Chapter 807: Mammoth City Under the Morning Sun

Chapter 807: Mammoth City Under the Morning Sun

“Woo-hoo! So this is the legendary Mammoth Prefecture?”

On the deck of the Meatball, the short-haired girl lay atop a big white bear, binoculars in hand, excitedly gazing toward the distant land.

The bear she was riding, Meatball, also looked toward the shore with equal excitement, shouting loudly.

“Such a huge port... and a Sesame Paste church!”

“What does that have to do with me...” The cat ears atop her head twitched left and right, Sesame Paste said with a wry smile.

Whenever she felt embarrassed, her ears seemed to have a mind of their own.

Staring curiously at the approaching port, Tail chattered nonstop with excitement.

“Giao! Hey, this place looks just like Silvermoon Bay! Like it was stamped from the same mold!”

“Even the statue on the dock is the same!”

“That’s actually Sesame Paste, isn’t it?”

“How could it be...”

Listening to the commotion, Sisi came down the gangway from the cockpit to the deck, smiling as she spoke.

“Well, that’s a bit of local cleverness.”

From up high, she had already seen the full layout of Mammoth City’s port—almost identical to the busiest part of Silvermoon Bay, and even more beautifully built than the latter.

After all, the latter had been built piece by piece by Silvermoon Bay’s followers, like a pile of blocks set down wherever inspiration struck.

The former, however, had learned from the latter’s experience and mistakes, redrawing the design on a blank canvas.

With the support of the Mammoth Prefecture authorities, it not only absorbed Silvermoon Bay’s strengths but also filled in its shortcomings.

Meatball tilted her head toward Sisi, curious.

“Cleverness?”

Sisi nodded and explained.

“Whether Silvermoon Bay’s merchant ships head to Golden Port or the west of the Central Continent, they all pass along the east coast of Bolo Province. No one would refuse an extra supply point on that route, especially since Mammoth Prefecture itself has a huge population—and population is a resource in itself.”

“The authorities won the trust of Silvermoon Bay’s followers through a series of measures, then leased them land. Those followers built churches, banks, and this port here... In the end, Mammoth Prefecture got a port for free without spending a single coin.”

Before that, the place was just wasteland. No matter how you calculated it, Mammoth Prefecture came out ahead.

Sisi guessed that the authorities had drawn on the experience of Golden Port, since those “rogue” officers had all come from there—they might not have eaten pork, but they’d seen pigs run.

“I see... So this is the legendary win-win.”

Meatball nodded in sudden understanding, but Tail, lying on her back, was thinking of something else.

“Will there be mammoths?”

Hearing that thoughtless remark, Meatball couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“How could there be something like that!”

Tail: “Eep! Then why is it called Mammoth Prefecture?”

Hearing their exchange, Sisi wore a subtle expression and cleared her throat lightly.

“Actually... there are.”

“Huh?!”

Hearing this unexpected claim, Meatball and Sesame Paste both stared at her in surprise.

Tail especially nearly pounced on her, eyes sparkling.

“Really?!”

Seeing that eager look, Sisi nodded gently, recalling clues she’d read in documents, and began to speak.

“I heard that because they were so popular, the research institutes of the Commonwealth revived prehistoric mammoths through genetic engineering during the Prosperity Era, and helped them adapt to the new century’s environment... They usually live on the plateau beneath the Zhuobar Mountains in the far north of Mammoth Prefecture, and only come down to the Tasan River area in winter.”

“Revived just because they were popular,” Sesame Paste said with a wry smile, unsure how to comment. “...The Commonwealth residents really did whatever they pleased.”

Meatball scratched her head, puzzled.

“But wouldn’t that affect Earth’s ecological environment?”

Sisi thought for a moment and said casually.

“During the Commonwealth era, Bolo Province itself was basically a giant zoo... Putting some strange things in there probably didn’t make much difference.”

Besides, the Wasteland Era had already proven that the ecosystem’s adaptability was stronger than humans imagined.

