Chapter 700: Respected Administrator, When You Receive This Report, the Battle Will Be Over

Chapter 700: Respected Administrator, by the time you receive this report, the battle will already be over.

Just as Killdagger had anticipated, when they launched their second wave of offensive, Chu Guang, far away in Vault 404, had already received the battle report sent from the front lines.

Moreover, the expedition report and the frontline victory dispatch arrived simultaneously.

Fang Chang had pulled a clever trick: the first report was delivered via the Niuma airship, while the latter came through the official mission system.

Gazing at the two reports spread before him, Chu Guang smiled and shook his head.

"These guys really treat me like an NPC, huh."

But it was understandable.

He had always kept his cover well; the players had no idea that besides being the Administrator, he also held the identity of the dog planner.

In other words, long before they sent him this report, he already knew everything—he just hadn't stopped them.

For one, the players hadn't violated the server rules; he had never demanded they all play the saint, only that they mind their boundaries.

For another, the envoy of the Xilan Empire was indeed obnoxious, always arguing with him at the Conclave meetings—a little knock-down was in order.

As for the third reason, the Xilan Empire had struck first.

Though the Alliance rarely stirred up trouble, no settlement had been built without bloodshed—not even Boulder City, which had joined voluntarily.

If someone wanted to test how hard their fists were, let them try.

[Report NO.1: The Xilan Empire's army brazenly entered our warning zone, failed to identify themselves, and opened fire on our forces, intending to provoke a massacre. We have retaliated against their port of origin, Golden Harbor.]

[Report NO.2: Our unit of over five hundred successfully landed at Golden Harbor, routed the city's garrison, and captured the Governor of Golden Harbor!]

Not particularly concerned with the first report, which he had already seen, Chu Guang directly opened the attachment of the second.

To his surprise, he found that Brother Fang Chang had not only tallied the K/D ratio and ammunition losses from the battle but had even catalogued the spoils for him.

Though it smacked a bit of bullying the weak, the battle could indeed be called an epic victory.

The Alliance Army had lost a total of eleven sets of "Type 5 Light Cavalry" and one set of "Type 6 Heavy Cavalry" exoskeletons, with minor injuries among players left uncounted—no combat or non-combat casualties.

As for the Golden Harbor garrison, 1,407 bodies had been counted, along with 316 wounded. Though the supreme commander had not been captured, their unit had been completely annihilated in the fighting.

Meanwhile, the forces stationed in the port district had taken over the harbor guard within a single morning and hastily organized a militia of about five thousand, composed of liberated slaves.

This militia was now stationed with the freed slaves at Lowell Camp, undergoing training under players like Killdagger.

The actual area under the Burning Legion's control amounted to barely a tenth of Golden Harbor, yet that less-than-a-tenth district accounted for over ninety percent of the settlement's total economic output.

Beyond the direct results, the spoils seized in this battle were also considerable.

In the Golden Harbor Bank on Tulip First Street, the vault held nearly 500 million Dinars in foreign reserves!

This money had been earned mainly through the trade in people, livestock, spices, textiles, and basic resources, with over half deposited under the Emperor's name and managed by his appointed governor.

Additionally, there were 30 million silver coins, 9 million Cr, and a number of gold camels and gold lion coins. The former likely came from exporting two-headed cattle and minerals; the latter probably similar, but with low circulation, the reserves were small.

Even so, this foreign reserve was terrifying—if Boulder City Bank had had that much money, it would never have gone bankrupt.

What surprised Chu Guang even more came next.

On the books alone, there were a full 120 billion Xilan coins!

And all in cash!

The figure was so staggering that he initially thought he'd miscounted the zeros, only confirming after several checks that he hadn't misread.

According to player investigations, 10,000 Xilan coins could buy a pig, indicating the currency had purchasing power.

There were too many absurdities; Chu Guang didn't know where to start complaining.

Perhaps the credit business of Golden Harbor Bank could explain this strange economic phenomenon, but Fang Chang hadn't had time to sort through the bank's operations.

Clearly, the players were only interested in the money in the vault.

At the end of the report, Fang Chang summarized:

[... We unanimously believe that unless the current state of Golden Harbor is fundamentally changed—abolishing slavery and the imperial authority there—similar raider attacks will not cease at the root. Therefore, our strategic objectives include not only the trial of the perpetrators but also the Alliance-style transformation of the region.]

Seeing this, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile.

