Chapter 581 Conflict Escalates
Chapter 581 Conflict Escalation
Dawn City, Alliance Building.
Sitting on the sofa in the reception room, Yi Chuan lifted the sleeve of his right hand, glanced at the time projected on his wrist, and pulled his sleeve back.
It is midnight now.
He is sure that in this building that was just completed less than two months ago, there is probably only one light on in the reception room where he is.
When he thought that his colleagues had fallen asleep while he was still working hard, he couldn’t help but yawn.
Logically speaking, this presumptuous time is not the right time to talk about things.
However, as a representative of the Silver Wing Group and the corporate ambassador to the Alliance, it is his job to listen to the voices of the Alliance leaders.
So even though this time bothered him, after receiving the summons request from the Alliance Administrator’s Office, he put on his clothes and rushed over immediately.
Of course, if after he came in a hurry, the respected manager wanted to discuss with him only an insignificant matter, such as subsidies for aid teachers, the construction period of compulsory schools, or the budget for airport runway maintenance, then don’t blame him for being ruthless.
If that’s the case, he will complain bitterly!
Thinking of this, Yi Chuan couldn’t help but smile.
In terms of personal feelings, he still likes that guy.
Although when it comes to the alliance, the man always likes to haggle and never miss any opportunity to take advantage, but he knows very well that the man is only like this at work, and he is actually a very straightforward guy in private. Maybe
this is the two-sided nature of people.
But it is precisely because of this that every time he meets him in this form, Yi Chuan has to be very alert and dare not take it lightly.
If you are not careful, you may fall into the pit dug by that guy…
At this time, footsteps were heard in the corridor outside the door.
Yi Chuan, who was just thinking about something, sat up subconsciously, looked at the door where there was a knock, and cleared his throat.
”Come in.”
The door opened.
Chu Guang, who was dressed in casual clothes, pushed the door open and walked in.
”I’m sorry to disturb your rest at this time, but there is also an emergency here… Please understand that we have to go beyond the normal procedures to meet with you.”
He closed the door and walked to the sofa opposite Yi Chuan and sat down.
Looking at Chu Guang who was not wearing power armor, Yi Chuan was a little surprised. He thought that the armor was grown on this guy.
It can be seen that this guy should have just climbed out of bed not long ago.
When Yi Chuan thought that he was not the only one who got up in the middle of the night to work overtime, he felt a lot more comfortable.
”I understand, urgent matters are handled with discretion, so can you tell me… what is the urgent matter?”
Chu Guang did not answer immediately, but took out a memory card and placed it on the coffee table, and pushed it in front of him with his index finger.
Staring at the card the size of a fingernail, Yi Chuan frowned slightly.
”This is…”
Chu Guang said seriously, looking at Yi Chuan who looked confused.
”This matter cannot be explained in a few words. In order to avoid communication barriers, I hope you can read this document before we start our topic.”
”…”
Yi Chuan looked at Chu Guang suspiciously.
Under the urging of the latter’s eyes, he finally did not ask anything. He took out a folded holographic glasses from his arms and gently shook it on his nose.
Then he picked up the memory card the size of a fingernail and inserted it into the slot of the frame on the side of his eyes.
The green signal light flashed, and a stream of data flashed across the mirror. The dense light flooded the eyes behind the lens. After
simply browsing the information in the memory card, Yi Chuan’s face gradually became subtle.
The origin of the Qi tribe can be traced back to the biological research institute of the Technical Department of the War Construction Committee in Yunjian Province a century and a half ago! The
first mutants to arrive in Jinhe City turned out to be the researchers of the “perfect life form” project team!
And the arrival of those people directly led to the destruction of Singularity City!
From the perspective of a citizen of Ideal City, Yi Chuan’s mood was naturally not very good when he saw such information.
After all, for the enterprise, the incident that happened a century and a half ago was indeed a dark history.
Even if the split of the War Construction Committee was not the responsibility of one party, it was a fact that the Production Department was the first to ignite the fuse.
To this day, there are still many opinions in the historical circles of Ideal City that the “Yunjian Province Revitalization Act” and the rough implementation of that year bear an unshirkable responsibility.
