Chapter 927: Chapter 927: The Undercover Becomes the Boss
To be honest, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group was really a bit flustered.
After obtaining the "ancestral" power armor from Julius, he thought his mission was complete. He could leave the rest to the survivors in Triumph City and go back to brag on the Forum.
However, to his surprise, the enthusiastic residents of Triumph City wouldn’t let him leave and even put him in the position of Leader.
He thought these guys must be crazy.
The most he had ever done was being a Thousands of leaders, he hadn’t even commanded two thousand people, let alone manage a survivor organization spanning millions of square kilometers.
However, the other Weilante people didn’t think so.
Not to mention Rezer and the few Ministers who found him later, even Penny, his "comrade" who had supported him all along, seriously said no one was more suited for this position than him.
The Army needed reform.
They wanted to abolish the old, unjust laws and create new rules to unite the Weilante people in the settlement with the other survivor tribes.
As Penny put it, this was not only the Marshal’s last wish but also the common choice of all Weilante people who were fed up with the lies of the Ten Thousand Leader.
After hearing her words, the Old Soldier was completely stunned.
Goodness, the Alliance’s legitimacy is in Triumph City?!
This girl was even more "allied" than him, the undercover, at least he had never suggested the Weilante people imitate the Alliance’s social model.
Being utterly indecisive, he logged off and wrote a report of a few hundred words, and reported the intelligence to the Manager through the official task page, hoping the latter could give him advice.
However, to his dumbfoundedness, he waited for half a day and all he got was an [Read] message.
"What the hell! Damn it!"
Sitting in front of the computer, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group was instantly flabbergasted, looking at the screen in disbelief.
This guy really handed everything over to him...
To be honest, he didn’t have any good feelings about the Army.
Emotionally speaking, he was quite happy to see those stupid far-right elements getting what they deserved. The undeserved disasters they faced were just retribution, and their ridiculous image of "laughing through the pain" and "pretending to be fat" was rare fun.
But after so many incidents, he had to admit that many innocent people indeed existed, even those who stood up to resist, and those were worth uniting.
Especially thinking of Coleway, Penny, and many Weilante friends he met on the journey...
The Old Soldier scratched the back of his head, finally sighed, and said.
"I really can’t just leave them to fend for themselves..."
The house was already rotten.
At least try fixing the roof first, change the broken beams, so the lousy house can at least be livable.
As for how to put up doors and windows, what furniture to get, and whether or not to make it look nice... those are for after this task is done.
Thinking of this, he went to the Forum and opened a thread, writing down in detail all his encounters after leaving West Sail Port, the series of problems he faced after arriving at Triumph City, and his current situation.
Because there were so many complaints and eye-catching titles, the Forum exploded shortly after the post was made.
Tail: "giao! Si! The pangolin really became Marshal! Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)"
Quit smoking: "Damn! Impressive!"
Si Si: "Uh this..."
Meat mountain big steamed bun: "Big boss!!!"
Howling Sesame Paste: "Haha... getting turned into a god out of nowhere does sound quite headache-inducing. (-｡-;"
Si Si: "emmm... is it possible that he’s not bothered at all and even enjoys it, coming here to post just to show off. (side-eye)"
Howling Sesame Paste: "Ah... is that so?"
Tail: "giao! So that’s your true nature, pangolin!
Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "What the heck! I’m seriously asking for advice here! (cry-laugh)"
Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "MMP! The open beta isn’t even live yet, and someone’s already become Marshal! If this isn’t nerfed, are you human?! QAQ"
Dinosaur Warrior: "It’s over, balance is completely broken, dog plan please fix this. T.T"
Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn! Why are you so against people doing well!"
Night Ten: "Army legitimacy in the Alliance confirmed. (witty)"
Irina: "Fast forward to First Citizen. (witty)"
Gnome King Riches: "Head east, Marshal! Battle it out with the Alliance! (witty)"
Edge Shoveling: "Next expansion relies on you! (wink)"
Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Please behave like a decent person!"
Fang Chang: "No kidding, how about starting by selecting a few representatives from the Civil Official Group, Citizens, and Army, and discuss drafting a constitution."
Old White: "And think of a new name, don’t forget this. (grin)"
Spring Water Commander: "Weilante Governorate, Weilante Lab... referencing the South Sea Union, how about calling it Weilante Alliance? (witty)"
Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Well... regarding this issue, I’ve discussed it with the other Weilante people, and their idea is to preferably fade the symbol of Weilante people from the new regime since... Triumph City isn’t just comprised of Weilante people, there are many aliens originally devoid of citizenship too."
