Chapter 499.1: These Old Orders... They Will Fall By Our Hands!

After the meeting ended.

Nearly everyone not directly involved in the ceasefire negotiations, such as the reporters from Ideal City, Li Ke from the Academy, and other unrelated personnel, left the conference hall feeling quite satisfied.

Everyone except the representatives of the Army.

Cohen remained seated, glaring furiously across the negotiation table at Chu Guang.

The Wislander officers standing behind him wore equally furious expressions, as if they wanted to devour him whole. Chu Guang, for his part, looked utterly baffled. He had no idea what he had done this time to offend these long-nosed fellows.

Fortunately, Cohen didn’t make him guess. He vented his anger instantly. "I am very dissatisfied with your wording. This was an unconditional ceasefire, this war had no winners or losers. You should not have used the word 'victory'!"

So that’s what this is about...

Chu Guang clicked his tongue silently.

They had all agreed that each side would claim its own version of victory. So what if he said one sentence to his own people? It wasn’t like the Army hadn’t had a chance to speak.

You were the one who insisted on acting all high and mighty, brushing off the moment to act cool... Why the hell are you blaming me?

If he had known they were so petty, Chu Guang would’ve brought 19 pens and switched pens after every stroke of his signature, dragging the process out even longer.

He could’ve raffled off the extras afterward.

Hey wait a moment... What a missed opportunity!

"That was indeed a bit inappropriate," Wu Changnian coughed softly and glanced at Chu Guang. With a deliberately neutral tone, he said, "This is a ceasefire negotiation. Using the word 'victory'... might lead to misunderstandings."

Chu Guang wasn’t fazed at all by the hostile stares from across the table. Casually, he asked, "So what? Doesn’t Ideal City have a media office in Triumphant City?"

Wu Changnian thought for a moment and nodded. "That’s true."

Even Wu Changnian hadn’t expected Cohen to react so strongly to that single line. It was clearly something meant for Chu Guang’s men. His reaction was, frankly, a bit of an overreaction. But speaking from the standpoint of the Enterprise, Wu Changnian still had to smooth things over. The ceasefire was already signed, and causing trouble wouldn’t benefit anyone.

Cohen gave Chu Guang a cold stare, then finally snorted and stood up, supporting himself on the table. He grabbed his copy of the ceasefire agreement and left the hall without a word, trailed by his officers.

Nearby, a bunch of eager players revealed expressions of disappointment, especially those little bastards who would have much rather things unfold into chaos.

Looks like these old guys won’t be dropping gold coins after all.

Watching those dejected figures, Chu Guang turned to Wu Changnian seated beside him. "Did you get the coordinates of the Pioneer?"

Wu Changnian nodded. "They gave them to us. Assault Team 26 has already arrived in the target area under Yun Song’s lead. The entrance to Shelter 0 is also located there, near a mutant human tribe. The Army has terminated their mercenary contract with the tribe. We’re free to handle those mutants as we see fit."

Chu Guang’s expression grew slightly strange. "I always found it odd... Mutants from the desert making deals with humans?"

In the eyes of mutants, weren’t humans just breeding stock and food? The whole idea was as bizarre as negotiating with your food delivery.

Wu Changnian shrugged. "I thought it was strange too. But according to the Army’s explanation, the former Commander of the Sunset Province, General Klaas, might have struck some kind of deal with them. Mutant mercenaries were involved in the expedition a year ago."

"Based on the intel we’ve received, these mutant mercenaries attack with suicidal fervor and possess terrifying regenerative abilities. Even soldiers in exoframes find them tough to handle."

Well... They were merely tough, that was all.

The Skeleton Corps had fought them before.

According to Sideline Slacking himself, they were just elite mobs with slightly thicker health bars. They weren’t even as troublesome as the elite Wislander troops they fought at Hill 330.

After a pause, Wu Changnian continued, "Cohen claimed the Marshal didn’t know about any of this. Joseph probably knows something, but refuses to say much... Either way, Klaas is dead. Griffin’s dead too. McClennan is still alive, but he probably doesn’t know much. This isn’t something they’d want to investigate just to satisfy our curiosity."

Chu Guang raised an eyebrow. "So we’re expected to clean up their mess?"

Wu Changnian nodded. "Yes."

Chu Guang laughed. "Hah. They really passed the shit off to each other really cleanly. What the last guy left behind has nothing to do with the next one..."

Wu Changnian nodded again, his expression serious as he looked at his young ally. "Exactly. You probably know this already, but I still have to offer you a word of advice. You need to be careful. Be careful when dealing with all of them. Like that little spat just now, they won’t forget the humiliation they suffered today."

"The moment you show weakness or become easy to manipulate, they’ll bare their fangs without hesitation and begin stirring the pot... They were bred for war. Griffin was. Cohen too. Anyone who comes here will be the same."

That was also why the Enterprise wanted the New Alliance to take charge of Bist Town. They needed a trustworthy friend to keep an eye on those unruly Wislanders.

