Chapter 522 The "Biological Laboratory" On Floor B6 Is Open! (1/2)
The penultimate day before the celebration.
The devouring process went surprisingly smoothly and was completed in one night.
Xiao Yu, who stepped into the brood nest, has integrated with the sea of slime mold and became the new queen who dominates the brood nest.
The sea of slime mold was rolling like a boil, and every cell was cheering for its new owner.
As the control of the brood changed hands, the murderous scarlet color faded a bit, becoming less ferocious with blood and more pleasing to the pink.
That guy has been fighting against the shelter for two hundred years, and has evolved extreme outer space survival capabilities in an almost vacuum environment.
Give it enough time and space, and it might even be able to kill that guy in the center of Qingquan City, and with the widest self-limitation, it can develop into the largest brood nest on the Central Continent.
But maybe it knew in its heart that those humans would not let it out. Even if it swallowed the little guy, what was waiting for it was just the next round of attacks.
If you interpret that little guy as a signal of "reconciliation", it's not unacceptable.
This war has been going on for two centuries. Those short-lived guys can't live long, but their descendants are endless... These guys can't be eliminated at all.
Then let's do it together.
It’s tired anyway…
…
"Ugh!"
"Ugh!"
In Shelter No. 404, there was a noise of "beep babbling" at the door of the computer room on the B6 floor.
Looking at the group of light red "humanoid slimes" crowded in front of the door, Luo Yu was dumbfounded and felt like his head was buzzing.
One, two, three...good guys, ten? !
He counted a circle and was stunned.
Which one is Xiaoyu?
"Strictly speaking, they are all Xiaoyu's fruiting bodies." Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Heya, standing aside, explained concisely, "The fruiting bodies have no separate consciousness, and all slime molds share a common unity. Consciousness, so you can also understand that... they are all Xiaoyu. "
Looking at the "little feathers" that kept rubbing against him, Luo Yu touched their heads and looked at Heya with a dumbfounded look and asked.
"That is to say...they are clones that share the same consciousness?"
"Yes, you can understand it that way."
"But...how do they communicate?"
"Of course, just like us, we communicate by sound," Heya glanced at him strangely, "Isn't this how you always communicate with it?"
The slime mold from the desert does not have the ability to release spores on a large scale, and it has abandoned that method of information exchange over a long period of evolution.
Instead, like humans, they use their voices to communicate.
Luo Yu was stunned for a moment.
"Then if they leave the sound range, wouldn't they..."
"It will be dormant," Heya looked at him and asked, "Isn't the mother body of Lost Valley the same? The fruiting body is dormant most of the time, unless it is actively awakened by the voice of the mother body, and the two parties communicate through sounds of specific frequencies."
"Outside the influence range of the sound wave, the fruiting body will probably continue to execute the last command of the mother's nest. When all commands are executed, the fruiting body will either return to the mother's nest and resume life, or it will sleep and wait in place."
Luo Yu recalled it carefully.
It seems true?
Although he has no memory after the nuclear explosion, according to Taiwei's description on their official website, the mother body following the white pigeon - which now seems to be the fruiting body of the mother's nest - seems to have summoned it with a single shout. A Titan infested by slime mold.
Later, the plane Xiaoyu sent to help him also crashed shortly after the order was executed...
But if that's the case, doesn't it mean that Xiaoyu can only stay in the shelter on the B6 floor for the rest of his life?
After all, the sound cannot reach the shelter——
"It's very simple," Chu Guang, who had been silent as he looked at the noisy little guys, said, "Just install headphones and microphones on them."
His understanding is that Xiaoyu evolved with the assistance of humans, so its functions are not perfect and require the help of humans as "hosts".
For example, help them spread sound farther.
This is actually a good thing.
If Xiaoyu does not have to rely on human tools and can complete all aspects of life activities by herself, the symbiotic relationship will be weakened.
After listening to Chu Guang's words, Luo Yu was stunned on the spot.
Holy shit?
Can it still be like this?
This was probably the first time that he felt that the NPC was more imaginative than him...
Heya glanced at Chu Guang in surprise, with approval in her eyes.
"Hey... This is indeed a good idea. If they cannot complete the conversion of radio to sound waves by themselves, they cannot lose control because they are out of our control."
Chu Guang nodded.
"The mother nest of controlled evolution must be under our control, and at the same time, we must try our best to prevent it from differentiating into new mothers...especially mutant mothers."
Heya nodded thoughtfully.
"Indeed, so we have to control the number of fruiting bodies... How about ten?"
The mother body is accidentally born from tens of thousands of fruiting bodies. As long as the number of fruiting bodies is reduced, new mothers can be effectively prevented from appearing.
However, it is not possible to completely prohibit the production of fruiting bodies.
Both extreme options, laissez-faire and complete ban, do not meet the needs of the alliance.
