Chapter 346: You will be the Lord of Dawn City!

  Chapter 346 The Lord of Dawn City will be you!

  ”Hello, Mr. Dulong, respected Mayor of the City Hall of Stone City, I am the Lord of Dawn City–”

  ”Luca.”

  Shelter B4 floor, browsing room.

  Luca, dressed in formal clothes, sat on the sofa.

  On the coffee table in front of him, there was a holographic computer pen. Light blue beams of light intertwined above the coffee table, forming a three-dimensional cone surface.

  Through the light blue cone surface, you can see the bay window of the office of the Mayor of the City Hall of Stone City, and the Mayor sitting at the desk.

  ”Lord of Dawn City…” Dulong frowned slightly, “Where is your manager?”

  If the news is correct, he remembered that the highest authority in the alliance should be the manager.

  What the hell is the Lord of Dawn City?

  And this Luca…

  That old face that was weathered by the wind and sun, he felt more like a farmer than a lord.

  What the hell is the manager of the new alliance doing!

  He was a little confused.

  Not taking the change in Mr. Dulong’s attitude to heart, Luca continued to speak in a gentle tone according to the manager’s instructions.

  ”Our manager is inspecting Dawn City and may not be able to come back to Qingquan City in a short time. Since the communication situation there is not satisfactory, in order to show his respect and attention to you, he entrusted me to have this telephone conversation with you.”

  ”When the manager explained this to me, he specifically told me that Boulder City is a neighbor and friend of the Alliance, and asked me to show our friendship in the talks.”

  Dulong’s face showed a subtle disapproval of this high-sounding wording.

  Friends?

  Boulder City needs that kind of thing?

  He wanted to say, “Since your manager is not here, let’s wait for him to come back and talk about it.” But thinking that it might take a long time, he swallowed the words back.

  He didn’t care, at most he would wait, but the things that the Lord of Boulder City told him couldn’t wait that long.

  Dulong was sure that if the New Alliance’s aircraft appeared in the airspace of Boulder City again, the anti-aircraft guns would definitely open fire.

  If this friction turns into a war, he is sure that the northern suburbs will be turned into a scorched earth, and the militias that have come out in full force will use steel bars and cement to seal the group of blue gophers in their shells forever, but the outer city of Boulder City will undoubtedly suffer huge losses.

  Perhaps Mr. Fang Ming doesn’t care what happens there, just like the inner city has never cared about what kind of life the residents of the outer city live.

  However, Du Long can’t help but care.

  It’s not because he is kind-hearted.

  But he knows very well that the nobles in the inner city are his masters, but the factory owners and chamber of commerce bosses in the outer city are his foundation.

  ”Since you think we are friends, I hope your planes will not appear in the airspace of your friends in the future. Your plane appeared on our radar. This time our soldiers remained restrained, but next time it may not be the case.”

  Luca looked at him and said.

  ”This is a reasonable request. What is the range of your airspace?”

  Du Long said bluntly.

  ”The airspace within the Fifth Ring Road of Qingquan City is our airspace, with the ring road as the boundary.”

  ”That’s impossible,” Luca shook his head. “A part of Shuguang City is also within the Fifth Ring Road of Qingquan City. We will respect your security needs, but it must be based on not sacrificing our own safety.”

  Du Long raised his voice.

  ”Mr. Luca, let me get straight to the point. This is the request of our city lord. Do you understand the meaning of the word request?”

  Luca smiled faintly.

  ”Of course I understand, but our manager said that if we give in on the issue of airspace today, we will have to compromise on the issue of territory tomorrow. We can ensure that our aircraft will not enter the ring road of the western district of Qingquan City, and that’s it.”

  Du Long raised his eyebrows slightly.

  As if he had heard something interesting, he smiled and said.

  ”Territory? What’s the use of your broken place?”

  For those 10,000 or 20,000 acres of land?

  For those few broken houses?

  That’s too much of an underestimation of them.

  Luca replied in a tepid tone.

  ”Although our place is a bit broken, we are very satisfied with our home.”

  Du Long’s tone was a little sarcastic.

