Chapter 355: Darkness within the Great Wall
Chapter 355 The Darkness Within the Giant Wall
The voice was very close.
Even though the surroundings were filled with noisy music, Fang Chang could tell that the words were spoken to him.
The expression on his face subconsciously became serious, and he quickly turned his head and saw the girl who was also sitting next to the bar.
With the dim light, what caught his eye was a rebellious short green hair.
Even in Boulder City, this eye-catching hair color is extremely rare.
She was not tall and thin, with a pair of eyes of different colors under her fluffy bangs, and her left eye was obviously distorted, probably a prosthetic eye or an electronic eye. The delicate nose and chin looked like they had been operated on, or they were the crystallization of technology.
Fang Chang’s sight moved down and fell on her left shoulder, where he could see a large piece of metal parts, similar to the style of Brother Kuangfeng.
However, Kuangfeng’s metal arm was the work of the Pioneer after all, and it looked much more upscale than hers.
The girl didn’t care about Fang Chang’s “straight” eyes, and continued in a casual tone.
”If you are interested in the three people at table 12, I can help you find out about them.”
Table 12 was where the group that Fang Chang was following sat.
”What’s your name?”
”Dolly… your pronunciation is strange, are you from another province?” The girl looked at Fang Chang, her eyebrows raised with a hint of interest.
Dolly?
What a strange name.
”Fang Chang,” Fang Chang paused and continued, “It doesn’t matter where I’m from… Regarding your proposal just now, how do you plan to find out?”
”I know that dancer, her name is Nicole, she is one of the top stars here.” Dolly pointed to the dancer sitting in the booth and said without hesitation, “Give me a tip, and I can help you find out anything, including her measurements.”
”That’s not necessary.”
Fang Chang reached into his pocket and fumbled for a while, and found a smallest chip, and flicked it into her hand with his thumb.
Dolly clapped her hands to catch it. With the help of the light, she could see the number on the chip and the color of her hair. A hint of surprise suddenly appeared in her right eye.
”… The boss is really generous.”
25 chips.
If she worked in a factory, it would take two weeks to earn this amount.
Dolly’s eyes couldn’t help but become charming, and she looked at the gentle and refined handsome man in front of her with interest.
”What do you want to know?”
”What are the identities of those three people, what did they do today, and…” Fang Chang’s heart moved, “and find out for me if they know about the fire in the warehouse area last night.”
Dolly’s eyes were a little surprised, especially when she heard the last sentence, her eyes became slightly alert.
”You shouldn’t ask like this, if you ask like this… even a fool can guess who sent you.”
It was too difficult to beat around the bush with a mediocre person, so Fang Chang simply stopped acting and said with a smile.
”It’s okay, I only said this to you today… Are you scared?”
Scared?
Dolly raised her eyebrows and got up from the round stool in front of the bar.
The thin body twisted and quickly passed through the crowd and came to the side of booth No. 12.
She leaned her elbow on the back of the sofa, blew into the dancer’s ear, and naturally laughed and joked with her old friend, blending into the atmosphere.
Watching her and the dancer talking and laughing, Fang Chang rubbed the wine glass with his index finger, and felt nervous.
He suddenly began to feel that trusting a stranger seemed to be a rash decision.
What if this guy sells himself?
Or… should he pay a deposit first?
Just as he was thinking about it, someone patted his shoulder.
He turned his head and saw that the girl named Dolly was already sitting next to him.
”Did you ask?”
Dolly hooked her finger, motioning him to move his ear closer, and whispered with her thin red lips.
”…The young man sitting in the middle is named Alex. He is the security captain of Weijia Company. His sister Sophie is Weijia’s lover and works as an accountant in the cannery under Weijia’s name. He was lucky today and made a small fortune.”
”What fortune?”
”He didn’t say it, but he kept showing off that he could make those powerful officials and dignitaries so worried that they couldn’t eat for a day just by talking.” Dolly’s eyes flickered slightly, “My guess is that his boss gave him a sum of money to incite the workers to surround the city hall… and he should have deducted a little from that fund.”
Does it mean to strike?
But why would you strike yourself?
Fang Chang was a little curious. He felt that he might have missed some key clues.