He needs Xiaoyu to replace other, more aggressive slime molds with limited fruiting bodies, and in the process deepen his symbiotic relationship with humans - finding a path that benefits both.
Chu Guang will select some players appropriately to cooperate with it within a limited range.
"Just ten, he can't stand more."
It makes a lot of noise every day, and it's annoying.
Chu Guang looked at Luo Yu.
"You go back first, I will arrange surgery to help them install headsets... so that they can move outside the shelter."
Luo Yu said with a touched face.
"Thank you..."
Chu Guang's face showed the smile of an old father.
"You're welcome, and please continue to take care of it."
Slime mold cannot eliminate humans, and vice versa.
Even the Human Alliance in the Prosperous Era could not eliminate all mosquitoes, flies, and cockroaches on the entire planet, let alone slime molds that are far more difficult to deal with than these things.
The Postwar Reconstruction Committee has tried for half a century, and there is no need for him to step on something that has been proven to be a pit by his predecessors.
If it is objectively difficult to eliminate, it is more materialistic to reduce its risks as much as possible and eventually make it harmless.
Xiaoyu, born by coincidence, has the potential to be "domesticable" and "nearly harmless". This thing is like the brain slug in "Stellaris". It looks a bit scary, but if used properly, it may become a good buff.
The mother nest is on the B6 floor of the shelter.
Even if there is a problem, it can be controlled in the shortest time.
Chu Guang looked at Heya who was standing beside him.
"I'll leave the follow-up research to you."
Heya's eyes flashed with interest. This is exactly the area she is interested in.
"No problem! Leave it to me with confidence!"
...
"Wasteland OL" official website:
[Part of the "Biological Laboratory" on the B6 floor is open: "Slime Symbiont" Buff is now available]
[Slime Symbiont: "Slime Symbiont" can be regarded as a special biological prosthesis. It is essentially the fruiting body of the B6 layer mother nest and does not have self-awareness. Players who implant the symbiont will have their recovery ability increased by 100%~500%, and will gain the ability to keratinize and alienate some of their body structures, which will last forever. After death, the BUFF will be reset, and the used symbiont will be deleted and needs to be applied again. 】
【Note 1: Since repairing wounds will cause some somatic cells in the injured area to be replaced by slime mold cells, each injury will increase the degree of "sliming" and cannot be removed by surgery. The experience value growth rate will decrease as the degree of sliming increases. When the sliming exceeds 50%, no experience will be accumulated, and the save function will be closed. In addition, in order to avoid making your own NPC feel uncomfortable, if the sliming reaches more than 50% or the body is alienated beyond common sense, it is mandatory to wear full protective armor or clothing when entering and leaving public places in the safe zone. Refer to "NPC Bachi". 】
【Note 2: This BUFF is usually only open to players, and requires the contribution level to reach citizen and the sequence level to reach LV10 or above. 】
【Note 3: Slime mold has no concept of gender. Xiaoyu's mind is still a child. When accepting a symbiont, please do not express strange wishes to it. In addition, even if the symbiont cannot establish direct communication with the mother, please do not use it to do strange things. 】
Tail: "!!! Wait, that means... as long as the symbiont is implanted, it is possible to turn into a tentacle monster!? (✪ω✪)"
Sisi: "Calm down, Wei, you will scare Rourou like this."
Roushan Damomo: "(shivering)"
Aoao Zhimahu: "Ahaha... I feel that if it is Wei, turning into a tentacle monster won't be too scary."
Tail: "Huh?! Why?!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"
Aoao Zhimahu: "Because I don't think Wei will hurt others... Why do you seem a little disappointed? 0.0”
Sisi: “Emmm…Based on my understanding of Awei, maybe you are the first person Awei wants to play a prank on.”
Aoao Zhimahu: “???”
Tail: “Hey! (///ω///)”
Sisi: “A little disappointed. (Slanting eyes)”
Tail: “Wow, but it’s too hard to scare Si!!!”
Sisi: “…Ah, so scary, I can’t move.”
Roushan Damomo: “Too perfunctory!”
Tail: “Really? Even Rourou can see it It will definitely turn out like this in the end!"
Aoao Zhimahu: "Ahahaha...hahaha..."
WC Zhenyou Mosquito: "Gagaga, the era of goblin technology has finally arrived! (smirk)"
Ye Shi: "If it was a mosquito, it would probably be caught by the guards on the spot. (funny)"
WC Zhenyou Mosquito: "Damn! How dare you look down on me! Wait, I'll turn into a tentacle monster and tie you up first!"
Ye Shi: "Fuck! Don't mess around!"
Debt Big Eyes: "Brother, you're playing too much. (funny)"
Construction Site Boy and Brick: "Hahaha! I'll take a picture for you!"