  ”You don’t think that you have the right to negotiate with us just because you defeated a few primitive people with fire sticks.”

  It was beyond Du Long’s expectation.

  The old man in front of him actually nodded.

  This made him even doubt whether he had seen it wrong.

  ”Of course, I have no doubt that we have the right to do so.”

  Looking at the mayor of the city hall, Luca continued as a matter of course, “In fact, I am negotiating with ‘you’ now, right?”

  When he said this, he emphasized the word “you”.

  Du Long narrowed his eyes slightly.

  He was suddenly a little unsure.

  ”What do you mean?”

  Luca said calmly.

  ”It doesn’t mean anything. Your army is strong, but we are not weak either. The Stone City may be able to defeat us on the front battlefield, but we can guarantee that our opponents will pay a heavy price.”

  ”And this price must be ‘you’.”

  This sentence deeply hurt Du Long.

  The inner city has long neglected the outer city, and everyone knows it well, and he is no exception. He has no doubt that if a war really breaks out, they will become cannon fodder.

  Just like every wave.

  But so what?

  Do you, a “wastelander”, need to remind me of this?

  Du Long sat up straight and laughed in anger.

  ”Are you threatening me?”

  The atmosphere at the negotiation table instantly dropped to freezing point.

  Luca was also very nervous.

  However, he did not show his emotions on his face.

  Before the negotiation began, the manager told him that he must not show timidity or panic, and must keep calm at all times.

  The other party is very strong. From their point of view, “force coercion” will become a convenient option, because safety issues are the “pain point” of most survivor settlements.

  Although the Stone City is the spiritual licker of the Utopia, they are not rich enough to have nothing to do, so they don’t have the so-called moral cleanliness.

  It is dangerous to jump back and forth near the opponent’s bottom line, but it is also fatal if you are too weak.

  Grasp the opponent’s pain point, stop before the other party feels pain, give up some demands appropriately, and find a range that both parties can accept.

  This is the meaning of negotiation.

  Looking at Duron, Luca spoke slowly.

  ”Of course not, respected Mr. Director, we sincerely hope that we can get along in friendship and peace. There are already enough tragedies in this world, alien species, slime molds, mutants, cultists, and predators… The fire of civilization is lingering under the cover of barbarism. Living in such an era, we are really very reluctant to go to the last step.”

  After a pause, Luca continued.

  ”…But sometimes, even if we are very reluctant, we must let others know that we were not brought up by fear, and the land we reclaimed was not obtained by charity.”

  ”Therefore, rather than a threat, I would rather you understand my previous words as a response to the threat of war.”

  Du Long’s eyes had narrowed into a slit, staring at Luca in the holographic image.

  He was thinking. He

  was also weighing.

  The meeting fell into silence.

  Luca waited patiently.

  At this moment, Du Long suddenly blurted out a sentence that had nothing to do with the negotiation itself.

  ”Did you come up with these words yourself, or did your manager ask you to say them?”

  Luca answered without thinking.

  ”Is there a difference? The will of the manager is both the will of the alliance and my will.”

  Du Long didn’t say anything, just stared at the old man, thinking for a while.

  After about half a minute, he slowly spoke.

  ”I don’t agree with your sophistry about the ‘threat of war’.”

  He changed the subject and continued.

  ”But I agree with your other statement. There are already enough tragedies in this world. We don’t need to add meaningless sorrow.”

  ”For the sake of our future relationship, I think we need to talk openly.”

  Hearing this, Luca finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

  ”I thought so too.”

  …

  Although the other party’s arrogant attitude did not change at all, being willing to solve the problem through dialogue is at least a good start.

  The next step is bargaining.

  Dulong thought this was his forte. After all, before he became the mayor of the city hall, he was a businessman.

  However, what he didn’t expect was that the other party’s ability to make trouble was not inferior to his.

  At least it was not as easy to fool as he imagined.

  ”…The North Third Ring Road of Qingquan City belongs to our airspace, we need to fight against the tide! What’s more, our air force has shared some of the pressure with you, which is also good for you!”

