Chapter 416 The Rekindled Fire! (1/2)

When the door of the ward opened again, all the "patients" had gone back to bed, one by one, like frosted eggplants, without any trace of their previous vitality.

Yu Feng, who was standing next to Yun You, pressed his eyebrows and felt a little headache. However, he was just a businessman's apprentice, so it was hard to say anything.

After putting on his shirt again, Shen Rui walked out of the room with an embarrassed look on his face. He wanted to say something to change the subject, but Yun You in front of him spoke before him.

"what is that?"

"Poker."

Shen Rui smiled sheepishly, rubbed the back of his head and explained, "It's... those card games invented by the blue coats, which are quite famous in the taverns around here."

Yun You frowned slightly, the lenses of her glasses reflecting sharp light.

"Tavern?"

"Well, alcohol will not affect the treatment, and it can also interfere with the continued spread of mutant slime... This is what the doctor told us." Looking at that sharp gaze, Shen Rui glanced around guiltily, for fear A doctor happened to be passing by in the corridor.

Yun You was silent for a while and sighed.

"Before coming here, I heard about you and I have always been worried about your safety... Now it seems that I have thought too much."

Hearing the sigh, Shen Rui quickly explained.

"This, you can't blame us. Life outside the city is too monotonous. We have to find some... uh, entertainment ways to pass the time."

"So the way you pass your time is gambling?"

Shen Rui, who felt he was wronged, stopped talking.

After all, it was not his job to enforce discipline. Yun You did not continue on this topic. After a moment of pause, he talked about the future arrangements.

"Two days later, you will transfer to Xizhou City and take the return flight back to Yunjian Province."

When he heard that he could go home, Shen Rui's face finally showed an expression of joy.

Although the life here is quite interesting, it is only suitable for sojourns and not for long-term residence. Without access to the "Endpoint Cloud" and without an immersive virtual entertainment space, it will definitely become boring after a long time.

Otherwise they wouldn't be playing cards.

"...You have lived here for a while, tell me about the situation here."

After hearing Yun You's inquiry, Shen Rui, who came back to his senses, said quickly.

"What do you want to know about?"

Yun You thought for a while and said.

"For example, what kind of organization is this alliance?"

This question is a bit abstract.

Shen Rui scratched the back of his head, thought for a while and said.

"Their own explanation is... that the Survivors' Self-Rescue Alliance, led by the residents of the shelter, seems to have a full name of the United Front for the Resurgence of Humanity, or the New Alliance for short."

Humanity's revival is okay.

Yun You slightly raised her left eyebrow, her expression was a little weird, but she didn't say anything.

There are many survivor settlements with strange names in the wasteland, including a kingdom of three people, a tribe of ten thousand people, and a federation composed of ten small villages.

There seems to be nothing surprising about the “alliance” claiming to be reviving human civilization.

Seeing that Yun You didn't speak, Shen Rui continued.

"...No matter what they are called, the people here are generally kind, but it is true that the folk customs are tough. Occasionally, wastelanders who don't understand the situation come to make trouble, and they will soon be controlled by the residents of the shelter. …”

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something and continued.

"Oh, by the way, many of those blue coats are awakened ones! Including their managers! Their biotechnology is very strong, and they should have mastered the technology to stably cultivate awakened ones."

Yun You nodded, not feeling very strange.

It’s not that there are no similar technology companies, it’s just that like human cloning technology, it’s a taboo technology that’s rarely used.

After all, awakening is not a good thing. The cost is sacrificing the probability of having offspring. In terms of the overall fertility rate of society, it is not suitable for large-scale promotion in stable societies.

The ideal city continues the legal and moral values ​​of the People's Alliance era to a certain extent. Although it recognizes the identity of the awakened, it does not respect it as much as the precarious wastelanders.

Through mechanical exoskeletons and bionic organs, one can become a "superman". Not only is the direction of strengthening more stable and controllable, but there is no need to sacrifice personal happiness.

However, it was just a matter of transforming the residents of the shelter into awakened ones. The manager actually awakened himself.

This was beyond her expectation.

It seems that I still underestimated that guy's ambition.

