This Game Is Too Realistic-Chapter 524.3: All Attention On Us

Seeing her daughter’s slightly disappointed look, Malvern affectionately patted her head. "My dear child, why would you envy those people... It’s just a hair clip. If you want, I can have someone make any clip you like, unique in all the world. You should know your life is far better than theirs."

Elisa muttered unhappily, "But in Boulder Town, when people see us, they always look down."

Malvern sighed and said patiently, "That’s because they respect us."

Elisa looked at him in confusion. "But... If you can’t see their eyes, how do you know whether it’s respect or hatred?"

Hatred?

Malvern frowned. "Who taught you such things?"

This time he was truly angry.

He had always taken great care to preserve the fairy-tale world in his daughter’s heart. He never expected to live in that world himself, but at the very least he wanted his precious little girl to never be tainted by the things he dealt with daily.

But somehow, something always crept into his house, again and again... Blowing open the curtains he had carefully drawn.

Hatred?

That word had no place in his daughter’s vocabulary!

Seeing her father’s displeased expression, Elisa fell silent. Fear crept onto her face. She dared not speak or reply.

Realizing he had frightened her, Malvern quickly put on a warm smile and gently stroked her hair. "My sweet girl, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice. Please forgive daddy for bringing home some of his work frustrations. And please believe me, I will never hurt you."

After a pause, he continued patiently, "Your shoes, your dress, your lovely dolls, they don’t appear out of thin air. The world has long been destroyed. Those lowly people toil away to present you with all this, not because they love you like I do, but because of me, Uncle Dulong, and the shareholders who support us. It is the rewards of our combined efforts."

"You don’t need to pity those defeated people hiding in the dark. If you truly understood them, you would know. They don’t deserve pity. From tomorrow on, stop reading those things."

Maybe he should give Dulong a heads-up after returning.

He supported things like newspapers, broadcasts, and other entertainment, like Mr. House’s channel, which made fun of ugly wastelanders and taught surrounding settlements how to grow cash crops.

But only as long as it was entertainment.

Clearly, Survivor’s Daily wasn’t.

Even though the tabloids like Playboy’s Daily were just suggestive teases, those harmless jokes always left him feeling as if he were the one being insulted. Were the inner city nobles really so lustful?

They had seen every kind of beauty. Who would get mad over tearing silk stockings?

What irked him most was, why were the serialized stories in Worker’s Daily always about some broke nobody rising to the top? Did those beer-addled fools not realize that made no sense? A mercenary, no matter how strong, was still a lapdog. Even an awakener... What could they do against exoframes?

Thinking about how every worker seemed to carry the same newspaper, a faint chill crept into Malvern’s heart.

Maybe his daughter was right. How could he truly know what those people hid behind their lowered gazes, whether it was love or hate?

Humans were far more complicated than mutants.

But that could wait. Right now, his most urgent task was solving the issue of chip circulation.

They had earned too much chips. That wouldn’t do!

Trade, at its core, was about mutual benefit. But right now, only the New Alliance was drinking beer. They were getting nothing but foam.

There needed to be a reliable channel, to convert the surplus chips into silver coins, or better yet, skip silver altogether and convert directly into CR!

If he could pull that off, all the inner city nobles would thank him, even those who weren’t his core clients.

Life in the inner city, no matter how comfortable, would never match the luxury of Ideal City.

If they could convert those massive chip reserves into CR, they could finally live the god-like lifestyle Ideal City once seemed too distant to dream of. The factories of Boulder Town would keep running, while the excess chips flowed into a bottomless pool.

Thank the heavens, the New Alliance had done the one thing he’d dreamed of doing all his life but never got the chance, solving the CR exchange problem.

And not that measly posted price nonsense of the exchanges.

The soup spilled by wandering traders’ jugs wasn’t nearly enough for them to share, even scraping up tuition for his son took careful manipulation.

But the Enterprise had been far too generous to the New Alliance.

He heard those shrewd East Coast merchants had offered the New Alliance a 1:3 exchange rate! They would take three silver coins for one CR!

They didn’t yet know the upper limit on exchanges, but even a hundred million would be enough to make the inner city nobility dance with joy.

Boulder Town was also a victorious nation, and he had to help its residents get a share from the real honey pot!

The New Alliance would become a bridge!

Just at that moment, he saw an unexpected person at the entrance of Embassy Street.

That iconic azure exoframe... He did not even need to ask to know who it was!

Signaling the bodyguards behind him to stay put, Malvern immediately walked forward with his daughter, greeting the man with great enthusiasm.

"Honorable Mr. Administrator, it is a great pleasure to meet you here by chance!"

Hearing someone call his name, Chu Guang turned his head. He saw a man with a huge entourage holding a little girl by the hand, greeting him.

