Chapter 412 Solar Eclipse, this is an opportunity for us!

After waiting until dark, Zhao Yongxu finally got the chance to talk to Chu Guang.

Shuguang City Hall.

In the conference room, a group of people sat at the conference table.

Looking at the alliance manager sitting opposite the conference table, Zhao Yongxu thought that the negotiation would be quite difficult, but the actual situation was beyond his expectations.

Even he himself did not expect that he would reach a consensus with the alliance so quickly.

"... The five major groups of enterprises plan to set up offices in Shuguang City. We plan to plan an embassy street in the eastern district of Shuguang City. If you are interested, we can plan a 15X15 piece of land for you as the boundary of the embassy."

Hearing the proposal from the opposite side, several envoys from Giant Stone City were obviously surprised.

The five major groups of enterprises plan to set up offices here?

"When did they reach an agreement..." An officer of the militia whispered, expressing the confusion in many people's hearts.

They were obviously here first!

The two nobles from the inner city looked at each other and whispered to each other, probably exchanging opinions.

Zhao Yongxu's expression did not change.

To be honest, he felt that 225 square meters was a bit small, but it was not unacceptable.

Anyway, he was not going to live there.

Moreover, being able to place the embassy next to the corporate office would only benefit Boulder City and not harm it.

Clearing his throat, he put on a thoughtful expression on his face and nodded after a while.

"I think it's okay... In addition, I want to talk about-"

"Regarding the Iron Heart, we will not enter your airspace, but we reserve the right to freely navigate in our own airspace."

Looking at Captain Zhao sitting opposite, Chu Guang continued in an unyielding tone.

"The residents of Boulder City need a sense of security, and so do the residents of Dawn City. The Alliance will not become a vassal of anyone, and equality is the premise of our dialogue."

Zhao Yongxu's brows twitched, and he took a deep breath and said.

"At least, you must limit the use of 400mm artillery in the city center."

He didn't even notice that he had unconsciously used the wording of solicitation.

Chu Guang tapped his index finger twice on the table and thought for a moment.

"Okay, but except during the wave."

The production cost of a 400mm chambered rocket is as high as 100 100mm shells, and he had no intention of wasting ammunition.

In fact, even in the face of the wave, the 400mm main gun is definitely not an economical choice.

In complex urban terrain, the power of large-caliber artillery will be significantly affected by the marginal effect. Even if a deep pit is blown out on the street, the street across a building may not be affected.

And the slime mold, like the skeleton soldiers of the undead, has no concept of morale like the players, and the psychological deterrent effect brought by the large-caliber heavy artillery is completely ineffective.

The annual wave.

Rather than using it for testing, it is better to leave it to players to practice server activities.

"...Okay, there will be an exception during the wave. After all, aliens are our common enemy."

Zhao Yongxu made a concession reluctantly. After finally finishing the discussion on this sensitive issue, he felt his shoulders relax.

A consensus was also reached on the second topic.

The consensus on this issue with the most serious differences was reached faster than he thought.

Just when he was about to bring up the last topic brought by this mission to the alliance, Chu Guang directly said what he was thinking.

"In addition, about our future relationship."

A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes, and Zhao Yongxu sat up unconsciously.

Chu Guang paused for a moment and continued.

"In order to enhance our mutual trust and eliminate suspicion between neighbors, we plan to hold a joint meeting of survivors on the last day of December every year."

That day happened to be the eve of New Year's Day, so it could be arranged together with the New Alliance's New Year's Eve party.

This was decided after Chu Guang discussed with other senior executives of the alliance.

Having never heard of such a thing, Zhao Yongxu was stunned for a moment and asked subconsciously.

"What is that?"

Chu Guang explained patiently.

"It is a high-level summit covering politics, economy, culture, diplomacy, military and other fields. In short, we tell you what we plan to do next year. You can also tell us what you plan to do next year. If we happen to think of the same thing, we will do it together. It doesn't matter if we don't, we will seek common ground while reserving differences and do our own things without affecting each other."

Does this sound interesting?

And if I don't tell you what I plan to do, can't I get the inside information of the alliance for free?

Zhao Yongxu touched his chin and started to be clever.

He didn't understand political matters very well, but from a military perspective, the value of intelligence was unquestionable.

Although he couldn't make a decision, he believed that the city lord would be happy to accept this proposal.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yongxu nodded generously and said with a smile.

"That's a good idea! I'll tell the city lord."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

He could roughly guess what this guy was thinking, but he didn't care much.

