Chapter 581 Escalation of Conflict (1/2)

Dawn City, Alliance Building.

Sitting on the sofa in the reception room, Yi Chuan lifted the sleeve of his right hand, looked at the time projected on his wrist, and pulled his sleeve back.

It was midnight now.

He was sure that in this building that had just been completed less than two months ago, only the reception room where he was was probably the only one with a light on.

When he thought that his colleagues had all fallen asleep while he was still working hard, he couldn't help but yawn.

Logically speaking, this presumptuous time was 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 was his job to listen to the voices of the Alliance leaders.

Therefore, even though this time bothered him, after receiving the summons from the Alliance Manager'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.

Personally, he still likes that guy.

Although the man always likes to haggle over issues related to the alliance and never misses any opportunity to take advantage, he knows very well that the man is only like this at work, and he is actually a very straightforward guy in private.

Perhaps 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 thinking about random things, 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."

Closing the door, he 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 gotten up from bed not long ago.

When he thought that he was not the only one who got up in the middle of the night to work overtime, Yi Chuan felt a lot more comfortable.

"I understand, in an emergency, you can do it. Then can you tell me... what is the emergency?"

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 folding holographic glasses from his arms and gently shook it on his nose. Then he took 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, a stream of data flashed across the mirror, and dense light spots 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 were actually researchers from 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 is naturally not very beautiful when seeing such information.

After all, for enterprises, the incident that happened a century and a half ago is indeed a dark history.

Even if the split of the War Construction Committee is not the responsibility of one party, it is also a fact that the production department first ignited 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 the year bear an unshirkable responsibility.

Although the residents of Ideal City have reviewed that history and did not dress it up 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 have just decided to inherit the will of the Pioneer, intending to correct the mistakes of a century, and walk 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.

"Is this... 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 compiled 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 didn'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 standpoint 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 for 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 us for our opinions on this document, my opinion is... you should summon the media, not me."

Looking at Yi Chuan's cautious look, Chu Guang could guess with his toes that this guy probably had his mind wandered and thought that he was going to take advantage of them again, so he took a defensive posture as soon as he opened his mouth.

Just kidding.

Am I that kind of superficial person? ?

Making a helpless expression, Chu Guang continued patiently.

"You misunderstood, I don't want to put pressure on you through this document, 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 document 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 technical 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 institution 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 fired in the past century were 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 under the responsibility of a single research institution. In addition to the research facilities controlled by enterprises, legions and colleges, there may be other wild research institutes that are also closed to conduct unfinished research. This is also the reason why there are many derivative varieties of mutants."

"If it was just a group of crazy scientists hiding in the shelter shaking the reagent bottles, I think even if there are risks in their research, 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 came 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 didn't 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 turned the residents here into their puppets through an addictive fungus crop called Naguo to help them complete the experiment of the 'perfect life form'."

"You said this is 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 clearly, 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 joined forces 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?" Yi Chuan muttered to himself, chewing the name over and over again.

Chu Guang thought for a moment and gave his opinion.

"I prefer to think that there is no connection. The difference between them is like the mutants in the desert and the mutants on the East Coast. One is a continuation of the Torch Project prepared by the People's Federation in the pre-war era to deal with the most extreme situations, and the other is It’s more like being inspired by the Torch Project.”

"Their goals have something in common, that is, they agree that the world should be destroyed once, rather than improved on the basis of the old order. However, they are fundamentally different in terms of specific implementation guidelines. One tends to use the old era Neutron killing technology, one places its hopes on the unfinished singularity technology of the Prosperity Era...replacing the old humans with new humans and gradually completing their plan to restart the world."

Even the most extreme ideals can be divided into relatively moderate reformists and relatively radical reformists.

In terms of methods, the Enlightenment Society is obviously more radical. They directly deny the wastelanders' right to exist. However, in terms of the final result, the elitists are more conservative.

At least they believe that the new world should still be ruled by humans, with elites recognized by them leading all aspects of society, rather than becoming some new human race.

But the Torch Church is different.

What they want to accomplish is an ascension at the species level, a complete jump from the old human body to a new one.

Even if humans in the old era could live in the utopia they described, they could only be treated as domestic animals without political rights.

Only the chosen new humans can live as gods in Utopia.

The mind interference device is prepared to achieve the latter purpose.

In the distant old days, if you wanted people to selectively give up or give up their brains completely, it would require countless rounds of Mr. House bombings and a set of systematic processes. And even if a huge amount of cost is invested, it may not be able to justify itself due to a few small mistakes.

But with the help of Naguo, they can easily turn each settlement into a place like a breeding farm or plantation without saying a word.