  ”Your air force? Ha, just those paper planes? You might as well hire our planes directly. Anyway, you have used them before. At worst, I can give you a 20% discount.”

  ”Yes, we are paper planes, so why bother about us threatening your safety? Can’t even accommodate paper planes in your mind?”

  ”…North Fourth Ring Road to North Fifth Ring Road, this is our bottom line! At the same time, I need you to promise that the border of the New Alliance will not continue to expand southward in the future!”

  ”We can stop expanding southward, but in exchange, I ask you to stop the ban on the sale of New Alliance products. We don’t ban the sale of your products, do we?”

  ”The last one is impossible. The ban on the sale of LD-47 is a requirement of ‘Boulder City Military Industry’. I can only promise not to add new import and export restriction lists in areas other than ‘Military Industry’.”

  These conditions have met the expectations of the negotiations, but Luca still nodded with difficulty.

  ”Okay, let’s maintain the status quo.”

  Du Long breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense expression finally relaxed into a smile.

  ”I’m glad we have reached an agreement.”

  A verbal agreement is not valid.

  The two parties will sign a specific agreement later.

  As for the signing location, Du Long requested that it be held in the City Hall of Boulder City and invited him to visit Boulder City.

  Luca did not insist on such a small matter as the signing location at the instruction of the manager, and readily agreed to his request.

  In addition to the issues of airspace and trade, the two sides also discussed cooperation in multiple fields and reached a consensus.

  After the communication ended, Luca reached out to turn off the holographic computer. The whole person seemed to have unloaded a huge weight, and leaned on the sofa and let out a long breath.

  ”Good job!”

  Hearing the praise from the door of the browsing room, Luca immediately stood up from the sofa and respectfully placed his right fist on his left chest.

  ”Mr. Manager.”

  ”No need to be polite, sit down.”

  Motioned Luca to sit down.

  Chu Guang sat on the sofa opposite and looked at him with satisfaction.

  To be honest, when I saved him, I didn’t think so much at all. It was purely out of accidental kindness.

  In addition, he just needed an honest and obedient person to help manage the warehouse and find out some things he didn’t know, so he took out a chip to bribe the farm guard who was executing the execution.

  Chu Guang didn’t expect much from him at that time.

  If nothing unexpected happens, his greatest achievement in his life is probably to help manage the warehouse at the outpost of the New Alliance.

  Just like Guo Niu, Guo Ma and other liberated serfs who also joined the New Alliance very early.

  However, the performance of old Luca at work was beyond Chu Guang’s expectations.

  Not only loyalty, but also the precise understanding of his orders, as well as the hardworking and hardworking qualities, far exceeded Chu Guang’s initial expectations.

  Although he was born a serf and lacked some flexibility, compared with other wastelanders, this flaw was not a big deal.

  Now it seems that the chip was worth it.

  ”I’ll have to trouble you to go to Boulder City later.”

  ”No trouble, it’s my honor to serve you.” Luca said respectfully.

  Chu Guang smiled.

  After a pause, he stopped joking and continued in a serious tone.

  ”Also, when you return from Boulder City with the friendly agreement, you will be the mayor of Dawn City.”

  Hearing this, Luca was stunned.

  Lord of Dawn City?

  Isn’t that just a title during negotiations?

  Luca said in fear.

  ”My Lord, but I–”

  Chu Guang interrupted him, knowing what he wanted to say.

  ”Okay, I’ve decided on this! I see your ability, and no one is more suitable for this position than you.”

  Luca had always been in charge of Changjiu Farm.

  As for origin.

  In Chu Guang’s view, it was not a problem at all.

  Rather, it could be a banner for propaganda.

  In the New Alliance, equality is not a slogan. As long as you can prove your ability and loyalty to the Alliance, you can become the Lord of the settlement even if you are of humble origin.

  Not bad.

  Chu Guang was getting more and more satisfied with his arrangement.

  When he went back, he would take the time to write a press release that would make people’s blood boil, and throw it to the people at the Alliance Radio Station to promote it.

  Although he still had some concerns about whether he could be competent for this important task, seeing that the manager had chosen him so firmly, old Luca said nothing, but silently hid his gratitude in his heart.