However, the mission did not require him to investigate these unimportant things.
It was enough to just confirm the identities of those people.
”What about the fire last night?” Fang Chang then asked about the thing he cared about most.
”It’s not easy to ask about this kind of thing, but he did tell my friend that something happened last night and he was sorry that he couldn’t come here to accompany her…” When she said this, Dolly’s expression was a little teasing, but she didn’t know what she was teasing about.
”Thank you, the information you provided is very valuable.” Fang Chang extended his index finger and gently swiped the VM exposed from his sleeve, saving the recording.
[Task (side quest) completed]
[Reward: 120 silver coins, 100 contribution points, 500 “Big Stone City” area reputation…]
[Triggering task (side quest): Summarize intelligence and write a press release]
[Task requirements:…]
Looking at the pop-up window that appeared on the screen, Fang Chang raised his eyebrows with interest.
Writing an article?
He is familiar with this.
”You’re welcome. I’m counting on you to come and take care of my business. There aren’t many customers as generous as you.” The girl curled her lips and continued with a beaming face, “No matter what kind of secret it is, as long as you bring the person to me, I will find a way to pry it out of his mouth.”
Hearing this, Fang Chang laughed and turned off the VM screen.
There have always been three unsolved mysteries in “Wasteland OL”.
How deep is Shelter 404, how big is Ya Ya, and when is Gou Guang going to be publicly tested.
It’s a pity that Ah Guang is not in the game.
Otherwise, he really wants to bring his good brother here for a drink and find out some inside information that ordinary people don’t know.
”I have finished my questions, but I still have some personal questions to ask.”
”Go ahead.”
Today’s performance was perfect, and the girl was not in a hurry to find the next target. She rested her chin on the back of her hand and looked at him with interest.
”Your eyes are very special.”
Dolly smiled and joked.
”This pick-up is too deliberate… and it sounds fake.”
Normal people would not think that her eyes, which were like those of a bionic man, were beautiful.
However, she obviously misunderstood.
The “special” mentioned by the man in front of her meant it literally.
”No, I’m really curious, where did you get your eyes and mechanical arms from?” Fang Chang asked with interest.
Installing an electronic eye and a mechanical arm is simply cool, okay?
Especially since he uses a bow.
He bet that there is really a place for prosthetic modification, but only he would be interested, and most other players would be the same.
Looking at Fang Chang who was full of interest, Dolly was stunned for a moment, and his face gradually became a little ugly.
”Your order is over. This is the second question.”
She wanted to get rid of the man in front of her with this sentence, but what she didn’t expect was that a chip with a face value of 50 fell on the table in a circle.
Dolly’s eyes widened, and she opened her mouth, but she couldn’t say anything for a long time.
”…Are you serious?”
”It seems that I gave too much.” Fang Chang joked.
He suddenly found this NPC quite interesting.
”Too late!” Dolly quickly reached out and put the chip in her arms.
Fang Chang looked at her and continued.
”Since you have taken the money, don’t you plan to tell me some of your secrets?”
Dolly was silent for a while, and suddenly waved to the bartender, shook two fingers, and then pointed to the top line of the wine list.
Not long after, two glasses of blood-red cocktails were placed on the bar.
”…Two glasses of ‘Dragon Blood’, enjoy slowly.”
The pungent smell of alcohol reminded Fang Chang of his apartment in the suburbs of Shanghai and the unlicensed black bar in the back street.
The taste of fake wine blending is really the same.
The Queen of the Night is one of the best bars on this street. The living standard of the people in the wasteland is really worrying.
Or is this what you want?
Fang Chang was going to pay.
However, the girl had already taken a step ahead of him and handed the 50-dollar chip he had given her earlier to the bartender.
After putting the 40 chips in her pocket, Dolly picked up her glass and clinked it lightly with the glass in front of Fang Chang’s table, and took a sip of the spicy “Dragon’s Blood”.
”It’s not a secret… You’ve heard of awakening, right?”
”Of course.”
Fang Chang felt a little strange.
What is the relationship between mechanical prosthesis and awakening?
Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Dolly continued.