Fountain Commander: "Why do you all assume that you will definitely turn into a tentacle monster... I'm just curious about one thing now. After living in symbiosis with slime molds, will you still be attacked by the fruiting bodies of other slime molds?"
Midnight Killer: "If you won't be attacked, can't you go to the city center alone?! (Excited)"
Canyon Fleeing Mole: "It should be possible. Mutated slime mold is just a general term. Different bacterial communities will prey on each other and absorb each other's genetic material. Hasn't this been verified on Bachi?"
Commander Quanshui: "I see... It seems that it's not that easy to fix the bug, haha."
Fang Chang: "I think even if there is no verification, logically speaking, Aguang is unlikely to let you have such an obvious bug. (Funny)"
Edge scratching: "Symbiosis with slime mold will lead to experience loss... Is this based on the settings of alien players?"
Fang Chang: "I feel like it's more like referring to bionic prosthetics. Didn't I mention it in the previous update announcement? Excessive use of bionic prosthetics will lead to slower growth in gene sequence development, in other words, less experience. However, the 50% statement is a bit general, and I feel that the impact of different sequences should be different.”
Kuangfeng: "Hmm... I personally feel that if the intelligence system is not equipped with brain implanted crystals, the use of robotic arms will not only have no experience debuff, but will also gain a small amount of intelligence system experience bonus due to frequent brain nerve overload. . The same is true for slime mold. If symbiosis does not affect the brain, even if the slime mold becomes more than 50%, the sequence progress can still be accumulated and saved. "
Quit smoking: "Holy shit! The intelligence system has been enhanced to an epic level?!"
Kuangfeng: "It's just a theoretical enhancement. Who knows in practice? Anyway, I can't accept biological prosthetics...it feels weird. (Squints)"
Fang Chang: "+1, I am quite satisfied with my current character, there is no need to stack BUFFs."
Ye Shi: "You are afraid of scaring your Dolly. (Funny)"
Fang Chang: "I don't deny that although the symbiont is different from the general fruiting body and there is no real-time information exchange with the mother nest, it still feels weird to have an extra piece of something that does not belong to you. If you are interested, you should ask. It’s better if you’re single. (Squints)”
Ye Shi: "MMP! This can also torture a dog, right!!!"
Elf King Fugui: "I vomited!"
Irena: "I'm the only one wondering if it tastes good. (Funny)"
Luo Yu: "Zhuo! What do you think my Xiaoyu is! (angry)"
WC really has mosquitoes: "Hahaha! Now everyone's Xiaoyu! (bad smile)"
Luo Yu: "%￥#x-on:!"
…
The research on mutant slime mold is only one of the many affairs of the alliance. There are more important things waiting for Chu Guang to deal with at the moment.
For example, money issues.
There is never a war that does not cost money, especially when the opponent is the Legion.
The alliance's supplies have never been interrupted from beginning to end, not only because the company helped with transportation, but also because the alliance was willing to spend money on logistics.
During the war, the alliance produced nearly 300 Type I and II tanks, nearly a thousand "Electric Mule" transport trucks, dozens of "Dragonfly" transport aircraft and nearly a thousand W-2 attack aircraft.
This does not include the ammunition consumed and the light weapons produced. These vehicles alone are enough to carry the entire population of the alliance!
The production of these equipment consumes not only resources, but also a large amount of the alliance's financial budget.
It is precisely because of this that the league's financial deficit has reached a rather alarming figure...
After handing some of the permissions on the B6 floor of the shelter to Heya, Chu Guang followed the schedule that Xiao Qi helped him make, and went to the conference room of the Alliance Administration Building to summon Charlie, the president of the Hongshang Trade Union, and the director of the Finance Department.
In the very early reforms, the Alliance established twelve departments including internal affairs, industry, economy, diplomacy, etc.
The Ministry of Finance is one of them.
Like other departments, all personnel in this department are recruited through examinations.
Among them, the objective questions are probably at the level of high school mathematics. This knowledge will be taught in both full-time schools and night schools for workers.
As for the subjective questions, some of them were copied by players from the Internet and voted on, and some were copied by Chu Guang from the Internet according to his own needs.
He does not need these people to be very proficient. It is enough that they can learn mathematics well, respect natural science, have a materialistic spirit and general common sense.
In fact, it is said to be the Ministry of Finance. In fact, the entire department currently only has one office, and there are less than ten people including the clerks who organize documents.
On the one hand, there are currently not many people in the league who are qualified for this job, and on the other hand, there really are not that many people needed.
Audit-related work, financial revenue and expenditure, and budget statements of various departments are mainly completed by AI. The staff of this department are mainly responsible for cooperating with Chu Guang's macro decision-making, improving decision-making details, and making some more specific adjustments based on his opinions.
The nature of the department's work is closer to that of a secretary than a decision-maker.