Perhaps catching the smile on his face, Xiao Qi, perched on the pen holder, also showed a cheerful grin and nodded approvingly.

"It seems your little players have grown up."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"Have they?"

"Hmm?" Sensing something meaningful in his tone, Xiao Qi tilted her head to look at him.

After a moment of thought, Chu Guang said in a very soft voice:

"I don't hold much hope that they'll achieve all their strategic goals. I've never tried to fully implement Alliance policies in the Land of Sunset, because our methods lack broad grassroots support there. Ending the wasteland is the natural duty of every vault dweller, but we must also respect the will of the people living in the wasteland."

Unity presupposes respect; equality imposed by force is another form of oppression.

Since the Alliance was taking the path of unity, it was destined that they couldn't bring everyone to the New Era—only those willing to move forward.

Even if one day they fully reclaimed the territories that once belonged to the Human Federation, many would inevitably cling to the old ways of life.

But unlike the old era, where people had no choice and passively accepted unequal fates, in the new era, everyone would have the right to choose and to refuse.

Like the survivors of Singularity City—as long as they promised never to return, they could leave that AI-run "rehab center" anytime.

Chu Guang wasn't very optimistic about the Burning Legion's actions in the Brahmin Province. To some extent, they were repeating the mistakes most vaults had made—trying to preach atheism to people who worshipped the Great Horned Deer God, and building a skyscraper on soil without a foundation.

They hadn't truly made those slaves stand up; the so-called mobilization was more like a disguised pyramid scheme, and the "Avengers" they organized reeked of violent rebellion from the name alone.

This was a riot.

A group of slaves who had lived under oppression suddenly got their hands on sticks that could kill their masters—and sticks bestowed by "gods."

They weren't dying for an ideal; they were dying for a new "god."

What they sought to end wasn't the rules that enslaved them, but to take back what they had lost from others with interest.

If left unchecked, the targets would soon shift from the garrison at Lowell Camp to other poor souls slightly higher on the social ladder.

In fact, he had reservations about whether the players could control this runaway horse.

Pausing, Chu Guang looked at the puzzled Xiao Qi and continued in a gentle tone:

"Of course, it's also possible that my lovely little players' actual intentions don't fully match their stated goals."

Xiao Qi looked at him in surprise.

"You mean your players are lying to you?"

"That's not lying; it's painting a picture," Chu Guang said with a faint smile. "We declared we'd build an ideal city in the northern suburbs of Clear Springs. We led people to do it. Even if we haven't achieved it yet, at least we have a Dawn City now. And if I hadn't painted that picture, there would be nothing here. Just keeping survivors alive—a bowl of green wheat porridge would be enough."

Standing up on command is still standing. They didn't have the luxury of taking it slow, starting from literacy classes in night schools like they did in Clear Springs.

Judging by results alone, they might actually establish formal equality in that settlement, or at least create a vassal that had to rely on the Alliance.

In a sense, they had indeed become mature little players.

They had already learned to use their own methods to deal with him, the NPC, and outsiders.

After a moment's thought, Chu Guang extended his index finger toward the holographic screen and, with a smile, made his annotation on the report.

[...Permission granted to execute military operations within a limited scope at Golden Port. Remember not to actively escalate military conflict, and avoid committing legion-style errors.]

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, preparing to write a third "not," but just then, a third report appeared in his backend mailbox.

This report came through the information submission interface of the official website's task system.

[Report NO.3: Lowell Camp Investigation Report (Part 1)]

Chu Guang opened the report and glanced at the summary, then suddenly shook his head with a smile.

These guys sure know how to stack their own buffs.

Quite interesting.

Guessing that the illustrated second half would likely be delivered via the Ox-Horse Number, Chu Guang temporarily tossed this report into his memo.

Additionally, regarding the first report he hadn't opened, Duke Garava, who was currently "sojourning" in Dawn City, might find it intriguing.

After a moment's thought, Chu Guang looked at Xiao Qi and gave his orders.

"Contact Alliance Foreign Minister Cheng Yan. Tell him to wait for me in my office at the Alliance Building. I'll be there in about half an hour."

Hearing that a task was being assigned to her, Xiao Qi, who had been resting her chin on her hands and swinging her little legs, perked up with renewed energy. She saluted with the Alliance military salute, her chest puffed out with enthusiasm.

"Received!"

...

The next morning, at an inn on the outskirts of Dawn City, not far from the legion's encampment.

