Chapter 257 Expedition to Honghe Town!
Chapter 257 Expedition to Honghe Town!
At nine o’clock in the morning,
the caravan set off on time.
Black smoke was emitted from the steep exhaust pipes, and ten tracked trucks loaded with munitions started up at the same time, heading towards the eastern wasteland.
According to the plan, after leaving Changjiu Farm, the caravan will travel eastward along the interprovincial highway, pass the abandoned highway town and battery factory, and change its route to the southeast, drawing a V-shaped zigzag line on the map, bypassing the area controlled by the Bone Chewing Tribe, and after arriving in the area of the Garbage City, it will head north to Honghe Town.
Because the trucks are full of goods, people can only walk beside the trucks.
But it doesn’t really make any difference.
Even if there are seats on the trucks, no one is willing to sit.
After getting off the interprovincial highway, going east again, there is no complete road at all. Even if the track has good off-road performance, it
can’t stand the ups and downs of the road itself. In addition, these trucks are loaded with munitions, and the drivers dare not drive too fast, and they all crawl on the ground in low gear.
Even if these shells are safe under normal circumstances, who can guarantee that every bump is normal?
If you don’t want to cause a big problem, you can only be very careful.
In addition to the bumps on the road, the biggest threat is the birds, beasts, insects and snakes lurking in the forest and the mud.
Whether it is a burly monster or a multi-legged beast running close to the ground, it can pose a substantial threat to the caravan guards who mainly use light weapons.
In addition to these “dangerous species”, there are also flies as big as basins and mosquitoes as long as arms. These mutant creatures that seem to have no combat power should not be taken lightly.
Some red-headed and green-headed flies have even evolved the ability to attack from a distance-they can spray white eggs as thick as thumbs. This kind of eggs usually carry a large number of pathogens. Although the direct damage is not high, if they happen to hit the wound, the wound will be inflamed at the least, and maggots will grow in the wound at the worst. If it is not handled in time, it is easy to lose your life.
Only God knows how many dangers are hidden in this wasteland.
”…After the snow in front, there is a deserted wilderness.” Walking beside the convoy, Mole picked up the telescope and looked towards the southeast. “There was probably a small town there before, but the houses there have basically turned into concrete slag, and only a half-collapsed opera house is left… We met a death claw there before, and there are bones on the ground that I don’t know whether it was a predator or a mercenary.”
The snow was almost melting, and only a thin layer of it remained on the ground.
Many places simply turned into puddles, and a few clumps of green sprouts had already drilled out of the mud.
The life on this planet is far more tenacious than people imagine.
”Will we meet it?” The Elf King Fugui said eagerly. ”
How could we meet it? We are going to deliver goods, not to hunt,” Mole put down the telescope, “We will bypass it in a while, unless the beast takes the initiative to find us, but this possibility is very small.”
The IQ of the death claw is much higher than that of the monster, and its intuition of danger is much stronger than that of ordinary aliens.
Unless you break into its territory, Deathclaw rarely picks a large group of people as your opponent.
The two sides will most likely be at peace. There is a
high probability that you will not encounter particularly dangerous carnivorous aliens within a one-kilometer radius of the Deathclaw’s lair.
Hearing that they would not encounter them, several nearby players showed regretful expressions on their faces.
Irena: “Speaking of which, I haven’t eaten the meat of a Deathclaw yet… Of course, it’s not that I want to eat it, I’m just a little curious about what it tastes like.”
Debt Eyes chuckled: “Wasteland gourmet stone hammer, worthy of being Old Na!”
Irena: “Get lost.”
Debt Eyes looked up at the sky, looked at the clouds in the sky, and sighed.
”One hundred kilometers… How long will it take to walk?”
Isn’t there something like a portal?
Or you can hurry on the road with one click.
The mole opened the VM and took a look at the map, thinking for a while and said.
”If we don’t have to take a detour, we might get there in two or three days. After this detour, it will probably take five or six days.”
The construction site boy and the brick protested: “Why don’t we just kill them? I think it’s totally possible!”
Debt eyes: “+1, they are just a group of defeated generals.”
Glancing at the two people with swollen confidence, the edge of the water couldn’t help but complain.
”Okay, we are going to deliver goods, not to give up our heads.”
The opposite side is not just one thousand-man team, but three, with a total number of five or six thousand. Even if there are five or six thousand chickens standing in a row, it will take a while to kill them, not to mention that there are five or six thousand bandits with guns.