"Anything else?"

"Yes..."

Zhao Yongxu opened his mouth and was about to speak, but suddenly found that there seemed to be nothing to say.

There were only three problems he brought.

The embassy issue was settled.

As for security issues, the alliance promised not to use 400mm artillery in the city unless necessary.

Although this was a repetitive remark, it was unrealistic to expect them to make further concessions. Even if I supported being tough on the alliance, I couldn't think of a better negotiation result.

As for the issue of long-term relations, the two sides established a long-term communication mechanism. The plan proposed by this manager was obviously better than the opinions he brought from Du Long.

Zhao Yongxu suddenly felt a little confused.

It seemed that he was seen through.

Can this guy read minds?

Swallowing the "yes" that came out of his mouth, Zhao Yongxu changed his words.

"...No more."

"It seems that we have reached a consensus."

Chu Guang nodded, closed the notebook in his hand, and then looked at the waiter standing beside him.

The waiter understood and handed a letter to each of the six people sitting across the conference table.

Looking at the letter in his hand, Zhao Yongxu frowned.

"What is this?"

"Banquet invitation."

"Banquet?"

Looking at Zhao Yongxu with a blank expression, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"This is the custom of our shelter. No matter what the result of the conversation is, we can't let the guests leave with an empty stomach. There will be a dinner at the Alliance Banquet Hall at 6 o'clock tonight. If you are not in a hurry, you might as well go back after dinner."

The several envoys sitting at the conference table exchanged unexpected glances and talked softly.

Especially for the nobles from the inner city, this was a novel experience for them.

"Banquet? The village in the northern suburbs - the survivors actually held a banquet?"

"What's so strange about this, but I'm curious about what they will serve at the banquet."

"Roasted lizard tail?"

"Heh..."

Banquets are not uncommon in Boulder City. Bored nobles often use banquets to pass the time, and the reason for holding a banquet can be a birthday, a rare and expensive collection, or even a bottle of red wine.

However, a banquet held by the government, and a banquet in the name of diplomacy, is a novel experience for them.

After all, until a few months ago, they didn't even have a formal foreign affairs department, and all matters related to the outside world were thrown to the city hall in the outer city to handle.

Zhao Yongxu didn't care what to eat later, but he was more concerned about another thing.

"Will the representatives of the company also attend?" he asked seriously.

"Of course, this was originally prepared for them," Chu Guang paused, feeling that it was not tactful to say it so bluntly, so he naturally added, "If you tell us in advance, we will also prepare it for you."

However, Captain Zhao, who was sitting opposite him, seemed to not care about such trivial matters at all.

His eyes were shining brightly, and he said immediately without even a half-second of hesitation.

"We will be there!"

Not only him.

Including the two officers sitting next to him and the three nobles from the inner city, their eyes were all hot.

Looking at the expressions on their faces, Chu Guang fell into deep thought.

It seems that he still underestimated the yearning of the North African local tycoons for Paris.

It was a mistake.

I should have charged a fee earlier.

...

The Alliance's banquet hall is located in the center of the main urban area of ​​Dawn City, the central area of ​​the former Changjiu Farm, and is only one street away from the City Hall and the player's save point.

The square building is made entirely of concrete. Although it looks like marble, it is actually just a layer of milky white plaster on the outside.

The five-meter-high arch can be entered even by Death Claws. The gear badge hanging on the door is part of the Alliance flag and is also the most awarded medal by the Alliance Army.

The simple and majestic aesthetics are similar to the weapons of the Alliance, but the decoration inside the building is a different world, not as boring as the receiver of the LD-47.

The tiles of the masons reflect the magnificent chandeliers on the dome, and several marble sculptures are placed in the corners.

These decorations were all picked up from the wasteland, and after re-polishing and waxing, they look like new.

If the spacious main banquet hall is filled with long tables, it can accommodate thousands of people for dinner at the same time.

This building was started almost at the same time as the Alliance's City Hall, but it was not completed until recently, and it was only used once last night.

It just so happened that the banquet arrangements prepared for the triumphal celebration have not been withdrawn.

After receiving the news of the banquet, the concierge staff in charge of the banquet immediately called in people to move 12 round tables, removed most of the long tables for group dining, and left only two rows against the wall for self-service drinks, desserts and cold dishes.

The band that participated in the celebration last night was invited back to play the music played last night again.

Sitting at the round table.