Although the residents of Ideal City have reviewed that history and did not whitewash it like a little girl or simply hide it, it is still somewhat unpleasant that new clues have been dug up after such a long time.
Especially at the moment when they just decided to inherit the will of the Pioneer and planned to correct the mistakes of a century, and walked out of Ideal City with their heads held high…
The index finger tapped the side of the frame, and an eye appeared behind the reflective lens. Yi Chuan looked at Chu Guang in disbelief and said in a tone of inquiry.
”These… are true?”
Chu Guang nodded.
”I dare not assert that this is 100% accurate intelligence, but I can be sure that this is an objective and fair investigation result.”
This includes not only the information that players have investigated and sorted out on the official forum, but also the intelligence collected by his guards during visits and investigations around Jinhe City.
Yi Chuan leaned back on the sofa and sighed softly.
”To be honest, when I saw these things, I was shocked… so much so that I don’t know how to comment.”
”Personally, I am more inclined to believe that there are some misunderstandings. After all, this is just an investigation report, and most of the arguments come from rumors of questionable authenticity. At least here, I don’t see any conclusive and strong evidence.”
His wording was very cautious. He
neither gave a positive opinion on this information nor completely denied it, but used a statement that could be advanced or retreated.
After a pause, Yi Chuan continued.
”From the perspective of the Supreme Council, we feel sorry for what happened 150 years ago, but this is not part of the Council’s work. Our authority is the embodiment of collective will, but as to what will is, it may be more appropriate to leave it to the academic community and the public to discuss.”
”If today’s meeting is to ask for our opinions on this document, my opinion is… you should summon the media, not me.”
Seeing Yi Chuan’s cautious expression, Chu Guang could guess with his toes that this guy was probably thinking wrongly, thinking that he was going to fleece them again, so he took a defensive posture as soon as he opened his mouth. Are you
kidding me
? Am I that kind of superficial person? ?
With a helpless expression, Chu Guang continued patiently.
”You misunderstood. I don’t want to put pressure on you through this information, or ask for compensation on behalf of the survivors of Jinhe City… We are not qualified to represent others, and what we want to discuss with you is not the past, but the present.”
”…The present?” Yi Chuan looked at him blankly, and a trace of doubt gradually emerged in his eyes.
The information in his hand looked like some old accounts.
Chu Guang nodded.
”One hundred and fifty years ago, the Production Department launched a surprise attack on the Biological Research Institute of the Technology Department in Yunjian Province, causing the technicians of the ‘Perfect Life Form’ project team to run away with the experimental data. Many of the mutants in the wasteland today emerged at that time-”
Yi Chuan interrupted him angrily.
”This statement is biased! The Willant Laboratory on the West Coast is also a research institute for the ‘perfect life form’. In terms of time, the Legion controlled the relevant research units much earlier than us!”
”I’m not saying that we don’t have problems, but the statement that ‘we created the mutants’ is completely irresponsible speculation! In fact, we have been exterminating those beasts. At least half of the bullets we have fired over the past century have been shot at mutants!”
”I know, please listen to me,” Chu Guang continued patiently, “We are of course aware that the ‘perfect life form’ project is not the responsibility of a single research institute. In addition to the research facilities controlled by enterprises, legions and colleges, there may be other wild research institutes that are also conducting unfinished research behind closed doors. This is also the reason why there are so many derivative varieties of mutants.”
”If it were just a group of crazy scientists hiding in a shelter shaking reagent bottles, I think even if the research they are engaged in is risky, at least the risks of the experiment itself are controllable… However, now, a group of lunatics have spent twenty years quietly expanding the scale of the experiment and advancing the research by any means necessary.”
Yi Chuan frowned.
”What do you mean?”
”It means literally.”
Chu Guang placed a computer pen on the table, and his index finger gently swiped in the azure beam, and several holographic images floated in front of Yi Chuan. The
drone aerial view in the center.
Next to it were several first-person combat videos of players.
These videos were transmitted back to Dawn City through signal repeaters before the “Seagull” was hijacked by the Torch Church’s electronic warfare operations.
Looking at the hideous and distorted faces and the zombies that were pouring in like a tide, Yi Chuan couldn’t help swallowing his saliva.
”What on earth is this… Gnawers?”
