Chapter 470

Chapter 470: A Great Departure!

On the last day of August, Yan Ming arrived at Arthur’s office.

"There are some matters I believe I should discuss with you in person."

"Go ahead."

Arthur lifted his head from a stack of documents and looked at his partner.

"Is it a lack of funding or materials? These issues could be resolved with a single communication."

Yan Ming shook his head.

"Neither. It’s about recruiting new members. Since the exoskeleton program was announced, more and more people have expressed interest in joining—not only young professionals and middle-aged men but also active members of the city defense army…"

"You mean the numbers are overwhelming? How many have signed up?"

"Two hundred thousand."

Yan Ming provided a staggering figure and added, "And the number is still growing."

Arthur fell silent behind his desk…

While two hundred thousand might not seem excessive at first glance, it was indeed a formidable number.

Hope City had a registered population of eight million, with an equal gender ratio, meaning there were four million males.

After excluding those too young, too old, or in critical positions unable to leave their posts…

There were still two hundred thousand.

Arthur couldn’t quite grasp whether people were disenchanted with life in this world, truly saw mechs as the epitome of a man’s passion, or had absolute faith in him as the Speaker. However, given the circumstances, he had to act.

Noticing Arthur’s prolonged silence, Yan Ming asked anxiously, "What can we do? Delaying a response will dampen everyone’s enthusiasm."

Arthur remained silent.

"How many exoskeletons have been produced at the factories so far?"

Yan Ming shifted the topic, as if checking if Arthur was still engaged.

"Excluding those already in use, there are nearly fifty thousand new ones."

"That many?"

Yan Ming was momentarily taken aback. He knew not all applicants would be selected and that not everyone would receive an exoskeleton; although mass production had begun, they were not yet affordable for everyone.

But he hadn’t anticipated the production capacity of those three factories to be so robust…

With fifty thousand exoskeletons, a formidable elite force could be assembled, assuming a selection ratio of four candidates for every exoskeleton. However, training time posed another challenge.

Arthur’s widespread enhancement program also required time; new recruits couldn’t be expected to transform into elite soldiers overnight and return as city champions within days—that would be somewhat fantastical.

After a moment of contemplation, Arthur finally spoke, "Active members of the city defense army and retired soldiers will be prioritized. The others will be assigned to logistics and to bolster city defense.

"We must deploy forces outward, so it’s acceptable to integrate some newcomers into the city defense, but we shouldn’t strip all the veterans at once."

Yan Ming had no objections to the decision and simply nodded, preparing to return and implement the plan. Just as he was about to leave, Arthur called out to him:

"Actually, there’s another method to arm more people and unleash the greatest combat power in a short time, but I’m still somewhat conflicted."

Seeing Arthur’s serious expression, Yan Ming sat back down and looked at the Speaker, or rather… the newly circulated title in the city, "Lord of the City."

"I believe you can guess the reason… The potential for war often comes at the cost of sacrificing the future; it could push humanity to the brink.

"The reason I’m asking you is that you’re the person I know with the longest service time and most combat experience besides Wencheng. I think you might have some insights."

Yan Ming pondered in silence for a moment and spoke very solemnly:

"I was just a soldier before I awakened my abilities; when I first awakened, even turning a nail clipper was tough, so I was sent back to the city wall.

"I defended the city wall for ten years and witnessed many extremely dangerous battles.

"I remember one time when extraordinary beasts broke through the defenses and fell into the city, starting to tear things apart on the spot.

"At that moment, we all thought Hope City was finished, but in the end, we held our ground."

Yan Ming looked at Arthur, his eyes filled with trust:

"So if you ask for my experience, I can only say it doesn’t matter. You mentioned before that the evolution speed of extraordinary beasts is very fast, so is there a possibility that we are already on the edge of the cliff?"

Arthur thought for a moment and nodded, although his expression turned a bit strange:

"Then you better prepare for some heavy overtime."

Yan Ming felt confused at once:

"Aren’t I already supposed to work overtime?"

Arthur handed over a piece of paper that outlined the schedule for the awards ceremony on September 1st.

And today is August 31st…

Yan Ming’s expression froze.

After all, aside from praising these outstanding individuals, what is the purpose of the awards?

Of course, to boost morale.

So when morale is boosted, what will the eligible people do?

The answer is to sign up for the Extinction Legion.

Yan Ming swallowed hard; perhaps… the extent of his overtime would far exceed his imagination.

—

That early morning, Ain arrived at work with a few of his "friends."

As he stepped into the factory on time, Ain noticed that the workers already there looked at him oddly.

This shouldn’t be… Ain pondered quietly in his mind while reaching up to touch his face.

It felt elastic, and all his features were intact.

No problem; his health status was perfectly fine. He had optimized the erosion technique, damaging only consciousness without taking anything else away.

After confirming that his identity was fine, Ain’s smile became exceptionally natural.

"Is there something wrong?"

He looked at his coworkers.

The workers didn’t answer and just gazed in one direction.

Ain instinctively turned his head and saw four strong men with kind faces.

"Hey, are you Ain?"

"Yeah."

The strong man looked at the others and asked one by one:

"Cheng Fan? Feng Yi? Zheng Xing?"

They all nodded.

"Then it’s settled; come with us."

Ain then expressed a puzzled look:

"Is there a problem?"

The strong man slapped his forehead and laughed, revealing two rows of white teeth:

"Look at my memory; I forgot to mention I’m Liu Xiaoheng, and I’m here to take you for your award."

"What award?"

"Ahem, it’s like this."

Two light coughs came from the staircase, and everyone turned to look, noticing the slightly aging factory manager walking down.

"It’s like this, Ain, and you several others have been doing very well lately, even exceeding the production schedule, so the officials of Hope City want to present you with an award."

Ain looked at the workers who weren’t selected and finally understood the emotion in their eyes—it was evident envy, along with a bit of hidden… jealousy.

"So… when is it?"

"Right now."

Ain’s expression suddenly froze.