  After taking a moment to calm his breath, he looked at the manager and said seriously.

  ”Sir… there is one thing I don’t quite understand, can I ask you for help?”

  ”What is it?”

  ”Boulder City… why are they obsessed with Qingquan City’s airspace?” Luca’s eyes were full of confusion, “They obviously don’t take our planes seriously at all.”

  The indifference in his bones could not be hidden.

  The mayor of the city hall even used “paper airplanes” to describe the alliance’s aircraft.

  Although he was angry, Luca had to admit that this arrogance was not without reason.

  The aircraft of Boulder City may not be good enough in front of the enterprise, but it is a product of the pre-war era after all. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the big guy with a sense of science fiction is not at the same level as the small aircraft of the new alliance.

  ”It’s good that you can think of this.”

  Looking at the old Luca who was slowly coming to his senses, Chu Guang nodded approvingly, “The reason is actually very simple, because you are right, what they really care about is not the airspace at all.”

  Luca was stunned.

  I didn’t quite understand the meaning of this sentence.

  Chu Guang did not explain immediately, but reached out and gently pressed on the holographic computer pen.

  The city map of Qingquan City was projected in the light blue light cone, and the edge of the three ring lines was flashing with a few intermittent green dots.

  ”Because the center of Qingquan City is their real core of interest.”

  ”Mutated slime mold, evolutionary bodies, ancient battlefields, and equipment left over from the pre-war era… One fragment cannot restore the entire puzzle, but countless fragments piled together can always restore something useful.”

  Luca’s face was surprised.

  ”In that case, then the wave is not…”

  Chu Guang nodded.

  ”For them, it may not be a complete disaster.”

  ”Our researchers have been studying the evolutionary bodies that spread to the northern suburbs during the last wave, both from a biological and engineering perspective. It’s just that we started too late. Even though we have excellent researchers, our progress is still far behind theirs.”

  Looking at Luca with a look of realization on his face, Chu Guang said slowly.

  ”Like you said, they don’t care about our planes at all, because that thing is not even a problem for them.”

  ”Their real purpose is probably to restrict us from getting our hands on their treasures.”

  …

  On the other side, in the City Hall of Giant Stone City.

  Du Long, who hung up the phone, let out a long sigh.

  As he felt relieved, a smug smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

  The planes of the New Alliance will no longer enter their core area of ​​interest. The respected Lord of the City will definitely be satisfied with this result.

  The LD series of weapons are still on the list of restricted imports, and the trade between the two sides will not be affected. The military-industrial group will not say anything about him.

  As for other fields besides military industry?

  What does it have to do with him?

  What’s more, trade itself is beneficial to both parties. Giant Stone City can buy cheaper consumer goods and industrial raw materials, which is not a bad thing.

  In Du Long’s view, he just took out a little bit of honey, and in exchange for a result that made all parties happy.

  Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but praise himself in his heart.

  I am really a genius!

  In the past, if you look around the Stone City, you can’t find a decent opponent in the entire southern part of the River Valley Province. The Great Rift Valley in the north is too far away, and everyone looks down on each other.

  He sits in the office of the City Hall every day, either stamping or dozing off, and few people take him seriously.

  Now there is finally someone who can set off his intelligence!

  At this time, a voice from the side interrupted his thoughts.

  ”Mr. Director.”

  ”What’s wrong?” Looking at his deputy Jaeger, Du Long said in a good mood.

  ”I don’t understand why we have to talk so much nonsense with a group of scavengers?” Jaeger’s face was a little unhappy, “Their population is not even as large as our slums.”

  The outside of the city was crowded with people who wanted to enter the city.

  Even the dirt flowing out of the city is enough to feed tens of thousands of people.

  Negotiating with them made him feel unhappy.

  Du Long guessed what he was thinking and thought about how to answer this question.

  ”Their strength is not as good as ours, but they are far less weak than we imagined. Do you remember the look in that man’s eyes just now?”

  Jaeger chuckled.

  ”Can eyes kill?”

  Du Long said gently.

