This Game Is Too Realistic

"Liszt, Chairman of Liszt Trading Company. Here's my business card," Liszt introduced himself with composure, handing over his card.

After taking the card, Sid glanced at it and immediately a flicker of recognition crossed his eyes.

He seemed to have heard the name before. Reportedly, it was the name of a traveling merchant who made a small fortune through trade with the New Alliance and ascended to nobility.

Changing one's status to nobility within Boulder Town's inner city was not difficult. All they needed do to was to pay enough to buy a room in the inner city and add their name to the residents' registry."

However, obtaining nobility did not mean one could integrate into their circles.

These newcomers who just came into money were fundamentally different from the old nobility and couldn't touch the power structure of Boulder Town...

Moreover, judging by the fellow's appearance, he probably hadn't even stayed in the inner city's buildings for a few days.

In contrast, he was more concerned with those real nobles from the corporations in the Enterprise.

Frustratingly, those people were busy flaunting their meals with the New Alliance's administrator at their table, showing no signs of getting up from their chairs.

He had been standing so long his legs were nearly numb, and he hadn't yet had a chance to speak with them alone.

Was the food really that good?

Unintentionally glancing at the distant round table, Sid frowned.

How are they so interested in food from the countryside?!

For a moment, his fantasy about Ideal City felt somewhat disillusioned.

It seemed rather ordinary...

Reading the disdain on the face before him, Liszt just smiled, saying nothing. As a businessman, he didn't care what those snobbish fools thought of him.

After all, they all looked pretty much the same to each other. Both sides thought the other were fools.

"The five main corporations have sent representatives here; it seems something big is about to happen in the River Valley Province." Liszt muttered suddenly.

"Yeah..." Sid hummed through his nose.

What the hell... Even a random survivor can see it. Do I really need you to tell me?

Liszt paused before he continued, "I just heard that they plan to invest here."

"Investing in a factory?" Sid looked at him with surprise before snorting in contempt. "What are they going to do next? Transport the products produced here over 3,000 kilometers to Ideal City? Why do they even need stuff produced here?"

Liszt patiently explained, "There are many forms of interest, and many means to achieve goals. I can't speculate what agreements Sir Administrator has reached with the distant Ideal City, but obviously, the corporations are not here to do charity."

"Oh?" Sid's eyes flickered with interest, although he still appeared unconvinced.

Liszt seized the moment to continue, "An expedition to Sunset Province is almost certain, and only by removing the Army's outposts east of the Great Desert can we permanently eliminate all future threats. After that, to prevent the Army from resurging, the Enterprise will definitely join forces with the New Alliance to send troops to the desert to consolidate the fruits of victory."

"... I heard those man-made oases surrounded by the Life Restricted Zones are like islands in the ocean, where the soil flows with milk and honey, and there are no foreign disturbances."

Sid's interest finally became apparent, no longer concealing his excitement. "Could you elaborate?"

"Of course," seeing his eagerness, Liszt patted the old noble's arm lightly and said softly, "... I just heard these stories too. If you're interested, we can have a good chat."

As Liszt continued to paint the big picture, or lie, that Chu Guang had drawn for him, he led Sid towards the table where the Boulder Town envoys were sitting, not far from the Enterprise' table where people were wolfing down food.

Wu Mu, with his eyes wide, toyed with a century egg sprinkled with garlic on his plate while marveling in shock, "What kind of animal laid this egg?"

"It tastes like jelly!" As a senior sales personnel of the Long Axe Group, Wu Mu had traveled extensively and tasted many exotic foods.

But it was his first encounter with such a peculiar food.

Sitting beside him, Chu Guang smiled. "Actually, this is just a regular duck egg, but it's been processed in a special way. We call it a century egg."

Li Changkong thoughtfully touched his chin, speared a piece with his fork, sniffed it, and popped it into his mouth.

"Such a unique texture from a duck egg... Can you reveal what that processing technique is?"

Chu Guang's expression became a little strange.

