Chapter 517.1: We're Home

Above the clouds, a distinctively shaped aircraft took off from the outskirts of Ideal City's airport, heading toward the River Valley Province.

It had two pairs of wings and four engines. Two in front and two at the rear, symmetrically positioned at each corner of the fuselage, propelling light-blue plasma streams backward.

The transport aircraft was a civilian-modified version of the Orca transport plane. Its fuselage had been extended, its cargo capacity enlarged, and an extra pair of plasma engines had been added.

Due to its civilian use, the aggressive name had been softened to the more approachable ‘Blue Whale’.

In appearance, it resembled an advanced version of a four-engine tiltrotor aircraft, replacing traditional propellers with plasma engines that were lighter, more stable when it came to power output, and less affected by air turbulence.

Like the Orca, it could switch between horizontal and vertical flight modes. It even had one extra maneuver that the Orca couldn’t perform. It could fly horizontally.

Just like a quadrotor drone.

Except passengers who experienced it were usually left cursing afterward.

The aircraft was designed by a subsidiary of the Silver Wing Enterprise Group, with production contributions from over 100 companies. So far, only one had been completed and was servicing the route from the Among Cloud Province to the River Valley Province.

The story of the Pioneer had, to a certain extent, shaped mainstream public thought in Ideal City, and Wu Changnian’s proposal for influence expansion was smoothly passed in the council.

In the future, the Enterprise would not only manage its small territory in the Among Cloud Province but would also project its vision outward, exploring new futures with survivor settlements elsewhere.

They would not return to the era of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, unconditionally supporting settlements like their Production Department once did, but neither would they treat those settlements as invisible as they had in the past.

The birth of the New Alliance had already proven that wastelanders weren’t all hopeless troublemakers.

This new flight to River Valley Province was one result of Wu Changnian’s submitted proposal.

His speech at the press conference that day had inspired many people, which was why tickets for the maiden flight sold out almost instantly.

If it weren’t for Li Shuyue using her connections to buy tickets reserved for business travel, the Bull and Horse Club’s four fools might have had to linger in Ideal City a bit longer...

“Damn! My luck sucks today!” As Ample Time revealed the cards on the table, Night Ten leaned back in his chair with a gloomy face.

The aircraft had a total of 240 seats. Besides the front and rear cabin sections, passengers could also move freely in an entertainment lounge with a bar, where simulated-human attendants served drinks.

Before landing, passengers were allowed to leave their seats and walk around, though in emergencies, they had to follow the pilot’s instructions to return to their seats or sit in the nearest safety seat.

To kill the boredom of travel, the four of them, at Ample Time's suggestion, sat at a table in the lounge to play blackjack.

Watching the frustrated Night Ten, Ample Time shot him a calm smile. "Your hand is written all over your face. Beating you is too easy."

“But I...”

"You want to say your expressions were fake, right?" Seeing right through him, Ample Time continued with a smile, "But have you considered that pretending too hard already gives away your intent?"

“

Ugh

, I'm done, I'm done! This guy plays too many mind games!” Night Ten sighed and pushed back his chair. “Let’s play Landlord instead![1]”

He’d thought his high perception would let him dominate at card games, but he only managed to bully Old White, who barely understood the rules of blackjack. He hadn’t won once against Ample Time.

Watching Night Ten give up, Ample Time chuckled, "If you're not good at masking your emotions, you could learn from Gale... That poker face of his is hard to deal with, especially since he's great at math."

Gale let out a quiet cough. “I wouldn’t say poker-faced... It’s just that winning or losing doesn’t matter to me. There’s a pattern, and whether I get good or bad cards, I’m not really surprised.”

Night Ten suddenly raised his head and stared at Gale. “You know, I’ve always been curious.”

Old White, who had lost almost immediately when the game started, smiled and chimed in, “Curious about what?”

Night Ten glanced at Gale. “Why do guys like Gale, physics nerds and all, even play games?”

Ample Time laughed. “What’s so strange about that? Everyone has hobbies.”

Gale coughed twice before he explained, “... I wouldn’t call myself a nerd. I just really like the things I like.”

Night Ten couldn’t help but throw in a jab. “Hey, that’s truly enlightening. That explained nothing.”

Ample Time looked at Gale with interest. “By the way, what exactly is your research topic again?”

He had been reading a bit on AI lately, but they were mostly introductory material.

He didn’t quite understand what university physics professors actually studied, but if Gale’s field happened to involve algorithms, it would be a great chance to talk about things he discovered in game.

Gale thought for a moment, then abruptly changed the subject. “Didn’t we agree not to talk about real life?”

Hearing that, Night Ten immediately burst out laughing. “Come on! We’ve known each other for how many years, and you’re still playing that card? I’ll come to your city and beat you up one of these days.”

Gale smiled. “Sure, come by and I’ll show you around.”

Ample Time shot a glance at Night Ten and sneered. “... Don’t listen to this guy. He’s been saying he’d come to Shanghai to visit me since two years ago. From high school to college... He hasn’t shown up.”

Having flaked for so long, Night Ten scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Hehe... I just wanted to wait for a good time for us to all hang out. It’s more fun with Old White and Gale too. There’s no point going alone.”

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Ample Time rolled his eyes.

“Alright, see you in-game.”

Speaking of which...

There was someone else.

Someone who had also said they’d come to Shanghai.

