Xingtie, started with a guitar, and made a living by singing

"After all, I am the owner of this mechanical house, so please give me some face."

"No, I was just thinking that I was somewhat surprised that Shiluwa, who made her own rules by not following them, would ask such a polite question."

Pella said something very hurtful in every sense of the word with a serious face.

When Shiluwa's expression suddenly fell, Jeppard, her younger brother, spoke up in time.

"...Ahem. Sister is just a little careless usually, but she does have a serious side when it comes to serious matters. Maybe..."

"Although I'm happy to hear this, could you please not add that "probably"? It makes me sound like some kind of comedian."

Shiluwa's originally touched expression turned into a complex expression that seemed both shy and embarrassed.

"I think it's better to let Miss Shiluwa share her thoughts first?"

Seeing that the topic was gradually turning towards crosstalk, Wendy had no choice but to remind them.

Normally he would have been able to keep up the conversation for as long as he wanted, but for now, let's get down to business.

"Woohoo, look! That's a normal reaction, Wendy, right?"

As if she had met a close friend, Shiluwa pretended to wipe away tears and said.

"...Well, alright. Let's just think of it as a way to gather everyone's ideas..."

After thinking for a moment, Pera agreed.

Chapter 50 The Curtain Has Fallen

The reason why Pera said this was that this big sister of Shiluwa was never very reliable in what she did or said.

Of course, this unreliability does not mean that she messes things up, but because Shiluwa always has sudden ideas and does things that are beyond ordinary people's thinking.

For example, adding an externally mounted drill to a snowplow, or installing a ballistic calculation device on a toaster... Although it's not impossible, it doesn't seem necessary to do this, right?

Under Pera's suspicious eyes, Shiluwa said "Ahem!" and gave her little sister a look that said "save some face".

Then he said, "Actually, I don't think there's any need to assume they have ulterior motives. At least as things stand, this new technology will only benefit the Silver Mane Guards, won't it?"

“That’s not wrong, but…”

Pella certainly recognized this philosophy of benevolence, but the technology and its implications were not something that could be brushed aside.

She pushed up her glasses and spoke with a little anxiety.

"I just think that if we can figure out the origins of these technologies, whether it's analyzing the ancient technology or recreating other energy exploration technologies, it can make the current situation better."

Although the energy consumption in the city has been somewhat buffered due to the reduction of human activity areas, what if we take into account the bulk of the energy consumption in the Iron Guard restricted area?

Maintaining the front line or even launching regular counterattacks cannot be done solely by sacrificing human lives.

It is said that the Silvermane Iron Guards have a high loss rate in combat, but there are only a few automatic mechas that can remain in service intact without being scrapped.

The factory that manufactured automatic robots never closed for a single day, and before the war it had to operate at full capacity 24 hours a day to ensure sufficient manpower supply to the front line.

After production, the automatic robots also need to "burn the earth's marrow" to operate, just like people always need to eat enough to have the strength to fight.

People can still move if they skip a meal, but automatic robots will shut down immediately if they skip a meal.

But this is not the end. The earth marrow array cannons used to defend the city need to be fed, and the energy center that maintains the operation of most equipment in the Iron Guard restricted area also needs to be fed.

From weapons and equipment to energy agencies, none of these can be shut down.

Today, in order to implement the will of the Great Guardian, people's efforts have far exceeded their rewards.

Under this extremely unhealthy operating model, just by calculating the energy consumed over the years and the decreasing output of earth marrow minerals every year, Pella has already received a lot of bad debts that are not enough to cover expenses.

If it weren't for the current inability to go to the lower area to obtain more accurate data, based only on existing calculations, I could still comfort myself by saying, "It's fine to hold on for a few years, maybe there are still large undetected marrow mines."

Pella was really about to shed tears in advance for the next Grand Guardian, Lady Bronya.

Besides this, there is another very serious matter.

As the erosion of the Rift worsened, the Iron Guard defense lines in various areas of the city were forced to retreat, but the front line was definitely unable to retreat, especially with the counterattack strategy in recent years, the entire front line had advanced a lot.

This will create a very scary phenomenon.

