This game is too real.

Chapter 522 The "Biological Laboratory" on the B6 floor is open!
The penultimate day before the celebration.

The devouring went smoothly, and it was completed in one night.

Xiao Yu, who stepped into the brood, has already merged with the sea of ​​slime molds, becoming the new queen who dominates the brood.

The sea of ​​slime mold is boiling, and every cell is cheering for a new master.

With the change of ownership of the brood, the scarlet color of killing has faded a little, with a bit less ferocious blood, and a bit more pleasing pinkness.

That guy has been wrestling with the shelter for 200 years, evolving extreme outer space survivability in a near-vacuum environment.

Given enough time and space, it might even be able to kill that guy in the center of Qingquan, and develop into the largest brood nest on the Central Continent with the widest self-limitation.

But maybe it also knows in its heart that those humans will not let it out, even if it swallows that little guy, what awaits it is the next round of attack.

If that little guy is understood as a signal of "reconciliation", then it is not unacceptable.

This war has been going on for two centuries. Those short-lived guys don't live long, but their descendants are endless... These guys can't be wiped out at all.

Then let's go together.

It's tired anyway...

……

"Eep!"

"Eep!"

No. 404 shelter, the entrance of the computer room on the B6 floor was full of "babbling" noises.

Looking at a group of light red "humanoid slimes" crowding in front of the door, Luo Yu was dumbfounded and felt his head buzzing.

One, two, three... boy, ten? !

He counted a circle, and the whole person was dumbfounded.

Which one is Kohane?

"Strictly speaking, they are all the fruiting bodies of Xiaoyu," Heya, who was standing aside, explained succinctly, seeing the confusion in his eyes, "the fruiting bodies have no individual consciousness, and all slime molds are a shared unity." Consciousness, so you can also understand it as...they are all Xiaoyu."

Looking at the "little feathers" who kept rubbing against him, Luo Yu touched their heads, looked at Heya dumbfounded and asked.

"That is to say...they are clones that share the same consciousness?"

"Yes, it can be understood that way."

"But... how do they communicate?"

"Of course it's the same as us, communicating by voice," Heya gave him a strange look. "Haven't you always communicated with it like this?"

The slime mold from the desert does not have the ability to release spores on a large scale, and it has abandoned that way of information exchange during its long evolution.

Instead, like humans, they use voice to communicate.

Luo Yu froze 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 in the Lost Valley the same? The fruiting body is dormant most of the time, unless it is actively awakened by the mother's voice, and the two parties communicate through the sound of a specific frequency."

"And outside the range of influence of the sound waves, the fruiting entity will probably continue to execute the last order of the mother nest. When all the commands are executed, the fruiting entity will either return to the mother nest to return to life, or it will sleep and wait in place."

Luo Yu recalled it carefully.

Seems like it really is?
Although he has no memory after the nuclear explosion, according to the description of the tail and the others on the official website, the mother body next to the white dove - now it should be the fruiting body of the mother nest, seems to have called out A titan infested with slime mold.

The plane that Xiaoyu sent to help him later also crashed shortly after the order was executed...

But if this is the case, doesn't it mean that Xiao Yu can only stay in the shelter on the B6 floor for the rest of her life?

After all, the sound cannot come out of the shelter——

"It's very simple," said Chu Guang, who had been silent all this time, looking at the noisy little guys, "Just install earphones and microphones on them."

His understanding is that Xiaoyu completed the evolution with the assistance of humans, so the function is not perfect, and needs the help of humans as the "host".

For example, to help them spread sound to farther places.

This is actually a good thing.

If Xiaoyu can complete all links of life activities by herself without relying on human tools, the symbiotic relationship will be weakened.

After listening to Chu Guang's words, Luo Yu froze on the spot.

I rely on?

Can you do this?

This was probably the first time he felt that NPCs were bigger than his brain...

He Ya glanced at Chu Guang in surprise, with approval in her eyes.

"Hey... This is indeed a good idea. They can't complete the conversion from radio to sound waves by themselves, so they can't get out of control because they are out of our control."

Chu Guang nodded.

"The brood of controlled evolution must be under our control, and at the same time, we must try to prevent it from differentiating into new mothers...especially mutant mothers."

Heya nodded thoughtfully.

"Indeed, so the number of fruiting entities has to be controlled... how about ten?"

The mother body is born by chance from tens of thousands of fruit bodies. As long as the number of fruit bodies is reduced, new mother bodies can be effectively prevented from appearing.