"I understand the basic situation."

After listening to Shen Rui's explanation, Yun You thought for a moment and then continued, "It seems that the situation here is more complicated than I imagined...including the manager."

Shen Rui asked doubtfully: "Complicated?"

"Well," Yun You nodded and continued in a calm tone, "Ambition, city government, and leadership... He has all the potential a careerist needs, and he is better at disguise and hiding than ordinary careerists. He will make himself appear harmless and his true intentions elusive."

Shen Rui scratched the back of his head and said with a subtle expression.

"However, I feel that he is an upright person, and the residents here like him very much... Could it be that you are overthinking it?"

He wasn't the only one who felt this way.

Anyone who has been in contact with that man can feel that he is a person who is easy to get along with, and the residents living here do not think of him as a false pandering and flattery at all.

This was completely different from the survivor settlements they encountered along the way.

He has seen cannibal tribes that eat people alive, and communities of survivors that cannibalize people under the guise of cannibalism. In exchange for the civilized tools in their hands, the village chiefs who claim to be civilized people even offered to give them eleven or twelve-year-old girls as slaves in exchange for the civilized weapons in their hands. …Of course, they refused.

Rather than being a careerist, Shen Rui felt that that man was somewhat similar to the leader of the Pioneer, Lu Yang... more like an idealist.

However, this is just his personal opinion.

For example, a guy who calls himself Mr. House often curses him on the radio.

"It's not that I think too much, it's that you think of people too simply," Yun You said lightly, "I don't deny that he has an upright side, but that doesn't mean that what I said is invalid."

After a pause, she continued.

"This is not my opinion alone. According to the calculation results of 'Intelligence Brain', there is a 37% probability that this war was started by the Alliance."

Intelligent Brain is the main server of Ideal City, the core of the "End Point Cloud" network, and the core business of the End Point Group.

Although the other four major groups rarely rely on AI for decision-making, Endpoint Group is highly intelligent, even higher than Kangmao Group, which uses a large number of bionic workers.

Shen Rui showed a surprised expression, glanced left and right in the corridor, then looked at Yun You again, and said cautiously.

"I think...judgments based on limited intelligence may not be reliable, even with intelligence. To be honest, I don't really believe in that stuff, and we'd better not discuss this on other people's territory...They are the victims after all. Well, a lot of people died that day.”

Yun You's expression did not change at all, and she spoke in a calm tone.

"It's just a reasonable suspicion that the Pioneer was first attacked by the legion in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City, and not long after they left here, they were intercepted by the legion... Many coincidences make me feel that things are not that simple. ”

"Of course, this is just a suspicion. I will not submit unverified speculation as evidence to the council for review. Unless we have enough clues to prove that he is trying to defraud us of assistance, or actively provoked it for his own selfish purposes. This war."

This is not her opinion alone.

In the Endpoint Group, there are many people who hold similar opinions.

To put it more deeply, unlike Silver Wing and Changge Group, Duandian Group’s business is mainly concentrated in Ideal City. Most of the survivors’ settlements cannot use their AI technology and cloud computing services at all. “Exploring overseas markets” is very difficult for them. There is no benefit to it.

Therefore, even if personal emotional factors were put aside and purely from the perspective of interests, they would not be able to support this war.

Even if they ultimately voted yes.

Shen Rui opened his mouth and finally shrugged helplessly.

"Well, I can't guarantee that he is a good person. I'm just saying my own opinion... I have a pretty good feeling about that person."

"Understood, let's not talk about it anymore," Yun You said in a gentle tone and continued, "By the way, I almost forgot to ask, how much does your treatment cost?"

Shen Rui was stunned for a moment.

He didn't pay close attention to this.

After thinking for a while, he answered in an uncertain tone.

"It seems like...five hundred?"

"So cheap?" Yun You looked at him slightly surprised.

Shen Rui: "Well, it should be five hundred a day."

Noticing that the expression on Yun You's face gradually became unfriendly, Yu Feng, who had been silent until now, coughed dryly and explained quickly.

"It's a silver coin, a silver coin... not Cr."