”There is a serum produced by Giant Stone Military Industry. Its name is the same as this cocktail, ‘Dragon Blood’. As long as it is injected, there is a certain probability of awakening…”
”Of course, not everyone is qualified to be injected with dragon blood. After all, I heard that thing is not cheap. Over the years, Giant Stone Military Industry, which assisted the militia in recruiting mercenaries, would conduct a simple physical examination on applicants, and one of the items was to test the compatibility of dragon blood.”
”If you pass, you will have the opportunity to get a free injection. And once you successfully awaken and happen to show excellent qualities, you will have the opportunity to become an employee of Giant Stone Military Industry and live a life without worries about food and clothing.”
Fang Chang looked at her in surprise.
”Have you awakened?”
”No,” Dolly put down the wine glass in her hand, and a trace of haze covered her eyes. “Even if you pass the physical examination, it does not mean that you will definitely awaken. The success rate of dragon blood is 50%, and the probability of no reaction at all is 40%…”
”And the remaining 10% will cause irreversible damage to body tissues… In the words of those bastards, this is also a kind of awakening, but just like mutation, not all mutations are good.”
Fang Chang’s Adam’s apple moved, and he suddenly understood why the girl in front of him was so resistant to this topic.
Obviously, her arm and left eye were taken away by the “dragon blood”…
The New Alliance does have a serum that induces awakening, but the success rate of that thing is a mystery. You must have a certain potential to use it, and this potential is difficult to measure stably.
That kind of potion is useless for players. It should be a prop used to increase the level of NPCs in the setting.
Fang Chang’s own understanding is that players and NPCs are completely different power systems.
Therefore, the evolutionary routes are also completely different.
However…
Although the probability of awakening with the serum of the New Alliance is not high, I haven’t heard of anyone having side effects.
Can I even give them two more shots to try?
”I think I asked you a question that made you sad.”
”It’s okay. I know you’re not interested in that dragon blood. After all, a rich man like you wouldn’t need that stuff.” Dolly laughed at herself and pointed at her left arm with her right index finger.
”My left eye and this arm were both installed for me by Giant Stone Military Industry. The bank in Giant Stone City generously provided me with a loan, and for this I had to pay them back 50 chips every month until I was 40 years old. And this broken thing is not as easy to use as I imagined. It breaks down from time to time, and it will shut down if I don’t pay back on time. Sometimes I think… I should have died at that time.”
Fang Chang was silent for a while.
”Sorry, I reminded you of sad things.”
Although he wanted to sympathize with the girl in front of him, how could he say it?
She was disabled, owed a huge debt, and seemed to be an orphan…
I always felt that there were too many factors.
”You don’t have to sympathize with me,” the girl curled her lips in self-mockery, and touched his glass with her index finger, “If you really feel sorry, just have a drink with me.”
…
Slums.
Old White and the two players followed the woman’s footsteps into Blake’s house.
The environment inside was not rich, but it was much better than the shacks in the slums.
The shoe cabinet next to the entrance was filled with empty wine bottles, and there was a paper box on the ground with recycled shells exposed inside.
”My name is Mary, what’s yours?”
”Old White.” As he said this, Old White gave a look to the perception-based killer brother, asking him to go to the second floor to take a look.
Gou Shishi went to the utility room next door, and according to someone’s confession, he found a locked safe in a moldy ammunition box.
According to someone’s confession, the unspent deposit was hidden there.
”Old… Bai? A very rare name.”
Although the woman was surprised, she didn’t say much.
She took a candle from the cabinet, lit it in an aluminum tray, and brought it to the low wooden table in the living room, adding some dim light to the dark room.
Unlike the inside of the giant wall, there is no electricity in the slums. People who have the conditions will use candles or kerosene lamps for lighting, and most people go to bed as soon as it gets dark.
After all, there are no guards here. The nearby gangs just hate others making trouble at their doorsteps, but that doesn’t mean they are bored enough to check the names of every corpse.
This is a real no-man’s land. The people living here are like weeds, and they will grow again when the spring breeze blows.
Compared with the unlucky people who freeze to death, starve to death, or get lost while scavenging in the wasteland every year, the number of people who die from murder and accidents is not worth mentioning.
Sitting on the sofa, Mary looked at Old White sitting opposite her, and seemed to be hesitating about how to start.
