Chapter 814 How come this enemy is more conscientious than my own brothers?
Chapter 814 How come this enemy is more conscientious than his own brother?
”Too… space elevator?! Are you serious?”
The shaky open truck was moving on the rugged mountain road, and the rusty iron plates and guardrails kept making clanging sounds as the bearings rose and fell.
It seemed like it would fall apart at any time.
About twenty people were crowded in the cargo box of this truck, and their eyes, full of surprise and disbelief, were all focused on the man with mud on his boots and a travel bag on his back.
They didn’t know where this guy came from, they only knew that his name was Zhang Ze, and he was a traveling merchant wandering in the wasteland.
The bag on his back was all his property, which contained some strange gadgets and some rags picked up on the road.
This situation is very common.
There are even more traveling merchants in the wasteland than mercenaries, and not all of them are doing as big a business as Mr. Lister. Most of them save money for one or two silver coins.
”Of course it’s true! How could I lie to you?”
Zhang Ze was very satisfied with those pairs of eyes that had never seen the world, and his face was filled with pride.
Then he reached out from the backpack behind him and pulled out a crumpled newspaper, held it in front of him and shook it hard to flatten it, first cleared his throat, and then read the press release with full emotion.
”…213, the wasteland era lasted for a full 213 years, and the calendar will soon turn to a new year. If we don’t make some new changes from this moment on, there will be no changes in the coming 214. Therefore, we decided to do something to light a torch that can really dispel the cold night on this desolate ruin, and not at the expense of the unknown majority.”
That was the speech of the manager on the radio.
Although he couldn’t imitate the standard broadcasting voice, his hoarse voice was not much different from the noisy electric sound of the radio.
Starting from the part about the space elevator, he read all the way down to the plan for the ten settlements established by the alliance in the coastal areas of the eastern provinces of the Central Continent.
The longing and expectant eyes glowed brighter and brighter.
Food that would never run out, and jobs that even illiterate wastelanders could do!
Not only that –
there were hospitals and schools!
The refugee home of the Alliance even generously promised to provide interest-free loans to disabled survivors to install non-combat prostheses produced by the Monolith Military Industry – and repayment could be postponed until the third year!
That manager was truly a respectable adult!
Not only the sky above his head, he also noticed the dust under his feet – those people struggling to make a living in the wasteland.
Compared to the heaven described by the Torch Church, there is no doubt that the Alliance he led was the real heaven!
If someone else said this, they would be wary of it as a trap sprinkled with icing sugar.
But that adult was different.
Although he never showed off his good deeds, everything he did was seen by the survivors in the wasteland.
Whether it was the survivors living in the Alliance or those who had just been there.
That is why, when his voice appeared on the radio in the wilderness, almost all the survivors of the longed alliance packed their bags and set off on the journey.
Since the dissolution of the War Construction Committee, people finally have a reliable radio again!
”… The above is the full content of the survivors’ daily report, and now we are going to the first of the 10 settlements – ‘Settlement No. 1’.”
After hearing that the merchant finally finished reading, the mercenary squatting opposite him couldn’t help asking.
”Is there no better name for this settlement?”
”Unfortunately, no,” Zhang Zequan closed the newspaper in his hand and stuffed it back into his backpack, “But there is nothing to regret, just like what is written in the newspaper… The respected manager hopes that we will name it, and it will be our new home for a long time.”
At this time, a wastelander raised his arm with a prosthesis welded on it and said with a smile.
”Don’t take me with you, I have my own home, I just go there to earn silver coins.”
His name is Renault, a scavenger from the garbage city. He heard that there would be endless garbage to pick up in the southern sea area for a while, so he came here to try his luck.
Even if there is no garbage falling from the sky, it doesn’t matter. At least the rags in Haiya Province have not been picked up by anyone, not to mention the leftovers of the previous survivors.
The railway of the Alliance has just passed through the Ten Peaks Mountain. It is far enough from the River Valley Province to here. He has been on the train for at least a day and a night.
It can be seen how obsessed this guy is with garbage.
Zhang Ze shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
”Of course, that’s your freedom.”
Not everyone desires a stable life, but he has been wandering in the wasteland for too long, and sometimes it’s nice to think about building a home for himself.
Whether it is with the dream of home or the desire for silver coins, a group of people from all over the wasteland just sat on the same truck. After
a long bump on the road, a trace of human habitation finally appeared in front.
If you see human habitation in other places, the first reaction of most refugees is alert.
But it’s different here.
The most famous survivor forces in the entire wasteland are here. At least before the order here decays, no predator tribe dares to camp here.