That is, the Iron Guards on the front line might be surrounded by the Rift without knowing it. Once they lose their retreat and are dragged down by the concentrated outbreak of monsters in the Rift, what will happen next is not something she, an intelligence officer, can predict.

Collect intelligence, analyze it, provide objective and accurate data, and leave the rest to the superiors to decide.

This is her quality as an intelligence officer and a rule she should abide by.

but--

Perhaps it was because after spending time with Wendy in recent days and being frequently exposed to new ideas, she began to have some doubts about this rather "fatalistic" way of doing things.

If the superior can make the right choice, then there will be no problem.

But if the superiors, or those in power, do not have the ability to make the right decisions, then is she just going to watch the higher-ups ruin all the efforts of herself and her colleagues, letting everything go to waste?

Naturally, Pera had always hidden such a rebellious idea in her heart, and she was very careful not to reveal it at all.

Until today, she had witnessed the transformation of Lady Bronya with her own eyes, and even had an argument with the Guardian...

The idea that should have been hidden deep in the heart and not revealed in the slightest, surfaced along with the technology that could change the situation.

Perhaps she is not the only one who has such thoughts. Even Lady Bronya, who is born into the Guardian faction, has doubts about Lady Cocolia's way of governing.

Then it's normal for her, a small intelligence officer, to have some opinions in private, right?

Did those Iron Guards who received unreasonable orders in the past, or even were asked to die, really have no complaints at all?

What everyone fears is not sacrifice, but meaningless death.

Sometimes it is an order without any reason, as if it comes on a whim.

After allowing the Iron Guards to seize control of a certain bridge and occupy it at the cost of considerable casualties, they ordered the troops to withdraw overnight, without even having time to take the bodies of their companions with them.

Sometimes policies are made without adopting any effective suggestions and based solely on subjective assumptions.

Just like when they sealed off the lower areas and transferred all the Silvermane Iron Guards, the people there were exposed to the possible Rift's erosion without any resistance.

These are things that everyone with a discerning eye knows should not be done so recklessly, but the Great Guardian still insists on having his own way and pushes them through.

It was as if he was going to drag everyone into the abyss of destruction. Just the mere guess made her feel a sense of urgency.

If even the Great Guardian who protects his people has given up the idea of ​​survival, where should the Iron Guard and the people go?

Especially after thinking about her mother's death, even the off-wall scientific expedition team was disbanded, leaving people completely trapped in the city and losing the possibility of external exploration. Pella became more and more worried that what she thought would come true.

It is impossible for people to defend this city forever. If the Earth Marrow Development Group had not discovered large mineral veins several times a long time ago and saved Beloberg, the city would probably have faced the problem of energy depletion long ago.

Today, these teams, which have profound significance for the city’s past and future, have either been disbanded or shelved and no longer used.

The Guardian chose to pour all his resources into the bottomless pit of the war on the front line...

These objective facts forced Pera to make a decision -

Similarly, she looked at Guard Officer Jeppard, a colleague who was also loyal to the Great Guardian and firmly implemented the concept of protection.

However, Pella could also see that this guard officer was not without doubts and could not calmly accept any unreasonable arrangements of the Great Guardian.

This gathering may be an opportunity.

A historic occasion to reverse the current situation and gather vitality.

Chapter 51: Shiluwa——!

"Well, if that's the case, I can keep an eye on it for you.

After all, there is indeed an ancient humanoid robot in the mechanical settlement, and perhaps the technology originated from it."

Wendy took on the work very skillfully, which at first glance seemed to be inconsistent with his lazy nature, but in fact it was not the case.

After taking over the task, he didn't need to do anything. He just needed to rely on the lack of information between the upper and lower levels to regularly tell Pella some "information that can be disclosed at the moment."

Boss Swarovski had already been informed in advance, and he would serve as the hub between the upper and lower districts to assist in communication and conduct more cooperation matters.

More importantly, after gaining this hard-earned favor from the Silver Mane Iron Guard, it was only natural for him to successfully develop a network of relationships in the upper echelons of society.

All of this is based on a small lie, but it can benefit three parties, so it can be said to be a win-win-win situation.