…

The next morning.

The sky is bright.

The lone wolf of the apocalypse, dressed in casual clothes, yawned and walked out of the shelter and found the violent wind waiting there in Resurrection Square.

As a professional player and salty player, unless it is a large-scale event, he rarely appears directly on the front line, and rarely forms a team to win.

After all, he has a deep self-awareness about the fact that it will be a hindrance.

Therefore, he usually either exchanges professional issues with several players in Factory No. 81 in the industrial area, or goes to the lake to fish with his fishing rod.

Although the colleague in front of me forced me to fill out the form, due to the huge difference in game styles, the two of them didn't have much interaction in the game.

Basically, everyone plays alone, and occasionally we get together.

It was the first time in the past few months that we formed a team early in the morning like today.

"What's the matter? You have to say it in the game."

The lone wolf looked at Guangfeng in confusion, trying to find some clues from his face.

However, although this guy's game ID is not generally wild, his personality is very sultry. Whether in the game or outside the game, his expression changes are not very obvious.

"Of course you have to talk about things in the game in the game." Kuangfeng said seriously, "Come with me, I will take you to see something good."

Lone Wolf asked subconsciously.

"What good stuff?"

However, Kuangfeng didn't give any explanation, he just spoke concisely.

"You'll know when you get there!"

Good guy.

It's also a bit of a show-off.

Lone Wolf raised his eyebrows, with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

What interested him was not the secret of this guy, but a trace of excitement and excitement flickering behind the paralyzed face.

What kind of treasure can make this guy so excited?

With curiosity, Lone Wolf followed Kuangfeng all the way to the train station in the northern suburbs of Shuguang City and got on the train to Xizhou City.

The bumpy ride of nearly a hundred kilometers is over.

It was almost noon when the two got off the car.

Seeing that the lone wolf who was following Guangfeng had not reached the place yet, he finally couldn't help but ask.

"How far is it?"

However--

There was still only one sentence in response to him.

"Soon!"

Lone Wolf: "..."

The only consolation is that the excitement in the voice is getting stronger and stronger. Perhaps as this guy said, they are very close to the end.

Go deep into the urban area of ​​Xizhou City.

Kuangfeng skillfully set up his gun and checked the situation on the street. Seeing that there was no danger, he led the lone wolf behind him through a ruined building and arrived at the entrance of the subway station.

The grass emerging from the cement cracks swayed gently, and the shadows under the concrete wall were covered with moss and reddish-brown rust.

It was quiet.

Let alone a human being, it doesn't even look like a living creature.

Looking at the dark passage, the lone wolf swallowed, but seeing that the strong wind had no intention of stopping, he followed it.

He walked along the subway tunnel with an uneasy feeling. Just when Lone Wolf couldn't help but repeat the question he asked half an hour ago, Guangfeng who was walking in front finally stopped.

Standing in front of a rusty iron door, Guangfeng reached out and knocked on the door three times.

Not long after, there was movement behind the door, and then it opened with a creak.

Two soldiers wearing Type 5 Hussars exoskeletons stood on either side of the door.

When he saw the logos on the breastplates and helmets of the two soldiers, a surprised expression suddenly appeared on Lone Wolf's face.

Guards regiment?

Why are the administrator's personal guards here?

"Please show me VM," one of the soldiers said.

Guangfeng immediately handed over the arm with the VM on it.

The soldier who had opened the door for them took a step forward, checked his vm, and then looked at the lone wolf who was standing there motionless.

"Where's this one?"

"He came with me as a team, can I take him in?"

Hearing the request of the residents of the shelter in front of them, the two soldiers exchanged glances, and one of them answered.

"Please wait a moment, I will ask the administrator for instructions."

Kuang Feng nodded.

"Thanks!"

After waiting for a moment, the two soldiers received the order to let go and made way for the door.

Seeing that the manager accommodated his request, Kuang Feng breathed a sigh of relief, waved to Lone Wolf, and led him through the long corridor behind the door.

The security level here is quite tight.

Not just sentries at the door, but also cameras installed at the corners of the corridors, and hanging automatic machine guns.