A drop of cold sweat broke out on Yi Chuan's forehead.

If ten minutes ago, he did not really want to intervene in the dispute between the alliance and the regional survivor forces, but after seeing this information, he realized that the matter must be reported to the council immediately.

Mind interference technology is not a secret. This thing made a big news in 2113. It is nothing compared to singularity technology such as Gestalt life forms.

However, he never expected that the old antique could regain its second life in the wasteland in this form.

I'm afraid the council didn't expect it either.

After all, Jinchuan Province and Haiya Province are both too far away from them...

Looking at Yi Chuan who said nothing, Chu Guang continued.

"Pinecone Wood Farm is a microcosm of the settlements under the jurisdiction of the dioceses 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 the core has long been Replaced as a puppet of the church...and now, the green plague is spreading northward."

"Originally, Naguo was only a tropical crop, but the Torch Church has improved it so that it can grow normally even in the subtropics... If they are allowed to continue this dangerous experiment, I am afraid that not only the Jinchuan Province will fall, but also the eastern provinces. The province and even Yunjian Province are not immune. Or are you confident that you can ban 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 no trivial matter... I will report it to the council immediately!"

Chu Guang nodded and looked at him equally seriously.

"I'm glad you understand the urgency of this, but the report is one thing. We need to let more people know about the conspiracy of those guys, and we have to do something at the same time in a public place. If the council is allowed to debate the last one "Moon, if we wait for another wave to pass, I'm afraid the entire Jinchuan Province will be hopeless."

Hearing Chu Guang's words, a troubled expression appeared on Yi Chuan's face.

It is against procedure to act without permission before the Board of Directors has made its judgment.

"...You know this is impossible. Even if I want to help you, I, a diplomat, cannot have that permission."

Chu Guang did not give up because of his words and continued.

"Then do something within the scope of your permission. We don't need military assistance. The alliance's army will not lose to anyone, but we need your technical support! Specifically, we need an electronic Battle expert!”

Reinforcements sent to Pinecone Farm are already on the way and will arrive soon.

However, if they cannot suppress their opponents in electronic warfare, their smart weapons will not be able to achieve full combat effectiveness.

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 only due to the protection program running on the shelter server. Xiaoqi can only use these resources.

Moreover, Xiaoqi's body is in the shelter, 800 kilometers away from the front line. It is still too difficult for an MT to go up and attack people despite high ping delay and interference.

He needed an expert proficient in electronic warfare to go to the scene and help him solve the problem.

Including providing safety protection for drones.

Including pulling out the bishop named Luo Gan from the so-called holy realm...

Hearing Chu Guang's request, Yi Chuan fell into deep thought. Suddenly, as if he thought of something, his eyes lit up and he sat up straight.

"This is easy to handle. There happens to be an expert who is proficient in electronic warfare in Dawn City!"

Chu Guang asked immediately.

"who?"

Yi Chuan said with bright eyes.

"Eclipse!"

"A-110 model androids, all of them are experts in electronic warfare!"

…

Just as Chu Guang completed the meeting with the representatives of the company, a large number of mutant warriors also completed their assembly in the urban area of ​​Jinhe City, not far from the farm.

A burly, semi-cyborg mutant man walked up to Gawn with heavy steps, clasped his hands and said solemnly.

"Kuru, assembled!"

Behind him, green heads were moving, looking at a large area of ​​Wuyang Wuyang.

Most of these mutant warriors have received prosthetic modifications, but the degree is different.

Some people replaced their hearts with a piece of iron, while others changed their forearm bones into alloy steel, or installed a cannon barrel or a chain saw on their arms.

They are different from the group of shrimp soldiers and crab generals led by Oger.

The soldiers under Kulu's command are all the elites of the Qi tribe, and "big guys" like Piduo are everywhere here.

The honor of the Qi tribe was completely lost by those soft-footed shrimps. They actually lost to a group of cowardly two-legged sheep!

Kuru swears that he will take back the glory that belongs to the clan!

Gaen looked at Kulu expressionlessly, nodded slowly, then looked at the dense crowd of mutant warriors standing behind him, and shouted loudly at a higher volume.

"Our allies are in trouble!"

"The people who caused trouble for them are the same people who killed our brothers!"

"Go to Pinecone Farm!"

"The survivors there are all dedicated to our food!"

It doesn't take many impassioned words to mobilize this group of bloodthirsty beasts. It's enough to tell them where to vent their wild desires.

The desire for blood and violence was ignited in an instant, and deafening cheers resounded throughout the ruined city.

The mutants waved their weapons and cheered and shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Ouch!"