These looters have come all the way from the central part of the valley province. There may be awakened centurions, not to mention the commander of the legion. If these people don’t reveal their flaws, it may be difficult for the survivors of Honghe Town to defend their territory.
A glimpse of excitement flashed in the edge of the water.
A battle of equal strength?
Not bad.
It’s on fire!
Debt Big Eyes and the construction site boy looked at each other, and the expressions on their faces suddenly became a little subtle.
”Are you panicking?”
”I wasn’t panicking at first, but now I am a little.”
”If we die and go back… wouldn’t this journey be in vain
?” “Fuck! Is it too late to change teams now?”
”Or… you go ask the moles if they need more people?”
Edge paddling: “???”
…
It was just past noon.
Less than four hours after the caravan to Honghe Town set out, the caravan returning from Boulder City arrived at the south gate of the outpost. Just after
returning from a mission, looking at Kuangfeng and Ye Shi with bandages on their bodies, Quitting Smoking showed a surprised expression on his face.
”Oh my god, how did you two get injured?”
Lao Bai said with a smile: “We were targeted by looters when we came back. There were about 20 people, but it’s not a big problem.”
Although Lao Bai said it was not a big problem, looking at the expressions on the faces of several other NPCs in the caravan, it was obviously not as relaxed as he said.
The leader named Qian Lai still had a lingering fear on his face.
The guard beside him was even more injured. He remembered that he had a bandage on his arm before he set out, and now his other arm was also bandaged.
A strange expression was written on his face: “Damn, those predators can still ambush you?”
Fang Chang said.
”It can’t be considered an ambush. We discovered them a long time ago. They obviously knew it too and followed us all the way. We couldn’t move fast with the goods and couldn’t get rid of them. They might not be sure of our strength and didn’t dare to get too close. They didn’t make a move and just followed us to find an opportunity.”
”When we reached the edge of the Fourth Ring Road, they might have felt that if they didn’t make a move, they would have no chance. Finally, they couldn’t help but make a move. Then we had a real fight in the alley.” Quitting
Smoking said excitedly.
”Exciting! How many did you kill?”
”Half, they ran away halfway through the fight,” Lao Bai smiled and raised his chin, pointing to the back of the team, “Look, we caught two more.”
Next to a two-headed bull, two depressed men wearing animal skins had their hands tied by iron chains and hung on the two-headed bull.
On another bull not far away, there were equipment seized. In addition to the iron barrel rifles that the newbies didn’t use, there were actually two assault rifles and a grenade launcher.
Two caravan guards watched from the side, monitoring their actions.
Ye Shi, with a bandage on his shoulder, cursed.
”MMP, I suspect there are looters in the slums! As soon as I went out, I felt that way!”
Kuang Feng said calmly.
”Don’t doubt it. If I were a person in the slums, watching a group of fat merchants passing by every day, I would definitely find a way to get some money from them.”
Unlike Ye Shi, he was shot in the thigh, but the other party used a steel core bullet, which went straight through his leg, so it was not a big problem.
Fang Chang nodded in agreement with the two teammates’ statements.
”Indeed, those looters are likely to have come out of the slums. I can even boldly guess that they might have already targeted us when we went in.”
Where did the looters in Qingquan City come from?
It’s impossible that they jumped out of the cracks in the rocks.
As the largest survivor settlement in the southern part of the entire River Valley Province, Boulder City absorbs people from the entire province and even neighboring provinces.
It’s impossible for so many people to flock to the city, and there are not so many places in the city to accommodate so many people, let alone so many jobs.
Most people can only build sheds outside the city and do some work that the city people are unwilling to do. Over time, slums are formed.
The huge slums are a breeding ground for chaos and crime. There are not only mercenaries, cannon fodder and scavengers, but also looters.
I heard that the gangs in the slums even help looters sell stolen goods. The black market there can always buy some things that are not common in the city. Helping to keep an eye on some fat sheep that look easy to bully is naturally a piece of cake for those people. Why
doesn’t Boulder City care?
This question is very broad-minded, but it is a bit out of touch with the real world.
From the perspective of Boulder City, we can also ask the same question –
why should we care?
”Anyway, we finally arrived safely,” Lao Bai looked at Ye Shi, “You and Kuang Feng should go back to the shelter to save the game first. His injury is not bad, but you still need to go to the infirmary for a small operation.”
The incubator has the effect of accelerating recovery. Generally, small wounds with small wounds, even those of intelligence type, will heal after lying down for a few hours, which is just the time to save a game.
