Chapter 741.2: Day In The Life Of The Coalition's Mascot

The office fell silent once more and eventually, the researcher who had remained seated at the computer glanced at his standing colleague. "Isn't that much silver a little too much?"

He couldn't shake the feeling that even if the man were given 50,000,000, he would probably waste it all.

Perhaps it would have been better for the money to disappear in a way that served a more meaningful purpose. Maybe they should establish some sort of wealth management fund and market it to these people who became rich purely through luck.

He had actually proposed such an idea to his superiors and unfortunately, the proposal had been rejected.

The researcher who had been handling reception was thinking about something entirely different. Smiling, he replied, "Not really. Meissner-effect armor... If we can actually get our hands on that thing, adding another two zeros to the price would still be a bargain."

Whether measured by economic value or military value, it was absolutely worth that much.

The New Alliance currently possessed two shield technologies, but both the directional shield and the nitrogen powered shield had their own weaknesses.

The former, for example, was poor at dealing with slow-moving and guided weapons. Since its operating principle relied on manipulating gravitons, and because the technology itself had been relatively new even during the Prosperity Era, it consumed enormous amounts of energy.

The latter, meanwhile, struggled against high-velocity projectiles and high-energy particle beams, and could only function in standard atmospheric conditions.

Meissner-effect armor was entirely different. Its specialty was specifically countering metallic weapons.

Since most armor-piercing weapons relied on alloy materials, especially the electromagnetic projectiles widely used during the Prosperity Era, it could fairly be called the nemesis of hard-core penetrators.

To put it simply, suppose both a directional shield and Meissner-effect armor were powered by the same capacitor and energy system, the shield might stop one or two electromagnetic cannon shots while the armor could stop three or four.

It was said that during the Three Year War, some Federation naval captains would even consider shutting down their directional shields and activating the more efficient Meissner-effect armor when facing dense kinetic fire from rebel mass drivers, increasing their fleet's overall resistance to metallic projectiles.

If properly utilized, the technology might be influential enough to alter the course of a war.

Based on the limited intelligence available, even the Enterprise might not possess that technology!

The researcher at the computer spun a pen between his fingers and shrugged. "I suppose that's true. I just feel that giving him that money serves absolutely no purpose. You saw him yourself. He doesn't deserve that much wealth. In other words, the item is worth that much, but the person who found it isn't."

If it had been a resident of Shelter 404, he probably wouldn't have objected. Those people genuinely risked their lives to earn their rewards, venturing into the most dangerous places in the wasteland, unlike that clueless farmer, who had become rich simply because he got lucky.

After hearing him out, the researcher handling reception merely smiled. "Meaning, my friend, never say that. 'Meaning' is one of the least reliable concepts there is. If you insist on evaluating every action based on whether it has meaning, you'll eventually conclude that nothing has meaning."

The researcher at the computer looked up. "What do you mean?"

Walking over to the coffee machine and pouring himself a cup, the receptionist replied causally, "It means that the closest relative of pragmatism is nihilism. People's likes and dislikes change constantly. Today you think he doesn't deserve it. Tomorrow you'll think nobody deserves it. That's why we establish rules that cannot be interpreted ambiguously and ensure they are enforced impartially. Even if those rules become outdated one day, they should only be changed after thorough discussion, not according to your judgment or mine."

Those words had come from Yin Fang during the Scientific Expedition Team's third internal conference.

The man truly deserved his reputation as elite talent from the Academy. Whether it was research or administration, he excelled at both. Rumor had it that the New Alliance's entire scientific research and archaeology system had been built by him from the ground up.

To be honest, the receptionist greatly admired Yin Fang, especially after learning about his legendary past.

The researcher at the computer shrugged and lazily tapped the screen, selecting the next lucky individual on the waiting list. "I'm not interested in that kind of thing. I just want to finish this work and get back to the laboratory to do something meaningful."