However, it is not possible to completely prohibit the generation of fruiting bodies.

The two extreme options of laissez-faire and total ban do not meet the needs of the league.

He needed Kohane to replace other, more aggressive slime molds with limited fruiting bodies, and in the process deepen their symbiotic relationship with humans—finding a way to benefit each other.

Chu Guang will properly select some players and cooperate with it within a limited range.

"Only ten, he can't stand more."

He babbles every day, and he is annoyed to death even if he is not disturbed to death.

Chu Guang looked at Luo Yu.

"You go back first, I will arrange surgery to install headsets on them... so that they can move outside the shelter."

Luo Yu said with a moved face.

"thanks……"

An old father's smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

"You're welcome, please continue to take care of it."

Slime molds are unlikely to wipe out humans, and vice versa.

Even the People's Federation of the Prosperous Era failed to wipe out the mosquitoes, flies, and cockroaches on the entire planet, let alone the slime mold that is far more difficult to deal with than these things.

The post-war reconstruction committee tried for half a century, and he didn't need to step on what the predecessors had proved to be a pit.

If it is objectively difficult to eliminate, it is also a more materialistic approach to reduce its risk as much as possible and make it harmless in the end.

Xiaoyu, who was born by coincidence, has the potential to be "domesticable" and "nearly harmless". This thing is like the brain slug in "Stars". It looks scary, but it may be a good buff if used properly.

The brood 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 He Ya who was standing aside.

"Follow-up research is up to you."

Hera's eyes shone with intense interest, and this was exactly her field of interest.

"No problem! Don't worry, leave it to me!"

……

"Wasteland OL" official website:
[Part of the "Biology Laboratory" area on the B6 floor is open: the "Slime Mold Symbiosis" buff is now available]

[Slime mold symbiont: "Slime mold symbiont" can be regarded as a special biological prosthesis, which is essentially the fruiting body of the B6 layer brood without self-awareness.Players implanted with symbionts can increase their recovery ability by 100%~500%, and gain the ability to keratinize and dissimilate some body structures, and the duration is permanent.The BUFF will be reset after death, and the used symbiont will be deleted and needs to be applied again. 】

[Note 1: Since repairing the wound will result in some somatic cells in the injured area being replaced by slime mold cells, each injury will increase the degree of "slime mold" and cannot be removed by surgery.The growth rate of experience points will decrease with the increase of slime mold. If the slime mold is more than 50%, no experience will be accumulated, and the archive function will be turned off.In addition, in order to avoid making your own NPC feel uncomfortable, slime mold has reached more than 50% or body alienation has reached beyond the scope of 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 Butch". 】

[Note 2: This BUFF is usually only open to players, and requires the contribution level to be a citizen and the sequence level to be above LV10. 】

[Note 3: Slime mold has no concept of gender. Xiao Yu's mind is still a child. When accepting the symbiont, please don't express strange wishes to it.Also, even if there is no direct communication between the symbiont and the mother body, please don't use it to do weird things. 】

Tail: "!!! Wait a minute, that is to say... as long as the symbiote is implanted, it is possible to become a tentacle monster!? (ω)"

Sisi: "Awei, calm down, you will scare Rourou with your appearance."

Roushan Big Momo: "(shaking)"

Aww Sesame Paste: "Ahaha... I feel that if it's Awei, turning into a tentacle monster wouldn't be too scary."

Tail: "Eh?! Why?!!!!∑(Дノ)ノ"

Aww Sesame Paste: "Because I don't feel like Awei will hurt others... By the way, why do you feel a little disappointed? 0.0"

Sisi: "emmm... According to what I know about Awei, maybe the first person Awei wants to play a prank on is you."

Aww sesame paste: "???"

Tail: "Hey! (///ω///)"

Sis: "Slightly lost. (Slanting eyes)"

Tail: "Wooooow, but it's too difficult to scare Si!!!"

Sisi: "...ah, it's so scary, I can't move."

Roushan Big Momo: "It's too perfunctory!"

Tail: "Isn't it? Even the fleshy meat can be seen, and it will definitely become like this in the end!"

Aww sesame paste: "Ahaha...haha..."

WC really has mosquitoes: "Quack quack, 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 really has mosquitoes: "Damn! How dare you look down on me! Wait, I will become a tentacle monster, and I will be the first to tie you up!"

