This Game Is Too Real-Chapter 776: Abundant Spoils of War!

After the fall of Charles’ authority, the residents of North Island had already made preparations for winter, but to their surprise, the days ahead were not as bad as they had imagined. Instead, the situation slowly started to improve.

Of course, there was no need to mention the Naval Forces of the Southern Alliance, as they were originally family and naturally would not make life difficult for the island’s residents.

The discipline of the Alliance Army was something rarely seen in the Wasteland. Not only did they not disrupt the local citizens’ lives, they even lifted the curfew and war-time rationing system that had been in place during Charles’ regime.

On the streets near the port district, people who had hidden in their homes for several days had finally finished their stored food, driven by hunger, they gradually returned to the streets.

Although the new order after the war had been announced on the radio and via wireless several days before, not everyone believed what was said in the broadcasts, thinking it was the rebels who had taken over the radio station.

Information warfare was a common practice during the war, and with Charles’ authority enforcing strict curfew measures, most people lived in a cocoon of information, not daring to leave their homes or even peek out the window.

Although the new authorities had told them the war was over, it wasn’t possible to forcibly pry their rooms open and drag them out.

From a cost standpoint, that clearly would not be economical, and with so many tasks at hand, they temporarily didn’t have the resources to attend to those still living in the past.

After all, Charles’ regime had collapsed and a new order had been established. Those still living in the past would sooner or later come to terms with reality.

And as the last of the people returned to normal life, when they cautiously made their way to the streets and saw that the supermarket had actually reopened, almost everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"Strange, the supermarket reopened?"

A skinny middle-aged man muttered quietly, suddenly remembering something, he rushed back home, ignoring the surprised looks of his wife and children, rummaged through his belongings to pull out a large stack of bills and stuffed them into his pocket, then hurried to the supermarket with a scavenging plastic bag.

Since Charles’ authority had implemented the war-time rationing system, Federation Currency within the territory of the North Federation had become worthless paper, unable to buy anything, and the supermarkets had closed due to lack of supplies.

Now seeing the supermarket reopened, he immediately took out all his savings, hoping to exchange them all for milk powder, bread, and canned food, fearing that if he was too slow, they would be sold out.

But when he rushed through the doors of the supermarket and saw the dazzling array of products on the shelves, he stopped in his tracks as if seeing an illusion.

The crowd queueing for shopping noticed him, but only spared him a glance and said nothing.

These days, it was common to see such people.

Everyone had gone through those hard times, so no one really had the heart to mock him.

The man’s throat bobbed, he walked quickly to the shelves.

Looking at the digits on the price tag, he held his breath, his heart pounding fiercely. Without looking, he scooped a bunch of items into his plastic bag and then hurriedly went to queue up.

When he reached the cashier, he grabbed a handful of bills from his pocket and placed them on the counter.

The cashier behind the counter saw the crumpled pile of bills, sighed with a look that said "I thought so," and pointed to a sign on the counter.

"... What you’ve got there is Federation Currency. Look carefully at the tags on the shelves, we only accept silver coins here."

Silver coins?

The man was stunned for a moment, his face gradually reddened, and he stammered for a long time before he managed to say a word.

"I don’t have any silver coins. What do I do now?"

The cashier said patiently,

"Then go find some work to do. There’s an assistance station from Home of the Refugees at the port, where you can fill out a job application form and receive relief grain. When a job is arranged for you, someone will notify you. Also, some larger hiring units will prepay a month or half a month’s salary. There are also services to help apply for subsistence loans. You might want to ask around, my job was arranged by Home of the Refugees."

The man quickly thanked her and hurriedly left the supermarket.

He used to work in import and export trade. Maybe he could find a job to support his family at the port or with the Baiyue Corporation...

...

With the cancellation of the war-time rationing system, items like iron pots, kitchen knives, bread, and grains, which were previously unseen, reappeared on the supermarket shelves.

Of course, these items didn’t just grow on the shelves.

Some were produced in Luo Xia Province, some processed in Silver Moon Bay, and others came from Jinga Lun Port.

These goods completed their production stages in their respective places, were first transported to Potato Harbor for shipment, and then uniformly distributed to the resource-scarce Northern Islands, offered for sale on the shelves priced in silver coins.

In addition, Home of the Refugees set up assistance stations on North Island, distributing relief grain and registering the professional skills and educational backgrounds of unemployed residents to introduce them to jobs, reducing their wait time for employment, and so on.

The Ocean Current Power Plant needed to be rebuilt, as did other facilities on North Island, and there were plenty of places in need of workers.

Especially for technology-intensive positions, there were more jobs than people available.