Holding his coffee, the receptionist laughed. "You have to complete the required administrative credits. It's meant to familiarize you with the Scientific Expedition Team's operational procedures. I only have one month left. You've got three. Hang in there."

...

In the Guardian Manor Military Base.

Inside the Coalition Commander's office, Chu Guang used the dedicated shelter communication line installed by the Southern Construction Corps to call Yin Fang again and listen to the complete story.

After learning what had happened, his mental state was roughly equivalent to discovering a Eureka notification for Giant Death Robots from a tribal village while playing Civilization VI.

He was bewildered, but yet somehow, it also felt strangely reasonable.

Collecting himself, he immediately asked, "Where exactly was this thing found?"

Yin Fang could easily guess what Chu Guang was concerned about and chuckled, "Don't worry. I've already arranged for your fellas to investigate the area around those coordinates."

Hearing that, Chu Guang nodded, a smile finally appearing on his face.

It seemed Yin Fang had thoroughly mastered the art of using players. The guy no longer needed Chu Guang personally guiding him every step of the way.

However, Chu Guang soon found himself growing curious about what the nearly intact Wanderer tank actually looked like. If he hadn't only arrived at the front lines a few days ago, he would have immediately boarded an airship and gone back to see that Prosperity Era war machine with his own eyes.

Seeing the impatient look on Chu Guang's face, Yin Fang took a sip of coffee and continued with a smile, "... Honestly, I never expected that coalition of yours to stumble across something this interesting. A Wanderer tank equipped with Meissner-effect armor is far rarer than power armor. The Federation only built a handful of them in total. Any surviving units with production serial numbers were recovered by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee over a century ago. I'd guess only the Army and the Great Rift Valley still have any."

Chu Guang asked curiously, "The Academy doesn't?"

Yin Fang shook his head. "Not that I know of. I don't think they've ever acquired a complete Wanderer tank. That said, given their technological reserves, replicating Meissner-effect armor itself wouldn't be particularly difficult. Of course, as you know, Helium-3 is incredibly scarce, so as far as I can remember, only a few senior researchers' research vessels were equipped with similar defensive systems."

There was a deeper meaning in Yin Fang's voice when he said that, almost as though he were offering advice.

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

Indeed.

Helium-3 was a major problem.

Even during the Prosperity Era, the world still possessed enormous untapped mineral reserves. There were even the Wasteland Era's unique garbage mines, as well as offshore mineral deposits that had once been protected from exploitation as ecological reserves before the war.

Helium-3, however, was carried by the solar wind. Thanks to the magnetic field and atmosphere, the planet contained only trace amounts of it.

To obtain it, one had to mine the Moon, Mercury, or somewhere similar. Otherwise, the only option was digging up the graves of the Prosperity Era.

Because of Helium-3's unique nature, every administrator in the wasteland inevitably faced a difficult question whether or not to use Prosperity Era advanced technologies.

The New Alliance had once relied on wood-burning generators for a period of time. Those devices obviously couldn't compare to fusion reactors, but they were still far more convenient than solar power systems that required dedicated energy storage.

Back then, Clearspring City had no shortage of wood, making fuel acquisition incredibly easy. They had even mounted the same generators onto trucks.

However, there was a fatal problem. Limited by energy density and efficiency, wood-fired generators could at best support technologies from the middle to late Atomic Age.

Not only were they incapable of powering Prosperity Era black technology, they couldn't even reliably keep propeller aircraft in the sky.

Had the New Alliance continued relying on traditional energy sources, it would probably still be competing with Boulder Town for survival resources today and never achieved its later development.

Yet adopting more advanced energy sources introduced another risk, the unsustainable nature of Helium-3 supplies.

As a result, the Enterprise, Academy, and Legion had all chosen completely different approaches regarding how to allocate their limited helium-3 reserves.

The New Alliance was no exception.

Whenever Chu Guang made a decision, he had to weigh not only the pros and cons within individual fields such as politics, economics, military affairs, science, production, and culture, but also consider whether the New Alliance's strategic reserves could support it from a broader perspective.

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