Chapter 405.2: The Best Rewards Include Flowers and Applause

Shells thicker than his leg filled the ammo racks, stacked several meters high. Foldable robotic arms stood beside them, their bases fixed to T-shaped rails.

Looking into the stocked warehouse, Chu Guang suddenly asked, "Are all airship ammo depots located in the same spot?"

Finod answered respectfully, "Of course not, sir. Each of the Army’s nuclear-powered airships is designed uniquely based on the 'shield core', and each core's location varies... This is one of the Army’s top secrets."

"Even I only learned the layout of the Heart of Steel’s compartments after taking office. Many lower-ranking officers leave after years of service without ever knowing where the ammo or engine bays are."

The so-called ‘shield core’ likely referred to the wreckage of the ship they were using as the power source from the Federation Era.

Chu Guang nodded and didn’t pursue the matter further. Instead, he turned his attention to the remaining munitions inventory.

With the former logistics officer’s help, he conducted a rough count. The results were quite satisfying.

The depot contained fifty 400mm extended-range rockets, each weighing nearly 1.5 tons, with both cruiser missiles and conventional missiles.

The sub-nuclear weapons that General McClennan never had the chance to use had now all become trophies of the New Alliance.

Not just ammunition for the main cannon. Nearly 10,000 rounds of 100mm shells, and several million bullets of various types and calibers were also stored across different compartments.

During combat, these munitions would be transported to battle stations via robotic arms and fixed tracks. Depending on the type, some were loaded manually, while others were fed by automated systems.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

In addition, Chu Guang discovered 500 medium-sized 500kg aerial bombs and 70 large 1000kg aerial bombs.

Those things could very well pack a bigger punch than those 400mm extended-range rockets.

After all, a large portion of a 400mm rocket's weight went into its propellant, while those bombs were basically filled with explosives.

A standard thermobaric bomb had an explosive force of over 8 tons. By comparison, those might easily reach 20 tons of explosive force.

According to Finod, these bombs were designed to take out heavily fortified positions and underground bunkers.

Looking at the fully packed ammo racks, Chu Guang couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of dread.

Thank goodness they managed to stop the airship.

Had it flown over their territory with their directional shield active... Barely anyone on the surface, aside from those in shelters, would’ve survived.

And the spoils weren’t limited to the airship’s armaments. The warehouses also held massive stockpiles of military supplies. There were 500 tons of canned beef, nearly 1,700 tons of hardtack, pickled vegetables, and other goods. It was enough to supply an army of 10,000 for a full year.

In a small cold storage unit, Chu Guang even found milk popsicles and ice cream stored in freezers.

Seeing the desserts inside, Chu Guang’s eyes lit up with surprise as he joked, “You people sure know how to live.”

Finod gave a sheepish smile, unsure how to respond.

Turning to Lu Bei beside him, Chu Guang said with a smile, “Call a few brothers over later. Get all these popsicles and ice cream out. We’ll hand them out at dinner. Says here they’re for ‘centurion-grade supply only’. I bet they taste pretty good. Let everyone have a try and see what it’s like.”

He was still a kid at heart. He couldn’t resist a sweet treat.

The moment Lu Bei heard there was food, he gulped reflexively.

But he quickly caught himself, straightened up, and saluted sharply. “Yes, sir!”

Watching Lu Bei’s excited expression, Chu Guang smiled but didn’t comment.

In Dawn City, ice cream wasn’t anything too special. But here, on the front lines, anything cold was a luxury.

It was the peak of summer, and after a brutal battle, both players and NPCs were pushed to their physical limits.

At a time like this, a cold popsicle was nothing short of godsend.

Though there weren’t as many ice creams as canned beef, there were still enough to fill several freezers. There were more than enough for everyone to have one.

When Chu Guang mentioned everyone will get one, the members of the Guard Corps lit up with joy. Only Finod wore a heartbroken expression.

As the logistics officer, no one knew better than he how valuable those snow-white, jade-like popsicles were.

The milk used to make them wasn’t cheap. It came from the Army’s highland ranches along the Solat River, and each barrel cost tens of thousands of Dinar. Ordinary civilians neither had the means nor the privilege to buy them.

Though the freezer label said they were for centurions only, they had long since been restricted to senior officers due to the distance from Army territory.

To just hand them out to grunts? Outrageous!

But Finod said nothing.

After all, how to distribute war spoils was the decision of the man in front of him. He himself was merely a prisoner...

...

Besides ammunition and provisions, the airship also carried undeployed engineering vehicles and production equipment.