Fang Chang: "emmm... I understand your thoughts, but drawing from our work experience in the Poluo Line region, I advise you not to do that."
Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Why? (stunned)"
Fang Chang: "Easy to slip into the abyss of nihilism."
Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Gah! Can you speak human language?"
Spring Water Commander: "Brother Fang Chang has already been quite direct, you need to use your brain to understand, you can’t always wait for someone to chew it up and feed you. Objective existence won’t disappear because it’s ignored, even though there are aliens within the Army, Weilante people are the majority. They’ve already made some changes, I suggest you not go too extreme, preventing progressive voices from losing support. Besides, Weilante can be explained as outdated administrative nomenclature, not necessarily implying ethnicity."
Fang Chang: "Step with your left foot when it’s time, step with your right foot when it’s time, trying to stretch both forward will only bruise your head. They’ve already painfully discarded a difficult-to-give-up symbol, leave them one. (side-eye smile)"
After dozens of floors of nonsense, the thread finally became normal, and the discussion turned from banter to technical exchange.
Lordan brothers peeked in but couldn’t find a chance to interject, left with a "laugh," then slipped away.
It was actually Professor Yang who, like a professor, could engage in some serious discussion with these folks.
However, when it came down to specific governance experience, he couldn’t keep up at all.
Jokes aside, with Wasteland OL’s realism, managing a couple of hundred NPCs in it meant managing a company with a couple of hundred employees in reality was no problem at all.
The truth is, the Bull Horse Group has long grown into a world-class enterprise, with a market value in reality that even surpasses that in the game.
In the game, Brother Fang Chang managed far more than just a couple of hundred people.
While management skills can’t be quantified into data, just comparing the before and after his arrival at Jinjaron Harbor reveals a lot.
These practically tested experiences are more reliable than any title.
In contrast, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group’s ability in this area is indeed comparatively weaker.
But these are actually minor issues.
With previous experiences to refer to, and so many reliable brothers helping, even if he can’t present Julius’ glory, he won’t do worse than the bumbling Witch Camel.
Noted down the key points, the Old Soldier leaned back in his chair and breathed a long sigh of relief.
The dissolution of the Army was certain.
This was not just Julius’ last wish, but also the will of all Weilante people.
However, a civil war could be avoided.
What’s needed to be done was already clear.
Internally, he needs to collaborate with the Civil Official Group to revise the new charter and select representatives from the Citizens, fostering new interest groups to balance the initially aligned Civil Official Group.
Besides, he also needs to properly utilize the Imperial Guard—Marshal Julius’s final legacy to him—to maintain order in Triumph City and its surrounding areas, completing the transition from the old regime to the new one before the Imperial Guard completely exits the historical stage.
As for external affairs, he needs to strengthen the communication between Triumph City and the Academy, Alliance, Corporation, and the Grand Canyon, allowing the Vellante people to reintegrate into the world while balancing the conflicts among the four rebellious factions, avoiding further internal discord.
Reviewing the notes, the rejuvenated Old Soldier took a deep breath and reached for the helmet on the table.
Just as he was planning to return to the game, he noticed a small red dot appeared in the taskbar at the top right corner of the official website page.
He grabbed the mouse, clicked it open, and was surprised to find it was a message from the Manager.
Right below the line marked as [Read], there appeared another line of text—
"Congratulations, you have realized your mission."
Seeing this line, Old Soldier felt deeply moved.
Indeed!
The Manager hadn’t forgotten him, he still had a place in that great man’s heart!
Thinking about how he lived through these three years, he felt uncontrollably emotional, and involuntarily, his wandering finger typed two words on the keyboard.
[Read]
Pushing the enter key immediately left him feeling clear-headed and at peace.
There’s no better response!
...
On the other side, at the No. 10 Settlement Point of the Alliance.
Looking at the [Read] reply from the Battlefield Atmosphere Group, Chu Guang laughed heartily and closed the holographic window floating in front of him, placing the holographic computer pen to the side.
"This guy is starting to play with my gags."
Looks like he wants to "get cut"!
But, although he said that, on an honest note, he really hadn’t modified any player’s drop rate.
There are indeed some extremely lucky Exalted players within the "Server", always hitting the jackpot, but the functions used for drawing are truly random, having no relation to him as a planner.
These guys are simply spoiled.
Blame him for an NPC’s death, blame him for a mission failure, blame him when losing small amounts of data, blame him when they can’t relieve themselves.
If you can’t handle it, quit the PVE, go play single-player!
Resting on Chu Guang’s shoulder, Xiao Qi, while scanning the official forum information, suddenly let out a faint sigh.
"... Always feels like a pity."