”There is no doubt that they are living people, at least they were before… and now, they should be considered living dead.”
Looking at Yi Chuan with an unbelievable face, Chu Guang continued.
”When have you ever seen a Gnawer wearing clothes?”
Yi Chuan did not speak, his eyes fixed on the picture on the holographic screen.
Looking at this silent friend, Chu Guang continued.
”The name of this settlement is Pinewood Farm. The Torch Church occupied this place and used an addictive fungus crop called Naguo to turn the residents here into their puppets to help them complete the experiment of the ‘perfect life form’.”
”You said it was an experiment?” Yi Chuan’s Adam’s apple moved and he said with difficulty, “…what kind of experiment is this?”
Chu Guang shook his head.
”Unfortunately, I don’t know either. We tried to investigate it, but our people were trapped as soon as they entered, falling into the trap carefully laid by those lunatics.”
”To be honest, we thought at first that they were teaming up with mutants just to target the combat power of mutants, but now it seems that all of this is a trap set for the ‘perfect life form’ itself.”
”Torch…is it that torch? Is it related to the Enlightenment Society?” Yi Chuan muttered to himself, chewing the name over and over again.
Chu Guang thought for a moment and gave his own opinion.
”I tend to think there is no connection. The difference between them is like the mutants in the Great Desert and the mutants on the East Coast. One is a continuation of the Torch Project prepared by the Human Union in the pre-war era to deal with the most extreme situations, and the other is more like being inspired by the Torch Project.”
”They have a common goal, that is, they agree that the world should be destroyed once, rather than improving on the basis of the old order. However, in terms of specific implementation guidelines, they are fundamentally different. One tends to use the neutron extermination technology of the old era, and the other hopes for the unfinished singularity technology of the Prosperous Era… Replace the old humans with new humans, and gradually complete their world restart plan.”
Even the most extreme ideals can be divided into relatively moderate reformists and relatively radical deviants.
In terms of means, the Enlightenment Society is obviously more radical. They directly deny the right to survive of the wastelanders. However, in the final result, it is the elitists who are more conservative.
At least they believe that the new world should still be ruled by humans, and the elites recognized by them should dominate all aspects of society, rather than becoming new humans.
But the Torch Church is different.
What they want to accomplish is to ascend at the species level, to completely jump from the old human body to the new body.
Even if the humans of the old era can live in the utopia they describe, they can only be livestock without political rights.
Only the selected new humans can live as gods in the utopia.
The mind interference device is prepared to achieve the latter purpose.
In the distant old times, if you want people to selectively give up or completely give up their brains, you need countless Mr. Houses to bombard them in turns and a whole set of systematic processes. And even if you invest a huge amount of money, you may not be able to justify yourself because of a few small mistakes.
But with the help of Naguo, they can easily turn a settlement into a farm or a plantation without saying a word.
Yi Chuan couldn’t help but sweat on his forehead.
If he didn’t want to intervene in the dispute between the alliance and the survivors in the region ten minutes ago, after seeing these materials, he realized that he had to report this matter to the council immediately.
Mind interference technology is not a secret. It made big news in 2113. Compared with the singularity technology of the perfect life form, it is nothing.
However, he never expected that the old antique could have a second life in the wasteland in this way.
I’m afraid the Council didn’t expect it either.
After all, Jinchuan Province and Haiya Province are too far away from them…
Looking at Yi Chuan who remained silent, Chu Guang continued.
”The Pine Cone Farm is a microcosm of the settlements under the jurisdiction of the various parishes of the Torch Church. Similar things are common in Jinchuan Province and even Haiya Province. On the surface, those settlements look no different from ordinary settlements, but their cores have long been replaced by puppets of the church… and now, the green plague is spreading northward.”
”Originally, Naguo was just a tropical crop, but the Torch Church has improved it so that it can grow normally even in the subtropics… If they continue this dangerous experiment, I’m afraid that it will not only be Jinchuan Province that will fall, but also the eastern provinces and even Yunjian Province. Or are you confident that you can prohibit your residents or neighbors from eating that stuff?”
Yi Chuan looked at Chu Guang seriously and said, “I understand what you mean. This matter is indeed very serious… I will report it to the board of directors immediately!”