Old White didn’t waste time, turned on the translation function of VM, connected the headset, and then spoke.
”Your friend accepted a commission that he shouldn’t have accepted.”
”Is he still alive?”
”He’s still alive, but he will probably have to spend the rest of his life in prison.”
”Prison?”
The woman’s eyes were confused, but she didn’t dwell on this issue.
It can be seen that she doesn’t care so much about Blake’s final fate.
The man occasionally brings back some money, but he never spends money on her.
If this meal ticket is gone, she has to make plans for tomorrow as soon as possible.
This situation is not uncommon in the slums. Not everyone has the courage to look directly into hell, and relying on the strong is also an option.
”Ask any questions.”
She crossed her legs on her knees, leaned slightly against the shabby sofa, and looked at Old White sitting opposite her.
Old White didn’t beat around the bush and put the previous chip with a face value of 100 next to the candle.
”What did he say to you before he left?”
Mary stretched out two fingers to hold the chip, and said with her red lips slightly opened.
”He said we are going to get rich, and there is a generous customer who gave him a large amount of advance deposit. He also said that he has deposited the money in the bank, and after the commission is completed, he will take me to live in the giant wall.”
When she said this, there was no longing in her eyes. After all, her ears were about to be callused by those words.
That guy couldn’t save any money at all, and he couldn’t stand the life in the city at all.
But the man in front of her gave her the opportunity to live a good life.
”Did he mention who the client was?” Old White continued to ask.
”A man named Bit, he is an old acquaintance of his, living in an apartment on 71st Street in Boulder City. The rent there is not cheap. I heard that it costs 2,000 chips a month.” When she said this, a trace of envy appeared in Mary’s eyes.
”Have you seen that Bit?”
”Of course, he is completely different from the rude Blake. He is a polite man with elegant manners and clear eyes. It is said that he helps the big shots in the city to do business. If only that guy could learn from him, we wouldn’t have to live in the stinking ditch.”
Mary couldn’t help but complain, and Lao Bai silently wrote down this clue.
It seems that Blake didn’t tell the truth completely.
He and the man named Bit were not casual acquaintances, nor did they meet at some Pirate Bay Tavern.
In addition, Lao Bai sent a message to Fang Chang in the city, asking him to go to the apartment on 71st Street to take a look.
However, surprisingly, Fang Chang didn’t reply to his message?
Seeing that this guy didn’t log off…
Lao Bai’s expression was a little strange.
After waiting for a while, he guessed that Fang Chang must have something to do, so he sent the message to another teammate who was still online.
This time the message was replied quickly.
[Kidney Fighter: Got it! I’ll go check it out! ]
[Lao Bai: Confirm the target location first, and be careful not to alert the enemy. ]
[Kidney Fighter: Got it! 】
I hope he really understands.
Retracting his index finger from the screen, Old White looked at the woman sitting opposite the candlelight.
”…Do you know what business that Bit is in?”
”He seemed to have said…” With his index finger on his chin, Mary thought for a while, “Is it arms? I remember he said that farmers in the south need heavy machine guns to deal with mutants with thick skin and flesh, and large-caliber weapons are very popular there.”
A hint of surprise appeared in Old White’s eyes.
The one who attacked them was an arms dealer?
This was the most unlikely thing.
”…Could it be Giant Stone Military Industry?”
Sha Bi, who came down from the second floor, happened to hear it.
Looking at the translation on the VM, he exchanged glances with the dog thing who was walking out of the door next to him.
”This is terrible…hiss, but it doesn’t make sense logically,” the dog thing muttered, confused, “I heard that the negotiations between the New Alliance and Giant Stone City didn’t make concessions on the arms trade?”
Sha Bi nodded with a subtle expression.
”……I heard about it too.”
The weapons of the New Alliance no longer entered the market of Giant Stone City, and Dawn City did not prohibit the weapons of Giant Stone City.
In exchange, Giant Stone City opened up the market in other fields and gave tariff concessions to each other with Dawn City.
Anyone has reason to be dissatisfied with them, but the arms dealers of Giant Stone City have no reason to hate them.