A colossal entity spanning thirty million square kilometers, encompassing numerous administrative divisions from the Prosperity Epoch, collapsed just like that...
Though not a fan of the Army, yet it saw a shadow of its master from Marshal Julius.
Though he is young now, one day he will age....
The same goes for the Alliance.
It’s an inevitable fate for all organic beings, no matter how much it wishes to stay by his side, until all stars fade, the universe cools.
However, Chu Guang didn’t perceive Xiao Qi’s sigh as being related to such distant matters, merely considering the little spirit on his shoulder to be lamenting the fate of the Army and Marshal Julius.
There’s actually not much to lament.
The train always arrives at the station.
Just like his little players can’t stay forever in the Novice Village playing mud with him.
Or perhaps in a distant future, the familiar Alliance will also turn into something unrecognizable to him.
"Rather than lamenting the disbandment of the Army, it’s more astonishing that this large, distorted beast could last for a century and a half without collapsing, which is more like a miracle."
It was like a monster that had already physically died, its limbs hardly obeying the brain anymore.
The south wanted more land, the west wanted independence, the east wanted to quietly prosper and farm, the north was messing around with who knows what in the Arctic Circle.
By comparison, even the Mongolian Empire similar to it lasted only 53 years, followed by the era of the four great khans.
Reaching to pat Xiao Qi’s head, Chu Guang said in a soft voice.
"... The Army couldn’t accompany the Vellante people for a lifetime, its time was up, that’s all."
Still, it’s genuinely thought-provoking.
For long dominated Alliance society’s mainstream thought, the radical faction, after encountering the conservative elders from Poluo Province, they were educated to doubt their lives by what could be considered performance art, and their thinking gradually shifted to the right.
For over a century having unwavering stood on the far right, the Army, with a foot stuck in the Poluo Province’s quagmire, ended up revealing a mass of leftists.
Fate is truly a tricky thing.
It was at this point that footsteps were heard outside the room.
The considerate Xiao Qi jumped back into the pen holder.
Upon hearing the knocks at the door, Chu Guang cleared his throat and said.
"Come in."
The one who entered was Lu Bei.
The young man wore an excited expression, his right fist resting on his chest as he respectfully saluted.
"Sir, our intelligence system just received news, something happened in Triumph City! Legion Leader Teil of the Southern Legion gave a public speech, angrily accusing the residents of Triumph City of betraying the frontline soldiers and all Vellante people, blaming the Civil Official Group and the Imperial Guard for the death of Marshal Julius, and even forged Marshal Julius’s dying words!"
"The specifics are still under investigation, but one thing is certain, internal conflict broke out within the Army! The Southern Legion’s plan to drag Triumph City into the battlefield has utterly collapsed!"
Listening to Lu Bei’s report, Chu Guang showed no surprise.
He had already learned part of it through the forum, even clearer than what the Guards Corps had investigated.
As for the Southern Legion’s reaction, it was entirely within his expectations.
"Gamblers go crazy when losing, start to play unfair, but considering their current conditions, it seems they can only indulge in inflammatory speech, likely having no spare capacity to advance to Triumph City for ’rebellion suppression’... What about the other corps?"
Lu Bei continued reporting.
"The Western Legion withdrew its fleet deployed in the Poluo Sea, the Eastern Legion is strengthening its forces on our borders, but no further actions... As for the Northern Corps, the situation is still under reconnaissance, but from the intelligence we’ve gathered, there’s no sign of any major maneuver."
Chu Guang nodded.
"The Western Legion is probably preparing for independence, the same likely applies to the Eastern Legion. However, considering our historical animosity, Salen probably worries that we might take advantage of the chaos to attack. We’ll hold our position, avoid provocation, and keep an eye on their border deployments."
Chu Guang had met the Legion Leader of the Eastern Legion, that guy was a very typical oligarchic monarch.
Though cunning, those guys usually have less external ambition than internal.
As long as the internal interest groups aren’t pushing him too hard, he prefers to maintain stability, posing little external threat.
Why gamble when you can silently get rich?
This is evident from them driving Griffin into dire straits, betraying the entire eastern expansion faction.
And now the landlords of the Eastern Legion have already tasted the benefits from trading with the Eastern World, making them even less likely to break the balance between the two sides.
Otherwise, where would they spend all the silver coin they’ve made?
As for the dramatic change in Triumph City, it perhaps plays right into the hands of that Legion Leader named Salen.
Of course, shedding a few tears for the departed Army is necessary, otherwise how would he display his loyalty?
Chu Guang suddenly looked forward to this monarch’s performance.
Hopefully, the "Chief Sir" of the Grand Canyon didn’t miss his invitation..."