Chapter 1059: The Curtain of the Past Is the Prologue of the New

Chapter 1059: The Curtain of Yesteryear Is but the Prologue of a New Age

Applause, whistles, cheers, and shouts—the voices of the crowd resounded across the entire square.

No one conducted.

No one incited.

And those surging waves of sound were echoes from the depths of every heart!

They had conquered the wasteland!

They had conquered their former selves!

Each of them was the dawn that dispelled the long night, the sun rising from the horizon!

“Long live the Alliance!!!”

“Long live the New Era!!”

“To unity!!”

“To the survivors!!!”

“To every one of us!!!”

The resonance of that stirring voice ignited the fervor in every heart, even General MacLennan, standing in the stands, could not help but want to join in, yet out of political considerations, he merely gave a light clap.

Unlike the stiff Eastern Empire officers, the people from the Corporation mostly carried no idol baggage.

Especially Yi Chuan, standing nearby, who even involuntarily shouted along.

“Awesome—!”

He had learned that word from the players.

Though he hadn’t known its meaning at first, after using it often, he gradually grasped its usage.

The Thousandman of Symes, clapping politely, glanced at this fellow, subtly turned his eyes, exchanged a look with MacLennan, and whispered.

“Isn’t this guy from the Corporation?”

“They’re all like that, no need to be surprised.”

MacLennan replied softly, paused for a moment, and added his own view.

“Besides, cheering for the New Era is really no big deal—it’s good for everyone, including the Vlandians… just my opinion.”

Ignoring the bewildered look from the Thousandman of Symes, MacLennan ended the topic with a pointed remark.

In truth, His Majesty Saren might not care about their performance at this grand event.

After all, without that monarch’s tacit approval, the reformist faction he represented, which sought to learn from the Alliance, would never have emerged.

That lord was a truly wise and capable emperor; he did not strangle the progressive forces of the Eastern Empire to preserve his supreme power, but found a balance between those progressive forces and the conservative ones.

Yet that was precisely the problem.

Most Vlandians deep down could not accept overly radical changes—at least those Vlandians who had chosen the Eastern Empire could not.

Even within the reformist faction, what they admired more were the Alliance’s orbital weapons and land-based naval guns.

They still needed some time.

But General MacLennan believed that time would not be too long—at most three generations would suffice.

As long as he managed New Westport well enough…

Just as MacLennan was thinking this, two pairs of eyes from not far away were fixed unblinkingly on the direction of the Eastern Empire delegation.

The owners of those two pairs of eyes were the representative of the Brahman Kingdom and the representative of the Mammoth Kingdom.

They stood on opposite sides of the stands.

One pair regarded it as a model with prostrate worship, while the other looked upon it as a demon with heartfelt contempt.

Worship had its reasons, and contempt had its reasons.

In a sense, the Vlandians were like a mirror, reflecting the divided spirit of the survivors of the Brahman Province.

Of course, the reverse was also true—the Brahman people were likewise a mirror for the Vlandians.

They were like two sides of a coin.

Even if the vast majority on both sides rarely noticed it.

Unlike the Legion and the Corporation, the representatives of the Academy were far more composed. Li Ke and Yang Kai, standing in the stands, both wore an air of calm and ease, as if everything was under control.

And indeed it was.

As a neutral force in the wasteland, their behind-the-scenes schemes had largely succeeded, without sacrificing the interests of any survivor faction.

The most cunning conspiracies were generally like this.

They and those they had used did not become enemies, but instead became friends with aligned interests.

Thus, they could safely leave this planet; if they met again in the millennia to come, they might even become allies renewing old ties.

Of course, there had been some debates within the Academy recently, such as whether to continue the plan from two hundred years ago.

And the Conclusive Doctor’s instruction on this was: let those who wish to stay stay, and those who wish to follow him follow.

That was the best outcome.

That ark sailing toward the future could never have accommodated everyone anyway; this way, it was also a way to give an account to those who remained…

The surging waves of cheers still echoed in layers.

Unlike the varied expressions in the stands, the joy expressed by the crowd in the square was far more uniform.

Wrench, shouting “Long live the Administrator,” flushed red with excitement, without any airs of the First Army Commander of the Alliance.

That fervent look was just like the first time he stood before Chu Guang, chest puffed out, shouldering a wooden stick—

‘Wrench, 006, sir!’

He remembered to this day that it was the first time he had truly spoken face to face with the Administrator who had saved him from the raiders.

That lord had never looked down on him for his humble origins, buried in the dust, and had even made him captain of the guard.

From that moment on, he had resolved in his heart to follow that lord for life—

Even though, under that lord’s teachings, they no longer demanded virtue solely through “loyalty,” nor used the word “lord” to address him.

