“Julius united the Wislanders,” Luo Yong murmured, “But they, they’ve united all the survivors. Many settlements have tried to walk this path before, but so far, only the New Alliance succeeded.”

It was too early to declare total success, but Luo Yong found himself filled with a surprising confidence in these wastelanders he had only just met.

Standing beside him, Yi Chuan smiled. “That’s precisely what sets them apart.”

He didn’t quite know how to describe it, but every time he spoke with the New Alliance’s administrator, he couldn’t help but feel the same way, an unshakable faith in the future of the New Alliance.

At least so far, they had never disappointed him.

Luo Yong nodded slightly, showing his agreement with Yi Chuan’s view. After a brief pause, he smiled and said in a relaxed tone, “An investment in them might well become the most successful venture we’ve made beyond our borders in the past two centuries... Who knows, maybe one day we really will achieve that old dream, of bringing civilization back to this planet.” 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Hearing this, Yi Chuan’s heart skipped a beat. He seized the moment to bring up the question he’d been holding back. “Then... about that matter, what’s the Highest Council’s stance?”

He was, of course, referring to the proposal recently submitted to the Highest Council, to establish a cross-regional cooperation organization for dealing with Mutant Slime Mold.

As though he’d anticipated the question, Luo Yong lifted his eyes from the telescope, narrowed them slightly, and said with a faint smile, “I came here precisely because of that.”

Yi Chuan blinked, surprise and delight flashing across his face.

Catching the fleeting expression, Luo Yong teased him. “Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

“It is a little... unusual,” Yi Chuan admitted honestly, steadying himself as he spoke. “In my impression, the Highest Council has never made a decision this quickly.”

Luo Yong chuckled lightly, “When it comes to resolving our differences, we usually spend a great deal of time debating every detail... But on this matter, my old friends and I found ourselves surprisingly in agreement.”

Yi Chuan stared at him in astonishment. “The Highest Council approved it unanimously?”

“That’s right.”

Speaking softly so that only the two of them could hear, Luo Yong added, “If they can deal with the Hive in Below Cloud City on our behalf, we can begin cooperation immediately...”

...

While Yi Chuan was still reeling from the Highest Council’s decision, the administrator standing on the bridge of the Iron Heart announced the beginning of the celebration.

As in previous ceremonies, Chu Guang descended via the lift platform and stepped onto the plaza. Under countless watching eyes, he awarded medals to those who had rendered outstanding service during the Tide.

Standing proudly on the red carpet, Mosquito, with eight mechanical arms folded neatly behind him, saluted with the formal New Alliance gesture and declared in his exaggerated tone, “Respected Administrator, I, Mosquito, hold you in esteem as boundless as the starry ga...”

“Thank you for your blessing. I’m proud of you,” Chu Guang said smoothly, cutting him off mid-speech with a line straight from the official script before pinning a silver medal engraved with an airplane onto his chest.

Interrupted mid-performance, Mosquito smacked his lips regretfully, then stepped aside to make room for the next recipient and retreated back into the crowd.

Next up was Light Wind, also of the Goblin Corps.

With so many eyes on her, she stood on the red carpet, trembling with both excitement and nerves, her palms slick with sweat, completely forgetting the acceptance speech she had rehearsed. Moments like that didn’t happen often in real life. To her, it was even more thrilling than soloing a marauder outpost.

To spare the shy young player any embarrassment, Chu Guang performed his role as NPC masterfully, pinning the silver medal symbolizing honor onto her chest amid loud applause. “May victory and glory always accompany you. Your courage is the wings that safeguard us all.”

Her cheeks blushed red beneath her short hair. Light Wind nodded quickly, her voice trembling with excitement. “Th-thank you!”

Chu Guang smiled warmly. “You’re welcome. This honor already belongs to you, the ones who should be saying thank you are us.”

Another round of cheers and applause thundered through the square.

Watching her walk off the carpet, grinning from ear to ear and clutching her medal, Mosquito suddenly realized something and shouted indignantly, “Damn! That’s not fair, why did she get an extra line?!”

Standing beside him, Night Ten finished clapping and quipped, “That’s what you get for running your mouth. The administrator probably wanted to say more, but you spent all the time yapping.”

Mosquito blinked in surprise at the familiar voice. “Eh? What’re you doing here? Didn’t you ask Ample Time to pick up your medal for you yesterday in the group chat?”

Night Ten sighed, “Ah... long story. Let’s just not talk about it.”

Somehow, saying it out loud felt embarrassing, though he wasn’t sure exactly why.

