Chapter 366.2: It's Reasonable To Be Expensive. It's From Ideal City After All...

That was clearly not the container-style housing produced by the New Alliance. In that case, , Chu Guang guessed it had to be the barracks of Camp 101.

It was evident that Camp 101 valued the students sent by the New Alliance. Despite the harsh conditions in West Continent Municipality, they still offered their best.

He heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed the annual tuition of 10,000 wasn't wasted, and he didn’t give his support in vain.

"How do you like the new environment? Are you getting used to life there?"

"It's okay, it can't compare with the shelter, but it's not too bad either. I'm not picky about where I live, but it feels like there's not much food... it's much quieter than Dawn City."

Watching Xia Yan's somewhat gloomy appearance, Chu Guang couldn't help but chuckle, "It'll get better. In a little while, we'll open a few shops at Camp 101, then you'll have a place to spend your living expenses."

"Really?" Xia Yan's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but gulp in anticipation. Her eyes lit up as she asked, "Can you also bring the barbecue stall over?"

"We will have that... But... Stop thinking about food! You’re not there for a picnic!” Chu Guang broke out laughing suddenly, "Speaking of which, what courses did you choose?"

"Mechanical Engineering!" Xia Yan, lying in front of her pillow, proudly curled her lips, "I'm best at modifying machinery, and I plan to develop myself in this direction!"

"Do you understand it?" Chu Guang raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Classes start tomorrow. I just got a textbook today... But honestly, that stuff looks really difficult, I didn't understand it after reading it for half a day." As she spoke, she revealed a hint of frustration.

Although she was determined to become stronger, she actually didn't have much confidence that she could learn the complex knowledge recorded in the textbook.

After all, she didn't have Xiaoyu's talent, nor was she as young. She only had stronger practical skills because she had been exposed to firearms and various machine parts since she was young.

However, in the face of higher knowledge, her little practical skill and experience were nothing.

"... Professional knowledge and the experience gained from practice are definitely different, and it's normal to feel that it’s difficult. I believe you can definitely master it." Chu Guang grinned.

"You sound like you understand a lot..." Xia Yan couldn't help but roll her eyes. However, the trusting look and encouraging words still made her feel warm inside.

"If I knew this stuff, would I need you to go and learn?" Chu Guang continued, "Speaking of which, where's Xiaoyu? Why don't I see her?"

"She's already asleep. That little girl was just talking about you earlier. She wanted to call you, but she was afraid she would disturb your work," Xia Yan said with a teasing tone.

"And you still have the lights on." Chu Guang frowned and subconsciously lowered his voice, but quickly noticed she was wearing headphones.

"It's okay, we always sleep with the lights on in the shelter anyway," Xia Yan snorted nonchalantly.

"..."

Does she really think electricity is free?!

But thinking about the energy consumption of the nurturing cabins, Chu Guang didn't mind that little energy expenditure.

Seeing that Chu Guang didn't respond, Xia Yan continued, "She's taking mathematics and economic management. These two courses seem quite unpopular, but Pai's master plans to teach her personally."

Speaking of which, Xia Yan suddenly remembered something. "Oh right, almost forgot, Pai asked me to tell you some good news."

Hearing it, Chu Guang immediately perked up. "Is there a result about the VM?"

Xia Yan nodded. "Yeah, the administrator of Shelter 101 agreed quite readily, but the other party made a condition."

Chu Guang immediately asked, "What condition?"

"That person said he wants to meet you."

...

At the entrance to Shelter 101.

There were only a few sparse barracks left where Camp 101 used to be.

Apart from the production and research facilities that still needed some time to be moved, most people were eager to return to the surface.

As the administrator of the archives, Evan would likely be the last to leave.

Before returning to the surface, he needed to sort out the materials in the archive room by category, so that he could ensure that he wouldn't be frantic in the new environment once he got there.

Fortunately, he had recently taken on an apprentice, who should be able to help him quite a bit.

Of course, before that, there was one important thing...

In the archive room, the elderly man with white hair sat quietly at his desk, reading his apprentice's Observation Journal.