Ye Shi: "Fuck! Don't mess around!"

Debt big eyes: "Brothers are playing too much. (Funny)"

Construction site boy and Brick: "Hahahaha! I'll take a picture for you!"

Spring Water Commander: "By the way, why do you all agree that you will definitely become a tentacle monster... I am only curious about one thing now, will you be attacked by the fruiting bodies of other slime molds after living in symbiosis with slime molds?"

Killing Chicken at Midnight: "If you don't get attacked, wouldn't you be able to swipe the city center alone?! (excited)"

The mole on the run in the canyon: "It should be. Mutated slime mold is just a general term. Different flora will prey on each other and absorb each other's genetic material. Hasn't this been verified in Bucky?"

Spring Water Commander: "So that's it... It seems that it is not so easy to get stuck haha."

Fang Chang: "I think even if there is no verification, logically speaking, Aguang is unlikely to let you get stuck with such an obvious BUG. (Funny)"

Edge paddling: "Symbiosis with slime mold will result in experience debuffs... Is this a reference to the setting of heterogeneous players?"

Fang Chang: "I feel more like referring to the bionic prosthetic body. Didn't it be mentioned in the previous update announcement that excessive use of bionic prosthetics will lead to slow growth in the development of gene sequences, in other words, less experience. However, the statement of 50% is a bit general, and I feel that the impact of different sequences should be different."

Gufeng: "Well... Personally, I feel that if the intelligence department is not equipped with a brain implant chip, the use of the mechanical arm will not only have no experience debuff Debuff, but will get a small amount of intelligence department experience bonus due to frequent brain nerve overload. The slime mold is probably similar, if the symbiosis does not affect the brain, even if the slime mold is more than 50%, even if it becomes like Bucky, the sequence progress can still be accumulated and saved."

Quit smoking: "Damn it! The intelligence department has been strengthened at an epic level?!"

Kuang Feng: "It's only theoretically strengthened, but in fact, who knows, anyway, I can't accept biological prosthetics...it feels weird. (Slanting eyes)"

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 entity, and there is no real-time information exchange with the brood, it still feels weird to have something that doesn't belong to you. I suggest that if you have a partner, you should ask It’s better to have someone’s opinion. Ah, it doesn’t matter if you’re single. (Squint eyes)”

Ye Shi: "MMP! This shit can also abuse dogs, right!!!"

Elf King Fugui: "I vomited!"

Irena: "I'm the only one wondering if it's delicious. (Funny)"

Luo Yu: "Zhuo! What do you think of my Xiao Yu! (angry)"

WC really has mosquitoes: "Hahaha! Now everyone's Xiaoyu! (smirk)"

Luo Yu: "%￥#@!"

……

The research on the mutant slime mold is only one of the many affairs of the alliance, and there are more important matters waiting for Chu Guang to deal with.

For example, the issue of money.

There is never a war that doesn't cost money, especially against legions.

The alliance's supply has never been cut off from the beginning to the end, not only because the company helped to handle the transportation, but also because the alliance is willing to spend money on logistics.

During the war, the alliance produced a total of nearly 2 No. [-] and No. [-] tanks, nearly a thousand "electric mule" transport trucks, dozens of "Dragonfly" transport aircraft and nearly a thousand W-[-] attack aircraft.

This is not counting the ammunition consumed and the light weapons produced. These vehicles alone are enough to accommodate the entire population of the alliance!
The production of these equipment not only consumes resources, but also consumes a large amount of the alliance's financial budget.

It is precisely because of this that the alliance's fiscal deficit has reached a rather alarming figure...

After handing over part of the authority on the B6 floor of the refuge to Heya, Chu Guang went to the conference room of the Alliance Administration Building according to the schedule that Xiao Qi helped him to formulate, and summoned the old Charlie, the president of the Merchant Union, and the head of the Finance Department.

In the reforms long ago, the alliance established twelve departments including internal affairs, industry, economy, foreign affairs and so on.

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, and these knowledge will be taught in full-time schools or night schools for workers.

As for the subjective questions, some of the questions were copied by the players from the Internet to vote for, and some of them were copied by Chu Guang from the Internet according to his own needs.

He doesn't need these people to be proficient. It is enough to learn mathematics well, respect natural science, have materialism and common sense.

In fact, it is the Ministry of Finance. In fact, the entire department currently has only one office, and there are less than ten people including the clerks who organize documents.

