Chapter 477.2: Get Ample Time To Come Up With A Plan!

It wasn’t like the Highest Council got voted into office. He always wanted to rant about their overly cautious attitude.

“Negative press affects our stock price. And stock price is the public’s trust in us, it’s the essence of our credit system.” Yi Chuan gave a bitter smile. “In short, CR is the sensitive matter for us... And... I’m sure you don’t want our aid to be cut.”

Chu Guang took a deep breath and calmed himself. “I want them home too. So please, send two... No, send four planes! I’ll deploy a 100-man company to ensure their safe passage.”

Yi Chuan hesitated. “But what if they’re shot down again?”

“Then have them land at Oasis No.8. The desert is currently within our control. We will be able to aid them with the Heart of Steel if necessary.” Chu Guang traced a line in the air, pushing a holographic map to Yi Chuan.

“My men will escort your pilots to the extraction point. Naturally, we will bring our guys back too.”

Yi Chuan looked troubled, but clearly saw no better option. In the end, he gave a reluctant nod. “Alright, I’ll persuade those on our side. The pickup point will be in Sunset Province... It shouldn’t be a problem.”

The New Alliance’s control of the Sunset Province was strong. Even if the Golden Lizard Kingdom was a vassal of the Academy, they probably wouldn’t dare mess with more planes from the Enterprise and the New Alliance. And those native kingdoms... They definitely didn’t have the capability to pull an Academy-style ambush anyway.

Chu Guang nodded. “Then hurry. Our guys are ready to move out the second I give the command.”

As Yi Chuan left the office, Chu Guang finally heaved a sigh of relief. Leaning back in his chair, he muttered, “That should take care of it.”

For his beloved players, this doggy developer... Or rather, their grand and mighty NPC really had to act like a parent. They were pushing him from being a salesman into being a full-time nanny.

Just then, the desk drawer cracked open slightly, revealing a pitiful thumb-sized face.

“

Wuuwuuu...

Master, is Little Seven really that shameful to look at?” It had even switched its voicepack just to appear more pitiful.

Chu Guang cleared his throat. “That’s not it. But I’m still the administrator of the New Alliance. I represent our image. It’s not a great look to have a figurine sitting on the table during official meetings.”

It didn’t matter if his players saw it.

He never cared what nonsense players posted about him on the forums, so long as they didn’t start drawing inappropriate fanart.

However, the Enterprise was a different story. He didn’t want to risk damaging the New Alliance’s credibility over a silly rumor.

Little Seven tilted its head in the drawer. “

Hmmmm...

Little Seven thinks they seem pretty open-minded about AI... I don’t think they’d mind.”

Chu Guang clicked his tongue once and replied sternly, “I mind.”

“

Wuuu

.”

Even knowing its sad face was just simulated programming, Chu Guang still sighed and, feeling bad, reached out to rub its little head. “Fine, fine, I’m sorry. Maybe I was a bit rough earlier. Next time, I’ll set you a proper seat on the desk that faces away from the door.”

“

Heehee

, no need! I’m already super happy knowing Master thought of me! Little Seven is your assistant, after all! I’m well-behaved and won’t cause trouble!” The pitiful look instantly vanished. That tiny face now glowed with joy, like a rainbow after a storm.

With his eyebrows twitching, Chu Guang knew he had been played. Little Seven was faking it the entire time.

Damn it! What the hell kind of dustbin has so many emotions?!

However... It wasn’t as if he hated it.

Peering our from the drawer, Little Seven didn’t know what Chi Guang was thinking. It rested its chin on its hands and blinked its human-like eyes. “Master, can I ask for a little favor?”

“Go ahead.”

Little Seven lowered its head before humming a bit sheepishly, “

Um...

Next time, instead of stuffing me in the pitch-black drawer, can you put me in your pocket like usual?”

Is there even a difference?

It wasn’t like there was a lamp in his pocket.

Still, Chu Guang didn’t press further. Maybe even AIs had their own reasons.

He gently rubbed its little head again and smiled warmly. “Alright. I promise.”

...

At the border between the Wandering Swamp and the Sunset Province,

Old White, having just logged back in, gathered the players in the temporary camp.

"New mission."

"Command has ordered us to bring the pilots and the Academy’s prisoners, and move north toward Sunset Province. We’ll be boarding at Oasis No.8, where reinforcements will receive us."

"What about this plane then?" Night Ten pointed to the two pilots still fumbling around with how to fix it.

Old Bai shrugged and made a helpless expression. "Looks like we can’t count on anyone repairing it."

By the time those two fools figured out the manual, the Academy’s main forces might have already surrounded them.

Word had it that the Academy had their own armed forces, and there were quite a few vassals in the Wandering Swamp. Many bounty hunters and mercenaries were more than happy to take jobs from the Academy, especially for a chance to upgrade to those expensive bionic prosthetics. They weren’t exactly afraid of those people, but numbers could always become a problem.

And compared to the straightforward brutality of the Army, the Academy’s gear was ridiculously flashy and were hard to guard against.

Looking at the transport plane, Night Ten showed an expression of regret. "Such a good aircraft... What a waste if we blow it up."

Gale shot him a sideways glance. "What, are you planning to carry it back yourself?"

Night Ten turned to Falling Feather, who also looked reluctant to leave it behind.

Noticing Night Ten’s gaze, Falling Feather paused, then gave a wry smile. "Why’re you looking at me? I don’t know how to fix this shit?"

Night Ten revealed an evil grin and suggested, "I’m not asking you to fix it. I mean, can’t Little Feather give birth like other Mother Bodies? Like the evolved types we saw near the center of Clearspring City... Think it can pop one of those out?"

