Chapter 499.2: These Old Orders... They Will Fall By Our Hands!

Actually... Calling it DeFi was an insult to CR.

Real-world DeFi was still in its infancy and far from stable. Most so-called cryptocurrency were just scams. But in Wasteland Online, real decentralized finance had already been implemented, at least in Ideal City and through their CR.

At its core, every Ideal City resident was both the issuer and guarantor of their currency.

In the traditional sense, for a central bank to inject currency into the market, it had to rely on various financial tools. But whether they were lending to businesses to expand production or lending to households for consumption, the beer and foam poured down from the top of the pyramid could never benefit everyone equally on the pyramid.

Some people might not even get a sip of the beer but end up swallowing a belly full of foam, while others drink so much beer they puke but never taste a bit of foam. However, Ideal City, built on a credit point framework, presented a different scenario.

Smart contracts programmed via quantum algorithms ensured fairness and justice in transactions. And the inherent nature of credit-based currency, along with a set of financial rules, guaranteed that everyone involved in production would benefit equally.

Of course, their system had its flaws. Equality didn’t mean uniformity. Not everyone could live in a room with windows or on the upper floors of a skyscraper. Moreover, due to the systemic limitations of the framework itself, it not only failed to restrict monopolies but in practice even encouraged internal mergers among enterprises. As a result, monopolies were even harder to break in a place like Ideal City, and there existed no force outside the system to correct it. Unless those who possessed the monopolies were eliminated by operational crises or unforeseen events, which was extremely unlikely, they would never disappear.

And since board seats were determined by shares, the council was unlikely to push for anti-monopoly legislation. At best, it could only limit already-formed monopolies through mutual checks and balances, preventing them from profiting by squeezing the very workers living within the system.

After all, in their peculiar economic system, every resident was a currency bearer. In fact, they became part of the currency. Philosophically speaking, while it led to an extreme monetization of the individual, stripping away their human attributes, it could also be interpreted differently. It liberated ordinary people from the debt relationships of the old world. Everyone was their own creditor, no longer slaves to money or to others through money.

Aside from fostering monopolies, the system’s overly conservative credit expansion strategy made it hard for startups like Skeleton Studio to stand out. People who dislike playing by the rules or who were unfamiliar with them found it difficult to adapt to life there.

On the flip side, the system compressed economic risk to a staggering degree.

Over the past century and a half, their small society of a million or even 10 million people had never experienced a true economic overheating or recession. The entire system operated in a steady upward trajectory. It was slow, but certain.

He had never seen such a stable economic slope! In reality, any mid-sized or larger economy with such a level of predictability, without even the slightest fluctuation, would have long since floored the gas pedal.

Not aligning the slope would be a disgrace to such a guaranteed profit opportunity. This kind of certain but slow situation simply didn’t exist.

The most baffling part was how their unique economic system could interface seamlessly with traditional legacy economies, including the New Alliance. Whether in imports, exports, or foreign aid spending, the stability of the entire economic machine remained completely unaffected. It was undoubtedly a model that couldn’t exist in the real world.

If the game was truly as realistic as it claimed to be, then their special model alone would be enough to drive economists around the globe insane!

Of course, this system built upon CR had become so complex it was downright terrifying. Even residents living in Ideal City probably understood only the tip of the iceberg, let alone an outsider like him.

But even a shallow understanding had shocked him deeply.

During his half year of study, Ample Time even developed the illusion that some of the less avant-garde sociological theories or experiences might actually work in the real world... Even if only at the theoretical level.

Since achieving financial freedom, he had been working as a professional gamer out of personal interest and rarely paid attention to finance. Yet the game reignited his passion for the profession he had once let go, even prompting him to attend university classes within the game. Life was truly full of surprises...

At that moment, the electronic wind chime hanging by the bar’s entrance jingled gently, and a tall woman stepped in.

Though in Ideal City, where handsome men and beautiful women were as common as weeds, Li Shuyue’s looks weren’t exactly top-tier. Her tailored, monotone office attire and her uniquely crisp and competent demeanor made her stand out sharply in the cyberpunk-style bar.

So much so that Ample Time spotted her the moment she entered. Likewise, Li Shuyue spotted the out-of-place presence across the room and walked directly to the seat across him, which automatically unfolded as she sat down.

"... There was a delay due to a company meeting. Hope I didn’t keep you waiting. It’s my treat today."

"No worries. We’re still two minutes ahead of schedule," Ample Time said with a smile, glancing at the holographic clock on the wall. "I only just got here a few minutes ago myself."

"Is that all you have to say to me upon seeing me?"

"Thank you for the treat, Director Li."

Li Shuyue rolled her eyes.

She then noticed the ‘Introduction to AI’ and ‘Principles of Economics’ books on the table, along with the Cloud University uniform he was wearing, and couldn’t help but laugh.

She couldn’t help but tease, "Reading that in a bar?"