“Eat them!!”

…

A large number of mutants set out from the East District of Jinhe City and gathered in the direction of Pinecone Wood Farm.

At the same time, a majestic steel airship was setting sail from Dawn City, heading towards the Jinchuan Province.

At first, this was just an infiltration operation with a scale of twenty people. However, as all parties increased their bargaining power, the scale of the conflict was escalating.

The settlement of fifty thousand people had unknowingly stood in the center of this storm.

The Torch Church obviously did not expect such a result.

When they learned from the bishop that the alliance's airship was heading towards Jinchuan Province, the expressions of several apostles at Pinecone Wood Farm suddenly changed.

At first, they just planned to use the little mice that infiltrated their pasture to conduct an interesting experiment, and teach the alliance in the north a little lesson.

However, what they didn't expect was that the guys from the north could not afford to lose. Seeing that the infiltration operation was messed up, they overturned the table.

They are not afraid of military conflict with the alliance, and they do not think that an organization that has only been established for a year can be their opponent.

However, they were obviously not ready to go to war immediately, and no one expected that the Alliance would send the airship over at the critical moment when the wave was coming.

It's a distance of 800 kilometers. It's estimated that the airship will have to arrive tomorrow morning.

But they are not naive enough to think that the Alliance only has one form of transportation: airships...

The four apostles were as anxious as ants on a hot pot, anxiously discussing countermeasures. At this moment, the manor not far away was buzzing with gunshots.

The underground laboratory of the annex.

Ye Shi pulled out the short knife stuck on the forearm of the "executor" of the Torch Church. While removing his equipment, he tied up his hands and feet with plastic ties.

VM data copy has been completed.

After escorting the prisoner into the room where the mind interference device was placed, Ye Shi threatened him with a gun pointed at his head.

"Turn this thing off!"

Wu Che grinned and chuckled.

"I have to disappoint you. I'm just a soldier... but I don't know how to turn this thing off. Why don't you try blowing it up?"

Ye Shi didn't waste any time and gave him a kick in the stomach.

Enduring the pain in his forearm, Wu Che gritted his teeth, stared at Ye Shi and sneered, secretly saying it was a pity.

If he could fool this guy into blowing up the psychic interference device located underground at Pinecone Wood Farm, his mission would be considered accomplished.

In fact, just a few minutes ago, Ye Shi really planned to blow up this place, but after reading the information downloaded from the terminal, he immediately gave up that idea.

Simply turning off the mind-interference device will not bring those outside back to normal, just as smashing the monitor will not shut down the computer.

The mind interference device has the effect of inducing the experimental subjects to enter a "fugue" state, but what really turns the local residents into "gnawers" is the No. 03 band signal it emits.

This device has carved crazy information into their brains. As long as they enter the "fugue" state, they will become the ghost they are now.

It's just a matter of different degrees.

Unless signals from other bands are input through the mind interference device, they will be re-brainwashed by the effects of 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 just let them stay like this for now.

At least they who are also in a fugue state will not kill each other.

Looking at the prisoner who refused to say anything, Ye Shi gritted his teeth and carried him towards the outside of the laboratory.

Wu Che grinned in pain and simply closed his eyes without saying another word.

The little girl named Xiaoyang was standing at the door shivering, looking at the two people who came 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 obvious flaws will also appear when moving between environments with different brightness.

It was obvious that she had seen that person.

But under the threat of the executioner, she didn't say a word. She might even have confessed to him that she was the only one inside, and then watched helplessly as the guy went in with a rifle and touched her butt.

But Ye Shi didn't blame her for not making a sound to remind him.

To be honest, if she screamed, it would be a hindrance. Not only would it harm herself, but it would also alert the enemy and prevent him from relying on his talent to fight back.

"The situation has changed, please stay down there for a while... Remember to keep an eye on Yin Yin, don't let her hurt herself, but don't get too close to her."

Hearing these words, a trace of despair and sadness appeared in Xiaoyang's eyes, but in the end he said nothing and just nodded silently.

He betrayed the person who helped him, and he had nothing to say if he was left behind...

Seeing that this little guy seemed to have misunderstood something, Ye Shi smiled and stretched out his hand to rub the little head.

"What are you thinking about? I didn't mean to leave you here, I just asked you to wait here for a while... If you are tired, just take a nap. I will be back in a while."

The little sheep asked in a low voice.

"Where are you going……"

"Go kill all those bitches!" Ye Shi grinned, leaving behind what he thought was a handsome figure, and walked towards the stairwell.

Wu Che, who was held in his hand, sneered and curled his lips.

Kill them all?

You really know how to brag!