Duke Garava was enjoying his breakfast while taking the freshly printed *Survivor's Daily* from the hands of his humble and loyal rat-man servant, Niyang.

Ever since receiving the telegram from Captain Aqim, he had been waking up earlier than the roosters each day, just to be the first to see the headlines of the *Survivor's Daily*.

These past two days, the thousand-man squad led by Chiliarch Diran should have arrived at Fries Port.

Barring any accidents, the airship that docked at Dawn City's Skyport last night should have brought the tragic news from Fries Port.

If the reporters at the *Survivor's Daily* were quick enough, the Fries Port massacre should have already made the front page.

Actually, more than the headlines of the *Survivor's Daily*, he was even more curious about the terrified expressions the survivors of Dawn City would wear upon hearing this sorrowful news.

A settlement of over a thousand people, turned to ashes overnight, all because of a minor displeasure from the Empire.

For these arrogant and weak insolent fools, no lesson could be more fitting.

Thinking of this, Duke Garavan's heart swelled with a sense of vindication, as if a long-sought revenge had been achieved.

Though it wasn't overtly obvious.

After all, considering the Empire's diplomatic image, he couldn't admit that the Empire had done it, but those in the know understood what had happened.

He opened the newspaper and looked at the headline, but froze in surprise.

[New "Crab" Type Underwater Engineering Armor Successfully Launched at Fries Port; Submarine Freshwater Pipeline Advances to Deep-Sea Waters!]

What the hell?!

Steadying himself, Duke Garava frowned displeasedly at Niyang, who stood bowing at his side.

"Did you buy yesterday's paper by mistake?"

He felt like he'd seen something similar somewhere before.

And who cares about this nonsense!

He wanted to see an explosion!

Niyang was taken aback, then said with a wry smile.

"Sir, please check the date. This is today's freshly printed paper. I wouldn't dare deceive you..."

Besides, hadn't you already read yesterday's paper?

Of course, Niyang only dared to mutter this unspoken second half in his mind, careful not to let the Duke hear it.

Realizing he had asked a foolish question, Duke Garava coughed and pretended nothing had happened as he turned to the second page.

Yet no matter whether he flipped to the third, fourth, or last page, he couldn't find what he was looking for in the newspaper.

Impossible...

Duke Garava grew anxious and scanned the paper from start to finish again, but still saw nothing he wanted. He then looked at Niyang and ordered.

"Go buy some more newspapers... and, which paper was it that first reported the scandal about the administrator of Vault 70?"

Niyang immediately replied.

"The Goblin Observer!"

"Yes! That one!" Duke Garava said hastily. "Don't forget to buy that one too!"

Watching Niyang leave the inn's lobby, Duke Garava felt something was off. Suddenly, a flash of realization struck him, and he slapped his thigh.

"Damn you, Chu Guang, you're ruthless!"

The innkeeper behind the counter shot the man an annoyed glance but said nothing, simply lowering his head to continue his work.

The captain of the guard standing behind Duke Garava, Babru, was taken aback and hesitated.

"Sir?"

"Nothing."

Duke Garava narrowed his eyes slightly, his face expressionless, but his mind was as clear as a mirror.

Fries Port had undoubtedly been destroyed. The Alliance must have received the news, yet they deliberately suppressed it and kept it quiet, simply waiting for him to lose his composure and make the first move.

If he truly acted as if he knew, it would be an admission of guilt, linking him to the Fries Port massacre.

"Impressive... truly impressive," Duke Garava stroked the beard on his chin and let out a sigh of admiration. "I underestimated these people."

It seemed the Alliance's upper echelons had some cunning after all, but unfortunately, they were up against this old fox—still a bit lacking.

Watching the Duke mutter to himself, Babru felt bewildered, but seeing that inscrutable smile, he assumed the Duke had made a brilliant move.

These big shots always played their games in roundabout ways, and unfortunately, his mind wasn't as sharp as Niyang's, so he could only admire from the sidelines.

Before Niyang returned from buying newspapers, while Babru was still unsure whether to flatter him, a servant entering from outside saved him the trouble.

"Sir, Mr. Cheng Yan has sent you an invitation. He hopes you can spare an hour to meet him at the Alliance Building before tonight. He wishes to exchange views with you on recent events at Fries Port."

Hearing this, Duke Garava's eyes narrowed sharply, a glint of barely restrained excitement and delight flashing through the slits.