Their antics had already caught the Highest Council’s attention. The desert wouldn’t stop the Wislanders’ ambition. Even if it was just for peace in the Among Cloud Province, the Enterprise couldn’t remain completely detached.

Chu Guang curled his lips. "No wonder they get along so well with mutants."

"That’s a separate matter... But speaking of which, I was surprised. I didn’t expect there to be mutants with gray-black skin in the wasteland either."

Wu Changnian sighed, his tone filled with emotion. "I thought blue mutants with gills were already absurd... Who knows how many secrets this world still hides?"

Chu Guang wasn’t buying it.

Green, blue, gray-black, rainbow-colored... Mutants were mutants. He didn’t plan to let a single one live.

Creatures that tied plunder to reproduction and encoded hatred for humans into their DNA never should’ve existed in this world to begin with. They were no different from goblins.

Every mutant owed a debt that could only be paid by blood.

After witnessing the hellish scenes in the Mutant Human settlement on 76th Street, he had sworn never to negotiate with those creatures.

The thought of his old friends aboard the Pioneer being trapped with those beasts caused him to clench his fists.

"I have a small request."

"What request?" Wu Changnian’s eyebrow twitched. He got headaches whenever the annoying guy had a suggestion or request.

But to his surprise, this time, it wasn’t anything unreasonable.

"Before withdrawing from Oasis No.2, I want to bring the Heart of Steel west a little to bring our old friends home."

Wu Changnian blinked. A strange expression appeared on his face.

What a weird request.

Still, there was no reason to say no.

"No problem... Actually, thank you. The airflow in the desert is unstable. I heard the Orca and Cloudfly have been performing terribly."

A smile appeared on Chu Guang’s face. "Then it’s settled."

...

Just after the ceasefire was signed, the Enterprise forces stationed in Falcon City launched a Migratory Bird drone, spreading news of victory on swift wings.

The drone flew across deserts, valleys, mountains, and rivers, finally reaching the city on the East Coast shortly after nightfall.

Above Ideal City, holographic fireworks exploded in the sky. The Council Building standing in the heart of the city displayed the historic moment on one of their faces, broadcasting it to every resident.

It included Wu Changnian’s speech.

And also his ally, the administrator of Shelter 404.

"It is an honor to witness this moment with all of you."

"This victory belongs to us."

Yes.

This is victory!

The Wislanders of the West Coast might be too proud to admit their military defeat in Sunset Province, but euphemisms were for losers to cover up their losses. The expressions on their faces when signing the ceasefire said everything.

For the netizens on Endpoint Cloud, Wu Changnian’s long speech was far less popular than Chu Guang’s concise declaration of victory.

Even Chu Guang didn’t expect his blunt and honest line to go viral again in Ideal City.

In the Battle Royale discussion board run by Skeleton Studio...

The developers of the game were so hardcore that they attracted not VR gamers, but a crowd of New Alliance-obsessed netizens.

CEO Xue Hongliang, ever the savvy one, renamed the community homepage.

[This Victory Belongs to Us!]

It instantly sparked a frenzy of applause.

On this day of celebration, no one was talking about the game anymore. Everyone was cheering the hard-won victory. Strange-looking avatars danced in the square.

"This is our victory!"

"Wake up, bro. We only sent one assault team and a prototype android squad. What has this war got to do with us?"

"Doesn’t that just prove how wise the Highest Council is? Not a single Ideal City citizen sacrificed, and we won effortlessly!"

"Uh... A few did die on the way."

"Admin, can someone ban this guy? He’s a total buzzkill."

"Hahaha! I love their administrator! Compared to that long-winded middle-aged guy, young and handsome people are way more my type!"

"Woo woo woo, when can we get flights to the New Alliance? I’ve never even left the Among Cloud Province!"

"That might be tough. Heard the River Valley Province is where Deathclaws come from. Even if the New Alliance is our ally, going there’s risky."

"Whatever it is, we need to thank the heavens... Our boss can finally go back to making games!"

"I can’t wait."

"Let’s hope he makes it back alive."

...

In the bar, the City of Night.

In order to celebrate the victory, their music that had been playing the entire night had been composed by the residents of Dawn City.

The dance floor pulsed with bodies. LED masks flashed with smiling emojis.

Under neon red, yellow, and blue, the retro beat surprisingly matched the wild vibe of the crowd.

Sitting quietly in the bar’s corner, Ample Time watched the silhouettes on the dance floor and couldn’t help feeling a tinge of regret.

He had probably missed the entire storyline.

Still, he hadn’t wasted the past few months.

During his training at Cloud University, he’d learned a lot, things that broadened his horizons. Ideal City’s business models, common management theories...

He was certain. The development team of Wasteland Online had to include a multidisciplinary advisory group covering politics, economics, military, history, culture, and religion, handling all the fine details.

Take the currency of the Enterprise, for example.

At first, he thought CR was just a re-skinned game token. But the deeper he dug, the more he realized it was modeled on real-world’s decentralized finance.