A pot-bellied noble looked at the menu in his hand and touched the back of his head with a look of surprise.

"These blue coats are quite exquisite."

He originally thought that the food of these country folk in the northern suburbs was as shabby as the fly restaurant in the outer city of Boulder City, but he didn't expect it to be completely beyond his expectations.

The content of the dinner was varied.

The cold dishes included white-cut chicken, thinly sliced ​​double-headed beef, garlic cucumber shreds, etc.

Hot dishes include squirrel carp, braised lion's head, roast duck...

More than a dozen creative dishes make people curious, such as salt-baked lantern fish, braised warship shrimp, split claw crab meat cakes, cream lamb horn mashed potatoes, monster steaks, etc.

The variety is dazzling.

In addition, there are freshly baked desserts, mushroom clouds sprinkled with chocolate chips, small cakes with cream fragrance, and biscuits that look ordinary but contain mysteries...

Sid, who was standing at the long table on one side of the hall, widened his eyes in surprise.

What surprised him was not these dishes, but the bottle of red wine on the table.

At this time, a strange voice came from the side.

"From the gold stamp on the bottle, this bottle of red wine should be produced from the Gloway Winery on the Barron Peninsula, and its price is at least three times the weight of gold. The red wine and dairy products on the West Coast are as famous as the slaves there, and rarely cross the desert to the east of the continent... I guess it should be General McLennan's collection."

Sid looked sideways and saw a familiar man standing next to him, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him.

Raising his eyebrows, Sid asked.

"Who are you?"

"Lister, chairman of Lister Trading Company, this is my business card." Lister introduced himself calmly and handed over the business card in his hand.

After receiving the business card, Sid glanced at it, and a hint of realization immediately appeared in his eyes.

He seemed to have heard of this name. It was said that he was a merchant at first, and later made a small fortune by doing business with the alliance and became a noble.

It is not difficult to change the status of a noble in the inner city of Boulder City. You only need to pay enough chips and buy a room in the inner building to add your name to the "resident list".

However, obtaining the status of a noble does not mean that you can integrate into their circle.

These new nobles who paid to come in are very different from the old nobles like them, and they can't get in touch with the power core of Boulder City at all.

What's more, judging from the appearance of this guy, it is estimated that he has not lived in the inner city building for a few days.

In contrast, he cares more about those "real nobles" who come from enterprises.

But what is depressing is that those people are sitting at a round table with the managers of the alliance and are busy showing off their meals, and they have no intention of getting up from their chairs.

His legs are almost numb from standing here, and he didn't wait for the opportunity to talk to those people alone.

Is it really that delicious?

Sid couldn't help but frowned as he glanced at the round table in the distance.

He was actually so interested in the food of the country people.

For a moment, he felt that his imagination of the ideal city was somewhat disillusioned.

It seemed that it was just like that...

Reading the disapproval on the face of the man in front of him, Lister just smiled but said nothing.

As a businessman, he didn't care what these idiots with their noses up to the sky thought of him.

Anyway, everyone looked at each other the same.

"The five major groups of enterprises have sent representatives here. It seems that something big is going to happen in the Valley Province."

"Hmm."

Sid snorted.

Is it necessary to deliberately mention something that even scavengers can see?

Lister paused and continued.

"I just heard that the company plans to invest and build a factory here."

"Invest and build a factory?" Sid looked at him unexpectedly and smiled faintly, "Then take the products produced to the ideal city 3,000 kilometers away? What is there there?"

Lister said patiently.

"There are many forms of interests and many means to achieve goals. I can't guess what agreements the manager has reached with the distant ideal city, but the company is going to such trouble to do so many things, obviously not for charity."

"Oh?"

Sid's eyes flickered slightly. Although he still looked indifferent, he was obviously interested.

Lister continued to strike while the iron was hot.

"The expedition to Luoxia Province is almost certain. Only by removing the outpost of the Legion east of the Great Desert can all future troubles be eradicated once and for all. After that, in order to prevent the Legion from reviving, the enterprise will definitely unite with the alliance and send garrisons to the desert to consolidate the fruits of victory."

"... I heard that those artificial oases surrounded by the life forbidden zone are like islands in the ocean, where milk and honey flow in the soil, and there is no alien harassment."

Sid's eyes finally showed obvious interest, and he no longer concealed his heartbeat.

"Can you elaborate?"

"Of course," seeing his eager look, Liszt smiled and patted the arm of the old nobleman, and said softly, "... I just heard these stories, if you are interested, we can have a good chat."