Chu Guang nodded and looked at him seriously.
”I’m glad you understand the urgency of this, but reporting is one thing. We need to let more people know about the conspiracy of those guys, and we also need to do something while publicizing it. If the council debates for a month, and we wait for another wave to pass, I’m afraid the entire Jinchuan Province will be hopeless.”
Hearing Chu Guang’s words, Yi Chuan’s face showed an embarrassment.
It is not in accordance with procedures to act without authorization before the council makes a judgment.
”…You know this is impossible. Even if I want to help you, I, a diplomat, can’t have that authority.”
Chu Guang did not give up because of his words and continued.
”Then do something within your authority. We don’t need military assistance. The alliance’s army is not inferior to anyone, but we need you to provide technical support! Specifically, we need an electronic warfare expert!”
The reinforcements sent to Songguomu Farm are on the way and will arrive soon.
However, if they cannot suppress their opponents in electronic warfare, their intelligent weapons will not be able to exert their full combat efficiency.
Unfortunately, hacking is not Xiaoqi’s specialty. It is just an assistant AI.
Even if the shelter has an absolute defense capability in the field of information security, it is the credit of the protection program running on the shelter server. Xiao Qi can only call on this part of the resources.
Moreover, Xiao Qi’s main body is in the shelter, 800 kilometers away from the front line. It is too difficult for an MT to go up and hit people with high ping delay and interference.
He needs an expert who is proficient in electronic warfare to go to the scene to help him solve the problem.
Including providing security protection for drones.
Including pulling the bishop named Luo Qian out of the so-called holy land…
Hearing Chu Guang’s request, Yi Chuan fell into deep thought, and suddenly, as if he thought of something, his eyes lit up and he sat up straight.
”This is easy to do. There is an expert who is proficient in electronic warfare in Dawn City!”
Chu Guang asked immediately.
”Who?”
Yi Chuan said with a sharp look in his eyes.
”Eclipse!”
”A-110 model bionic man, each of them is an expert in electronic warfare!”
…
Just when Chu Guang finished meeting with the representatives of the company, a large number of mutant warriors in the urban area of Jinhe City, not far from the farm, also completed their assembly.
A burly, semi-cyborg mutant man walked to Garn with heavy steps, clasped his hands and said in a deep voice.
”Kuru, assemble!”
Behind him, green heads were moving, and looking around, there was a large crowd of people.
Most of these mutant warriors have undergone prosthetic modifications, but the degree of difference is more or less.
Some people replaced their hearts with a piece of iron, some people changed their forearm bones into alloy steel, or installed a gun barrel or chain saw on their arms.
Unlike the group of shrimp soldiers and crab generals led by Oger.
The soldiers under Kuru’s command are all the elite of the Qi tribe, and “big guys” like Pido are everywhere here.
The honor of the Qi tribe was lost by those weak shrimps, and they actually lost to a group of cowardly two-legged sheep!
Kuru swore that he would take back the glory that belongs to the clan!
Garn looked at Kuru expressionlessly, nodded slowly, then looked at the densely packed mutant warriors standing behind him, and raised his voice and shouted loudly.
”Our allies are in trouble!”
”The people who are causing trouble for them are the same people who killed our brothers!”
”Go to Pine Cone Farm!”
”The survivors there are all food for us!”
It doesn’t take too many impassioned words to mobilize this group of bloodthirsty beasts, just telling them where to vent their desires is enough.
The desire for blood and tyranny was ignited in an instant, and deafening cheers resounded through the ruined city.
Mutants waved their weapons and cheered and shouted at the top of their voices.
”Ahhh!”
”Eat them!!”
…
A large number of mutants set out from the eastern district of Jinhe City and gathered in the direction of Pine Cone Farm.
At the same time, a towering steel airship was also setting sail from Dawn City and heading towards Jinchuan Province.
At first, it was just an infiltration operation with a scale of 20 people, but as the chips of all parties were raised, the scale of the conflict was escalating.
The settlement of 50,000 people had unknowingly stood in the center of the storm.
The Torch Church obviously did not expect such a result.
When they learned from the bishop that the airship of the alliance was heading towards Jinchuan Province, several apostles in Songguomu Farm suddenly changed their faces.