A checkpoint appeared at the intersection ahead.
The driver drove the car straight through, and pulled the handbrake after approaching the checkpoint.
A Willant officer came forward with two soldiers, looked at the people in the truck and asked.
”Who are you?”
The driver stuck his head out of the window, and a harmless smile hung on his weather-beaten face.
”My dear soldiers, we are the survivors going to the Death Coast. May I ask where this is?”
The Willant officer glanced at him, and seeing that there was nothing worth noting in the car, he waved at the checkpoint and signaled to open the railing to let them pass.
”This is the ruins of Haibei City. You have to go one or two hundred kilometers south to the Death Coast.”
”Thank you.” Seeing the checkpoint’s railing open, the driver breathed a sigh of relief, said thank you and retracted his head into the window. “You’re welcome.
”
The officer watched the truck start again, and at this moment, he suddenly seemed to think of something and spoke again.
”…By the way, wait a minute.”
The driver was stunned and quickly pulled up the handbrake that he had just put down.
”Anything else?”
Everyone on the truck became nervous.
Including Renault, who had a prosthetic limb, whose hands had unconsciously touched his weapons. The
officer felt the tension in the atmosphere, but he didn’t care. He just looked at the people in the truck and said.
”If you are going there to find work, we have work here too.”
A mercenary with a bullet belt wrapped around his jacket said vigilantly.
”We don’t want dinars.”
The officer’s eyebrows twitched fiercely, and although he was annoyed, he still said.
”We give silver coins.”
These ungrateful guys are actually nitpicking, which is really infuriating!
It’s a pity that the Alliance’s trains refused to carry slaves, and the ships and ports in the southern waters refused to provide any convenience for the slave trade. The clone soldiers can’t work, otherwise he would not bother to pay attention to these poor guys.
Hearing that these Weylanders actually gave silver coins, many people on the truck lit up.
”How much do you give? No, I have to ask you what job you do first!” Renault’s small eyes narrowed into a slit, staring at the Weylander officer intently.
Seeing that the group was interested, the officer cleared his throat and spoke.
”Let me introduce myself. My name is Anthony, the centurion of the 370,000th Squadron, and the person in charge of this construction site… The work you have to do is very simple, that is, to dig ruins. Those who can use a shovel can get 20 silver coins a day, and those who can drive a goblin excavator can get 50 silver coins a day. How about that?”
Although they did not find the entrance to the legendary Shelter No. 20 and the Torch’s Perfect Lifeform Project Information, they have also dug up a lot of valuable good things recently.
After all, the residents of Shelter No. 20 and the Torch Church have been active in the area for a long time. In addition to digging ruins from the Prosperous Era, these guys have also made some creations and improvements on this basis.
In short, the Alliance’s scientific expedition team opened a branch station nearby, and their leader also agreed to sell some less important wreckage and ruins to the Alliance’s scientific expedition team to earn military expenses.
After all, it is too expensive to drag these things back to the Legion’s homeland, not to mention that there may not be anyone who wants them after they are dragged back. They have large areas of ruins in their own homeland that they cannot develop, so there is no need to worry about this place.
They were only interested in the Torch Church’s research on the “perfect life form” project.
Hearing Anthony’s offer, everyone looked at each other and laughed at the same time.
”20 silver coins a day? You’re sending beggars?”
”That’s right!”
”We do the most unskilled and least labor-intensive work in Dawn City, and we get 4 silver coins an hour!”
”8 silver coins an hour! And at least two meals! Also, don’t try to fool us with nutritional paste! I want to eat from the same pot with you! Otherwise, don’t even think about it!”
The tense atmosphere at the scene was immediately dispersed.
Seeing that the legion was not robbing but recruiting people to work, everyone also became tough, shouting one after another, making Anthony, who was standing next to the truck, jump wildly.
This group of greedy hyenas!
Anthony cursed in his heart.
If it were in his hometown, he would have been whipped by these guys who dared to point their noses at him!
”Okay! Just do as you said… 8 silver coins per hour for general workers, and double for those who can drive an excavator!”
Three groups of people digging in shifts, 8 hours a day, only 1920 silver coins a month.
100 people only make 192,000.
The income from this relic is far more than this number. Just the batch of “junk dragged out from the ruins of Shelter 20” that they threw to the Alliance Scientific Expedition Team yesterday is worth 1 million silver coins!
At present, the development progress of the entire relic is less than 10%, and who knows how many treasures are hidden in it.