Since it was mixed with quite a few abstract sketches, it took a little time to fully understand.

Perhaps also realizing this issue, Pai, standing by, was not idle, vividly describing her experiences in Dawn City.

She included how people there turned trash into steel, whittled wood into furniture, extracted fuel from plants... After talking until she was out of breath, she made her final summary.

"In short, although it's backward there, it's a very interesting place! Unlike other wastelanders, they're not just adapting to the wasteland, they're also transforming the land under their feet!"

"I heard that a year ago it was just a wasteland, but now there's not only endless farmland but also a very large station and trains... Xiaoyu showed me some old photos, it's unbelievable!"

Watching her apprentice gesticulating with her hands, Evan teased her with a smile. "Did they bribe you with a bowl of shaved ice?"

"How could that be?! But-but, the shaved ice with jam is really super delicious! That flavor is absolutely amazing! It’s not just shaved ice, there were so many other things I've never seen before!" Pai said with sparkling eyes.

She was still at a playful age. But that was precisely the reason he would be able to see some things ordinary people wouldn’t notice through her perspective.

That might also be the reason they decided to send her there in the first place.

Evan smiled and put down the somewhat incomprehensible Observation Journal in his hand. "Is that so? I'll go and try it someday too."

"Sure! I'll take you!" Pai said eagerly, already eager to share the treasure troves she discovered with her master.

"We’ll go in a bit, I need to finish the work at hand first..." Pausing for a moment, Evan continued, "Can you tell me about their administrator? What kind of person is he?"

"Um..." Hearing the question, Pai touched her chin and pondered for a while, seemingly struggling with how to describe their interaction.

But just then, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she spoke. "Although it's hard to explain in a few words... I feel he's very easy to get along with."

"Easy to get along with?" Evan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes!" Pai nodded, happily saying, "Although he's an administrator, he's completely different from ours... How should I put it... He doesn’t feel as distant.”

That distant aura...

Evan was slightly stunned, eventually revealing a thoughtful expression.

Although it was a very abstract description, he could understand what his student was trying to express.

The blue coats of Shelter 101 often call themselves mentors, yet the residents of Camp 101 rarely call themselves students. Instead, they often consider themselves people under protection, regarding the residents of Shelter 101 as ‘pioneers and ‘masters’...

The emotions involved were not just gratitude for enlightenment and protection, but also include a kind of worship. Not just the worship of knowledge, but also the worship of status and so on...

That kind of almost religious faith and awe inevitably created some sense of distance.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Even though he could feel that the pioneers were trying hard to avoid it, even though he himself could see where the problem was, it was still hard to avoid.

"... No wonder the pioneers wanted to talk to him." Evan murmured softly.

He was increasingly curious about that man.

Maybe I’ll pay them a visit one day.

...

The next day.

Luca, who had returned from Boulder Town, gave an inaugural speech at Longevity Town, swearing allegiance to the New Alliance, and officially took office as the Mayor of Dawn City.

For the residents of Dawn City, that wasn't really anything new, as they had been familiar with Luca for a long time.

However, for the traders and mercenaries from outside, it was indeed big news.

After all, Luca's background was no secret. Many had heard that he was previously a slave at Brown Farm.

That evening, in a tavern.

A group of traders from Boulder Town gathered around a wooden table, drinking and discussing the day's news.

"Did you hear that the new Mayor of Dawn City used to be a slave?"

"A slave? Can he manage such a large settlement?"

"Who knows? But I'm not optimistic about him, what does a peasant know? Can he even read a ledger?"

"But he was appointed by those blue coats... Those smart people wouldn't make a mistake, right?"

"Haha, smart people? Would smart people end up being groundhogs? Look at this mess they've made here, don't think too highly of those people, they’re just a bunch of cowards hiding in burrows." A bearded trader burped as he spoke.

"

Shh...

keep it down, this isn't Boulder Town."

Noticing some unfriendly glances from around, the young trader next to him quickly pulled his drunk companion back, urging him to shut up.