  ”No, but it’s not easy to make them surrender. Isn’t it better to solve the problem through negotiation? If a fight breaks out, we will be cannon fodder again.”

  ”Besides, the city lord’s request is to keep their planes away from the Fourth Ring Road of Qingquan City. We not only completed the task, but also exceeded it.”

  Patting his deputy’s shoulder, he continued with a beaming face.

  ”Be happy, don’t be so sullen.”

  …

  Qingquan City, the edge of the North Third Ring Road.

  The slanting sunset stretched the shadow of the viaduct pier.

  As night was about to fall, the gnawers wandering around the area gradually became manic and began to become more aggressive.

  A shop along the street not far from the viaduct.

  Crouching on the edge behind the window, holding an assault rifle in his hand, he carefully monitored the street outside the bunker.

  In addition to him, there were nine teammates hiding nearby.

  The corpses of aliens lying in all directions on the street and the dense bullet holes on the wall told of the fierceness of the previous battle.

  Four hours ago, he and his team members received a mission to walk to the edge of the North Third Ring Road in Qingquan City to meet the cattle and horse team who withdrew from the “new map”.

  After a fierce exchange of fire, they successfully cleared the aliens on this street.

  However, as dusk was about to fall, more and more aliens began to spread from nearby buildings to the street. It was hard to say how long the tranquility at this moment could last.

  The construction site boy and the brick holding the machine gun suddenly muttered.

  ”You’re not going to give it away for free again.”

  Hearing this, Kakarot glared at him.

  ”Stop being such a badass!”

  Big Debt Eyes glanced at the old man on the edge next to him.

  ”How long will it take?”

  Just as Edge Water was about to answer, there was a noise at the intersection.

  Everyone’s nerves tensed up instantly, and they aimed their weapons at the intersection.

  At this moment, a familiar voice suddenly came,

  ”It’s me, don’t fire it accidentally.”

  Looking at the man who appeared at the intersection, Edge Water was slightly stunned, and a surprised expression suddenly appeared on his face.

  ”Fuck!? Old White?”

  ”Why are you like this?”

  At this moment, Old White’s situation can only be described as embarrassed.

  He held a package wrapped in a parachute in his left hand and a bloody rifle in his right hand. Not only was his chemical protective suit missing, his body was covered in mud, and there was a hole in the bulletproof vest on his chest that was almost burned through.

  The whole person looked like he had rolled out of hell.

  Facing the surprised gazes of the crowd, Old White smiled bitterly.

  ”…Something went wrong.” What the hell is

  a little bit? !

  Everyone looked at each other.

  Quitting smoking aside, Lao Bai and Fang Chang are already the ceiling of the combat power of the entire server.

  What is the situation? Even these guys are so difficult!

  Debt Big Eyes swallowed his saliva.

  ”…Where are the others?”

  Lao Bai did not speak.

  At this time, Fang Chang’s voice came from behind him.

  ”Dead.”

  With a heavy expression on his face, Fang Chang’s condition was similar to Lao Bai’s, and he also looked gray and dirty.

  His rifle was probably lost. In his right hand, he was holding a mechanical arm with VM tied to it. Half of his shoulder was hanging on the bloody interface, which looked shocking.

  Edge paddling recognized this guy.

  It seemed to be Kuangfeng’s arm…

  ”Anyway, the mission is finally completed.”

  Throwing the bloody package on the ground, Lao Bai raised his arm to wipe the mud and sweat on his forehead, “This thing… Please help me carry it, I really don’t have the strength.”

  ”What is this?”

  The construction site boy and Zhuan walked up, curiously opened the package and took a look, and found a pile of strange parts and dark red fungus blocks lying inside.

  Many of the fungus lumps had tentacles exposed, still wriggling slowly, like freshly cut beef.

  ”The remains of an evolutionary body, who knows what it is.”

  Sitting on the hood of the scrap car, Fang Chang looked at the fungus lumps in the hands of the construction worker and kindly reminded him.

  ”You’d better not rummage around with your hands… That’s how our brother who quit smoking died.”

  (End of this chapter)