The only downside for the local residents was that the Federal Currency issued by the federal authorities had gone from nominal useless paper to truly worthless paper.

Although inflation from the Northern Islands had been spiraling out of control and rationing was announced, from that moment on, the currency had already lost most of its function, but at least it still had a smidge of purchasing power.

As for now, with the collapse of the Federal Authority, even the legal sense of purchasing power had vanished, using it as toilet paper would only chafe one’s backside.

The South Sea Union is planning to issue a new local currency to ensure that the economy can operate normally.

However, at the current stage, since each settlement in the Southern sea area is highly dependent on the input of resources from the Union, and the new authority is operating with loans from the Alliance Bank, everything from public expenditure to material procurement is temporarily settled with silver coins.

At this moment, at the military port of North Island, a construction team from Potato Harbor is repairing the damaged facilities, especially the gantry cranes installed on the wharf and the automated loading and unloading equipment.

And not far from the dock, there are two large cargo ships loaded with containers waiting to be unloaded.

Standing on the edge of the harbor, Mr. Chaning squints his eyes as he gazes upon the seaport ravaged by war, chatting casually with Commander Li Minghui standing beside him.

"...This is what happens when soldiers get involved in politics, the stronger the execution, the greater the destruction. We must not follow the old path of the North Federation, don’t you think, Mr. Li Minghui?"

Two weeks had passed since the end of the civil war, and it was now mid-October.

During that period, Li Minghui visited the City of Dawn, meeting with the Manager of the Union as the wartime president of the South Sea Union, a discussion that was said to have lasted three days.

This matter was not only of high interest to the outside world but also to the representative assembly of the South Sea Union itself.

Although the South Sea Union, like the Union, has separate systems for local affairs and central affairs, as the highest local official of Ring Island, Mr. Chaning had neither the intention nor should he interfere in the power struggles of the central affairs of the South Sea Union, but there was one thing on behalf of the residents of Ring Island that he had to speak out.

Leaning towards the Union did not go against the interests of the survivors in the southern sea area, but if their general became the new Charles in the process, all sacrifices would have been in vain.

Hearing the probing tone in Chaning’s voice, Li Minghui suddenly laughed out loud.

"What a coincidence, my thoughts are the same as yours. It’s better for professionals to stick to their work, and people like me are more suited for outmaneuvering others on the battlefield."

After a pause, he continued.

"After the war with the Torch is over, I will resign from the position of wartime president, returning all powers to the representative assembly that stands for all survivors of the Southern sea area... That’s where it rightfully belongs, no one knows better than them how to proceed into the future."

Looking at Chaning, who was surprised, Li Minghui smiled faintly and said,

"Don’t be so shocked. I’m just resigning from the position of wartime president and returning command of the army; I didn’t say I would disappear completely. Ha-ha, if you don’t mind my command capabilities, I will continue to serve as the Naval Commander."

In fact, before talking to Captain Weike, he had hesitated more than once.

However, after seeing that guy’s madness, the last spark of ambition in his heart was also extinguished.

Charles wasn’t like that before, nor was Weike... they had once been incredibly eager for the future of the survivors in the southern sea area. No one wished for the people here to lead better lives more than they did, to genuinely end the wasteland of this sea area.

But once the madness begins, it never stops.

In order to overthrow the rule of Shelter No. 70, they turned a blind eye with selective blindness, allowing the Torch Church in, and then began to spin lies to coerce the dubious and blind followers.

As the chips on the gambling table increased, they went further and further down the wrong path, and without exception, all became devils in the end.

And in the late stages of madness, they were even willing to burn down two centuries of the survivors’ hard work in the southern sea area rather than admit their mistakes.

Those who became mad and those who indulged the mad all went to hell, and now the button to end this cycle was in his hands. With a single press, he could become a hero.

This was too good a choice.

Just as the gentleman from the City of Dawn said to him, indulging in personal gains was just a momentary pleasure; only by doing something that would last forever could one truly become immortal.

Looking at the composed Li Minghui, Chaning, caught off guard, respectfully nodded to him.

"...The survivors of Ring Island will be grateful for your choice, and I believe the survivors of the southern islands will feel the same."

Looking at the thriving port, Li Minghui, with a relaxed smile on his face, said,

"Ha-ha, too kind! That’s what I should be doing anyway!"

...

At the same time that the reconstruction work was underway, the Alliance and the South Sea Union were also concurrently carrying out the inventory work on the "legacy" of Charles’ regime.

Below the building of North Island Heavy Industries, two Chimera Armored Cars were stationed at both the front and back doors, and they stayed that way for a full two weeks.

At first, the employees working there were a bit scared, but later, when they realized that those being taken for talks were all high-level executives, they calmed down and didn’t think much of it.