As for some serious injuries that are not disabling, they usually only need to lie down for one or two days. If it exceeds three days, most players will choose to save the game first and then heal themselves.
A mere gunshot is nothing, just take out the bullet.
At first, Lao Bai planned to use alcohol to disinfect Ye Shi, and learn from those NPCs to help him take out the bullet.
But unfortunately, the bullet was stuck in the subscapular joint.
Lao Bai pulled it with tweezers, but failed to get it off. He didn’t dare to use too much force to turn a small problem into a big one, so he wrapped it with a bandage.
It was those ignorant NPCs who were surprised by the behavior of the two.
But it’s no wonder.
One of them was fumbling around with tweezers on the wound, while the other was impatiently urging them to hurry up. The key point was that they hadn’t used anesthetic yet.
Such ruthless behavior was somewhat outrageous even for an awakened person. Now, the caravan guards looked at the two of them with admiration.
Ye Shi nodded.
”Okay, what about you and Fang Chang?”
Lao Bai said with a smile.
”We still have to deliver the things everyone ordered, and we have to go to the warehouse manager to hand in a task later.”
Thanks to the hot sales of Teng Teng’s products in Boulder City, they did not make a wasted trip this time, and they also made a lot of money.
After some discussion, they did not exchange the two thousand chips they earned for an exoskeleton, but bought a second-hand hydraulic crusher at the auction house.
This thing can be used to process the coarse materials of cement, and it can also be used to crush concrete block waste. If you order it at the factory, you will need at least five thousand chips. It can be considered a bargain to buy it with two thousand chips.
Although there are magnetic confinement plasma cutting machines, some precision instruments can be produced. However, the inert gas used as cutting fluid and the fusion battery used as energy supply are not cheap after all, and some heavy equipment outposts are still scarce.
Exchanging chips for goods and shipping them back to sell to other players is a one-time deal, and at most you can make a profit from the price difference, but if you purchase production equipment and ship it back, it will be a continuous source of income!
At present, the demand for building materials in the outpost has skyrocketed, and the answer to what version is obvious. After
a discussion, several members of the Niu Ma team immediately decided to add a cement production line on the basis of the original brick production line, and produce recycled cement bricks made from concrete waste at the same time.
It is said that the raw material used by the cement factory in Boulder City is the concrete waste that can be found everywhere on the wasteland. They have already mastered the reuse technology of construction waste.
The next time I go to Boulder City, Lao Bai plans to look for it in the talent market to see if he can find a loophole and hire someone who knows cement aggregate recycling technology.
It is said that the office can now entrust recruitment, and you can apply for it from Lucca or the warehouse manager, and the salary can be settled with silver coins, which is very convenient.
In addition to the things they bought themselves, there are about two thousand chips from other players. Some of the chips have been exchanged for things for them, and some have been left over.
For example, the share that belongs to the rich woman Tengteng.
It includes a 220-kilogram sewing machine with its own power box and intelligent components, and 21 chips.
”Delivering goods to Tengteng’s hut?” Ye Shi’s eyes lit up, and he laughed, “Take me with you, I’ll help too.”
”You’re not helping with anything,” Kuangfeng rolled his eyes, “Look at how swollen your arm is.”
Ye Shi: “Fuck! It doesn’t matter in the game, it doesn’t hurt anyway!”
As they were talking, Teng Teng had already arrived at the south gate.
Seeing the caravan parked next to the unloading point, she walked over and was about to ask if the goods she ordered had arrived, but she saw the bandages wrapped around Kuangfeng and Ye Shi, and couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.
”Are you all okay?”
Before Kuangfeng could speak, Ye Shi next to him called out.
”Woo woo woo, not at all. I got shot in the shoulder. It hurts so much.”
Teng Teng: “Ah?! Then, then let’s go to the infirmary quickly…”
”Okay, stop pretending,” Lao Bai rolled his eyes at Ye Shi, looked at the bewildered Teng Teng, took out 21 chips from his pocket and handed them over, “Your things are on the back of a two-headed ox, more than 200 kilograms, you can’t move it, we’ll help you deliver it later.”
”Thank you! It’s a great help!”
Teng Teng nodded gratefully, but was too embarrassed to take the chips. He glanced at Kuangfeng and Ye Shi next to him and said in a low voice.
”I don’t want the remaining chips… just consider them as medical expenses.”
”Take them.”
Lao Bai stuffed them into her hands without saying anything, and said with a hearty smile.