Not to mention mammoths, prehistoric creatures that once existed on Earth—even things like deathclaws, mutants, and centipedes, which were all vicious from head to toe, merely became part of the food chain.

Meatball couldn’t help but sigh.

“...What a crazy era.”

Tail stroked her chin, thinking for a long time, then suddenly blurted out a question.

“Hey, if they made mammoths, why didn’t they make dinosaurs?”

Sisi: “Uh... maybe they didn’t have time?”

Just as the group was talking, the Meatball sounded a long, deep whistle.

The wide cargo ship slowly approached the edge of the dock.

With the efforts of the crew and sailors, the ship was finally moored steadily.

The reality here was completely different from the rumors.

The *Survivor’s Daily* in Golden Port said the place had been flooded into ruins by overflowing rivers, but what they saw were neat brick roads and marble-carved Silvermoon Bay buildings.

The nearby city district had indeed suffered disaster—in the distance, some construction debris and shacks could be seen—but concrete houses had also risen atop the ruins.

Sharp-eyed Meatball soon noticed that those houses seemed to be assembled from prefabricated concrete panels, and the shape of those panels was exactly the same as those in Boulder City.

Farther away, cranes could be seen at construction sites, further confirming Meatball’s guess.

She figured the authorities had used some foreign exchange reserves to import prefabricated concrete panel production equipment and hoisting technology from the Alliance, then used cement and steel bought elsewhere to complete these “corncob buildings.”

Rumor had it that Mammoth Prefecture had a population of ten million, most of whom had previously lived lives worse than livestock, and had recently suffered a flood that affected a third of the prefecture.

It was unrealistic to expect them to move straight from cowsheds into big houses—the Alliance itself had struggled just to feed and clothe a hundred thousand people.

Still, it was heartening that things seemed to be slowly improving here.

Just like Dawn City back then.

Meatball, who hadn’t been very optimistic about Rasi before, felt a slight shift in her opinion.

Maybe these tough officers weren’t as bad as she’d imagined?

It was still too early to talk about equality here; first, they had to make sure the people had enough to eat...

After finishing the cargo delivery forms and a series of other procedures, the group planned to wander around the dock and take a look at this developing settlement, when they unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance.

A man in a gaudy robe was arguing—or rather, quibbling—red-faced with several uniformed people.

Translate into English:

"I'm clearly selling frozen livestock! On what grounds are you imposing a fur tariff on me?"

"Bullshit," the man in uniform sneered, unceremoniously. "Is mink fur growing on pigs? Go find me a pig that grows mink fur!"

Mogavi's face turned red.

"You just haven't seen it! How dare you say it doesn't exist in the wasteland? In Baiyue Province... there are plenty of such strange things!"

The man in uniform rolled his eyes, his expression as if to say, "You're insulting my intelligence."

Just then, a pleasant voice jumped in from the side.

"Oh! Really? But why hasn't Tail seen any in all the time she's been there?"

"!!!"

"Anything else to argue?" The man in uniform looked at Mogavi with a mocking smile, but the latter stared wide-eyed as if seeing a ghost, incredulously looking at the bizarre trio and a bear.

"...Sisi? Tail?"

Tail stared at him for a moment, finding him vaguely familiar.

And at that instant, a distant memory clicked, and she exclaimed in delight.

"Oh oh oh! You're that fur seller!"

Thunderstruck by her words, Mogavi nearly choked on his own saliva, coughing several times before recovering.

"What do you mean 'fur seller'! I have a name, you know!"

"Hehe, sorry, I forgot!" Tail scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

The men in uniform immediately followed his gaze, visibly tensing when they saw the big white bear, but only for a moment.

Especially when they discovered the white bear could talk, they actually relaxed their taut nerves.

What strange things didn't happen in the wasteland?

One talking bear was no big deal.

As long as they could communicate.

"Are you... customs officers?" Walking up to them, Sisi glanced at their uniforms and asked curiously, "By the way, what are you arguing about? Mind if we grab some popcorn... uh, I mean, mind if we know?"