Especially since their salaries had switched from Charles’ food vouchers to silver coins, and they were paid quite handsomely, most employees had no more complaints.

Except for those who had designed weapons for the Mutants.

Charles once pinned his hopes on arming the Mutants with technology from the Era of Prosperity to narrow the gap in ground forces between the North Federation and the Alliance, so he ordered North Island Heavy Industries to set up a separate Mutants’ equipment research and development department.

These devices not only appeared on the battlefield of Shazhou Island but also in small numbers on the northern front and even the battlefields of Yue Ma Province.

So when they received the meeting notification, from the project managers to the engineers responsible for the specific designs, none of them could help shaking with fear.

However, what surprised everyone was that the Alliance people didn’t give them a hard time.

Standing in the conference room, Fang Chang looked at them and said,

"...the South Sea Union does not intend to pursue your responsibility, after all, you are civilians who have been coerced. Our position on this issue is consistent; we prefer to pursue the primary responsibility of the decision-makers and the secondary responsibility of their accomplices, rather than those who have been dragged along."

Hearing these words, whether it was the Company’s executives or the grassroots employees, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Given the choice, of course, they would not have wished to design weapons for the Mutants, but with Charles’s gun pointed at their heads, they had no other options.

Watching the relieved staff, Fang Chang paused and then continued,

"However, from now on, your department is to be disbanded, and you will be transferring your current projects and data to a new institution to collaborate with Huge Rock Military Industry for the production of ’anti-Mutant’ weapons."

"Of course, those who are unwilling can go through the resignation process or apply to be transferred back to their original departments. We will not coerce you into doing something against your will like Charles did. The war with the Torch Church is certainly important, but we also respect your choices."

The Alliance has no Mutant soldiers and naturally does not need to develop weapons for Mutant use.

No one was surprised that a department which should never have existed in the first place was being disbanded.

However, after hearing the arrangements that followed, everyone started whispering to each other.

Fang Chang did not continue speaking but gave them ample time to discuss.

At this time, an executive raised his hand and, with Fang Chang’s nod of approval, spoke up.

"Excuse me... do we need to move to Giant Stone City to live?"

This was the question of utmost concern to him and the engineers and experts under him.

After all, they were not refugees but had their own families, social, and societal relationships in the area.

Moving to a new settlement meant adapting to local customs and living conditions, which would affect all sorts of things, including their children’s education.

Understanding their concerns, Fang Chang smiled upon hearing the query and replied in a gentle tone,

"There’s no need for that. Our signal towers will soon extend over North Island, followed by undersea cables. Communication between the Alliance’s settlements will only become more convenient. The new institution will still be located on North Island, with cooperation mainly through online communication and regular exchange meetings."

After hearing this promise, people finally relaxed, and faces brightened with joy.

The salary offered by the restructured North Island Heavy Industries remained very generous, and if possible, they certainly hoped to continue with this work.

Moreover, contributing their knowledge and strength to a just cause from now on would also ease some of the guilt they felt for having designed weapons for Mutants.

"Then, I decide to stay!"

The manager who asked the question was the first to raise his hand, and seeing this, the others also raised theirs.

"I will too!"

"And add me to the list! After all, other than designing equipment, I’m no good at any other work."

The core layer of the entire department numbered thirty-five people.

Excluding three who applied for a transfer back to their original departments and two who requested resignations, all of the remaining thirty managers and engineers accepted the terms of the transfer to the new department.

The entire process went very smoothly, and after finishing one meeting, Fang Chang quickly picked up the next list, preparing for the next one.

During Charles’s reign, by concentrating the limited resources and productive capacity on the war through administrative means, he integrated the industrial facilities left on North Island from the time of Shelter No. 70 and established a large military industrial enterprise called "North Island Heavy Industries."

This thing was like a replica of Huge Rock Military Industry, even more exaggerated, with production lines covering all areas including sea, land, and air.

This included the LB-1 jet fighter, anti-aircraft missiles, anti-ship missiles, and the "Short Snout Crocodile" amphibious armored vehicle, and the exoskeleton assault rifles equipped by the Federal Navy’s Marines, all produced by this company’s workshops.

Such a concentration of the industrial chain is almost unimaginable in reality, given that even the chips used in missiles are not a problem that a single company can solve.

But for the Survivor Forces that inherited some of the technology of the Era of Prosperity, producing equipment from the old era was far from difficult. Many indispensable components and production processes from the old era could find very good substitutes.

For example, carbon-based semiconductors, which fundamentally overturned traditional silicon-based semiconductors, and this was just one technical detail.