”Don’t listen to those two guys yelling, it doesn’t hurt to get hurt in this game. Besides, we should be the ones to say thank you, if it weren’t for your artwork, we wouldn’t be able to afford the big machine behind us.”
”But…” ”
We have received the agreed payment, it’s what it is,” Lao Bai shook his head and said, “We don’t do such unethical things as charging extra.”
After hearing what he said, Teng Teng no longer insisted, whispered a thank you, and silently accepted the 21 chips.
However…
Lao Bai was the only one who acted all the bullshit, and Ye Shi was immediately unhappy.
”Gan! What do you mean it doesn’t hurt at all! It’s also a little bit of feeling, okay?!”
Kuang Feng followed up with a blank expression.
”I have an objection, only Ye Shi was pretending to be in pain, I didn’t scream.”
Lao Bai smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.
”Uh, this… I didn’t pay much attention, mainly because Ye Shi’s acting is too exaggerated, and I’m too upright to bear to see him bullying a little girl.”
Ye Shi: “Get lost! I think you just want to show off! Bah!”
Kuangfeng: “+1”
Lao Bai: “???”
Secretly watching the three noisy people, Teng Teng’s cheeks were slightly hot.
I always feel…
they seem to have a very good relationship.
Bumped!
Not noticing the unnatural expression on Teng Teng’s face, Fang Chang saw that she changed into a light leather armor, and couldn’t help asking curiously.
”Are you planning to go out?”
Hearing the voice from the side, Teng Teng, who exclaimed “Ah”, came back to her senses from her mind, nodded with a red face, and said shyly.
”Well, I plan to go to Boulder City to have a look!”
”Mission?”
”I guess so, but it’s mainly to investigate the market!” At this point, Teng Teng’s eyes lit up, and she continued excitedly, “The cultural characteristics and clothing style of Boulder City are different from any country in reality. Some things can’t be seen from photos alone. I plan to see it with my own eyes!”
Fang Chang nodded in agreement.
”Indeed, the content that can be written in the guide is limited after all. No matter how many guides you read, it’s not as good as playing it yourself… But how do you plan to go?”
The road to Boulder City is not easy to walk.
On the way back, in addition to the predators, they were also targeted by a group of cave beasts hiding in the sewers.
Although it didn’t turn over, it was still a hard battle.
Before Teng Teng could answer, a flexible figure rushed out from behind her.
”The mercenary tail is here!”
Sisi, wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet, also came over from the side and pushed up the helmet covering his eyes.
”Oh! And Sisi!”
Looking at the two energetic people, Fang Chang was stunned.
”You guys are also going to investigate the market?”
”That’s right! Wei Ba wants to be a mercenary!”
At this point, Wei Ba sighed in a condescending manner, shook his head and said, “Damn it, it’s all because the fountain is useless, all my luck was used up in the lottery! I didn’t make it to Honghe Town, so angry!”
Sisi glanced at her.
”But think about it from another angle, could it be because we lowered the team’s score?”
Wei Ba immediately retorted.
”How is that possible! Wei Ba is also an awakener, okay!”
The two of them awakened half a month ago.
After all, they have been in the game for some time, and their development speed is considered to be average, and their strength is not weak. If they work hard, they can be considered T2 players.
But…
Fang Chang looked at the girl with a pair of cat ears next to him.
This should be a newcomer, right?
”You too?”
The cat ears on his head shook slightly, and Aoao Zhimahu, who was staring at his ears, nodded a little embarrassedly.
”I, I haven’t awakened yet… I’m almost there.”
”That’s not what I’m asking. Awakening or not is not the key. What I mean is, are you planning to go with them?” Fang Chang kindly reminded, “The road to Boulder City is still quite dangerous. Look over there, those two idiots are also over 10 levels, but they still hurt themselves.”
Aoao Zhimahu nodded vigorously.
”It’s okay! I, I’ve also been on the battlefield!”
Although she just went offline to report the news to everyone, it also played a key role!
At least, she is confident that she won’t panic.
Seeing the determination in her eyes, Fang Chang smiled and nodded, saying approvingly.
”Well! Not bad, very energetic! Come on girl!”
It’s just a game.
Just be happy, there’s no need to think too much. Even
if you die, you’ll just be on the forum for three days, which is not a big problem. Everyone has been through the rookie stage.
Besides, the manager didn’t say that rookies can’t do tasks, right?
As long as there is that determination, anyone can contribute to the great cause of the revival of the Human Alliance.