Anyone who tries to break in by force will be beaten into a sieve the moment they break into the corridor.

Looking at the strict security around him, Lone Wolf then looked at the VM map and found that this area was not recorded on the map, and he couldn't help but feel excited.

"Is this a hidden map? It's so mysterious."

Kuangfeng didn't answer, but pointed forward with his chin, leading the lone wolf through the opened alloy door in front of him.

The moment the two of them walked through the door, the scenery before them suddenly opened up.

The empty hall is hundreds of square meters, and people in work clothes are walking back and forth here, making the whole scene a busy one.

On the door directly opposite the hall, there is a door number of [Reaction Room].

Following the strong wind, he walked straight into the reaction room. A metal cylinder about ten meters in diameter soon caught his sight.

Countless pipelines are connected to the alloy shell, leaving only a small palm-sized window. Through that window, you can see that the hollow cylinder is connected to complex and delicate parts.

Lone Wolf's face was full of surprise, even shock.

I didn’t expect that this humble subway tunnel would contain such a big mystery!

What surprised him even more was that the blue power armor—the manager of the alliance was also here.

Not only that, there were many people standing next to the powered armor.

Including Yin Fang, the leader of the scientific expedition team, including Boss Xia and Xiaoyu who were invisible in several versions ago, and the genius girl who visited the No. 81 Steel Plant and Goblin Technology... He seemed to remember that her name was Pai .

Lone Wolf lowered his voice and looked at Kuangfeng beside him and asked excitedly.

"Is this going to be a ceremony?"

"Controllable fusion reactor ignition!" Excitement flashed on his face. Guangfeng restrained the excitement in his voice and answered him with a slightly trembling voice.

After the scientific expedition team reaches LV6 (maximum LV10).

Players can check the research plan and experimental schedule of the scientific expedition team in the shelter through VM, and apply for permission to observe.

Hearing Kuang Feng's words, Lone Wolf had a look of astonishment on his face.

What surprised him was not the controllable nuclear fusion itself, but the fact that this professor from the School of Physics of Jinling University made such a fuss.

By the way, in "Wasteland Online", controllable nuclear fusion is not a particularly rare thing, right?

After all, in terms of settings, they are all research results on the eve of the Era of Prosperity. There are so many black technologies that are even darker than this!

"Controllable fusion reactor... isn't there a reactor in the shelter?" Lone Wolf said with a strange expression.

"Yes."

"Is it necessary to come here to see it?"

Fangfeng made a silent gesture and stared at the reactor intently.

"Stop talking, let's start!"

Seeing how devoted this guy was, Lone Wolf was confused, but he still kept his mouth shut and decided to stay with his colleague until the end.

Not far away, the manager standing next to the guardrail glanced at the time, then looked at the researcher standing aside, signaling that it was time to start.

The factories in Dawn City have suspended production one after another. The thermal power generating units of the power station have increased their output to the maximum, and all the electric energy has been allocated to this thermonuclear reactor.

As the capacitor was full, the researcher standing next to the control terminal operated on the touch screen, and soon the cylindrical device made a buzzing sound of electricity.

When the last button was pressed, the magnetic field in the entire space began to stir like a pot of boiling water.

Taking out the compass from his pocket, Fengfeng looked at the pointer that was going crazy, his eyes flashed with enthusiasm, and he kept mumbling.

"Magnetic restraint! It's magnetic restraint!"

Lone Wolf looked at him blankly, not knowing what to say.

Not far away, Yin Fang, standing next to Chu Guang, pressed his eyebrows and said with a headache.

"Magnetic leakage... as expected, too much time has passed."

Chu Guang, who was standing aside, frowned.

"Does it have any impact?"

Before Yin Fang could speak, Pai, who was standing aside, couldn't wait to answer.

"Don't worry, it's a small problem! After a while, the magnetic restraint device becomes stable and the magnetic field overflow problem will disappear naturally."

Yin Fang nodded.

"Well, it should be."

The magnetic field inside the reactor will adjust according to the shape of the plasma. When the plasma stabilizes, the magnetic field will naturally become stable.