He couldn’t help thinking in his heart, it would be great if Brother Fang Chang was here.
That guy has a lot of twists and turns, and he can definitely analyze a bunch of crooked theories.
”……Who is that big shot? Giant Stone Military Industry?” Old White did not interrupt, staring at the woman in front of him and continued to ask.
Mary looked at a blank face.
”I don’t know… maybe?”
Time passed by minute by minute, and before he knew it, the candle had burned down.
According to the information listed on the VM, Old White continued to ask a lot of questions, and the sky outside the window was completely dark.
”……I have understood the basic situation, thank you for your cooperation.” Old White stretched out his hand and clicked on the VM, extinguishing the dim light of the screen.
”Is it over?” Mary’s expression was slightly disappointed.
Old White nodded.
”Well, if I need anything, I’ll contact you again.”
Unwilling to give up, she did not get up to see him off, but instead looked out the window.
”Look, it’s already dark outside. If you enter the city after seven o’clock, you have to pay double the city tax… If you don’t mind, you can stay here for one night and go back when it’s dawn.”
The voice seemed to carry some kind of hint, or invitation.
Old White was slightly stunned. Is
this game…
really for all ages?
His intuition told him that whether he chose yes or no at this time, it would not affect the plot of the game later.
Just like he had chosen in “The Witcher 3”.
But…
will there be a black screen skip here?
At this time, a knock on the door outside broke the suddenly ambiguous atmosphere in the living room.
”… It’s probably that jerk’s drinking buddy again. I’ll go and see.”
Hearing the voice from outside, Mary muttered and got up from the sofa.
At this time, she suddenly noticed Old White sitting on the sofa, and her expression was a little embarrassed, and she said in a low voice.
”…Um, can you please not make any noise?”
Although Blake probably wouldn’t be able to come back, she still had to save some face if she couldn’t leave right away.
This would also make it easier for her to find another home.
Old White nodded, showing his understanding, and gave a look to his two teammates not far away, signaling them to step aside.
Mary breathed a sigh of relief, twisted her graceful body, and reluctantly walked to the door.
There was the sound of turning the doorknob, and then the door creaked open, and it seemed very quiet in the flickering candlelight. There was
a voice coming from the door, but it was not very clear.
Old White took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
However, at this moment, a “bang” sounded, causing him to jump up from the sofa reflexively, and at the same time, he tightened his grip on the submachine gun hidden under his clothes.
The gunshots were not just one.
When he rushed to the door, Mary had already fallen in a pool of blood, her body was full of bullet holes, and the entrance was scarlet.
The two men standing at the door were stunned, obviously not expecting that there were other people in the room.
The man holding the PU-9 submachine gun immediately pointed the smoking muzzle at Lao Bai.
However, Lao Bai was obviously one step faster than him, and the dagger that flew out of his hand directly pierced his forehead.
The huge kinetic energy lifted the muzzle of the gun, and a volley of bullets swept across the ceiling.
Lao Bai took a step forward, stretched out his hand to pull the dead man with a dagger stuck in his head and the living one into the house, and kicked the door shut.
The corridor was dark, and the ground was sticky with blood.
The man who was caught by the neck was completely scared and trembled.
”Don’t, don’t kill me… I, I am also following orders. If I knew you were still alive, I would definitely not dare to get involved in this mess.
He obviously mistook Lao Bai for Blake.
Brother Sha and Brother Gou, who heard the gunshots, also rushed out of the room, looking at the two bodies on the ground, with surprise on their faces.
”What’s going on? !”
”Lao Bai, are you okay?”
Why did they suddenly fight?
”It’s okay. ”
Old White pressed the man to the ground and pointed the submachine gun at the back of his head.
”You, you are not Blake?” The man pleaded in a trembling voice, his voice incoherent, “Don’t… don’t kill me, please, it’s so dark at the door, I can’t see anything.”
”Who sent you here?” Old White said in a deep voice.
The man said tremblingly.
”Our boss… He said that the awakened person who lives on our street messed up and offended people who shouldn’t be offended. He asked us to come here to clean up…”
The street outside was quiet.
Every household closed their doors and windows, and no one came out to watch the excitement.
Old White noticed the tattoo on the neck of the man he was holding down.