It wasn’t just Wrench.

Lü Bei was the same.

Including the senior officers of the Second Army, Third Army, and the General Staff, as well as all members of the Guard Corps.

Most of them had followed Chu Guang from long, long ago, even before the birth of the Alliance.

Apart from the wastelanders saved by Vault 404, many among them were former captives of the former.

For instance, Vanus.

Once, he was a traditional Vlandian officer, with RDX flowing in his veins, prepared for war from the moment of birth, never doubting the jungle law of the strong preying on the weak that the Legion had instilled in his mind since childhood.

Until he used bricks he had fired himself to build a not-so-pretty house with his own hands—only then did he suddenly realize that the world was not just the parts he had seen; in places he could not see, there lived countless ordinary beings.

They are the very foundation upon which the world stands.

If the vast majority of an entire civilization cannot attain the most basic equality, then the privileges of the few are but castles in the air floating atop a heap of refuse.

It was from that moment onward that his life gained a new ideal.

Compared to the mansions, gold, and fine wine he had long since grown weary of, he yearned far more to see what a more equal new world might look like.

And that person indeed did not disappoint his expectations, truly showing him a new era he had never witnessed before—

Every day to come, for him, was worth anticipating…

It was not only Vanus who thought thus, but also another radiant figure standing amidst the crowd not far away.

That fiery red hair, like autumn maple leaves, cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall.

Gazing at Chu Guang standing beneath the monument, Xia Yan’s eyes held three parts joy and admiration, while the remaining seven were emotions she herself could not name.

Unlike the others, including Xiaoyu and Pai, she held no great longing for the new world; the motive driving her efforts was not some grand goal, but merely a desire to help him.

After all, she had eaten so much of his food—by all reason and sentiment, she ought to do something in return.

And the debt of that leg…

From childhood to adulthood, she had been alone, living a mercenary’s life day by day. Had there been no accident, she would likely have perished silently in some forgotten corner, like most mercenaries of Boulder City.

In truth, she had come close to that path, especially after losing a leg, when she abandoned all hope for the future.

Yet just when she had given up on herself, that person did not cast aside her self-abandoned self. He only half-jokingly told her, “If you don’t study hard, I’ll throw you out.”

Of course, he never once did so, never followed through on those repeated harsh words. Instead, after the hardest times had passed, he sent her and Xiaoyu, still in their schooling years, to Camp 101 to study.

Looking back now, that was likely the first ray of light she had seen in her dark life…

So much so that sometimes she could not help but wonder: if her father were still alive, would he have been as stern and kind as him?

Though it was a bit different from the future she had imagined, having learned and grown at Camp 101, she ultimately became a better version of herself.

She had never thought that she, who once could not recognize a single character, would have the chance to become an engineer and, alongside other engineers, design the Alliance’s first self-developed power armor.

Every day to come was worth anticipating, even if she had no particularly lofty ideals.

“Thank you…”

“I hope I’ve been of help to you.”

Not far from her side, Alisa’s face flushed red with excitement, shedding her usual demure and refined demeanor as she clapped her hands, reddened from joy.

She had finally awaited this day.

After the collapse of the Inner City’s towers, she once again witnessed the arrival of a new epoch—

This moment was exactly as she had envisioned the future.

The survivors outside Boulder City, after liberating Boulder City, had at last themselves welcomed a glorious liberation.

Henceforth, they would no longer distinguish between one another.

And not only in Clearspring City, but all those who united would be the same.

By the time everyone realized it, that unforeseen future had already arrived unbidden.

She was genuinely happy for him from the bottom of her heart.

Not only Alisa, but also Xiaoyu beside her was equally stirred with emotion.

That little girl, once skin and bones, had grown into a graceful young woman.

She never expected Brother Chu to remember things from so long ago; she couldn’t help but cover her mouth.

Yet even as she tried to restrain her overwhelming feelings, a shimmering layer of tears involuntarily veiled her eyes.

“Hopeless, hopeless… this one’s been brainwashed,” muttered Pai beside her, shaking her head in resignation, watching Xiaoyu, whose eyes were full of “Brother Chu,” and could only offer a helpless jab.

But still—

No wonder the wastelanders of this land regarded him as a god on earth.

When she thought about it, he was right.

Most shelters either botched things up and blamed their subordinates for poor execution, or they adapted to the wasteland, holing up in a corner for comfort.

Truly, few were like them, burning themselves again and again.

Then again, others couldn’t do it either, could they?

Of course, even so, it could not be denied that they had accomplished something remarkable.

This legendary experience might well become the stuff of some great epic—