Obviously, this reactor does not rely on a Faraday cage for magnetic field shielding, or even does not have this redundant design at all.

It is precisely for this reason that the outermost wall of the reactor will leave a small window through which the operating conditions of the plasma can be "visually observed".

Seeing that the two researchers assured that there were no problems, Chu Guang continued to read patiently.

A blue light appeared behind the palm-sized window, and as energy continued to gather, it quickly turned into pure white light.

That should be plasma wrapped in a magnetic field.

Even through the thick reactor shell, Chu Guang could still intuitively feel the scorching heat that could melt everything and the terrifying energy contained within it!

not far away.

The technicians standing in front of the workbench performed their duties and completed the work at hand, and reported the current situation one after another.

"Plasma temperature reaches critical value!"

"The probe observed a reaction taking place!"

"The core is in good condition and the restraints are working properly!"

"The energy surplus reaches the self-sustaining condition!"

"Cut off external power!"

"Voltage difference adjustment completed!"

"The phase difference returns to zero!"

"Frequency synchronization completed!"

"..."

"Connect to the grid!"

As the last command was issued, a huge current passed through the cables buried in the wall, and energy as vast as the ocean instantly filled Dawn City's power grid.

Near the power station next to the new industrial zone, the thermal power generating units operating at full capacity have been shut down one after another.

Up to this moment, they have completed their mission.

In the days to come, the Alliance will no longer need to burn firewood and coal to generate electricity. Clean nuclear energy will cover the entire Alliance through the power grid.

From the flashing arcs in steel plants, to the electrolytic chambers of hydrogen plants, to the light bulbs, fans and even air conditioners in every house in residential areas...

The energy running in the Alliance power grid has never been so abundant!

Looking at the white light that gradually stabilized in the reactor, Chu Guang's tense expression finally turned into a relieved smile.

From this moment on, the alliance officially entered a new era.

And in this desolate ruins, the fire of civilization was finally ignited again!

History will remember this moment!

Chu Guang looked back at the people standing next to the reactor, and the faces that were either excited, happy, surprised, or confused.

He unhooked his helmet visor and said approvingly.

"Well done."

"Thank you for your hard work!"

…

The reactor ignition is completed.

Including the managers, all the NPCs went about their business.

Only Kuangfeng seemed to have lost his soul, holding a compass in his hand and walking out of the reaction room with dull eyes.

"Hey, brother, the lighting ceremony seems to be over." Looking at Guangfeng standing stupidly in the hall, Lone Wolf reminded him in a low voice.

Things like nuclear fusion were beyond his professional scope, and he couldn't see any clue after looking at it for a long time.

Hearing the voice of his colleague next to his ear, Fengfeng finally recovered from his daze.

However, the expression on his face was no longer excitement and excitement.

But lost...

Even disappointed.

"Brother, what's wrong with you?" Lone Wolf asked with concern.

Guangfeng was silent for a long time, then suddenly shook his head and let out a sigh.

"The gap is too big..."

The cooling device is not visible and may be integrated inside the reactor.

However, he was completely confused as to how the reactor, which was only a dozen meters in diameter, could contain that terrifying energy.

What made him even more unbelievable was that he could see the outline of the plasma clearly through a small window without his eyes being burned by the hot light...

Whether it was the materials or the design process, the reactor was like a black box to him. Even if it was placed in front of him, he could not understand its secrets.

Instead, he felt that his common sense had been subverted...

Lone Wolf looked at him in surprise.

Is the gap too big?

Good guy...

Is it possible that you still plan to get one in reality? !

Guangfeng looked at the compass held tightly in his hand. The wildly jumping pointer had stopped trembling at some point and was pointing steadily in the direction it should point.

The only thing he could be sure of was that at the moment of ignition, a huge magnetic field should be constraining the plasma.

However, after successful ignition, the overflowing magnetic field completely disappeared.

So much so that he couldn't even determine whether the overflowing magnetic field was sealed, or whether the reactor was not relying on the energy of the magnetic field to restrain the heat that far exceeded the star...