It’s like if ancient people spent eighty-one days forging a divine weapon, it still might not cut as well as a modern stainless steel kitchen knife, whereas modern people wanting to craft a divine weapon used by the ancients could simply throw a steel ingot onto a lathe "for a bit," and that would be it, albeit perhaps lacking a "soul."

Charles authorities’ industrial strategy was difficult to judge as either good or bad, but it certainly made it easier for those who came later to burst gold coins.

The audit agency commissioned by the Alliance had completed all the accounts in just 7 days and came up with a more scientific "spoils of war recovery plan."

The first thing the Alliance needed to do was to dismantle the massive North Island Heavy Industries and convert some of the excess capacity for civilian use, while incorporating the other capacities into the Alliance’s production system to become a part of the industrial system of the Alliance.

Simply put, it meant transforming North Island Heavy Industries, which could make anything but only made do, into three or more specialized industrial bases.

That is, let those who build ships focus on how to make better ships, those who make amphibious equipment study how to make amphibious equipment, and those who design guided weapons concentrate on designing guided weapons.

As for researching exoskeletons, rifles, planes, tanks, etc., the Alliance already had a large number of excellent military industrial enterprises specifically responsible for the R&D of these devices, and the production departments under North Island Heavy Industries just needed to think about the parts.

This was partly due to the need for resource consolidation and partly due to strategic needs.

After joining the industrial system of the Alliance, the residents of North Island would live a better life than before, thanks to advanced production methods.

But if they were to be detached from the industrial system of the Alliance, they would also live worse than before.

While Fang Chang was holding meetings with the employees of North Island Heavy Industries, Old White led a group of people to the warehouse of North Island Heavy Industries.

This space was exceptionally spacious, as big as a soccer field, with all kinds of heavy equipment parked in the middle.

A small part of it was something they had seen on the battlefield, such as the "Short Snout Crocodile" armored car with two different types of gun towers, such as the infantry landing craft that had appeared on Shazhou Island.

There were also some they hadn’t managed to see, such as the main battle tank that stood 4 meters tall.

It had a thick 120mm gun barrel, and the cabin was so spacious that it didn’t seem designed for humans.

Killer Dagger went to the side of that tank, jumped on the turret, and glanced inside the hatch, coming to the conclusion.

"This thing is almost certainly designed for mutants."

Kidney Fighter scoffed.

"What’s the use without air supremacy? It’s a sitting duck on the battlefield."

All the good names are taken by dogs shook his head and said slowly.

"That might not necessarily be true, it depends on which battlefield it’s on. The northern front definitely has no use for it, but the southern front might be a different story. If the Federal Fleet could seize control of the sea, then indeed our planes couldn’t make it over there, and using power armor to fight this thing would still be a bit tough."

For example, in terrain like Shazhou Island, if you gave the mutants a few tanks, it would be difficult for them to be stopped with just some individual equipment.

After coming down from the turret of that tank, Killer Dagger walked over to a square metal frame.

Seeing the humanoid armor in the center of the metal frame, his face immediately showed an expression like he had discovered a new continent.

"Holy shit, power armor?!"

The back of the armor had an interface for a nuclear fusion battery.

Judging from the shape and design details of the whole set of armor, it was undoubtedly a replica of the "Dragon Rider" power armor, exactly like the one Old White was wearing.

Seeing that the big boss of the Burning Corps finally let go of the tank designed for the mutants, the technicians following him quickly said.

"Sea Lion Powered Armor... This is an experimental model replicated by North Island Heavy Industries based on the blueprints of the Dragon Rider Power Armor! We’ve made improvements to the motor equipment, and in the absence of Helium-3, it can use deuterium-tritium as fuel... but we really don’t have the resources to build a heavy water plant, so the development of this armor was shelved."

Listening to the technician’s introduction, Kidney Fighter couldn’t help but marvel.

"Damn... There’s really no shortage of good stuff here."

Killer Dagger couldn’t help but nod.

"...It’s a good thing this federation is on a small island. If they had a continent or a few more resource-rich islands, this civil war could probably last until the Game server shuts down."

All the good names are taken by dogs, however, seemed unimpressed, just curling his lips and saying.

"More than just fancy stationery."

Does it matter if the equipment is flashy or not when on the battlefield they are blown up one after another?

Old White, who had been silent, laughed and patted the technician’s shoulder lightly.

"With us, you won’t have to worry about those problems anymore. We have enough resources, whether you want to build a heavy water plant or something else, we have the conditions for it. You just need to keep working on this project."

It wasn’t just the "Sea Lion" power armor; that tank for mutants could be slightly modified and put to use as well.

Including the latest model destroyer that was nearing completion in the shipyard, the gold coins exploded out by Charles were indeed not few.

This victory could truly be described as a bountiful harvest!