Hearing what Anthony said, Renault was not vague, holding the railing with his right hand and jumped out of the car.
”I did it!”
Not only Renault, the other four people also stood up hesitantly and jumped out of the car.
It’s pretty good to earn such a high income from picking up garbage, and here they provide food and accommodation.
Scavengers are the lowest class in the wasteland. Many of them are sick from picking up garbage, either from slime mold infection or radioactive lesions, not to mention various mental illnesses caused by the loss of san value.
Although working under the Weilants is not as secure as working under the Alliance, it is still more reliable than working under various survivor organizations of unknown origin.
At least, they will pay the agreed salary.
”Take care, brothers! See you later, haha!” Looking at the guys who stayed on the truck, Renault smiled and waved.
Looking at him with a smile on his face, the people sitting in the truck were also a little hesitant, but in the end they did not get off the car.
What if the Alliance gives more?
Moreover, even if the Alliance does not give as much as the Legion, they are more inclined to work for the Alliance when the price difference is not big.
One is safety, and the other is a sense of belonging, both of which the Legion cannot provide.
”Good luck to you.” Zhang Ze did not hesitate at all, but just sent a blessing to the scavenger who met by chance, and then leaned on the guardrail of the carriage waiting for departure.
He had decided on his destination from the moment he set out, and he would not get off the truck halfway unless it was absolutely necessary.
Anthony waved to his men as he watched the truck go away.
”Assign them jobs, and replace the brothers under the ruins… Also, ask all the passing convoys later. They will be paid eight silver coins per hour, and those who will use engineering equipment will be discussed separately.”
”Yes!” The soldier stood at attention and marched a military circle, then looked at the five excited and nervous scavengers, “Come with me, I’ll take you to the work place.” After watching
the group of people leave, Anthony looked at his watch, then looked in the direction of the checkpoint, and frowned.
The reason why he waited here was not to settle down jobs for a few scavengers, but because a big shot of the alliance had made an appointment with him to meet here.
But now it seems that this guy is late…
But at this moment, a cloud of dust rose again in the distance, and two tall off-road vehicles appeared in his field of vision.
Anthony’s frown immediately relaxed, and he waved to the side.
”Open the checkpoint!”
Seeing this, the soldier on the side hurried over and lifted the railing.
Not long after, two off-road vehicles passed the checkpoint and stopped in front of him. Several soldiers wearing exoskeletons jumped out of the vehicles.
Looking at the shiny exoskeletons, the Willant people standing on both sides of the road couldn’t help but show envy.
Although the legion also has its own exoskeleton, it is generally only equipped for the most elite troops.
After all, this thing puts a lot of pressure on logistics.
Even for the legions of the Alliance, which are all awakened, they can turn off the power supply when not in combat to save electricity. Each regiment must be equipped with at least one or two maintenance companies to repair and maintain the equipment.
Not to mention the enterprise, the repair battalion is almost the standard of every mountain division, and the money they spend on equipment maintenance is no less than the money they spend on ammunition.
”Sorry, we were delayed on the road for a while, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting…”
Mosquito, who got off the car, walked towards Anthony with a smile on his face and extended his right hand enthusiastically.
The latter also smiled faintly, shook his outstretched right hand.
”I hope you can be more punctual next time.”
”I will!”
The smile on Mosquito’s face became brighter, especially when he saw the epaulettes on the shoulders of his employer, his smile was even more surprised.
”Good fellow, this is a centurion? Congratulations!”
”It’s all thanks to you.” Anthony raised his lips. Although his expression was restrained, he couldn’t hide the pride between his eyebrows.
The centurion of the legion is similar to the company commander in the human coalition system. It is almost the highest-level front-line commander. It is not easy to be promoted from a decapitator.
The reason why he was promoted so quickly, and he was promoted to a centurion not long after becoming a decapitator, was mainly because the arms sales agreement he helped to lead before not only saved tens of millions of dinars in maintenance costs for the front-line troops, but also earned a lot of military expenses.
Looking at Anthony, who couldn’t hide his pride on his face, Mosquito smiled and handed him a cigarette, and then continued.
”Thanks to me, it won’t be a big deal. With your talent, it’s only a matter of time before you get promoted.”
Anthony took the cigarette and lit it. He puffed out a cloud of smoke for a while, looked at the arms dealer in front of him and said with a smile.
”No need for polite greetings. It’s a long way for you to come here. Let’s get straight to the point.”
Mosquito said with a smile.
”Then I won’t waste the general’s time. Let me get this straight. We need another batch of arms here.”
Anthony frowned and asked.