"Tell him I'm busy today. If he truly wants to see me, he can come to my inn. I'll wait for him here."

Hearing this, the servant hesitated but steeled himself to speak.

"...Mr. Cheng Yan specifically mentioned that if you cannot spare the time before tonight, he will consider you unfit to be a diplomat, revoke your diplomatic immunity and diplomat status, and order you to leave the territory within a set period."

To be both accurate and avoid angering the Duke, he had softened the wording as much as possible. In truth, the Alliance Foreign Minister's message was far harsher, using the term "summons" rather than "invitation."

Yet even so, these words were still too grating for the Duke.

"How dare you!" Babru's eyes bulged, startling the servant, who shut his mouth tremblingly and dared not speak.

Duke Garava narrowed his eyes further, a dangerous gleam flickering in the slits.

"Interesting. Threatening me?"

Babru leaned close to him and spoke in a low voice.

“My lord, this could be a trap.”

Duke Garava smiled faintly at this and said unhurriedly.

“That possibility can’t be ruled out, but I am still the representative of the Xilan Empire at the Conclave meeting. If the Alliance wants the conference to continue, they can’t directly do anything to me. In any case, this undignified behavior of theirs shows they’re already desperate.”

“In that case, I’ll go meet them.”

He wanted to see, if he refused to admit it, what means the Alliance had to force him to confess.

He was not standing here alone.

Behind him stood a vast empire.

Having said that, Duke Garava looked at the servant who was bowing and said with a commanding tone.

“Prepare the carriage!”

The servant quickly nodded.

“Yes, my lord!”

……

Alliance Tower, Office of the Foreign Minister.

Staring at the document projected on the holographic screen, Cheng Yan tapped his index finger on the desk, a hint of headache on his face.

The chain of evidence was already complete.

The Xilan Empire, dissatisfied with Fries Harbor harboring refugees from the Moon Tribe, launched a covert military operation against the port. Since the main force behind the attack was a thousand-man unit of the Empire’s elite Gray Wolf Army, and according to reliable sources, only the Emperor himself could command this army, it could be indirectly inferred that the operation was authorized or tacitly approved by the Emperor.

He didn’t know what that Emperor was thinking, but to treat something so important as a game, he felt this “survivor faction” was being somewhat reckless.

Of course, the Burning Legion stationed in Fries Harbor was no pushover either—they actually landed at the enemy’s port and went ashore to make arrests.

What was even more absurd was that they succeeded.

To be honest, this was a bit excessive. At least in Cheng Yan’s view, blockading the port and issuing a warning would have been enough.

But since things had come to this, he could only accept the situation and, from the Alliance’s standpoint, do everything possible to shift the blame onto the other side.

Just then, footsteps echoed from the corridor outside the door.

Catching the secretary’s meaningful glance, Cheng Yan understood, cleared his throat, and put on a serious expression.

At the same moment, Duke Garava stepped through the office door, a carefree smile on his face as he entered.

“Long time no see, Mr. Cheng. What’s so urgent that you wanted to see me? By the way, your desk looks nice—I’ll get one like it later—”

“Duke Garava, find another job.”

Garava froze.

Not only did his steps halt at the door, but the carefree smile also froze on his face.

Thinking he had misheard, he instinctively repeated the words.

“Find another job…”

“Exactly!”

Suppressing his twitching brow and rising anger, Cheng Yan stared at him unflinchingly and continued.

“How about a job like babysitting? I don’t know if you’re good at it, but it’s certainly more suited to you than your current one. Or go back to your hometown and be a landlord—send someone who can solve problems instead of creating them and making jokes. That would be better for everyone, for you and for the others on the wasteland.”

To be honest, before this Duke walked in, he had been thinking about how to communicate with him like a normal person.

But he found that this guy was anything but normal.

Alliance soldiers had already landed at Golden Harbor, and this fellow was still smiling—was his only source of information reading the newspaper in bed?!

Duke Garava’s face turned the color of pig liver, his murderous glare fixed on Cheng Yan, his lips trembling with rage.

“What do you mean? You…”

This man dared to insult him repeatedly!

He dared!

Rage clogged his throat, and in his agitation, Duke Garava couldn’t think of a graceful way to retort.

Ignoring the twisted face, Cheng Yan pointed his index finger at the holographic screen and recited expressionlessly.