They were here to do business, not to find trouble.

In a corner of the tavern, Sun Shiqi, hearing the traders' discussion, couldn't help but look surprised.

Seeing the expression on his face, Zhou Nan across from him couldn't help but say with a smile, "Didn't you hear about this?"

"Um... I just got back from the south." Sun Shiqi nodded.

Half a month ago, he had taken a truckload of cheaply bought munitions to the Brocade River Province, exchanged 100 tons of grain from the farmers there, and had only arrived in Dawn City that afternoon, just missing the Mayor's inauguration speech.

But he did know of Luca.

It seemed that a long time ago, that old man had been working for the administrator of Shelter 404.

First managing the warehouse, later running Longevity Town... He seemed to have been in charge of integrating Brown Farm. His experience wasn’t bad at all.

He just hadn't expected that the administrator had such boldness to really place a former lower-class person, a slave, in the position of Mayor.

And not just any city, but the capital of the New Alliance, Dawn City.

He didn't have any prejudice himself, in fact, he somewhat admired it since he was also a survivor of humble beginnings. Just last fall, he was dealing with rubbish.

Even if it was a show, they indeed did it beautifully.

At least it had more sincerity than the union formed by that mine owner and the guild leaders in Red River Town.

Watching the group of Boulder Town traders pay and leave, Sun Shiqi suddenly remembered something and spoke up. "Speaking of which, it seems there have been a lot more traders coming here from Boulder Town recently."

Not just around him. He had also seen many at the trade station before.

Although there were always traders from Boulder Town, it was never as common as it was where they were in every tavern.

"It's because of those 200 million chips in loans. You probably haven't heard... A few days ago, the bank of Boulder Town gave the New Alliance a large loan for giving up the airspace over Clearspring City," Zhou Nan said with a smile.

There was more to the story, but that was all he knew.

"200 million chips?!" Sun Shiqi exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise, "Has the bank of Boulder Town gone mad?"

"Mad or not, I don't know, but that's the fact," Zhou Nan took a gulp of cold beer and said sarcastically, "Yesterday, House from The Voice of Boulder Town was mocking on the radio, saying that now all the factories in Boulder Town are serving Dawn City, willing to be servants to a bunch of country bumpkins... Although they look down on their poor neighbors to the north, their bodies are very honest."

Sun Shiqi couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Of course. Who would turn down silver coins?”

Zhou Nan spoke with a look of lament. "Yeah... The market here is unimaginably vast, especially these last few days since the people of the Enterprise arrived. Although I don't know what they plan to do, the goods they brought from Ideal City have made all the nobles in the inner city jealous."

Hearing what he said, Sun Shiqi's interest was piqued. "Do you have a way to get those goods?"

Zhou Nan shook his head regretfully. "I wish I had those connections. I've tried, those people from the Enterprise simply won't do business with us... I don't know what kind of benefits those blue coats gave them, but they've completely monopolized this batch of goods."

"Can you buy from the shelter then?" Sun Shiqi quickly asked.

"You can, but it's not cheap," Zhou Nan nodded, "What I found out is that a bionic kidney costs 600,000 silver coins."

"600,000 silver coins?!" Sun Shiqi exclaimed in surprise, "Are they mad?!"

"Well, it's stuff from Ideal City, it's expensive for a reason. Think about the nobles in the inner city, those with chips to spare. They won’t think it's expensive. A perfect liver and kidney could give you an extra 20 years of life, and you don't have to worry about your body being hollowed out by wine and pleasure... I'd like to replace mine too." Zhou Nan's face was full of envy as he spoke.

A single trade could yield more than double the profit.

The business was simply too good!

"... I'm more curious about what exactly the Enterprise got from the New Alliance." Sun Shiqi's face was also filled with envy, but more so with curiosity.

Even under the banner of friendly cooperation partners, these people from the Enterprise were a bit too generous towards the New Alliance.

Zhou Nan shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe it's some incredible weapon, or perhaps a priceless black box? My imagination is limited; that's all I can think of."