”Isn’t the previous batch enough?”
Mosquito sighed.
”How can that be? Our customers are not only arms dealers from Tiger State. Recently, customers from Leopard State have also come to inquire. If I had known that there was such a strong demand there, I would have sold my own products.”
Anthony was a little confused.
”What Tiger State Leopard State…”
Mosquito said immediately.
”It’s the place name over in the Borneo Province.”
Anthony nodded suddenly. No wonder it was said that there was a zoo there. This is the reason.
”So… your customer is the Empire?”
Mosquito nodded repeatedly.
”Yes, who else could it be? Other small settlements have a hard time buying a cannon, and only they can consume so much.”
Anthony heard this, and his expression on his face became more confused.
”But… I heard that you and the Empire are not rivals?”
Hearing this, Mosquito almost choked to death on his own saliva, and coughed several times before speaking.
”Cough… Then you really insulted us.”
Anthony said quickly.
”Sorry, that’s not what I meant… I’m just a little surprised. After all, you just had a fight with the Empire. Aren’t you afraid that they will get the equipment and retaliate against you?”
Mosquito waved his hand and said.
”That’s not what I’m considering. As long as our respected manager doesn’t say that we can’t do business with those people, I’ll sell them as much as they want.”
Anthony nodded in confusion.
”I roughly understand… Then how much do you need?”
Mosquito said immediately.
”We want as much as you have!”
Anthony shook his head.
”Then I can’t give you all of it. I can only give you half of the previous batch. The civil servant group in Kaixuan City is also very interested in our batch of arms. Their ships have already set off from Xifan Port. I heard that they will arrive in two weeks.”
Hearing that this was just a small amount of goods, Mosquito frowned immediately.
The warlords of Leopard State gave no less than those of Tiger State.
After all, there is a banana bay that can be ranked in the top three on the “Big Eyes Tourism Recommendation List”, and those ruthless people are much richer than General Jieha of Tiger State.
The customers who came to discuss the deal this time directly stated that they would buy double the amount of arms that Tiger State bought!
And they paid in silver coins!
If the contract had not been signed and the bank doing currency exchange business had not been contacted, he would have even wanted to cancel the business in Huzhou.
”How much did they pay you?”
”Well, I don’t know… but it shouldn’t be as much as you did. I heard that it seemed to be paid at cost price.” Anthony said with a guilty conscience.
Mosquito was anxious when he heard it.
”Then why don’t you sell it to us? Do you have a grudge against money?”
Anthony said with a wry smile.
”Of course, this is also partly strategic… I don’t know if it’s appropriate to say this to you, but you are too tough on the sticky community. We need to arm our friends to share some of the pressure from you. This is not a matter of money.”
Mosquito said immediately when he heard this.
”That’s easy to say! You plan to use this batch of weapons to arm the empire, right? The merchants in Xifan Port took this batch of weapons away and sold them to the empire. We bought them and sold them to the empire! What’s the difference?”
Without waiting for Anthony to speak, Mosquito immediately followed up with non-stop deception.
”The only difference is that the merchants under your Civilian Group took advantage of your strategic needs and made a lot of money by purchasing at a cheap price! We would rather let you make the money!”
”Let me make it clear, can you bear to let those profiteers take away the profits that should belong to you?”
Anthony was stunned. He wanted to refute in his heart, but he thought to himself that it seemed to be the case?
The equipment that Goblin Technology got from them was sold to the Empire, and the merchants of the Civilian Group also sold it to the Empire. In terms of the results, it seems that there is really no difference.
In this case, why not sell it to the party that offers a higher price?
And the most annoying thing is the profiteers on the side of the Civilian Group!
The brothers of the Eastern Legion are fighting for His Majesty the Marshal on the front line, but these guys are thinking about making money from them!
But what he couldn’t understand was, how come after this guy said that, the enemy was more conscientious than his own people?
Anthony hesitated for a moment and said.
”This… I have to go back and talk to my superiors. I can’t make up my mind about this matter.”
Mosquito said readily.
”Go, your superiors will understand my good intentions.”
Anyway, Korwe will also ask Pangolin what he means by then, and Mosquito has already said hello to the latter.
This game of cards is an open card for him.
It will take at least 2 to 3 weeks for those cargo ships to sail from Xifan Port to here, and it may take until the beginning of next year.
In the case of similar strategic effects, not only will he pay quickly, but he can also eat up the goods in his hands in one bite. There is no reason for these Willant people not to choose him.
Because he needs to report to his superiors, Anthony invited Mosquito back to the nearby camp for entertainment.