“Come on! Don’t tease, either tell it or don’t!”

Night Ten snapped, “Then pretend I didn’t say anything.”

Mosquito jumped in anger. “Damn you!”

While the two bickered, more recipients received their medals, most of them shelter residents.

The blue coats dominated the ceremony’s award list, yet no one found it unfair or biased.

Ever since the end of the campaign, Survivor’s Daily had published full reports of the battle, while the independent television stations broadcast combat footage declassified by the New Alliance.

From the Death Corps’ deadly duel with the Titan, to the Skeleton Corps’ liberation of Boulder Town and the decapitation strike against Mother Body Thea, every act of bravery had moved the viewers deeply.

Especially the Burning Corps’ assault on the city center.

That near-suicidal mission had ended with only three survivors.

Every medal awarded at the ceremony carried a glory witnessed by all citizens of the New Alliance.

When Night Ten quietly accepted his own medal onstage, Jiang Xuezhou, watching from the crowd, couldn’t help smiling proudly... until that smile froze.

For she saw Night Ten, grinning shamelessly with a golden medal on his chest, wave repeatedly to the cheering crowd like a show-off.

Then, out of nowhere, a curvy woman with striking charm pushed out from the masses, grabbed his face, and kissed him square on the lips.

Unlike the reserved shelter residents or the polite Academy scholars, wastelanders tended to be bold and passionate, never subtle in expressing affection.

Though that same passion, in more refined eyes, could look rather... scandalous.

As Night Ten blushed bright red and the crowd whooped and cheered, Jiang Xuezhou felt her blood pressure spike. Her teeth ground audibly as she fought the urge to call in Wangy and vaporize the lot of them.

Whether out of pride or out of discomfort with such forwardness, Night Ten ultimately turned down the woman’s spontaneous proposal. Under her understanding yet disappointed gaze, he fled the crowd in a flustered mess.

His face was still marked with lipstick, his collar crooked, when Jiang Xuezhou glared at him, fuming. “Who was that woman?!”

Blinking in confusion, Night Ten could only guess she meant the woman who had just kissed him. He answered blankly, “I don’t even know her...”

“You, you don’t even know her, and you let her...” She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing it really hadn’t been his fault.

Besides... She wasn’t his anything, was she? She didn’t even have the right to be angry.

Yet the words were already out, and she couldn’t swallow them back. So she just stood there, cheeks flushed red, lips moving but no sound coming out.

Seeing her flustered, embarrassed expression, Night Ten suddenly had an idea, and burst out laughing.

“What are you laughing at?” Jiang Xuezhou snapped.

He grinned playfully. “Are you... jealous?”

Jiang Xuezhou’s face went scarlet as a lantern, and she glared at him furiously. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting, you narcissist! Why would I, ugh! I would never be jea-jea... whatever!”

Night Ten smiled with the indulgent look of an aunt doting on a niece, watching her trip over her words.

Tsundere, huh... Didn’t think the developers would go for that trope too.

Too bad, though. Unlike Ample Time, he wasn’t the type to fall head-over-heels just because a pretty NPC batted her eyelashes.

Especially when he pictured a certain doggy developer, watching the scene gleefully from outside the server, yeah, that killed the mood fast.

Still, the realization made him laugh bitterly. Those developers were dirty. Training AI characters by using the beauty trap? Against their own players?

Having figured that out, he decided to stop holding back and teased the blushing researcher. “Oh, come on. If you feel like you got shortchanged, I’ll let you kiss the left side of my face to even it out.”

It was the kind of cheesy line he’d never dare say to a real person, but to an NPC? He would never be embarrassed.

The moment he said it, Jiang Xuezhou froze mid-rant. Her brain seemed to crash completely.

Night Ten blinked.

No way... Did one sentence fry her brain?

After a long silence, a faint sound escaped her lips.

“Wan...”

“What?” Night Ten leaned closer.

“Wang?”

“Wangy!”

Before he could react, she shouted the command, and the four-legged robot companion came bounding through the crowd.

Startled, Night Ten bolted for a nearby alley. “Whoa, hey, calm down! I was kidding, okay? Just kidding!”

Fortunately, Wangy wasn’t armed, and her outburst was more embarrassment than actual intent to maul him.

Still, their flirt-fight looked a bit too intense from an outsider’s perspective. Passing by, Teng Teng covered her face and called the guards.

The two troublemakers were taken to the police station and held there from noon until dusk before being released.

But compared to the chaos other players had stirred up during the festival, their little drama barely even registered as a minor incident.