Ample Time couldn’t help but recall a guy who was absolutely terrible at PUBG. He still couldn’t figure out how that guy, a salesperson, ended up making games. He had never shown interest in that kind of thing before...

While the four were chatting, a well-dressed man stood not far from the bar, using a slick tone as he spoke confidently to a group of young passengers. “... You said Clearspring City? What a coincidence, I grew up there. No one knows the place better than me.”

“Really?” A young man in his early twenties looked at him in surprise, speaking rapidly. “Are you a resident of the New Alliance?”

“The New Alliance? Ah... You mean them?” the man paused, then said impatiently, “That wasn’t a thing when I left home to travel. Back then, the only real survivor settlement in Clearspring was Boulder Town. The other small villages didn’t even count.”

His name was Kishur, the second son of Boulder Town Bank’s president. Years ago, his father had entrusted him to a familiar merchant to send him to Ideal City to broaden his horizons. It had already been nearly five years.

Back in Boulder Town, he was a notorious playboy. Even nobles in the inner city gave him some respect because of his father’s wealth-making skills and his mother’s family status.

As for the residents in the outer city, he could get away with anything. He had done his fair share of bullying and exploiting.

But in Ideal City, things were different. No one cared that his father was the president of Boulder Town Bank. The chips in his pocket couldn’t even be directly exchanged for Cr.

Luckily, his dad still sent him money from time to time. Otherwise, as a supposed aristocrat, he might’ve had to work at a fast food joint.

Ideal City was certainly prosperous and far more populous than Boulder Town, but being cooped up in a small room all day, arguing with a bunch of idiots on Endpoint Cloud, wasn’t the life he wanted.

Those idiots.

If anyone in Boulder Town had dared to disrespect him like that, he would have found them and shot them on the spot.

If the journey weren’t so long, his dad wasn’t blocking his return, and he could save up the fare, he would have gone back long ago!

Of course, it wasn’t just because he was homesick. He also wanted to prove he wasn’t just some useless rich kid like the Endpoint Cloud trolls claimed, that he had value beyond his father’s name.

Especially now that the Enterprise’s Highest Council’s new policies had given him hope, Ideal City had even launched flights to the River Valley Province!

He was planning to ride the wave and revitalize his hometown!

Sensing the moment was right, Kishur cleared his throat and spoke, “... Friends, we’re entering a new era full of opportunity! Did you hear Mr. Wu’s speech at the press conference? From now on, the Enterprise will expand more aggressively and proactively. And the first stop of this new venture, Clearspring City in River Valley Province, with Boulder Town’s population of over 500,000, is without a doubt the most promising market!”

But to his surprise, the young people listening didn’t react much.

At least, not in the excited or inspired way he expected.

“Mr. Wu...? You mean that old guy?”

“He’s not that old, okay?”

“Uh... I guess. I didn’t really pay attention to what he said.”

“By the way, where’s Boulder City?”

“Aren’t we going to Dawn City?”

“I hope I didn’t buy the wrong ticket.”

The group chatted and laughed among themselves, clearly uninterested in his pitch. They were just tourists and were not the least bit concerned about business.

Kishur’s brow twitched, but he didn’t give up and made a final push. “Yes, we’ll land in Dawn City, but when we talk about River Valley Province, we have to mention Boulder Town. It might be the only truly civilized place in the southern region. Once we arrive, we can hire mercenaries to escort us there...”

A tall young man coughed and interrupted him. “The Enterprise’s Foreign Affairs Department reminded us to be cautious once we leave the Among Cloud Province. Strike teams won’t receive distress signals. If it’s not necessary, we shouldn’t leave New Alliance-controlled zones.”

A bespectacled young woman nodded, looking worried. “Yeah, I heard... The River Valley Province is the origin of Deathclaws. Some of those horned beasts can tear exoframes apart with one swipe.”

“That’s probably exaggerated... But hey, are we gonna run into wild Deathclaws?”

“Not sure, but Shelter 79 lets you tour the Deathclaws! They even have the legendary first one ever created!”

“Wait, Deathclaws were manmade!?”

“Huh? You just found out?”

“You guys go ahead. I plan to stay in Dawn City for a few days... I heard there’s a celebration in three days.”

“Can we meet the legendary administrator?”

“Haha, quit fangirling. Like he has time for a tourist like you.”

The men and women joked and chatted, with the topic naturally drifting back to the New Alliance.

Watching these stubbornly indifferent people, Kishur clenched his fists, a vein bulging on his forehead.

... These punks!

Why won’t they listen to me?!

Taking a deep breath, Kishur calmed himself, reminding himself to stay composed and not act impulsively.

Most people who could afford tickets on a maiden flight had money. Either personally wealthy, from wealthy families, or traveling for business.

If he could get CR from them to invest in Boulder Town’s local industries, his plan would be much smoother.

He already had a plan.

Boulder Town’s problem was stagnation from class rigidity. Lazy survivors realized no matter how hard they worked, they would never become nobles. Doing trade meant risking being skinned alive by marauders. So they grew poorer in despair.

The solution was simple. They could build another outer city beyond the current one. Let the original outer city become the new middle city.

Wouldn’t that fix the problem?

He intended to borrow Ideal City’s advanced financial know-how as well.

But that trump card would be saved for last. He couldn’t show it too early.

1. chinese game involving 3 people ☜