"Just got out of night school," Ample Time shrugged indifferently at her bemused expression and joked, "What can I say? We wastelanders from the countryside don’t know the rules, so we have to squeeze in study time while you folks relax after work."

Li Shuyue offered a sincere suggestion. "We usually leave professional tasks to professionals. If you want to recharge during your downtime, I recommend taking management courses."

"I did take that too," Ample Time said with a smile.

“...”

Seeing she didn’t respond, Ample Time continued, "By the way, why’d you pick here for a business meeting?"

He had been planning to head to the library for a bit before logging off. Well, that was until she summoned him to discuss some business.

After agreeing, he realized the meeting spot was a bar near the Cloud University skyscraper called the City of Night.

"Couldn’t exactly go to a café at night, right?"

"Why does it need to be at night, though?"

"No one expected you guys to win today. You should’ve told me in advance!" Li Shuyue said with a hint of exasperation.

Ample Time smiled but said nothing.

Of course he knew the New Alliance would win that night. In fact, he knew it even before the news reached Ideal City, the moment the ceasefire agreement was signed.

But information shared among players wasn’t disclosed to NPCs outside the New Alliance. Considering she might have ties to the Highest Council, he refrained from bringing it up.

If the Highest Council misunderstood him as having access to unknown communication channels, that could become problematic. In cases of uncertainty, he defaulted to assuming it would matter.

Since Ample Time didn’t explain, Li Shuyue felt mildly annoyed but didn’t press the issue. After all, he had no obligation to share insider information.

"Anyway, I want the business proposal we discussed to be implemented before midnight tonight. Use the draft you submitted last time... Just verify the details one more time. Barring surprises, we’ll go with that version. I don’t want anything to go wrong."

That was the first commercial partnership between a corporation in the Enterprise and the New Alliance. She had spent months preparing and didn’t want opportunistic speculators to swoop in ahead of her. She had a hunch the New Alliance would become the next major overseas growth point for corporate profits!

As she spoke, she pulled a holographic stylus from her briefcase and placed it on the table, handing him a pair of AR glasses directly connected to the device. Though the draft wasn’t exactly a trade secret, it wasn’t something to be openly displayed in public.

Ample Time couldn’t help but mutter to himself as he accepted the glasses.

Seriously? Discussing legit business deals in a bar? She’s nuts.

“Midnight, huh... Is it really okay for us to do this so late?”

He casually asked while flipping through the translucent blue holographic pop-up window for a final review.

"In this city, time is credit, and credit is everything!" she replied. "Reading all those textbooks won’t teach you anything more important than that."

She glanced at the glowing text on a nearby digital billboard. Suddenly, she waved at the service robot and tapped her finger on its head twice.

Soon, two custom cocktails were served.

"Oh, almost forgot, congratulations," she said, raising her rainbow-colored cocktail and lightly clinking it against the other glass. Her lips curled into a soft smile. "Congrats on winning the war."

"But your expression tells me you're disappointed." Ample Time couldn't help but joke to lighten the mood.

"Yeah," Li Shuyue rolled her eyes after taking a sip. "I was this close to adopting a homeless awakener."

That joke wasn’t funny at all.

If Clearspring City had been taken over by the Army, the server might have shut down.

However, he trusted his teammates.

Those guys might act goofy most of the time, but they would never let him down when it truly mattered. He wouldn’t let them down either.

With a cheerful smile, Ample Time raised his glass. "To our lasting friendship, and to the victory a thousand miles away."

"Cheers."

...

Bang!

Brilliant fireworks bloomed over Dawn City.

Though it was nearly midnight in Ideal City, the River Valley Province hadn’t yet fallen into full darkness, but the celebratory atmosphere was no less intense.

The streets of Dawn City were lit up with decorations, and the residents seemed to have long known that victory would arrive that day.

Though there were no full-sky holographic projections or towering screens thousands of meters tall, the survivors living here felt just as ecstatic and joyful as their friends on the distant East Coast.

Perhaps even more so, for they had lived through the war!

They had triumphed over the invincible Army!

Even if only for a fleeting moment, they had accomplished what seemed impossible to most wastelanders. They had defeated the Army head-on in open battle!

Those exalted inheritors of old legacies were not invincible, the New Alliance had proven that.

If they stood united, they could even defeat the Wislander’s strongest in the very domain those elites were most proud of.

Players might not feel the same, but every single survivor of the New Alliance now carried a burning brand within them.

New sprouts had cracked through the hardened soil.

The old era was ending.

What would be left behind was not just winter, but the desolation once entrenched in people’s hearts. New protagonists would step onto history’s stage, an age for all wastelanders, not just the lucky few chosen by fate.

Everyone believed it.

One day, all those old orders... They will fall by our hands.

Fireworks bloomed through the night, lighting every face.

The waves of cheers on the streets made every shelter resident and every wastelander feel right at home.

"Long live the New Alliance!"

"Long live victory!"

"Long live the administrator!"

That night... It was destined to be a sleepless one for many.