Noticing that several survivors holding shovels in the camp were not Willant people, but looked a bit like faces from the eastern provinces, Mosquito asked curiously.
”Who are those people?”
Anthony smiled and said, following his line of sight.
”Those people you’re talking about are the scavengers we hired to dig up the ruins. Soldiers are still a little clumsy to do the work of digging up the ruins. This kind of thing really needs to be done by professionals.”
”That’s true…” Mosquito touched his chin and nodded, but he was thinking about something else.
The Willant people actually have spare money to hire people to do this job. It seems that there are many treasures dug under the ruins…
Maybe –
he can use his connections to do something.
Just as Mosquito was thinking about this, the truck that had passed them on the road before finally drove to the edge of the Death Coast before it fell apart.
Seeing the blue shadow, the survivors sitting in the car stretched their necks excitedly and looked towards the coastline.
”It’s the coastline!”
”Settlement No. 1!”
”Hahaha! We’re here! We’re here!”
”Woo woo woo… a full thousand kilometers! I’ve finally finished walking!”
There was a military camp at the edge of the narrow coastline.
To the south of the military camp were floating docks that rose and fell with the waves, and large cargo ships were parked next to the docks. Under the traction of the lifting equipment, containers were constantly unloaded from the cargo ships.
To the north of the camp were rows of container barracks, neatly arranged like tofu blocks.
That must be the legendary Settlement No. 1!
They were not the first people to come here. Long before they came here, many survivors had already come here and even moved into the new homes prepared for them by the Alliance.
Although the containers looked a bit simple, they were better than the tents they lived in along the way.
Compared with the beautiful life in the future, the current difficulties were not worth mentioning.
Everything was just the beginning.
They would not live in those rusty containers forever, they would build their own homes with their own hands!
”Big Horned Deer God!”
”Thank the great God of Radiation for blessing! The flashing light led me here!”
”Praise the Alliance! Praise the Administrator!”
Everyone was excited and incoherent, chanting their own sutras and praying.
Some people who couldn’t wait had already grabbed their luggage, got off the bus and ran towards the coastline.
Especially the young merchant who was reading the newspaper in the carriage, almost ran away with his muddy boots, and cheered while running.
Without exception, the eyes of these survivors flashed with piety and excitement.
Like the believers of the Great Horned Deer God, they also believed in their own beliefs, and at this moment, the things they believed in were right in front of them.
At this moment, they just wanted to get to their homeland faster and faster!
The fare had been collected before getting on the bus, and the driver did not stop these crazy people who didn’t care about their lives, but instead slowed down the speed of the car.
At the same time, several officers of the Southern Construction Corps standing at the gate of Settlement No. 1 also noticed the group of refugees rushing here.
”Another group of new arrivals,” Xiao Yue whistled and grinned, “If this trend continues, I’m afraid we won’t have enough containers.”
Li Jinrong, the head of the Southern Construction Corps, nodded.
”That’s easy. I’ll contact Beidao to ship another batch over.”
”… Let them get more concrete prefabricated panels. This kind of iron house is afraid of a typhoon. Once the wind blows, everything will be gone.”
Xiao Yue said this with a smile, and then he set his sights on the busy settlement in front of him.
There are now more than 30,000 survivors living here.
Some of them were rescued from the mutants’ nests, some were thrown to them by the Legion, and some came to seek refuge after hearing their broadcasts.
For example, there are a dozen or twenty people who just came here.
The community staff received the refugees, took them with their luggage to the newly opened container barracks, and introduced them to the facilities here.
Everything is moving in a good direction.
Perhaps it won’t be long before Haiya Province can return to its previous appearance, and it will even be more lively than when the Iron Tower Organization was still there!
The only regret is that…
that beautiful scene, the people who once lived on this land can no longer see it.
A trace of melancholy appeared on Xiao Yue’s face, and he suddenly sighed and said.
”I suddenly miss my parents a little bit. Actually, I don’t have much impression of them, but I just suddenly feel… it would be nice if they were still here.”
Li Jinrong didn’t know how to comfort him. He was silent for a while and then slowly spoke.
”When this settlement is on the right track, we can build a park for them.”
Xiao Yue cast a puzzled look at him.
”Park?”
”Well, there are also monuments or something similar…”
Li Jinrong paused for a moment and continued.
”We have to tell the people who come after us what happened here, what price we paid, and how it ended in the end.”
”Those who sacrificed for this will watch over us in another form. As long as we still remember them, our future will be bright.”
(End of this chapter)