The pattern looked like a dagger.
He didn’t care about any gangs, let alone the Dagger Gang.
He killed at least three-digit predators in Xizhou City who were more brutal and cruel than this group of villains. What
really surprised him was the control of the huge military-industrial group over the entire city… …
Whether inside or outside the giant wall.
Every part seems to be operating around the core hidden under the water.
Those people can decide the life and death of each person, or even a group of people, at will, just like operating chess pieces.
And without any concealment.
Lao Bai suddenly discovered unexpectedly that there might not be a real order here.
Or civilization.
The lights inside the giant wall are bright, and it might be darker than the wasteland outside the giant wall…
Seeing the sound behind him, the man seemed to have misunderstood, thinking that the person behind him was weighing whether it was worth offending the Dagger Gang for a woman.
Thinking of this, he lowered his voice in a self-righteous way.
”…Friend, the light here is very poor, I can’t see your face. If you let me go, I will say that the unlucky guy who shot you was stabbed in the head by that woman…Our boss won’t ask about this matter.”
”…But if both of us confess here, this matter will definitely not be let go.”
Lao Bai didn’t quite understand the first sentence, but he did understand the second sentence.
He laughed.
”Good guy… I was threatened. ”
Old White reached out and lifted the man up, facing the face towards himself, and said with a smile.
”Now you can see clearly.”
The man’s face was pale, and his eyes were full of fear.
Just when he thought he would be silenced, he was thrown to the ground.
”It’s time to retreat.”
Old White didn’t look at the man again.
He gestured to his teammates next to him and walked out of the house with a strong smell of blood.
At this time, the screen of the VM on his arm flickered slightly.
[Kidney Fighter: I’ve arrived at my destination, but the apartment building is separated by guards… There are a lot of people around there, I heard a murder happened. ]
Not very surprised, Lao Bai typed a message back.
[The person is probably dead, you should come back first, see you at the save point later. ]
[Kidney Fighter: OK]
Lao Bai looked at Fang Chang’s icon, and he was a little worried that he hadn’t replied to his message yet.
I’ll ask him when I log off.
…
After Lao Bai and his group left, at Blake’s home.
The man who found himself surviving unexpectedly struggled to get up from the ground.
He felt that except for his pants, the rest of his body was cold.
”Damn…”
He cursed, venting his fear in swear words, and limped to the door.
The door opened.
The cool breeze blew on his face.
For a moment, he felt that it was great to be alive.
At this moment, a group of people appeared in his sight.
Looking at the person in the lead, the man’s eyes showed a trace of surprise, and a flattering smile immediately hung on his face, and he walked up to him in two steps.
”… Lord West, why are you here?”
The man in front of him was the boss’s confidant and the leader of this street.
West glanced at the door behind him and frowned.
”What happened?”
The man immediately told the truth about what happened just now, and even exaggerated it.
West listened quietly, and suddenly asked.
”Do you remember what that man looks like?”
”Yes! Of course I remember!”
The man nodded quickly, his eyes flashing with excitement, and said viciously, “I can recognize that face even if it is burned to ashes. As long as I see him again, I will definitely recognize him!”
Wade nodded, glanced at the men standing next to him, and then turned and left.
The quiet night was broken by a gunshot.
Not long after, Blake’s house caught fire and engulfed three bodies.
At the same time.
The city hall in the outer city.
The lights were on in the conference room.
Du Long faced his staff with great energy and vividly described the genius plan for the 200 million chip loan.
Deputy Director Jaeger’s face was full of confusion.
He didn’t know what the man in front of him was crazy about, and he didn’t know what kind of magic potion those moles had fed him.
But if he was asked to find a fault with this plan, he really couldn’t think of it for a while.
After all, such a thing has never happened in the past two hundred years.
Melvin, the bank president sitting at the table, kept frowning and then loosening his brows.
He also had concerns in his heart, but he couldn’t ignore the temptation of the cake.
A loan of 200 million chips…
Although it is not without risk, it is much safer than lending money to merchants and mercenaries.
After a long time, he nodded.
”…Although there has been no precedent like this before.”
”But it sounds like a good idea.”
(End of this chapter)