The lead customs officer glanced at Mogavi beside him and said with a cold laugh.

"This guy wrapped pork in mink fur and declared it as livestock products, trying to exploit the grain import tax exemption!"

Mammoth Prefecture was desperately short of foreign exchange, and these profiteers were trying to steal the silver coins that overseas laborers had scrimped and saved from their pockets!

If the higher-ups hadn't ordered them to "appeal to emotion and reason" with these foreign merchants, they wouldn't be wasting so many words here—they'd have used rifle butts long ago!

Rourou looked at the crestfallen Mogavi in surprise and couldn't help saying.

"Damn, that's really shady of you."

Mogavi knew he was in the wrong but still argued.

"What's it got to do with me... It's their own rules that have loopholes."

Sisi subtly averted her gaze.

"...That said, I think you're going a bit too far."

Shouldn't he be slipping some money in a situation like this?

But judging by how flustered he was, he'd probably tried and been rejected.

The commotion near the dock quickly drew attention, and within minutes a large crowd had gathered on the street.

Just then, an old man who looked about forty or fifty, accompanied by two young men, walked over. He was about to ask what was happening when he spotted several familiar figures in the crowd.

"What's going on—Sisi?!"

Seeing the old man's surprised expression, Sisi and her group also looked taken aback.

"...Are you Yaxi?"

"You remember me!" The old man stepped forward excitedly, gripping her hands tightly. "Long time no see!"

Sisi smiled and shook his hand back, giving it a firm squeeze.

"Yeah, long time no see."

This man was one of the elders of the Moon Tribe Resistance.

Back when the White Bear Knights rampaged through Golden Gallon Port, it was this old man, Yaxi, and other Moon Tribe members who resolutely stayed behind, giving up the chance to escape by boat to the rescued women and children, thus giving rise to the Moon Tribe Resistance.

Although this resistance fought many clumsy battles and later became an "experience pack" for warlords to repeatedly farm, objectively speaking, the fact that they dared to stay and fight the regular army was already an impressive feat.

The old man was so emotional that tears and snot flowed, stunning the young newcomers beside him.

"Everyone misses you so much... By the way, how is Granny Sangru's health?"

"Oh! She's in great shape! Last time I saw her, she drank a whole bottle of beer!" Tail replied energetically.

Hearing this, the old man's face lit up with a relieved smile.

"That's good... It seems they're all living well. I'm relieved."

Then he looked at Mogavi standing nearby, then back at Sisi, and asked.

"And this... is he a friend of yours?"

Sisi's face showed a subtle expression. Ignoring Mogavi's pleading eyes, she said.

"Sort of... but even so, I hope you won't go easy on him because of our relationship. Handle it according to your established rules."

After all, robbing the poor was too much.

Seeing that his old friend wouldn't help him, Mogavi panicked and started playing the sympathy card.

"Oh! How can you do this... I helped you back then! Have you forgotten?"

Sisi looked at him impassively.

"That's a different matter... And even then, it was a fair exchange—did we ever shortchange you?"

Hearing this, Mogavi's face fell, and he could no longer come up with any excuses.

Seeing all eyes on him, he raised his hands in surrender and said resignedly.

"Fine, I surrender, I'll pay... I'll make up the tariff, okay?"

The young customs officer looked to his superior, Yaxi, who nodded solemnly.

"Issue him a receipt. Since it's his first offense, we'll waive the fine, but the tax must be paid in full!"

"Yes!" The young man nodded, then pulled out a form and tossed it to Mogavi with a smirk. "Thank our director, and don't try any tricks next time."

Mogavi shot him a fierce glare, said nothing, took the receipt, and hurried away.

Seeing that the excitement was over, the crowd dispersed.

Turning to his benefactors, whom he hadn't seen in many days, Yaxi's stern expression instantly vanished, and he said warmly.

"Do you have any plans next?"

Sisi glanced around.

"We were originally planning to look around here, see if there were any investment opportunities... Ah, right, we were also thinking of heading to the customs office."