”Wait a minute, Teng Teng, is it really okay for you to take so few bodyguards with you?” Ye Shi said nervously, “How about I go too? At least I can be a lookout.”
Teng Teng waved his hands to refuse.
”No, no, no need to go through so much trouble. You should take good care of your wounds. We have a perception specialist in our team.”
Ye Shi was about to ask who it was when a sharp voice with a hint of dullness came from the side accompanied by the clanging sound of steel collision.
”That’s right!”
Everyone looked over there and saw a “tin can” covered with steel plates, striding towards them with meteor strides.
”Hehe, level 12 perception specialist, Awakener Ya Ya is here! Look at my equipment, who dares to say that I can only pick mushrooms! Hmm?”
The four members of the Niu Ma team were stunned, and the caravan guards and security guards not far away were also stunned by her exaggerated appearance.
This plate armor…
at least 300 kilograms, right?
Tail’s eyes sparkled.
”Oh! So awesome! Si, we won!”
Si Si was stunned, silent for a while, and muttered in a voice that only she could hear.
”… It will be troublesome to recycle VM.”
Lao Bai swallowed his saliva and asked cautiously.
”Is this… KV-1? Or Miner I?”
You can’t tell from the outside!
”KV-1!” With his angular breastplate, Ya Ya said proudly, “It cost me a lot of silver coins to build this plate armor! How about it, isn’t it amazing?”
Lao Bai’s expression was a little subtle, and he was embarrassed to speak.
Fang Chang coughed and said.
”I guessed it was Mosquito. Only that stupid thing could make this thing. By the way, didn’t he remind you… about the problem of battery life?”
Ya Ya blinked.
”Battery life? What is that.”
Fang Chang: “…”
Lao Bai: “…”
Kuang Feng: “…”
Ye Shi said anxiously.
”Battery life! Have you driven a new energy vehicle? The battery life of the bare KV-1 exoskeleton is only about one day, and you directly put on a load of 300 kilograms! Can your battery last until the afternoon?”
To be honest, this turtle shell is even more cowardly than the manager’s previous one!
Don’t these people think for themselves when playing games?
What the hell are you learning from NPCs!
”No problem! I’m fully charged!” Yaya said confidently, “It’s only twenty kilometers, I can still make it this distance!”
”I think you should not be too optimistic about these twenty kilometers,” Fang Chang said tactfully, “Twenty kilometers is the straight-line distance, the actual distance cannot be calculated at all.”
Lao Bai nodded and agreed with this statement.
”Indeed, you can’t fly over. Anyway, I feel that the distance from here to Boulder City is no less than that to Yuanxi Town, you can feel it for yourself.”
”Ah?!” Yaya was stunned, the expression on his face began to be less confident, and whispered, “Is it so far?” ”
Yeah,” Lao Bai nodded silently, “So I didn’t wear an exoskeleton.”
Yaya was stunned and said anxiously.
”Then…what should we do then.”
Lao Bai: “If you are a strength type, it’s no problem to walk in 300 kilograms of heavy armor directly. After all, most of the weight is on the exoskeleton. Just turn on the power when you need mobility. If it’s other types…I don’t know, anyway, it’s not recommended.”
Tail looked at her: “Why don’t you let Si wear it? She is a physical type!”
Si Si glanced at her.
”I don’t wear that kind of thing.”
It’s too late to change the equipment temporarily now.
After unloading the pot camel, the caravan at the door will set off again in two hours at the latest.
But…
Ya Ya didn’t give up.
Everyone also agreed that finding Boss Xia should be able to rescue them.
Watching the group of people walking towards the base, Ye Shi couldn’t help but look at Lao Bai.
”Can they do it?”
Lao Bai was silent for a while and shrugged.
”I don’t know.”
Ye Shi said hesitantly.
”Or…I’d better follow them?”
Kuang Feng glanced at him.
”You are not their father, why do you care so much.”
”But–”
Fang Chang patted Ye Shi on the shoulder.
”Don’t worry too much. With three awakeners, it’s not a big problem.”
It doesn’t matter if it’s a big problem.
It’s only three days.
When the hand touched the bandage on his shoulder, Ye Shi shuddered all over.
”Fuck! Don’t touch me, my arm is almost swollen!”
Lao Bai rolled his eyes.
”Then why don’t you go get the surgery quickly.”
”If you delay any longer, your arm will be broken, and then I’ll have to mend it!”
(End of this chapter)