"And you are?" Chu Guang asked.

"I am Malvern, president of Boulder Town Bank! I have long admired your reputation!" Performing an elegant noble salute, Malvern looked at Chu Guang with a smile and introduced the little girl beside him. "This is my daughter, Elisa... Elisa, quickly greet this gentleman."

"Hello, honorable administrator," Elisa imitated her father’s movement and performed an elegant curtsy as well. She blinked at Chu Guang and continued, “You look much younger than the rumors say. I thought you were the same generation as my father.”

Hearing that, Chu Guang laughed and looked at the little girl and joked, "Seems I am still not mature enough. I must learn more from your father."

"You flatter me!" Effortlessly picking up after his daughter, Malvern said respectfully. "Among all the leaders of the settlements I have met, you are the one who impressed me the most. Please forgive how rude my daughter is."

"How could that be rude? Youth is the morning sunlight, the hope shining upon the gates of the shelters. That should be the highest praise." Looking at the little girl’s rosy cheeks, Chu Guang smiled warmly. "I have a feeling that you have a pair of bright and clever eyes. You will become someone remarkable in the future."

Elisa’s eyes lit up, and she gasped in delight. "Really?"

"Of course." Chu Guang nodded, glanced at her hair clip, and smiled. "Your hair clip is very pretty."

"I only hope my daughter can live a peaceful life," Malvern said with a smile. Looking at Chu Guang, he continued, "I came here to deliver congratulations from all the shareholders of Boulder Town Bank. Congratulations on defeating the savage Army and bringing the light of order to the River Valley Province! Our future is brighter than ever! It will be even brighter together!"

Chu Guang also smiled politely. "Thank you. On behalf of our New Alliance residents, I appreciate your blessings, and I welcome you all to visit Dawn City. We have fine wine and good food for friends. All who come are guests, and all guests are friends!"

It was also the first time Chu Guang had met Malvern. Until now, it had always been Luca handling communications with him. Chu Guang himself had not been involved.

In fact, the encounter was purely a coincidence. He had only passed through Embassy Street to drop by for a moment, comfort Yi Chuan who was still missing her brother, and then discuss recent infrastructure projects with Li Changkong, the representative of Ideal Corporation.

He now held 1,000,000,000 CR in subsidies, and all five major corporations were very interested in the funds allocated to him by the Highest Council.

While Chu Guang was curiously sizing up this richest man of Boulder Town, Malvern was also carefully observing the man in front of him.

Young, tall, brimming with vitality... This fellow had everything he envied, especially those sharp, penetrating eyes.

He had no idea what Chu Guang was thinking, but whenever their eyes met, he could not help wanting to look away.

Sometimes, he could not help but wonder... If only his eldest and second daughters had not gotten married.

Betting on both sides was not a bad option.

Given how the inner city nobles appreciated the political monster who could make them rich, even if he leaned to them a little, they would interpret it as him politely maneuvering for everyone’s benefit. After all, marrying noble blood into the barbarian lands required at least a bit of courage.

"Well then... I still need to bring my daughter to the hotel to settle in. Later, I hope to speak with you privately. Would you happen to be available?" Malvern knew the man’s time was precious and did not want to delay him too long.

By proper procedure, he should speak with Luca first before requesting an appointment with the administrator. That was how things should be.

Chu Guang nodded with a smile.

"Of course, but before the celebration, it might be difficult... Can it wait until after?"

He was already eager to stuff the bonds into the pocket of the round-bellied man, but he needed to make some necessary preparations first.

Preparations that would help him sell those bonds at a better price.

After all, mentioning the matter at that moment would make it seem like he was desperately short of money... He absolutely could not show that.

Malvern was slightly taken aback.

Chu Guang’s reaction truly surprised him.

He had assumed Chu Guang would immediately set a time, but unexpectedly, the man was in no hurry at all, almost as if he were already confident about repaying the tens of millions in principal and interest.

That was 10,000,000 chips they were talking about!

Averaged out, that was at least 50 chips per New Alliance resident.

Was the man planning to default?

A suspicion rose in Malvern’s heart. Although he instinctively felt it unlikely, a man with ambition would never do something so short-sighted, he still could not help wondering where Chu Guang intended to conjure up that much money.

Chips were not something one could print as he liked.

They were at least manufactured by pre-war casinos.

"Very well, I will follow your arrangements!" Malvern gently patted his daughter’s back and said with a smile, "I will take Elisa around nearby... These days have been full of meetings, and it has been too long since I spent proper time with my precious daughter."

Watching the father and daughter, Chu Guang smiled and nodded. "Mm, I wish you both a wonderful time at the celebration."