Chu Guang intended to assign those to the logistics department.

Other than that, the lower decks of the airship housed slaves belonging to the Army.

Contrary to Chu Guang’s expectations, the conditions they lived in, though far from comfortable, were not entirely inhumane.

In a large barracks room of about 200 to 300 square meters were more than 100 triple bunk beds, packed tightly enough that one could barely squeeze between them.

One side of the barracks connected to a communal shower, with no partitions. There were just rows of shower heads hanging in an open room. A few bars of soap sat in the corner.

Compared to the repulsive dungeons used by marauders, the Army was relatively civilized. It was barely prison-level conditions.

But what had happened there could hardly be called civilized.

When Chu Guang and Finod stepped inside, the slaves within looked on with confusion and fear.

Though the room hadn’t become a battlefield, and they had long grown used to the thunder of artillery and gunfire outside, there was something strange in the air. From Finod’s expression to the unfamiliar gazes around him, Chu Guang could tell something was different.

Chu Guang noticed that, despite their fear, the women didn’t avert their gaze from him. Most wore only a thin, barely concealing garment, but none looked away in shame.

Standing beside him, Finod gave a light cough and said with a sycophantic tone, “Sir, most of these slaves come from lowly backgrounds. Some were taken from the wasteland randomly. I don’t think they’d interest you...”

In his view, unlike the valuable ice cream, those women were the kind of spoils fit for underlings.

Chu Guang looked at him with slight surprise. “You even rank your slaves?”

Finod replied, “Uh... Not exactly. It’s just that officers above centurions typically have their own rooms. Senior centurions even get private quarters for storing personal trophies or housing servants...”

“That means you have private quarters too?”

Seeing Chu Guang’s half-smile, Finod looked embarrassed but admitted, “Of course... I won’t deny it. But if we’re talking about taste, I believe you’ll be far more interested in General McClennan’s collection.”

Chu Guang raised an eyebrow. “Show me.”

Finod straightened immediately. “Yes, sir!”

General McClennan’s quarters were at the very rear of the ship, near the escape pods. A few soldiers from the Guard Corps were still cleaning up blood and bodies from earlier.

A fierce firefight had clearly broken out there. The walls along the corridor were riddled with bullet holes.

As Chu Guang and his party approached, the guards at the door saluted sharply. “Sir administrator!”

Chu Guang nodded, motioned for them to carry on, and casually followed the pale-faced Finod.

They soon reached McClennan’s quarters.

The space was quite large, completely unlike the cramped crew rooms.

What caught Chu Guang’s eye was a grotesque mounted head. It was about the size of a two-headed ox, preserved in formaldehyde or something similar. It looked like the head of Yong that had been turned into a specimen.

Too bad McClennan never got the chance to mount it on the bow of the Heart of Steel.

Aside from that, the room held polished stones, gem-studded gold and silver vessels, and a number of advanced-looking devices whose purpose was unclear.

According to Finod, after each successful assault on a survivor settlement, McClennan would select a few of the most valuable trophies for his personal collection.

Some were crafted by locals, others scavenged from pre-war ruins.

Chu Guang wasn’t particularly interested or knowledgeable about such treasures, but the aristocrats in Boulder Town’s inner city probably would be.

He planned to have Yin Fang pick out the valuable pieces once they returned, and hand the rest to familiar merchants to be sold off.

McClennan’s private collection could fetch quite a few chips at auction in Boulder Town.

Next to the trophy room was a bedroom. When Chu Guang pushed the door open, he found a woman standing inside.

She looked to be in her early twenties, dressed in a luxurious gown. Her appearance and bearing were markedly different from the slaves he’d seen earlier.

But... The fear and confusion in her eyes were just the same.

Standing beside Chu Guang, Finod respectfully introduced her. “This is no ordinary woman. She’s one of the princess consorts of the Falcon Kingdom. Her name is Teresa, daughter of a prominent noble.”

Chu Guang stared at him in surprise. “You guys kidnapped a princess?”

Finod whispered, “Technically, no. The King of the Falcon Kingdom offered her to General McClennan himself.”

Teresa’s face was pale. She bit her lip in silence, her eyes flickering between Chu Guang and Finod as she tried to understand the situation.

Chu Guang stared at her for a moment, thinking about how to handle the situation. Then, suddenly, he spoke. "Hello, Lady Teresa."

Seeing the man in an azure exoframe address her, Teresa responded nervously, “H-Hello... May I ask who you are?”

Chu Guang replied, “Administrator of the New Alliance.”