The recipe wasn't really a secret. It was just that he was afraid talking about it might turn everyone's stomachs.

Eventually, he mumbled, "I'm not quite sure about that."

The representative from the Ideal Group nodded and did not pursue further, continuing to taste another dish on his plate.

Sitting to Chu Guang's right, Yi Chuan, wiping his hands with a napkin, expressed his realization. "... I now understand why Li De specifically mentioned the food here in his application."

The oil-fried battleship shrimp he had just boasted about was gone, leaving only a pile of shrimp shells on his plate.

It's hard to believe those hideous mutants could be cooked into something so delicious.

Before leaving, he had worried about not adapting to the local food, which might cause gastrointestinal issues, so he brought two boxes of freeze-dried food and two boxes of stomach medicine.

Now, it seemed that at least his former concern could be dismissed.

Sitting at the other end of the round table, Yunyi said nothing, continuously popping cookies into her mouth, her eyes filled with surprise and wonder. With her expression glowing, everyone wondered what she tasted.

Waiting for the dishes to be served, Yi Chuan looked at Chu Guang and asked, "Do you guys eat this well every day?"

"Of course not, we only bring out these items when entertaining distinguished guests. However, the ingredients for these foods are not anything expensive, you can see them in many restaurants." Pausing for a moment, Chu Guang smiled and continued, "If you're interested in our daily diet, you might want to visit North Street in Dawn City. There are quite a few unique snacks there."

Wu Mu interjected in excitement. "I know! You guys call it calledbaoziandjiaozi, right?"

"That's one of our breakfast options." Chu Guang nodded with a smile. He suddenly recalled something and asked, "Speaking of which, where are the two from the Health Luxury Corporate Group?"

Not knowing whether to call those androids gentlemen or ladies, he simply omitted the title.

Hearing Chu Guang ask about those two, Yi Chuan's expression twisted slightly. "They... actually, don't worry about them, their codes don't contain any malicious components, they're just a bit too enthusiastic..."

Wu Mu also laughed heartily. "That's right, don't mind those two androids; their core codes have not shown any violations to date, you can be completely assured of that..."

Chu Guang couldn't help but think of a toothpaste commercial when he saw those neatly aligned white teeth.

"That's good to hear." He smiled and nodded, his fingertip lightly tracing on the VM screen, discreetly signaling Little Seven to keep a close eye on the two.

His action was not out of distrust for their allies. It was just a precaution.

There were indeed android activities within the New Alliance's territory, like Old Brown's daughter and wife, and Lyra from Shelter 101.

However, those androids shared one common feature. They had low autonomy and they didn't actively participate in human social activities unless commanded by their owners.

Yi Chuan's expression made Chu Guang slightly concerned, curious about what those two were planning to do.

And as he wondered, Frost and Eclipse were currently walking through Dawn City's busiest North Street while draped in their silver capes.

In the sweltering heat of summer, their conservative attire was somewhat unusual, attracting curious glances from passersby.

Frost was also observing the pedestrians and maintained a silent communication with Eclipse through their shared communication channel.

"Look at these poor humans, their clothes are like dust on a machine case, their health like flickering warning lights... Eclipse, this is an opportunity for us, we can make their lives easier. They don't even have to lift a finger in the future once we take action."

The face, expressionless, showed no change, but their chips were pulsating with excited frequencies.

Eclipse's pupils flickered briefly before responding, "The approach is correct, but we do not control the means of production, nor do we have the capability to produce so much for their consumption... What should we do?"

Frost buzzed, "First, we need to win this war, take control of the oases in the desert, thus securing food supplies for these people."

Eclipse thought for a moment before responding. "The plan has flaws. According to available information, the nearest man-made oasis, with nearly a million inhabitants, has a low probability of food surplus."

Frost sighed, "Understood, the plan needs refinement."

The two continued their profound discussion while observing the nearby streets.

The prosperity there was less than one ten-thousandth of that in Ideal City, but it was precisely because of it that the place was more suitable for their plans.

