“Pfft...!”

Inside the research vessel docked near the New Alliance airport, Yang Kai nearly spat coffee all over the control console as he stared at the holographic screen in front of him.

Just minutes ago, he had returned to his research ship, intending to review the New Alliance’s administrator’s proposed revisions to the cooperation agreement. But as soon as he powered on his personal terminal, the news popped up.

Displayed on his screen was a three-page newspaper, its masthead reading Clearspring Daily.

What made his jaw drop, however, was the massive headline splashed across the front page.

“THE CLEARSPRING CITY MOTHER NEST HAS NOT FALLEN! IT HAS BEEN SECRETLY IMPRISONED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR!”

That thing can be kept in captivity?!

“What the hell is this crap?”

Floating beside him in a holographic feed, Li Ke looked immensely satisfied with Yang Kai’s stunned expression. His tone carried a sharp edge of mockery. “Our intelligence agents found that paper being sold all over Dawn City. You can pick it up at almost any kiosk. Tell me, what exactly is your Research Division even doing?”

Li Ke was from the Foreign Affairs Department, same rank as Yang Kai, a B-class Researcher. Ever since Yang Kai had snatched away a diplomatic task that should’ve been theirs, he had been simmering with resentment.

It wasn’t the first time either.

Hearing Li Ke’s jab, Yang Kai’s face stiffened.

Sure, he had set his ship’s AI to monitor New Alliance radio and TV channels, filtering out important news, but newspapers? He hadn’t bothered. He didn’t even have a fixed address to deliver them to, and honestly, who the hell still reads newspapers in this day and age?

“... This doesn’t prove anything. It’s just a newspaper,” Yang Kai said, forcing his face blank, refusing to give the man the satisfaction. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

“Yes, just a newspaper. One that just so happens to have released its first issue today,” Li Ke sneered. “Our agents confirmed the story on-site. They went straight to the eastern suburbs of Clearspring City. Guess what they found? Slime Mold repairing ruins! And what were you doing? Wandering into the Alliance Tower for a meeting that led to no agreement whatsoever!”

“I did reach something!” Yang Kai interrupted, face darkening. “The administrator expressed genuine interest in collaborating with us on the research of Clearspring City’s ruins and the Mother Body samples. And listen, I’m in the middle of critical negotiations. I don’t want your reckless interference jeopardizing that progress.”

Li Ke chuckled and shrugged. “So what? We’re not the only ones working this angle. Everyone’s gathering intel, and frankly, it’s disappointing you can’t even handle that much. You think intelligence work means sitting around in your research ship waiting for information to float through the hatch?”

Yang Kai was momentarily speechless, then simply clamped his mouth shut.

Seeing he had gotten his jab in, Li Ke didn’t press further. He straightened, tone turning serious. “Anyway, don’t take jobs you can’t handle. Getting back to business, I believe this newspaper was deliberately released by the New Alliance.”

Yang Kai frowned. “They’re spreading fear in their own city?”

Li Ke smiled faintly. “Fear? Have you just arrived in Dawn City? Those survivors are famous for not giving a damn about death. You should’ve seen them fighting the Army. Even the vaunted Wislander troops backed down in their own specialty. That level of fearmongering is just a joke to them.”

Yang Kai nodded reluctantly, he couldn’t exactly argue. He hadn’t been at the Falcon City peace talks, but he had witnessed the battle between the New Alliance and the Torch Church in the Brocade River Province.

The sky had gone black with Winged Mutant Humans and he thought for sure that the administrator would be crushed. Yet somehow, the man had personally charged into the battlefield in his exoframe, and smashed the enemy’s chief in a single blow.

Those people completely overturned his preconceptions of the kind-hearted bluecoats he knew.

“What’s your department’s take on this?”

Li Ke answered without hesitation. “The Chairman’s stance is the Foreign Affairs Department’s stance. The Chairman wants you to secure at least joint research rights to the Hive before the New Alliance signs any exclusive agreements with other parties.”

Yang Kai frowned. “What about the ruins?”

Li Ke snorted, “They are the secondary priority.”

The Academy had dug up more than enough ruins already.

Clearspring City’s relics were valuable, but not that valuable. The higherups of the Academy cared far more about the biological specimen at the city center.

Understanding the Chairman’s stance, Yang Kai took a slow breath before replying, “I’ll do my best. But I’ll need your cooperation, I want full intelligence support.”

Seeing him finally lower his pride, Li Ke smirked slightly. Still, he knew when to stop showing off. Before Yang Kai could explode, he cleared his throat. “No problem. The Chairman already predicted you’d screw this up. Oh, and I read your uploaded report, about that special zone proposal from the New Alliance. The Chairman thinks it’s worth discussing. His suggestion is to let them use Ice Sea City. It has good infrastructure, solid logistics, and conveniently, a frozen Hive in the nearby ruins. Of course, if the New Alliance insists on another location, we can negotiate.”

“Alright...” Yang Kai nodded seriously.

Li Ke nodded back, about to end the call, then paused, remembering something. “Oh, right. You’d better hurry. Not long after you left, the Enterprise already reached out to the New Alliance.”

