauders and mutant humans more.

While it may seem odd to have a captive as an instructor, they themselves were marauder captives and slaves to begin with.

Moreover, that was the judgment of the administrator, so they had no doubt that his decision was correct.

Looking at Jiu Li who had a look of distrust, Chu Guang said bluntly. "Why not? Yes, they are our enemies on the battlefield, but they can also be useful as captives. The Army's force is not in the River Valley Province at the moment, so we will not have direct conflict for the time being. Our conflict with them is not a bloody feud. Plus, he has reformed well during this time. Since he can be recognized by the workers, I think he should be given a chance."

There were many things about the Army's tactics that were worthy of learning. Chu Guang also needed an instructor to train a group of junior officers to be proficient in logistics, light infantry tactics, positional warfare, and mobile warfare.

Vanus, who had received military education since childhood and was a mid-level army officer, was undoubtedly a suitable candidate.

It was unrealistic to let prisoners lead troops, but there was no problem in giving lectures and training to NPCs. The only thing that needed to be overcome was their psychological obstacle.

In large-scale battles, NPCs and players had to cooperate tacitly to maximize the players' combat effectiveness.

Sooner or later they would meet stronger opponents than marauders.

Of course, although that was the case, that didn't mean Chu Guang fully trusted the guy.

He would arrange for two guards who were loyal enough to serve as supervisors while learning from the man. If it was found that this guy had any ill intentions, or did some unnecessary things, those survivors who regard him as the savior would report to him as soon as possible.

When that happened, he would naturally appear to handle things.

"... In my place, things like identity don't matter at all, it's the same for everyone."

"I hope you will remember what I have said."

His words were not just directed to Vanus, but also to the refugee representative.

Jiu Li's shoulders shook slightly.

Although he still couldn't trust the Army's men, he still lowered his head.

"Yes, sir."

...

After the rest of the people left, Chu Guang kept Luca behind to learn about the recent situation in Longevity Town.

In general, the naturalization of refugees was progressing smoothly. Nearly 20 refugees who had obtained jobs had been allowed to enter the town.

These included two butchers, three tanners, and artisans such as carpenters, tailors, and masons.

There were nearly 50 workers, and the procedures were also in process to add more jobs.

The refugee camp was just a buffer, Chu Guang didn't intend to keep those refugees at the east gate all the time. Letting them stay there was just so that chaos wouldn’t break out in the outpost.

Anyone could enter Longevity Town and become a legally settled resident as long as they proved their worth through work.

After listening to Luca's report, Chu Guang thought for a moment and said. "There seems to be more refugees recently."

Luca said respectfully, "Yes, sir, in the past week, more than twenty people have come in three batches. This does not include the Frost Spear and his fifty-odd people you met just now."

It seemed that the days of unrest had indeed brought a lot of trouble to the survivors of River Valley Province.

Especially the Bonechewer tribe...

Chu Guang's fist clenched slightly.

At this moment, the signal light of the VM he was wearing on his arm suddenly flashed.

With a slight movement in his heart, Chu Guang immediately opened it.

The message was from Little Seven.

"Master, your players seem to have found a living person in Shelter 117?"

Chu Guang was stunned for a moment before he responded, "A living person?!"

Little Seven’s reply quickly came, "Yes... Her name is Hyrja, she claims to be a resident of Shelter 117, and says she has something important and needs to talk to you face-to-face."

Looking at the text sent by Little Seven, and before Chu Guang could recover from his surprise, three lines of light blue pop-ups suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

[Mission Complete]

[Shelter 404 level B3 permission has been unlocked]

[Please take a look at the rewards]

...