[Verdict in the Printing Factory Arson Case]

[The suspect, Sun -cencored-, pleaded guilty in court. In light of the fact that the incident caused no severe consequences and that he obtained the victim’s forgiveness, the court sentenced him to three years in prison in accordance with the New Alliance Law. In compliance with his wishes and the recommendation of his unit, he will serve his sentence as part of the Southern Construction Corps and be assigned to frontier construction duties for the New Alliance...]

...

Zhang Hai’s Ramen Shop.

The diners flipping through their newspapers were abuzz, all discussing the highly publicized court case that happened the day before.

At another table, Eye Owe Money, flipping through Survivor’s Daily, felt a chill run down his neck.

He hadn’t been the loudest one at the protest, but he had tossed a stick of firewood onto that pile.

Slurping his noodles beside him, Irene teased him with a grin. “If only you hadn’t fired that shot that night.”

The Construction Boy sighed, “Yeah. Because of that, a good kid ended up in jail.”

Eye Owe Money, looking guilty, muttered a defense. “I told you, it was a blank round... Besides, I wasn’t the one who started the shouting.”

Honestly, Wasteland Online was something else.

Just a three-page newspaper article had triggered a whole chain reaction, and now he was reading the aftermath of the arson case in Survivor’s Daily.

Incidentally, perhaps inspired by the Clearspring Daily, today’s issue of Survivor’s Daily featured a new special column devoted entirely to Little Feather, clarifying a series of wild rumors that had once set the entire city ablaze.

The columnist was Dori, a former journalist for Boulder Town’s Survivor’s Daily, a beloved figure with fans in both Boulder Town and Dawn City.

Once people learned that Little Feather had lived in Dawn City for quite some time before becoming the Hive, that it had never harmed anyone, and that its main body was kept under strict supervision in Shelter 404’s level B6, most of the public’s anxiety subsided.

Everyone knew the administrator himself lived in Shelter 404.

If even the esteemed administrator wasn’t worried about Little Feather suddenly going berserk, why should the surface dwellers be afraid?

As always, the admirable residents of the Shelter continued to walk at the forefront, facing the deepest abyss for everyone else.

If even they, who lived closest to danger, felt no fear, then those standing behind them had no reason to fear either.

There weren’t many people in the ramen shop discussing Little Feather’s column. Most were more concerned about the arson case from two nights ago, and many sympathized with the young man sent to the frontlines.

Eye Owe Money couldn’t shake his guilt.

If only he’d stayed calm that night...

Seeing his gloomy face, Zhang Hai chuckled as he pulled noodles by hand. “You guys just have too much free time! Whenever there’s no event going on, you go looking for trouble. You should learn from me, find something meaningful to do.”

Eye Owe Money snorted. “Yeah right... what’s so meaningful about pulling noodles?”

Zhang Hai laughed, “Hey, don’t underestimate my craft! If I keep pulling noodles long enough, say, 10,000,000 bowls, I’ll save up enough to build something more powerful than a photolithography machine!”

More powerful than a photolithography machine?

Eye Owe Money blinked, not understanding what nonsense the guy was talking about.

Then again, that was normal, everyone had their own way of playing the game, their own way of finding meaning in it.

When they had finished their noodles, Eye Owe Money did the math. Two large bowls of beef ramen came to exactly 10 silver coins. He slapped the coins down on the table with flair.

“Keep the change!”

“Thank you!” Zhang Hai grinned, scooping up the coins and tucking them into a drawer. “Come again next time, I’ll cook you something good.”[1]

Irene burst out laughing mid-slurp, nearly choking as noodles came up his nose, and coughed twice.

Eye Owe Money rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Get lost!”

Construction Boy tried to stifle his laughter. “Pfft!”

Makka Pakka roared with laughter, “Hahahaha!”

Laughter filled the little ramen shop. The NPCs who didn’t understand the payers’ language turned their heads curiously, wondering what was so funny.

But joy didn’t need language to spread. Seeing those cheerful players laugh, many of the NPCs couldn’t help but smile as well.

And truth be told, it was a day worth celebrating.

To commemorate the victory over the Tide, to mark the end of 200 years of struggle, the New Alliance settlements were all holding grand celebrations.

It was said that during the medal ceremony, the revered administrator himself would make an appearance.

Many people eagerly slurped down their noodles faster, hoping to get to the square early enough to grab a spot near the front, just to catch a glimpse of him up close.

...

9:00 in the morning.

An hour still remained before the much-anticipated celebration officially began, yet the main avenues of Dawn City were already jam-packed.

Standing on the edge of the crowd, one could see the streets from the commercial district to the square overflowing with a sea of people, black as ants, with not an inch of ground visible.

Among them were local survivors, migrants from Boulder Town ten kilometers away, and even visitors who had flown in from the distant Among Cloud Province.

The settlement’s real population was far higher than the reported 100,000. Counting the floating population, it was at least double that.

“GIAO! Look at all these people!” Squeezed in the crowd, Yaya’s face was flushed with excitement. She kept craning her neck and standing on tiptoe to peer ahead.

At 1.8 meters tall, it wasn’t hard for her to see, but poor Teng Teng, who had come along with her, had already given up and was leisurely sipping a cup of boba while following behind Hua Hua, who was dressed in a maid outfit.

“Huh? Are you Tail? Anyway, yeah... Dawn City’s really become lively. Hard to believe it used to be just a little village. It has only been two years... look at it now.”

Lately, even real-world milk-tea chains had opened branches inside the game.

Those newbies were something else! It was brilliant, really.

Why hadn’t she thought of that before? Selling milk tea in-game!

In Wasteland Online, they could drink as much as they wanted without worrying about sugar intake, after all, if their character died, it just respawned.

1. In chinese, this joke is much better. Zhang Hai said: “下次再来哈,我下面给你吃.” = Come again next time, I’ll cook more noodles for you. The context 我下面给你吃 can mean I’ll cook noodles for you, but 下面 also means “downstairs” which can also refer to “I’ll let you eat me down there.” ☜