That caused Yang Kai to freeze. “Not long after I left... Wait, after I left?”

Li Ke frowned, confused by Yang Kai suddenly sitting bolt upright.

“What’s wrong?”

“... Nothing,” Yang Kai muttered, swallowing his curses as his nostrils flared.

At the Alliance Tower earlier, he’d been told the Administrator was meeting with a representative from the Enterprise.

So that was a lie to brush him off?!

Seeing Yang Kai’s face turn red, Li Ke gave him a puzzled look. “You okay?”

Yang Kai’s expression went rigid. “I’m fine.”

Li Ke coughed lightly. “If something’s wrong, you really should...”

“My terminal’s out of power.” Before the man could finish, Yang Kai jabbed his finger through the air, angrily cutting off the transmission.

...

Elsewhere, in level B4 of Shelter 404.

When Chu Guang asked for input on where to establish the special zone, Yin Fang only thought for two seconds before replying, “If you ask me, Ice Sea City is a good choice.”

Chu Guang blinked at the map where Yin Fang had drawn a red circle.

“That far north?” The moment he’d heard about the city’s name he had known something was off, and one look at the map confirmed it.

That wasn’t just north, that was practically the damn arctic. A few more steps and they would be standing in the polar circle.

Sensing his skepticism, Yin Fang rubbed his nose and chuckled.

“Don’t be fooled by the location. It’s actually the most developed, best-equipped settlement under the Scientific Committee’s jurisdiction.” He paused, then elaborated, “The committee runs its settlements on a high-efficiency, low-consumption model. So even if their production tech isn’t bad, their people still live frugally, some might say, barely above subsistence. The only real way out of that lifestyle is to become a Prospector.”

“But there are exceptions. The Academy despises waste, sure, but a few committee settlements enjoy comfortable standards of living. Ice Sea City is one of them.”

It had once been a doomsday seed vault, equipped with full nuclear-biochemical shielding and adjustable temperature zones. After the Academy took over, they converted much of the space into living quarters and cultivation zones, keeping the temperature a pleasant 20-25°C all year round.

So despite sitting in the far north, inside it was practically spring all year long.

Technology had turned the cold from an obstacle into protection, a natural barrier separating the city from the chaos of the wasteland.

Most mutant species in the Wandering Swamp couldn’t even reach that far north. In temperatures of -20 to -50°C, even a Hive would be forced into hibernation.

Because of these ideal conditions, many mid and high-ranking Academy researchers had quietly arranged for their non-academy family members to live there.

Over time, Ice Sea City developed strong infrastructure, especially in healthcare and education.

While not quite equal to the Academy proper, it still outclassed most committee settlements by miles. Even Ideal City paled by comparison.

That was why so many Academy researchers scorned Ideal City’s superficial prosperity.

“... Living in such harsh land justifies higher consumption,” Yin Fang concluded. “So most committee settlers, upon hearing the location of Ice Sea City, think it’s miserable and never envy it. They don’t realize the people there harvest potatoes in heated greenhouses, watching automated machines do the digging for them.”

Chu Guang chuckled softly after a moment’s pause. “Where there are people, there’s politics.”

Yin Fang smirked. “I’m just saying, don’t underestimate those folks. They might look humble, but they’ve got plenty of schemes. And whatever you do, never talk about emotions or trust with them. Anyone who’s made it to C-class or higher has long abandoned that nonsense... Not absolutely all, but almost all of them.”

Clearly, his resentment toward his old employer ran deep.

When he talked about the Enterprise, he only showed disdain. But when he mentioned his former Academy, he turned into a bitter ex.

“I’ll keep that in mind...” Chu Guang coughed lightly and turned his attention back to the map.

The special zone card could be played two ways. Beyond simply exchanging technology, or poaching talent, he could also use it to export New Alliance culture into the Academy’s territory.

Their earlier dealings with Ideal City had proven one thing. Even the New Alliance’s rough, experimental creations had immense appeal as exotic imports, especially cultural ones.

Right now, the Amplemoon Group’s CR-based foreign exchange earnings alone rivaled one-third of West Continent Municipality’s entire industrial output.

And a certain game company had drawn over a million cloud users with a few cleverly retro VR hits.

Behind that lay not just massive economic potential, but invisible soft power as well.

Many volunteers at refugee shelters and orphanages, teachers who had come to the New Alliance on their own dime, had been drawn by that very cultural magnetism.

He needed to balance the NPCs sent to study with the Academy against the players itching to stir trouble, but the potential was huge.

As Chu Guang pondered how to maximize the benefits, Little Seven’s voice entered his ear. “Master, the Enterprise’s representative, Yi Chuan, has requested an audience. It’s already late, shall I schedule it for tomorrow morning?”

Chu Guang replied casually, “Sure. Did he say what it’s about?”

Little Seven mumbled, “Something about that newspaper, I think.”

Newspaper?

Chu Guang blinked.

Sensing his confusion, Little Seven helpfully projected a holographic screen.

Displayed on it was the same Clearspring Daily headline that Charlie had shown him earlier.