On the one hand, there are not many people in the alliance who are qualified for this job, and on the other hand, it is true that there are not that many people.

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 the details of the decision-making, and making some more specific adjustments based on his opinions.

The department's work is closer to that of a secretary than a policymaker.

And the fact is indeed the case, some specific decisions were even made by the elder Charlie of the Merchant Union with the help of them.

Although the latter is not an experienced economics expert, after all, he has dealt with the merchants in the wasteland for so long, and has dabbled in warehousing, logistics, and industrial production. He is somewhat more professional than the rookies recruited by these exams. Some.

If it wasn't for the old man who didn't want to bother anymore and just wanted to run the Merchant Guild well before retiring, Chu Guang originally planned to let him be the Minister of Finance of the alliance.

Looking at Chu Guang who walked into the conference room, Minister Sun Ruicai's expression became more nervous, and he stood up from his seat with the manuscript in his hand.

Compared with the old Charlie sitting next to him, he was undoubtedly much younger, and his qualifications were very low. He had only worked as an ordinary worker in the mint before.

Before receiving the letter of appointment, he didn't even think that he would be selected. He just watched everyone take the test and tried it himself, but he didn't expect to be the first in the test.

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 been very careful in his work, for fear of disappointing the trust and cultivation of his managers.

However, no matter how careful he is, he can't change the deficit on the financial statements.

That thing was automatically calculated by AI, and there was no room for modification.

Before the meeting started, he was ready to be scolded by the manager.

However, the development of the matter 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 probably know the financial situation...I'm here today to solve the problem."

"Yes, sir."

Seeing Chu Guang's elegant and easy-going expression, Sun Ruicai heaved a sigh of relief, his index finger and thumb holding the manuscript were also loosened, and he 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 according to the manuscript, "According to the summary results of various departments, the alliance's fiscal deficit this year has reached 11.7 billion silver coins, of which military expenditures are as high as 9 million, accounting for 76.9% of the total budget..."

11.7 billion!
For an alliance with a total population of less than 20, this figure is actually quite terrifying.

It is equivalent to the debt of 5850 silver coins for every resident of the alliance, and the average monthly income is 487.5, which even exceeds the legal minimum monthly income of 360 silver coins for the alliance!
Of course, the account can't be calculated like this.

Chu Guang knew very well that at least 11.7% of the fiscal deficit of 70 billion silver coins was paid to the players, and at least half of the rewards 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 stored in the collective account of the No. 404 shelter.

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 withdrawn 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 "No. 404 Vault Donation".

Although his left and right hands are both hands, it is still not good to use the alliance's treasury to benefit the residents of the refuge.

Even if no one says anything now, it is easy to leave hidden dangers for the future.

With the increasing scale of the alliance, many things that could be done casually in the past will gradually be formalized in the future.

According to the data provided by Xiaoqi, the final deficit of the alliance treasury is about 6 million after including the part of the repayment at the end of the year.

This number is not small.

But compared with 11.7 billion, it is still much smaller.

Looking at Chu Guang who was in deep thought, Charlie coughed lightly and said.

"...The war puts too much pressure on finances. Although you brought back a lot of spoils from the front, it is difficult to directly convert those things into money, especially such a large sum."

After a pause, he continued.

"...This is just our internal debt. In fact, this is easy to say. You only need a word to start the money printing machine. The more troublesome thing is the foreign debt. Take the debt of Boulder City as an example. You first borrowed it from Boulder City. 500 million chips, just for this amount, the principal and interest that needs to be repaid at the end of the year is as high as [-] million."

"In addition, we have successively borrowed some medium and long-term debts. The total scale of debts has reached 1000 million chips, and the sum of principal and interest that needs to be repaid at the end of the year has exceeded [-] million chips."

When talking about this, Charlie pressed his wrinkled brows with a slightly distressed expression.

There were things he wanted to say a long time ago.

That's how fast the league spends money!
In order to make the respected manager realize the seriousness of the problem, he unconsciously increased his tone.

"If you're not going to wipe out this debt, or use our Cr reserves and Boulder Bank deal chips... I recommend starting today with a more conservative fiscal strategy. At least the next three years, we have to tighten our belts Do everything possible to reduce the scale of debt before the invested industry produces enough returns."

"Otherwise, the foreign exchange earned from export trade every year will be used to repay debts. I'm afraid we won't be able to do anything except print money and watch silver coins become less and less valuable!"

(End of this chapter)