And this is indeed the case. Some specific decisions were even helped by Elder Charlie, the president of the Hong Merchants Union.
Although the latter is not an experienced economics expert, after all, he has been dealing with merchants in the wasteland for so long and has dabbled in warehousing, logistics and industrial production. He is still more professional than the rookies recruited through these exams. Some.
If the old man didn't want to bother anymore and just wanted to run the Merchant Guild well before retiring, Chu Guang would have originally planned to let him serve as the finance minister of the alliance.
Looking at Chu Guang entering the conference room, Minister Sun Ruicai's expression was obviously much more nervous. He held the manuscript in his hand and stood up from his seat with a loud noise.
Compared with old Charlie sitting next to him, he is undoubtedly much younger and has very little qualifications. He had only worked as an ordinary employee in the mint before.
Before receiving the appointment letter, he didn't even think that he would be selected. He just saw everyone taking the exam and tried it himself. Unexpectedly, he got the first place in the exam.
Since he has never had work experience in a management position, he often worries that he is not qualified for the job, so he has always been careful at work for fear of betraying the trust and cultivation of his managers.
However, no matter how careful he was, he could not change the deficit on the financial statements.
That thing was automatically calculated by AI, and there was not even a little room for modification.
Before the meeting started, he was already prepared to be scolded by the manager.
However, the development of things was beyond his expectation. The manager did not blame him, but gave him a comforting look.
"Sit down and talk. Don't be so nervous. I have an idea of the financial situation...I'm here today to solve the problem."
"Yes, sir."
Seeing Chu Guang's elegant and easy-going expression, Sun Ruicai breathed a sigh of relief, loosened his grip on the manuscript with his index finger and thumb, and slowly sat back on the chair.
Seeing that the young man had regained his composure, Chu Guang continued.
"let's start."
"Okay!" Sun Ruicai nodded quickly and read from the manuscript, "According to the summary results of various departments, the alliance's fiscal deficit this year has reached 1.17 billion silver coins, of which military expenditures are as high as 900 million, accounting for 76.9% of the total budget..."
1.17 billion!
For an alliance with a total population of less than 200,000, this number is actually quite terrifying.
This is equivalent to each alliance resident being burdened with a debt of 5,850 silver coins, which equals 487.5 per month, which is even more than the alliance's legal minimum monthly income of 360 silver coins!
Of course, the account cannot be calculated like this.
Chu Guang knew very well that at least 70% of the fiscal deficit of 1.17 billion silver coins was remuneration paid to players, and at least half of this remuneration returned to him through "technology exports."
This income is not included in the financial report because the "technology export" is carried out in the name of the shelter collective, and the funds will be temporarily deposited in the collective account of Shelter 404.
Including the construction of player save points, the operating expenses of save points, and the payment of salaries to NPCs who work for players, etc., are all drawn from this account.
When the accounts are settled at the end of the year, most of the money will enter the alliance's treasury in the name of "Shelter 404 Donation."
Although he has two hands on both sides, it is still not good to use the alliance's treasury to benefit the residents of the shelter.
Even if no one says anything now, it can easily create hidden dangers in the future.
As the size of the alliance increases day by day, many things that could be done casually in the past will have to be gradually formalized in the future.
According to the data provided by Xiaoqi, including the repayments at the end of the year, the final deficit of the alliance treasury is about 600 million.
This number is not small.
But compared to 1.17 billion, it is still much smaller.
Looking at Chu Guang who was deep in thought, Charlie coughed slightly and said.
"...The war puts too much pressure on finances. Although you bring back a lot of loot from the front line, it is difficult to directly convert those things into money, especially such a large amount."
After a pause, he continued.
"...This is just our internal debt. This is actually okay. All it takes is a word from you to start the money printing press. The more troublesome thing is the external debt. Take the debt of Boulder City as an example. You first borrowed it from Boulder City. 200 million chips, just for this amount, the principal and interest that need to be repaid by the end of the year will be as high as 5 million. "
"In addition, we have successively borrowed some medium and long-term debts, and the total debt scale has reached 500 million chips. The total principal and interest that need to be repaid by the end of the year has exceeded 10 million chips."
When he said this, Charlie pressed his wrinkled brow with a slightly troubled expression.
There were things he had wanted to say a long time ago.
That is because the alliance spends money too fast!
In order to make this respected manager realize the seriousness of the problem, he unconsciously increased his tone.
"If you don't plan to wipe out this debt completely, or use our Cr reserves and Boulder City Bank trading chips... I suggest starting today to adopt a more conservative fiscal strategy. At least for the next three years, we have to tighten our belts We need to do everything we can to reduce the debt before the industry we invest in produces enough returns.”
"Otherwise, the foreign exchange earned from export trade every year will be used to pay off debts. Apart from printing money and watching silver coins become less and less valuable, I'm afraid we can't do anything!"