"Then I'll leave it to you. I'm truly sorry. This is my negligence as an intelligence officer..."

Pyra let out a long sigh, her expression showing a hint of relief.

The upper and lower districts have been cut off from each other for a long time due to the ban of the Great Guardian. No one knows what the situation in the lower district is now. We can only roughly guess that it is not very good. As for the forces, relationship networks, and important figures below?

All of this is blank. No matter how powerful Pella is, she can't produce a bunch of information out of thin air, unless she uses some intelligence from the lower areas and makes up stories based on hearsay.

While this is a good idea, it can draw some unnecessary early attention.

Coincidentally, Wendy is the most suitable person to break the deadlock at the moment.

Although she didn't know how he got around the railway line, Pera could feel it after spending some time with him.

Wendy is definitely not a bad person, she is just a fool who insists on her free and romantic spirit in such a bad environment.

It seems that it is a lucky thing to be able to meet Wendy.

Or, as Wendy said before, the mechanical bird he gave as a gift really has some kind of luck-enhancing function?

As she was thinking this in her heart, she naturally did not notice Xiluwa's smirking expression.

The purpose of Guard Officer Jeppard is more clear.

"Now that the issue of the technology source has been resolved, let's discuss how to manufacture it."

He looked at his sister attentively, but found that she was wearing a smile that seemed to have some "bad intentions".

Following her gaze, she saw Wendy and Intelligence Officer Pelageya, who seemed to be getting along very well with each other, and even gave off an aura that made people feel like they didn't want to be disturbed.

To be honest, Jeppard was somewhat surprised that the other party had such close ties with Intelligence Officer Pelagea.

You know, although Intelligence Officer Pelageya is popular among the Iron Guard, due to certain reasons, the only person she can really consider a friend is her sister who has already withdrawn from the Silver Mane Iron Guard.

Not to mention that most of the Iron Guards today can't even pronounce the name of the Pelageya intelligence officer correctly.

Although she herself wasn't that bothered by being called by the wrong name, getting different names from different people was a bit of a headache...

More importantly, intelligence officer Pelagia has rather special interests and hobbies.

The love of reading itself is not a problem, but her reading tends to focus more on books that are banned by Beloberg.

This was an extremely embarrassing situation. Although Intelligence Officer Pelageya did a good job of keeping secrets, some clues were still left behind.

Whenever my sister and Lingke mentioned book club gatherings, they would always have Intelligence Officer Pelageya in attendance.

Occasionally, during his lunch break patrols, Jeppard would find the other party reading some books without covers.

In order to avoid a series of social tragedies caused by careless friendships, Intelligence Officer Pelageya is actually also consciously maintaining his existing social circle.

They are neither proactive in making friends nor overly exclusive, and tend to be passive observers in interpersonal relationships.

Therefore, it is not so easy to establish a good relationship with Intelligence Officer Pelageya or even become a close friend.

As for Wendy, Jeppard had complicated thoughts.

On the one hand, he is a friend of Officer Pelagea and an important source of this technology. On the other hand, he also seems to have a close relationship with Lady Bronya.

In this case, if we add in his sensitive identities as a garrison officer and his sister as a retired member of the research department, there will be some suspicion of forming a clique for personal gain...

Not to mention, Wendy also seems to possess strength that is inconsistent with his superficial identity as a "bard".

But before this, he had never heard of the other person. If it weren't for his sister, who made him subconsciously keep some attention on him, he might not have recognized the other person at that time.

Now, after this contact, he can also determine that the other party has no ill intentions, and even stands on their side. Any more cannot be seen in such a short time of interaction.

Therefore, we should focus on observing others with good intentions rather than making malicious speculations about others. Otherwise, wouldn’t that be proving that “we also have bad intentions”?

Although Jeppard does not consider himself a very thoughtful person, he has at least performed above the passing line in this position and has reached an excellent level.

If he can prevent the situation from developing in a bad direction, he naturally has the responsibility.

But before that—

If my sister continues to laugh like this, I'm afraid that intelligence officer Wendy and Pelageya will react.

Therefore, he took the initiative to pull his sister's arm and said seriously.