"No way!" Falling Feather shook his head. "Little Feather isn’t like the Clearspring Mother Body, it can’t attach itself to mechanical parts."

Night Ten raised an eyebrow before wondering out loud, "Then how did it fly the plane?"

Falling Feather thought for a moment and offered his theory. "That Dragonfly transport plane... It probably inherited part of my experience. As for the Eagle fighter, it might have swallowed the pilot."

"So in essence, its offspring don’t merge with the machines. They just use experience to operate machines that are still functional. Is that what you’re saying?" Gale cut straight to the point.

Falling Feather immediately nodded. "Yeah, that’s exactly it."

Gale rubbed the bridge of his nose. That pretty much meant they were out of options.

To put it simply, Little Feather’s ability was like driving a car from the driver’s seat. The Clearspring City’s Mother Body, meanwhile, would just strap the entire car to its back and run around with it.

Both used organic beings to operate machines, but even an idiot could tell the difference.

Trying to have Slime Mold swallow the plane clearly wasn’t going to work. Asking a strength type player to carry the plane? That was even more unrealistic. They still had almost 200 kilometers of mountainous terrain to cross before reaching Oasis No.8.

Dragging a massive aircraft over mountains on foot? That wasn’t a strength type player anymore, they probably needed

Superman

...

Still, Night Ten wasn’t ready to give up.

With his eyes darting around, an idea struck him. "Maybe we should ask the little bastard Ample Time to come up with a stupid idea."

Peepo’s eyes lit up. "I think it’s worth a shot."

Dog Good Names excitedly raised a hand. "Yeah! He definitely has a way!"

That guy had some backchannel connection with their doggy developer. He definitely knew some insider knowledge others didn’t.

Seeing so many people agree, Night Ten jumped into action. He grabbed Quit Smoking’s VM and stashed it in a nearby bush to use as a tracker. Since it required DNA verification to unlock, there was no worry about someone stealing it. Plus, it was just a terminal. There wouldn’t be any sensitive data stored inside.

Dusting off his hands, Night Ten turned to the dazed Gale and grinned. "All set. Once I log off, I’ll ping him on the forums."

Gale steadied himself and replied seriously, "I’m not sure Ample Time will have a solution."

"You won’t know until you try. If he doesn’t, whatever, Quit Smoking can just buy a new VM." Night Ten patted him on the shoulder with a grin.

"Alright, I’m off."

...

With the new relocation mission confirmed, Old White split the group into two squads. One headed for the crash site of the Eagle fighter, the other to the Dragonfly transport plane.

They collected the remaining Slime Mold samples and packed up to leave.

Wu Liangping, the prisoner in critical condition, was sealed into a cryo-pod. The android was zipped into a body bag, wrapped in a foil-lined tape layer for good measure.

Watching them prepare to move out, Zhao Xiao suddenly tensed up. "Where are you taking us?"

"Not your concern. Just behave and come along." Night Ten jabbed his gun at Zhao Xiao’s back, grinning mischievously.

His eyes were tense as he snapped, "You’d better let us go. We’re on the edge of the Wandering Swamp, there’s no way you’ll get out of here with us."

That kind of empty bluster wasn’t even worth getting mad over.

Night Ten chuckled and teased, "Get out of here? With your skill level? Please. Try a few more times and all you'll do is feed us more kills."

Zhao Xiao turned bright red. "We’re an exploration squad! Not regular troops! And, I’ll have you know, we’re certified E-class field agents! The Academy won’t just abandon us!"

E-class? Looks like there's an F and G rank under that.

Judging from his expression, maybe there was, but Night Ten didn’t care. So what if there was?

"Bragging about being cannon fodder now?" Night Ten said lazily. "And if you really are what you say, then we’ve got even more reason not to let you go. When your backup arrives, who else are we gonna use as cover?"

"You...!" Zhao Xiao turned purple in the face and was about to keep arguing when Chen Yutong, who had been silent the whole time, finally snapped.

"Zhao Xiao, that’s enough. Stop talking." Any more, and she was afraid those people really would bury them on the spot.

The reminder seemed to help. The young man finally realized his position and shut his mouth.

Seeing him keep quiet, Night Ten didn’t bother with him anymore.

The kid reminded him of his younger, dumber self. Not that he was much older now anyway.

...

After half a day of travel, the group had exited the Wandering Swamp and reached the mountainous edge of northern Sunset Province.

Plenty of strange new mutant species were active there, none of which anyone from River Valley Province had ever seen. Fortunately, there weren’t many, and no serious threats emerged.

Traveling at night through areas with mutant activity was far too risky.

Old White picked a campsite with decent visibility. Some stayed to guard the first half of the night while others logged off for dinner.

As soon as he logged back in, Night Ten couldn’t wait to post on the forums, afraid his teammates might beat him to it.

[Big news, the Academy shot down an Enterprise transport plane!]

Sure, something like stealing a plane could be shared in a private group chat... But where was the fun in that compared to discussing it with the entire community?

Ye Wei swore it wasn’t about showing off or flexing. It was purely to gather collective wisdom.

Just as he expected, within seconds of the post going live, hundreds, no, thousands, of clicks flooded in.

Tail: GIAO!

Sisi: No way, for real?

Garbage: Damn it, I just went south and you guys opened up the north map already?

Even Quit Smoking, who had just been slain not long ago, popped up with his usual erratic thought process.

Quit Smoking: Holy crap, are we going to war with the Academy too?!