As long as they could make the people there more satisfied than those in Ideal City in a shorter time and at a lower cost, they would have ample evidence to prove they were the optimal solution among countless alternatives for reviving civilization.

However... There was one problem. Satisfaction was an abstract concept, and the prosperity it engenders is even more difficult to quantify. Therefore, before finalizing a comprehensive plan, the first step was to observe.

Just then, as they walked through the bustling streets, a strange group approached them. They consisted of three people and a bear.

Riding on Roshan's shoulders, Tail's eyes lit up when she spotted the two in the crowd.

"Whoa! Sisi, they're NPCs I've never seen before!"

"Their skin looks cool!" Roshan mumbled, equally surprised.

Frost was slightly puzzled and stopped to look at the bear.

Although it didn't understand what the bear had just said, it wondered out loud, "Why can a bear talk?"

"Isn't it common knowledge that white bears can talk?" Tail tilted her head to the side and giggled.

Frost's surprised expression seemed completely genuine, so much so that Eclipse couldn't help but wonder for a moment if there was a mistake in the intelligence database.

Looking at the look of assurance on Tail's face, Frost pondered for a moment and nodded. "So it is... In the River Valley Province, it's common knowledge that white bears can talk."

Strange piece of knowledge.

But it can also serve as a reference.

"Putting aside the matter with Roro... It seems you're looking for something! Are you troubled? Do you need Tail's help?!" Tail looked at them expectantly, her eyes shimmering with the prospect of a hidden quest!

Frost paused, unable to process the human's facial expressions or understand the strange way she was speaking. In the end, it asked, "Do you need help?"

Tail shook her head vigorously. "No, no, no, it's you who need help! Don't be shy, just tell Tail!"

"?" Frost didn't know what to say for a moment.

Sisi's expression became somewhat strange. She felt that the android might not actually be as smart as Tail...

"Could it be that the NPC's code isn't done right?" Sesame Paste looked at Sisi with a confused expression.

It seemed like Tail and the android were on completely different wavelengths.

After pondering for a moment, Sisi nodded. "Mm, that possibility can't be ruled out."

After all, it was the beta testing phase, and it was understandable if there were some incomplete aspects.

NPCs occasionally said things that confuse people, either because of incorrect language model on their side or incomplete compilation on the other side.

And in most cases, both problems occur simultaneously.

Not knowing what they talked about with the android, the next thing Sisi saw was Tail revealing a shy expression while whispering, "Then... Can you put on a maid outfit for Sisi?"

Seeing her good friend repeatedly testing the limits of the Player's Handbook, Sisi knew she couldn't just watch any longer. Sighing, she grabbed tail by the collar and pulled her away from the perplexed android while apologizing. "So sorry for disturbing you. We apologize for Tail's behavior."

As she spoke, regardless of Tail's protests, Sisi and Sesame Paste skillfully tied her to Roshan's back.

Even though her face was buried in the fluffy bear fur, her protest was unstoppable.

"Damn it, why are you not letting me..."

"Harassing NPCs can get you banned. Tail, do you want to end up locked up like Mosquito over something like this?"

At the mention of the pervert carpenter, Tail instantly fell silent.

"Hmph... This isn't fair!." Tail eventually snorted as they started to walk away.

"Um... It might be difficult, but I'll wear it for you." Watching the group walk away, Frost's pupils flashed with a stream of discontinuous data.

After a while, it lowered its head.

"So that's it... The element of reviving civilization is a maid outfit?" Eclipse slowly moved its gaze to Frost.

"... I think before drawing conclusions, the reliability of the information also needs careful consideration."

"Reasonable, we should collect more samples. We can't blindly trust one side's opinion... However, this can serve as a clue." Its pupils flickered slightly, and Frost nodded. The circuits in its chest boiling with energetic currents. "Eclipse, this is an opportunity for us!"

Eclipse paused for many seconds, blankly nodding slowly. "Okay..."