Chapter 379.3: That Airship Has To Be Worth Something, Right?!

He simply couldn't bear to think further about what it would look like for that behemoth to fly to their doorstep.

"Don't worry too much, the mayor certainly won't let it fly here." Seeing his exaggerated reaction, Seal gave him an odd reassurance.

"That's not certain... Last year, I don't know if it was the Army or the Enterprise, but they dropped a nuclear bomb in the north's, and it ended up being nothing."

Hopefully, someone will take care of it.

Aren't there a bunch of busybodies up north?

Boulder Town was about 100 kilometers away, and Lucky Valley Municipality might be a bit farther, but not by much.

Boulder Town at least has their great wall equipped with numerous fixed weapons. In his eyes, those hillbillies had nothing but their huge fields.

They'll probably do something, right?

Compared to the unlikable Army, the bumpkins were certainly more endearing.

A hint of worry appeared on Rob's face.

Can they win?

...

He wasn't the only one with such concerns.

Nearly all the wastelanders holding a copy of the Survivor's Daily shared nearly the same thought. Not everyone cared about the fate of those country bumpkins in the northern suburbs, but they certainly weren’t naive enough to think the range of the Heart of Steel's cannons couldn’t reach them.

The city hall of Boulder Town bustled with activity.

Dulong had already convened 3 meetings, not only summoning the bankers but also the president of the Survivor's Daily newspaper.

Even though everything wasn’t in chaos yet, it was certainly concerning.

Unlike ordinary residents, they weren’t just concerned about the place they lived. There was also the matter of the 200 million chips they just loaned out!

What was the concept of 200 million chips?!

There were over half a million residents in the outer city, not counting mercenaries and traders, with an average income of about 10 chips per person.

In other words, it would take the entire workforce of Boulder Town, working their asses off, about 3 to 4 months to earn that much money!

Yes... The money wasn’t in the hands of the New Alliance. Instead, it was in a monitored account in the Boulder Town Bank. The problem was... The New Alliance had already used a lot of money to place orders with their factories and caravans!

Nearly all the factories in Boulder Town were busy with loans. They were hiring and expanding production in order to earn back their 200 million chips.

Industry was booming like never before!

Neither Boulder Town Bank nor the city hall, having tasted just a bit of recovery, wanted to see this trend of economic revival snuffed out.

There was no way they would allow it to happen!

“Jaeger... That fool even suggested stopping the loans! How can such a big operation stop just because he called it to? It's a good thing Dulong stood on my side...” After a day full of meetings, Malvern returned to his mansion, exhausted, handing his coat to his wife while continuing to complain.

Every day, he worried himself to death over those poor debtors.

Taking the coat, his wife gave him a kiss, comforting him softly, "You might need a few days off."

"My dear, I would like to, but there are just too many troubles..." Malvern sighed and sat on the plush sofa.

At that moment, he noticed the newspaper on the coffee table, his brows that had just relaxed, twisted again. "That’s a copy of Survivor's Daily. Did we subscribe to it?"

Rubbing his temples, Malvern now found the newspaper headache-inducing.

"It was me, I saw a lot of things I'd never seen before, like nutrition paste. They say it's food for wastelanders," sitting next to her father, Elisa blinked curiously. "Can we buy some? I want to see what it's like."

"You wouldn't be interested in that stuff, it's like, like fermented vomit, only slightly better than hard-to-swallow bark." Malvern thought of a vivid comparison.

Even he felt disgusted, which should dispel his daughter's curiosity.

Elisa raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Bark?”

"Yes, if you're too lazy to even spend a chip, you'll have to gnaw on that. But nutrition paste is cheap enough, usually sold for... Why am I talking about this," Malvern patted his little daughter's head and chuckled warmly, "You don't need to know about these."

His sons had moved to the inner city. One of them followed a reliable caravan to the East Coast to travel, and his other daughters had already married, leaving just his dear child Elisa at home.

His wife frowned. "You better not bring that stuff home."

"I know." Wrapping his arm around his wife's shoulders, Malvern chuckled, "I'm just educating our little girl about some... "

"It’s unnecessary knowledge." His wife stared at him, her tone slightly accusatory. "you spoil Elisa too much, I've never agreed with her subscribing to that kind of paper. There are so many books in our library, why read the crude writings of wastelanders?"

Malvern chuckled dryly. "I'll talk to her."

He wasn't very fond of the Survivor's Daily either, primarily because he didn't believe those non-professionals could write anything of value though his office subscribed. He simply got his secretary to check everything for him.

It was just that the headline was unexpectedly relevant to him.

The Army's airship had made it to the River Valley Province, and if not for that weirdo who came from the neighboring province, they'd probably still be in the dark.

It was like the previous time with the Pioneer. A tactical nuclear bomb had exploded, and their esteemed mayor had only sent someone to take a look after some time.

Elisa stared into her father's eyes, suddenly yapping thoughtfully, "Actually, you know we can't really isolate ourselves from the wasteland, the thriving ideal city is enviable, but we're not them."

Malvern was surprised to hear such words from his daughter. "Where did you hear that?!"

"From the paper, but I think it makes sense." Looking up at her father, Elisa grinned.

Malvern pondered for a moment before he spoke again. "Right. Not only do I know. Dulong knows, even Yegor, that not-so-smart uncle, knows. However, there are many, many complex reasons, and this problem has been long-standing."

Elisa blinked. "Since it's been so long, why not start changing now?"

Rubbing his daughter's head, Malvern smiled in amusement and spoke in a gentle tone. "Because of limited capabilities, every generation has its tasks, and all daddy can do is make your lives a little better. I can only ensure we don’t have to sell our soul for tomorrow's lunch like those wastelanders, or fight over a bottle of watered-down beer."

He had no intention of breaking the two-century-old tacit agreement.

The source of Boulder Town's prosperity, like Ideal City, was, after all, the Enterprise’s path they followed, albeit with some modifications.

They had a strong armed force and didn't meddle in wasteland affairs, ensuring only that no one caused trouble at home.

All the survivor settlements in the southern part of River Valley Province and even the neighboring Brocade River Province saw them as a model.

It was the same way they looked up to the utopia on the East Coast.

Now... Trouble had finally found them.

The Army's airship was at their doorstep, and those big-nosed people were as barbaric and rude as the rumors suggested. They were blatantly baring their fangs.

He had no doubt that those people would threaten Boulder Town's prosperity.

The more he thought about it, the more powerless he felt.

Even as one of the city's wealthiest, he couldn't persuade the great mayor to deploy the army to do something for everyone's benefit. After all, he was just a beneficiary of the rules.

The mayor was the person who really set the rules.

That man, whose age was unknown, was colder, more stubborn, and more elusive than anyone he knew.

Malvern began to fantasize. If only there was a perfect solution to block that trouble or drive that airship away.

At that moment, a perfect... Or rather, insane idea suddenly popped into his mind.

Since lending those blue coats some money could revive those factories on the verge of closure, why not lend them another sum for military expenses and incite them to go to war?

That airship had to be worth something, right?

And with their good-natured personalities, seeing the emaciated survivors, they definitely couldn't just ignore them. They would even start building houses and roads for them.

"Lucky Valley Municipality, the western exit of the southern corridor... It has much more potential than West Continent Municipality." Muttering to himself, Malvern's eyes brightened, and he suddenly stood up energetically from the sofa.

"Daddy?" Elisa tilted her head, unclear about what was going on.

Malvern laughed heartily, so delighted he almost wanted to pick up his daughter and kiss her.

"My Elisa, you're absolutely right, we indeed need a little change."

"At least, we need some flexibility!"