Yaxi's eyes lit up, and she immediately suggested, "Perfect timing, you can just follow me! Mammoth City has tax exemptions for imports like production machinery, improved crop seeds, grain, and medicine. I'm the one in charge of this area, so I can give you an introduction."

"Then we'll gladly accept your offer."

Sisi cheerfully accepted the old man's kindness, as she was indeed eager to learn more about this settlement. On one hand, it was her travel habit; on the other, it was a task assigned by Manager.

According to reliable intelligence, the Legion was trying to use Mammoth State, a powder keg, to pressure the Alliance and obstruct the Alliance's push for the space elevator agenda at the Commonwealth meeting.

The Alliance certainly couldn't stand by and watch the Vellantians pull tricks right under their noses. But before formulating specific countermeasures, the Alliance first needed to understand the situation in Mammoth State.

And this glorious yet easy task naturally fell to them, who were conducting business near Mammoth State.

Accompanied by Yaxi, the group headed to the restroom of the Mammoth City Port Customs Office.

It wasn't until they sat down in the restroom that they learned this kindly old man was actually the Director-General of the Mammoth State Customs Administration!

Tail widened her eyes in surprise, staring at the old man and exclaiming, "Good heavens, you've become such a big official!"

Caught off guard by her astonished gaze, Yaxi felt a bit embarrassed and quickly explained, "I wouldn't call it a big official; this position isn't as grand as you think... Mammoth City's port only recently opened for trade, with monthly imports and exports totaling around a million silver coins. The entire customs administration has just over forty people, not even enough to fill a platoon."

Saying this, Yaxi looked a bit wistful, shaking his head. "I used to command a battalion, and if it weren't for being sidelined by Rasi's cronies, I wouldn't have been sent here to retire."

Hearing this, Tail, Meatball, and Sesame Paste—the two humans and the bear—exchanged glances.

Getting sidelined to become the head of customs... Wait, could this really be called being sidelined?

Apart from commanding fewer people, it seemed like a promotion by any measure!

Sisi's expression was also a bit subtle as she cleared her throat and changed the subject. "I heard there was a flood here before. We brought some grain and medicine this time... How's the disaster situation here?"

"The flood was from autumn. The Empire scorched the earth in Mammoth State and blew up the embankment of the Tasang River... Luckily, the embankment wasn't very high, so it didn't cause too much damage. We plan to build a new one with a wider irrigation range and even generate electricity."

When talking about the flood, Yaxi's eyes flickered, as if reluctant to dwell on the topic. He focused on how smoothly the post-disaster reconstruction was going, glossing over the losses caused by the disaster itself.

This should have been a perfect opportunity to play the victim.

Though Sisi felt a bit puzzled, she didn't think too much about it and continued, "What about the plague? No outbreak, right?"

Major disasters often bring epidemics, and that was her main concern.

But Yaxi shook his head, easing her worries. "No, we quickly got the situation under control... There were some patients at first, but we isolated them and mostly cured them."

This differed from reports in the Survivor Daily, but such discrepancies were inevitable. After all, most residents of Golden Port sympathized with the Moon Tribe Resistance and hated the Empire for oppressing all peoples, even organizing donations for the Resistance.

A regional media, while fulfilling its duty to report the truth, also reflects the consciousness of its audience. Objectivity is always relative; even the Survivor Daily in Dawn City can't achieve absolute objectivity.

Hearing that the local situation was relatively stable, Sisi nodded in relief. "That's good... Looks like our worries were unnecessary."

"How could they be unnecessary? It's just that things might not be as dire as you imagined."

Yaxi laughed to lighten the mood and continued, "And thanks to your help, we've recovered so quickly. Lately, many Alliance merchants have come to set up factories here, especially Mr. Lister. The houses he built for the workers make me envious! Don't laugh at me, but my own roof still leaks, while Lister's factory workers are already living in apartment buildings!"

Sesame Paste looked surprised. "The houses we saw at the port were built by him?"