“Three days ago, at midnight, an unidentified armed group landed on the coastline five kilometers north of Fries Harbor and launched an unprovoked attack on our garrison.”

Duke Garava’s face suddenly lit up, his anger vanishing like a victor’s, as he narrowed his beady eyes.

Close call.

He had almost forgotten—this was the Alliance testing him.

“So what? What does that have to do with us?”

“What does it have to do with us?” Cheng Yan sneered coldly. “A direct thousand-man unit of the Gray Wolf Army appeared near Fries Harbor—is that your stance?”

“That’s a shameless frame-up,” Duke Garava said without hesitation. “The Gray Wolf Army is my empire’s elite, directly under His Majesty. No one but His Majesty can command them.”

Cheng Yan frowned.

“So this is your Emperor’s will?”

Duke Garava lifted his chin slightly.

“I didn’t say that. I’m just telling you that your port being destroyed… ahem, those incidents at your port have nothing to do with us. If something tragic really happened there, we extend our deepest sympathies.”

Seeing this man who wouldn’t cry until he saw the coffin, Cheng Yan stopped wasting words and tossed a still-warm newspaper in front of him.

Duke Garava instinctively caught it, glanced casually at the paper, but the moment his eyes met the first line of the headline, he stood frozen.

《Xilan Empire Gray Wolf Army Chiliarch Dirang: I Cried, I Just Touched You Guys, and You Chased Me Two Thousand Kilometers?!》

Dirang…

Wait!

How did they know that guy’s name?!

Could it be…

For an instant, Duke Garava felt his heart lurch, as if it had stopped beating, and the scene before him began to spin and blur.

Just as Cheng Yan and the secretary in the office hurried to call an ambulance, a dense crowd surrounded the newspaper stand on the outskirts of Dawn City.

Staring at the sensational headline of the Goblin Observer, the people gathered around the stand all wore looks of disbelief.

“This is way too fake!”

“Two thousand kilometers?! Even an airship would take two days!”

“Brahmaputra Province… isn’t that where two-headed cows are raised?”

“Why would they mess with us?”

“The logic doesn’t hold up.”

“What the hell is the Industry Committee doing! What about the promised news qualification review? What about authenticity verification? How can this kind of trash be sold on the shelves?!”

"Brother, look closely—this isn't news; it's fine with the entertainment label!"

"Interesting, let me have a look."

The crowd chattered in a hubbub, all thinking to treat it as a joke, and one by one they fished out coins to buy a copy, reading as they walked to work.

Finally, he squeezed to the front of the line. Niyang, a young mouse-man, also pulled out a silver coin, bought a newspaper, and gave it a quick glance in his hand.

When he saw the first line of the headline, his sharp, sour face showed not a trace of sorrow—instead, he laughed so hard he snorted snot.

"Hahaha! Serves those worthless bastards right!"

So they've finally come to blows!

His Grace the Duke is a fool, and His Majesty, who entrusted such a fool with heavy responsibility, is even more incompetent yet fond of playing games—just as he had predicted, they've poked a colossal hole in some inexplicable place.

Do it so stealthily that no one will find out?

It's enough to make him laugh!

Even more absurd: the Alliance already has so many exoskeletons they can equip every brick-carrying laborer with a set, their military might so strong they've even defeated the slime mold that the Post-War Reconstruction Committee couldn't handle—and yet these fools still dream of using the Legion's discarded junk to teach these monsters a "profound" lesson.

The only pity is that this report was published as a joke in the *Goblin Observer*, not on the front page of the *Survivor's Daily*.

Otherwise, the fun would have been even greater.

Having read the witty goblin news to the end, Niyang silently lamented what a shame it was.

Barring any surprises, dear His Grace the Duke would probably try to plead the Empire's innocence at the Slime Commonwealth meeting on the slime mold issue, and through his farcical performance, once again make the Empire lose all dignity—even the Legion might start to despise this ally who can't accomplish anything but always makes things worse.

He hoped dear His Grace would never do that; once he got back, he'd have to earnestly persuade the lord.

Niyang ran through all the saddest things in his life in his mind, to hide the inappropriate smirk on his face.

Just then, he noticed the snot stuck to the newspaper, and feeling embarrassed, he fished out another coin to buy a fresh copy from the stand, stuffing the soiled one into the trash bin.

The bad news was already bad enough.

He hoped a clean, tidy newspaper might bring that lord a whole day of good cheer...