Lone Wolf scratched his hair and said thoughtfully: "I remember... it was mentioned on the official website that the fuel used by the reactor in the shelter is pure helium-3?"

Kuangfeng: "Yeah."

Lone Wolf: "Can you get that thing on Earth?"

Kuangfeng: "I can't do it."

Lone Wolf: "..."

Glancing at the closed alloy door, a wry smile suddenly appeared on Guangfeng's expressionless face.

He suddenly realized that there was no point in worrying about how to restrain the plasma.

Deuterium-tritium fusion can also be ignited using lasers.

However, helium fusion...

Given the harsh reaction conditions, he couldn't think of any other way to light this reactor on earth...

…

The news of the successful ignition of the reactor in Xizhou City quickly spread, and with the publicity of newspapers and radio, it quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys of the alliance.

Chu Guang was not worried about the reactor being taken into account.

The company's aviation base is right next to the Tianshui tributary. Except for the Great Rift Valley, no one in the entire valley province would dare to provoke those guys.

What's more, unlike the Earth in the parallel world, controllable fusion is not a rare thing in the wasteland. In fact, nuclear fuel is far more rare than the technology itself.

When excess energy cannot be digested, thermal power generation may not be as useful as nuclear power.

Of course, for the alliance, there is no need to worry about this issue at this moment.

Twelve "Orca" transport planes from the company have been transferred from the airport in the north of Shuguang City to the open space near the Tianshui tributary in the north of Xizhou City.

Cables as thick as pythons are inserted into the side of the aircraft, sucking out the energy from the Alliance power grid like a whale sucking water.

In addition, the river water from the Tianshui tributary was also pumped.

A series of fuel cells, including solid hydrogen and metal hydrogen batteries, are essentially different from chemical batteries. The former do not carry oxides themselves, but extract oxygen from the air to participate in redox reactions.

Using the entire atmospheric environment as the cathode is also the reason why the energy density of fuel cells is much higher than that of general chemical batteries.

However, in contrast, replenishing energy with metal hydrogen batteries is a little more troublesome, and requires both a reliable power grid and sufficient water sources.

Standing in the aviation base just circled, Yi Chuan said to Chu Guang next to him with beaming eyes.

"...If we continue at this rate, we will be able to fully charge it in one day at most! Once the charging is completed, we will be able to send the second wave of supplies in three days at the latest!"

Currently there are only twelve aircraft companies with a range of 3,000 kilometers, but it won't be long before they can assemble twelve more.

Twenty-four large transport aircraft were commissioned.

Relying on the power grids on both sides, they can create a stable air corridor between the southern part of the River Valley Province and the east coast, and continuously deliver equipment and supplies to the front line!

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Thank you very much!"

"You're welcome," Yi Chuan said with a hearty smile, "We are allies on the same front. This is for our common victory and to defeat our common enemy!"

"Even if it is for a common victory, we will never forget your helping hand at critical moments."

Looking away from the enthusiastic young man in front of him, Chu Guang "accidentally" looked at the planes not far away.

After a moment of pause, he suddenly sighed.

"But having said that, it would be a pity for these planes to go back empty. How about...bring back some specialties from us."

"Specialty?" Yi Chuan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and waved his hand, "No, no, no, our assistance to you is free! This is what we should do!"

Looking at the sunny smile on this young man's face, Chu Guang couldn't help but sigh in his heart. It would be great if everyone was as charitable as him.

but……

This is obviously impossible.

Now is the honeymoon period between the alliance and the company, and he must seize this window of time.

Whether it is for short-term considerations or long-term considerations, he needs to take advantage of this opportunity to bundle more interests between the two parties.

Otherwise, by the time the war ends, the Valley Province will no longer be that important to the company, and he will have to scheming across the air with the faceless rich man next door.

After clearing his throat and looking at Yi Chuan who declined, Chu Guang said solemnly.

"I know your assistance is free, and we are very grateful for your generosity, but we can't always reach out to you whenever we encounter trouble. This will make my conscience feel bad!"

"We have a saying here that courtesy should reciprocate, and we have prepared some gifts for you."

“Although it’s not something expensive, it’s still a little bit of our thoughts!”