Just as Liszt was drawing the big cake that Chu Guang drew for him and pulling Sid towards the table of the envoys of Boulder City, the people sitting around the round table of the enterprise not far away were wolfing down the food.

Wu Mu stared with eyes wide open, poking the preserved egg sprinkled with garlic on the plate with a fork, and said in amazement.

"What animal laid this egg...?"

It tastes like jelly!

As a senior salesman of Changge Group, Wu Mu has been to many places and tasted many strange and bizarre delicacies.

However, this special food is the first time he has seen it.

Chu Guang, who was sitting next to him, smiled and said.

"In fact, this is an ordinary duck egg, but it has been processed through a special process. We call it... preserved egg."

Li Changkong touched his chin thoughtfully, picked up a piece with a fork, smelled it, and put it in his mouth.

"Such a special taste, it turned out to be a duck egg... Can you tell me what the processing process is?"

Chu Guang's expression was a little subtle.

There is nothing to keep secret about the recipe.

It's just that I'm afraid that telling it out will affect everyone's appetite.

"I'm not sure about that."

The representative of Ideal Group nodded, and without further questioning, he continued to taste the food on another plate.

Yi Chuan, who was sitting on Chu Guang's right, wiped his hands with a tissue and said with emotion.

"... Now I finally understand why Li De specifically mentioned the food here in his application."

He had just finished showing off the braised warship shrimps on a plate, and only a pile of shrimp shells were left on the plate.

Unbelievable!

These ugly alien species can be cooked so deliciously by these people.

Before leaving, he was worried that he might not be used to the food here and might cause gastrointestinal discomfort, so he brought two boxes of freeze-dried food and two boxes of stomach medicine.

Now it seems that at least the previous concern can be dispelled.

Yun You, who was sitting at the other end of the round table, did not speak, but was putting biscuits into his mouth one by one, with surprise and amazement in his eyes.

That glowing expression, I wonder what he tasted.

After asking the waiter to help change the plates and waiting for the dishes to be served, Yi Chuan looked at Chu Guang and asked, "By the way, do you eat so well every day?"

"Of course not, we only take these things out when we entertain guests. But the ingredients of these foods are not expensive, and you can see them in many restaurants."

After a pause, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"If you are interested in our daily diet, you might as well go to the North Street of Shuguang City. There are many special snacks there."

Wu Mu interrupted excitedly.

"I know! It's called steamed buns and dumplings, right?"

"That's one of our breakfasts."

Chu Guang smiled and nodded, suddenly thought of something, and asked.

"Speaking of which, what about the two people from Kangmao Group?"

Because he didn't know whether to call the two men or women, he simply omitted the name.

When he heard Chu Guang asking about the two, Yi Chuan's expression became a little subtle.

"They... Actually, don't worry about them. Their code doesn't contain any malicious elements, but they are a little too enthusiastic."

Wu Mu, who was standing by, also said with a hearty smile.

"That's right, don't worry about the two androids. Their core code has not had any violations so far, so you can rest assured."

The white and neat teeth reminded Chu Guang of a toothpaste advertisement.

"Is that so? Then I'm relieved."

Chu Guang smiled and nodded, and his index finger gently swiped twice on the VM screen, motioning Xiao Qi to keep an eye on the two of them calmly.

This is not out of distrust of allies.

It's just to be on the safe side.

There are androids in the alliance, such as Old Brown's daughter and wife, and Tian Qin in Shelter 101.

However, these androids have one thing in common, that is, they have low self-awareness and will not actively participate in human social activities.

Unless it is an order from the owner.

The expression on Yi Chuan's face made Chu Guang a little concerned, and he couldn't help but wonder what the two were going to do.

While he was curious, Frost and Eclipse, wearing silver cloaks, were walking on the busiest North Street in Dawn City.

It was the hot summer, and the conservative outfits of the two were a little special. People around them frequently cast curious glances at them.

Frost was also observing the passers-by, and maintained silent communication with Eclipse walking beside him on the communication channel.

"Look, these poor humans, their clothes are like dust falling on the chassis, and their health conditions are like flashing alarm lights... Eclipse, this is an opportunity for us, we will let them live a rich life with food and clothes."

There was no change on that expressionless face, but the jumping electrons on the chip were beating with an excited frequency.

Eclipse's child hole flickered slightly, and he answered after thinking for half a second.

"The idea is correct, but we don't have the means of production, nor do we have the production function... What should we do?"