At first, they just wanted to use the little mice that infiltrated their ranch to do an interesting experiment and teach the alliance in the north a little lesson.
However, what they did not expect was that the guys in the north were so unable to lose that they turned the table over when they saw the infiltration operation went wrong.
They were not afraid of military conflict with the alliance, and they did not think that an organization that had just been established for a year could be their opponent.
However, they were obviously not ready to start a war immediately, and no one thought that the alliance would send an airship at the critical moment when the wave was about to come.
The distance of 800 kilometers, it would probably take tomorrow morning for the airship to arrive here.
But they were not naive enough to think that the Alliance only had airships as a means of transportation…
The four apostles were as anxious as ants on a hot pot, anxiously discussing countermeasures, while at this moment, the manor not far away was filled with the sound of gunfire.
The underground research institute in the annex.
Ye Shi pulled out the short knife stuck in the forearm of the Torch Church “Executioner”, and while removing his equipment, tied up his hands and feet with plastic ties.
VM data copying has been completed.
The prisoner was taken to the room where the mind interference device was placed, and Ye Shi pointed a gun at his head and threatened.
”Turn this thing off!”
Wu Zhe grinned and laughed.
”I have to disappoint you, I’m just a soldier…but I don’t know how to turn this thing off, how about you try to blow it up?”
Ye Shi didn’t waste any words and kicked him in the stomach.
Enduring the piercing pain in his forearm, Wu Zhe gritted his teeth, stared at Ye Shi and sneered, thinking to himself that it was a pity.
If he could trick this guy into blowing up the mind interference device located in the basement of Songguomu Farm, it would be considered a mission accomplished for him.
In fact, just a few minutes ago, Ye Shi really planned to blow this place up, but after reading the information downloaded from the terminal, he immediately gave up the idea.
Simply turning off the mind interference device will not make those people outside return to normal, just like smashing the monitor will not shut down the computer.
The mind interference device has the effect of inducing the experimental subject to enter the “fugue” state, but what really makes the local residents “gnawer” is the 03 band signal it transmits.
This device has engraved the frantic information into their brains. As long as they enter the “fugue” state, they will become the ghosts they are now.
It’s just that the degree is different.
Unless other bands of signals are input through the mind interference device to re-brainwash those who are affected by the Naguo.
Otherwise, they will probably return to normal from time to time, and then go crazy again from time to time… It’s better to let them stay like this for now. At least
they won’t kill each other in the same fugue state.
Looking at the captive who refused to say anything, Ye Shi gritted his teeth and carried him out of the laboratory.
Wu Zhe grinned in pain and simply closed his eyes without saying another word.
The little girl named Xiaoyang was standing at the door trembling, looking at the two people coming out of the laboratory at a loss.
When she met Ye Shi’s eyes, she looked away in shame, not daring to look at him.
Optical camouflage only works when moving slowly, and moving between environments with different brightness will also have obvious flaws.
Obviously, she saw the man.
But under the threat of the executioner, she did not say anything, and may even confess to the man that she was the only one inside, and then watched the guy holding a rifle and touching her butt.
But Ye Shi did not blame her for not making a sound to remind herself.
To be honest, if she screamed, it would be very troublesome. Not only would it hurt herself, but it would also alert the enemy and affect his counterattack with his natural advantage.
”The situation has changed. I have to trouble you to stay downstairs for a while… Remember to keep an eye on Yinyin, don’t let her hurt herself, but don’t get too close to her.”
Hearing this, Xiaoyang’s eyes floated with a trace of despair and sorrow, but in the end he said nothing, just nodded silently.
He betrayed the people who helped him, so there was nothing to say about being left behind…
Seeing that this little brat seemed to have misunderstood something again, Ye Shi smiled and stretched out his hand to rub the little head.
”What are you thinking about? I’m not saying I’m going to leave you here, I just want you to wait here for a while… If you’re tired, take a nap, I’ll be back soon.”
The little lamb asked in a low voice.
”Where are you going…”
”Go kill those bastards!” Ye Shi grinned, leaving behind a back that he thought was handsome, and walked towards the stairwell.
Wu Zhe, who was held in his hand, sneered and curled his lips.
Kill them all?
What a boaster!
(End of this chapter)
