Chapter 687
Chapter 687 - 673: Differences
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"This is the mining area?"
With just one glance, Lu Ping’an doubted if he had found the right place.
It was configured like a fortified stronghold.
Black high walls surrounded it, watchtowers, barbed wire, and fortification arrangements made one wonder if they had traveled to the wrong era. However, if the machine guns within the stronghold were a product of this world, their lethality was unquestionable.
But what was strange was that the gun emplacements in the stronghold were not only pointing outwards... at least three-quarters of the fortifications were clearly pointing towards the interior of the mining area.
The setup of barbed wire, fortifications, and walls were all like this: one side facing outwards and the other inwards, with noticeably stricter defenses facing inwards.
"...What’s the situation inside?"
As he asked, Lu Ping’an’s War Eagle was also collecting its own intelligence.
After a brief aerial view, Lu Ping’an’s eyes lit up with delight.
He saw large vehicles such as mine pools and excavators with wheels as tall as a person... In this world, these things were truly luxury items.
However, even after repeated observations with the War Eagle, not too many people were spotted.
There were people stationed at the defensive positions, but their vigilance was obviously weak. They were gathered in groups of three or five, chatting and playing cards, focused mostly on the large mines within the mining area, which made one wonder what they were guarding against...
"Their armed forces were almost wiped out when they attacked us. Just over an hour ago, two trucks drove away, presumably carrying the last of the mining area’s inventory."
This mining area clearly had its own armed forces, but they should be at a "just enough" level.
When they detected that their own region was threatened, they naturally acted "according to habit", which led to a completely different outcome this time... Thanks to the Explorer mechanism, even the most conservative combat power evaluation system showed that the current officially licensed exploration teams were at least ten times stronger than the "wild adventurers" of a few years or more than a decade ago under the same scale and number of people.
Local snakes hadn’t gotten used to the concept yet, and they suffered a head-on blow. Even if they took the initiative in the early stages by relying on surprise attacks and weapon advantages, the result was a significant loss of mobile combat power for the mining area and a sharp decline in defensive capability.
Did the people in the mining area get the news? Even if there was no feedback, the security team’s failure to return should have given them some clues...
"Didn’t you stop the trucks?"
Perhaps this was the answer. Prioritizing the transfer of finished ores to ensure minimal losses was indeed the wisest decision... But looking at the still unguarded security personnel, it seemed they hadn’t received any news at all.
𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"We stopped one."
Wang Xier put down her binoculars, and behind her, a crowd was busy at work.
Lu Ping’an was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.
Being able to stop one truck meant they had enough time and combat power to follow, but why could they stop one and not both? What kind of popcorn movie did they come from that prioritized action scenes over logic?
"...Did someone follow the other truck to see where it went?"
"Then why didn’t you simply let both trucks go? Isn’t this like beating the grass to startle the snake?"
Hearing this, Wang Xier fell silent for a while, and then the topic shifted to the current defensive positions.
Did Lu Ping’an genuinely not understand, or was he deliberately provoking them...? Whether you stop all trucks or let them all go to wait for the big fish, taking half of them away is being both greedy and hesitant, can that really achieve anything?
"Initially, I planned to let them both go... I only managed to release one truck due to an emergency order I added. They placed tracking devices within the ores, so no matter how many times the ores change hands, we can find their production and storage terminals."
Wang Xier added this sentence, which seemed inconspicuous at first but became subtly meaningful upon careful consideration.
Wang Xier was the leader of the Saphire people of Four City and the deputy director of the New Development Zone in the Ancient City. In theory, she was the leader of everyone present... but she was too young. Even if she was talented, she still might not be able to win over everyone just by her bloodline.
A few battle teams centered around her would listen to her orders, because she was the employer, but would they still listen when it came to huge profits, especially for rare minerals like these...
Well, it’s quite normal for those frontline executors to accidentally destroy the trucks, and losing a third or a quarter of the ores is also reasonable... What? The ores on us? We picked them up on the way, it really is a rich mining area, even going to the bathroom, you can find valuable minerals.
This wasn’t a coincidence nor a case of individual moral decay, but a result of the overall situation.
The mechanism of the Explorer’s "ship ticket" is such that teams are destined to be built around the Explorer, who only needs to take responsibility for the interests of himself and his team.