Frost: "First, we need to win this war and control the artificial oasis in the desert, so that we can get food to feed them."

Eclipse: "There are omissions in the plan. According to the existing intelligence, the artificial oasis closest to us has a population of nearly one million, and the probability of food surplus is low."

Frost: "Understood, the plan needs to be improved."

The two continued to discuss profound topics while observing the nearby streets.

The prosperity here is not one ten-thousandth of that of the ideal city, but it is precisely because of this that this place is more suitable for their plans than the ideal city.

As long as the people here become more satisfied than the ideal city in a shorter time and at a lower cost, they have sufficient arguments to prove that they are the best solution among the countless alternative plans for the revival of civilization.

However...

There is still a problem here. "Satisfaction" is an abstract concept, and the "prosperity" generated by it is even more difficult to define with a fixed algorithm.

Therefore, before formulating a complete plan, the first thing to do is to observe.

At this moment, the two people walking on the busy street suddenly came towards a strange combination of three people and a bear.

Riding on Rourou's shoulders, Tail's eyes suddenly lit up, and he saw the two of them in the crowd at a glance.

"Oh! Si! It's an NPC I haven't seen before!"

"Its skin is so cool." Rourou, who was riding, also said with surprise.

Frost was a little confused and stopped to look at the white bear in front of him.

Although he didn't understand what the bear said just now, but-

"Why can bears talk?"

"Eh!? Isn't it common sense that white bears can talk?"

That surprised expression didn't seem to be pretended at all.

So much so that Eclipse, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but be stunned, and for a moment he even doubted whether there was something wrong with the information in the intelligence database.

Looking at Tail with a look of certainty, Frost pondered for a moment and nodded.

"So that's it... White bears can talk, which is common sense in the Valley Province."

Strange knowledge.

However, it can be used as a reference.

"Let's put Rourou's matter aside for now. It looks like you are looking for something. Are you in trouble? Do you need Tail's help?" Tail looked at it expectantly, with the light of a task master in his eyes.

Task!

Hidden task!!

Frost froze for a while, unable to interpret the expression on the human's face, and even more unable to understand what the strange grammar meant to express, so he could only try to ask.

"Do you need help?"

Tail shook his head like a rattle.

"NoNoNo, it's you who need help! You're welcome, just tell Tail!"

Frost: "?"

Sisi's expression became a little subtle.

I always feel...

This robot is not as smart as her Awei.

"Could it be that the NPC code is not ready yet?" Zhimahu looked at Sisi in confusion.

The conversation between the two was completely on a different channel.

Sisi thought for a moment and nodded.

"Well, this possibility cannot be ruled out."

After all, it is the closed beta stage, so even if there are unreasonable places, it is understandable.

NPCs occasionally make some confusing remarks. In this case, either the syntax is wrong or the other party's program is not fully compiled.

In most cases, these two problems will appear at the same time.

I don't know what I talked about with the android, but Tail's face suddenly showed a shy expression.

"Then... can you please wear a maid outfit and show it to Sisi?"

Seeing her good friend jumping back and forth on the edge of the "Player's Handbook", Sisi knew that she couldn't sit idly by.

Sighing, she dragged Tail back from the bewildered android and said with deep apology.

"I'm sorry, my Awei has caused you trouble."

As he said, regardless of Tail's protest, Sisi and Zhimahu tacitly tied her to the bear's back.

Even though his face was buried in the furry bear hair, he couldn't stop the protesting voice.

"Damn it, why did you stop——"

"You will be banned if you harass NPCs. Do you want to be locked up like Mosquito for this kind of thing?"

Hearing this, the voice that was still very brave a second ago finally softened.

"Wow... stingy."

"Reluctantly, I'll wear it for you to see."

"!!!"

Looking blankly at the group of people walking away, a series of intermittent data streams flashed through Frost's child's eye.

After a long while, it lowered its head in thought.

"I see... Is the element of reviving civilization a maid outfit?"

Eclipse slowly moved his eyes to look at it.

"... I think before drawing a conclusion, the credibility of the information also needs to be carefully considered."

"That makes sense. We should collect more samples instead of unilaterally accepting the opinions of one party... However, this can be used as a clue."

Tong Kong flickered slightly, and Han Shuang nodded. The circuit board hidden deep in his chest was boiling with electric current full of enthusiasm.

"Eclipse, this is an opportunity for us."

Eclipse paused for many seconds, and nodded slowly in a daze.

"Okay..."