Meatball also muttered in astonishment, "That guy is actually that generous."

Sisi wasn't surprised at all and said softly, "Merchants who've been through the great upheaval in Boulder City tend to follow the rules. That's nothing strange."

Tail nodded solemnly. "After all, those who don't follow the rules either go bankrupt or disappear."

Watching the three humans and one bear chatting in a language he didn't understand, Yaxi cleared his throat and continued, "Though I can't speak for the Mammoth State authorities, as someone who has received your help, I sincerely hope you can stay here a while longer, so we can have a chance to host you."

"But during your stay, I suggest you stick to the Silver Moon Church's parish. If you must leave, try not to head southwest—especially near the front lines. Recently, the Gray Wolf Army got their hands on some weapons, and their attacks are getting fiercer. We've taken quite a few losses on the front."

Meatball looked at him with concern. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Yaxi smiled warmly. "Don't worry. We've already weathered the hardest days! Now that we finally have our own base, it won't be any harder than it was back then."

As he said this, his eyes shone with hope and pride.

Clearly, even though he resented Rasi for "sidelining" him from the military, he had no complaints about Mammoth State's development—in fact, he praised it often.

And Rasi, despite looking down on the old guard of the Resistance, hadn't crushed them entirely after gaining power. Instead, he placed them in the "cabinet."

Whether this was a promotion or a demotion, or whether he was just putting on a show for the benefactors in Golden Port and Fries Port—and the Alliance behind them—at least he was relatively tolerant of dissent.

In that regard, this warlord was already far better than those in Tiger State and Leopard State, who didn't even bother pretending.

After thinking it over, Sisi concluded that someone else might not have done better than them.

That evening, the three humans and one bear checked into a hotel near the customs office.

Yaxi not only warmly hosted them but also covered all their food and lodging during their stay in Mammoth State, even politely assigning four female soldiers as bodyguards and guides.

After logging off.

Having just eaten a hearty meal online, Sisi didn't feel hungry at all, but she was a bit hypoglycemic. She walked to the fridge, opened a can of cola, then returned to the living room to pick up the laptop she'd tossed on the sofa the day before.

Sitting cross-legged in front of the coffee table, she bit the straw, pondered, and typed away, completing the 2,000-word "investigation report" the Manager had requested.

It included her observations on the local development potential and cultural landscape, as well as her first impressions of the Rasi administration.

[... It's hard for me to judge whether the Mammoth State authorities are a competent governing body, considering they've only been here for a few months. While the locals don't speak ill of Rasi, it's difficult to say whether that's because their lives couldn't get any worse.]

But objectively speaking, they are indeed doing something, and are willing to spare their meager resources to make life better for the people here.

My report does not constitute investment advice, but I am indeed considering expanding the White Bear Knights Bank's operations to this area.

]

Before I knew it, that two-thousand-word report had turned into a ten-thousand-word essay.

Once I realized this, it was too late to change it.

Si Si read the report over and over again, but couldn't figure out which line to delete, so she simply gave up on revisions and copied the entire ten-thousand-word report as it was.

Later, she would also post this report on the forum to share with anyone interested.

"Finally done..."

Having accomplished her task, Si Si stretched lazily and leaned back comfortably on the sofa. Only then did she feel the emptiness in her stomach, and she reached out to rub her sunken belly.

This game had one thing that really annoyed her.

Even though she had already eaten in the game, she had to eat again after logging off.

Especially when she ate too much in the game, she had no appetite at all after logging off. This feeling of being both hungry and not hungry was simply torturous!

Although she knew the damn game designer probably wouldn't see it, and that guy had never replied to her emails, she couldn't help but sit up again and slip two lines of "personal commentary" under the report sent to the NPC.

[...If the esteemed game designer could see this, could you please design a game pod with life support for Wasteland OL? I believe it shouldn't be too difficult for your company, and most players would definitely be willing to pay for it.]

[Eating two meals in a row is just too much. At this rate, I feel like I'll starve to death in bed sooner or later...]