A higher level of unity and strict orders? Forget it.
Lu Ping’an touched his chin and didn’t say much.
He increasingly realized that the battle between the two sides was actually a competition between two eras and two different Exotic Realm development systems. Each side had its advantages and disadvantages, and it was hard to say who was stronger. In the end, it would have to be decided by the outcome.
A clear top-down company system, despite being a loose group of people externally (for the nation), has more discipline within the organization.
Under the demands of the company’s interests, they are more proactive, have more people, and are willing to invest and take risks... As long as the benefits are significant, they dare to compete with Deities, let alone challenge moral boundaries.
To trample on so-called universal human morals in the name of a group or a nation is a daily routine for some people, and they may not even feel a shred of guilt.
On Lu Ping’an’s side, there are fewer people, but their average strength is higher. Each of them can be called elite soldiers, but each one is also considering their best interests, at best considering the interests of their small team...
"...the people in the main base are probably not reliable."
Looking at the busy Ms. Wang Xier in front of him, Lu Ping’an was thoughtful.
Her situation was unique and she already had so many direct subordinates, but those who were supposed to follow her still did, and those who were supposed to be discounted still were.
The Saphire people from the other three cities, as well as the mercenaries who were paid to do things, were basically only suited for taking advantage of favorable situations... When the local Eastern Country’s garrison troops first fought against the Aus people, most teams were not involved, staying on the sidelines, right?
There is nothing wrong with this, as after all, this is the general trend created by the current system. However, the result is terrible.
"Maybe... some places have already become terrible."
The Aus people are not kind and united on the inside, but they certainly work hard when they receive a salary. They will listen to the orders and commands of a unified superior.
If they gain an advantage in intelligence and control of the battlefield, mobilize regional forces, and hunt down some scattered small teams that only consider their own interests, they will likely be very successful.
"... We must hurry up and build the Radio Tower soon. By the way, we should contact the military as soon as possible, they are the ones worth trusting."
Lu Ping’an was thoughtful. Maybe the higher-ups knew about the drawbacks of the Explorer system from the beginning, which is why most of the "Exploration planets" were occupied by troops.
The garrison provided support in terms of manpower, intelligence, and basic technology. Explorers showcased the advantages of action driven by "greed" under a worry-free logistics situation, perhaps this was the original design of the system.
However, now the military is probably locked in a tough battle with the Aus people, and they have lost radio support, so their situation might not be good either.
Maybe the Aus people attacking the Radio Tower at great cost were targeting the Eastern Country’s frontline troops from the beginning.
If the local Eastern Country’s troops were defeated... The Aus people would use their advantage in numbers and machinery to conduct a modern hunter-vs-beast swarm hunt, picking off targets one by one.
Even if an individual is strong and can run, can they escape this area, this planet?
Lu Ping’an realized that perhaps the chess piece he held (the Radio Tower) has become so important that it affects everyone’s life and death.
Lu Ping’an also noticed that even with Wang Xier’s repeated calls and demands, the individual explorer groups still remained scattered... These people were considering their own gains and losses, considering whether they might die instantly if they tried to attack a fortified position.
"The efficiency is a bit low..." Everyone knows that charging first is the most dangerous, and no one wants to be the loser.
After communicating for a while, even with Wang Xier presenting the previous employment agreement, her direct subordinate team was the only one willing to act as the vanguard.
"This is already much better than expected... At least there is no on-the-spot price increase." Wang Xier recalled, with some exhaustion.
She missed the past, the one-of-a-kind good days.
She didn’t make any demands of Lu Ping’an because he was neither her subordinate nor her "directly hired mercenary"... According to the contract, he was only there to provide "paid assistance" and help temporarily.
The current situation forced Lu Ping’an to make the worst possible assumptions.
In his estimation, Wang Xier’s side should already be the best-case scenario, given that they had a clear leader and core, as well as a common interest that made sense.
The small hitch passed in a flash, but at the moment Wang Xier gave the attack order, defying everyone’s expectations, Lu Ping’an took the lead.
"...Be a man, take a hit and hit back. What’s the point of thinking so much?"
Originally wanting to slack off, he had figured it out now. At this point, maybe helping others was helping himself.
He, perhaps, needed to be a bit more simple-minded.
— End of Chapter 687 —