Chapter 380 That airship should be quite valuable, right?

80 kilometers east of Ruigu City.

The camp of the corporate expedition.

The rolling thunder in the distance made the soldiers from the east coast stop their work and stopped to look west.

"What's that sound?"

"It's thundering?"

"Not like..."

"Sounds like something blew up."

"It's strange. When I was in Dawn City, I specifically asked about the caravan from the west, but I didn't hear that there was a war nearby."

The soldiers whispered.

The center of the camp, the entrance of the tent.

Standing next to Captain Yunsong, logistics officer Heding looked slightly nervous. He often travels south and north, and is extremely sensitive to danger.

He knew very well that the sound was definitely not thunder or something.

"Is that a nuclear bomb just now?"

Yunsong frowned slightly.

"Not clear."

The nuclear bomb is not really scary, it's just a cost-effective weapon. There are many more powerful weapons in the wasteland.

What really caught his attention was the power of that voice.

According to his experience, the equivalent of its explosion is at least ten tons.

Whether it was a nuclear weapon or not, it was powerful enough to make them wary.

Strangely, however, according to the information they investigated in Dawn City, from Qingquan City to the east of Luoxia Province, there should be no other regional powers.

There are at most a few scattered small survivor settlements.

Although the number is not small, it is obviously not capable of making such weapons.

Hedin whispered.

"I suggest changing the direction of progress. Before entering Luoxia Province, we should try our best to avoid participating in regional conflicts..."

Yunsong thought for a while and nodded.

"Um."

The northwest side of Ruigu City.

The camp directly below the Heart of Steel.

Rachel, who was sitting in the tent, looked gloomy like a cloud outside the tent.

Especially when he heard that Vito, the most powerful hunter under his account, died in battle, and died in humiliation under the enemy's artillery, he clenched his fists angrily.

"These swarms of bed bugs are hiding..."

When he caught those guys, he vowed to torture them with the most brutal criminal law until they drained the last drop of blood and took their last breath.

At this time, the door curtain was lifted.

The guard who entered the tent gave a military salute, interrupting his thoughts.

"My lord, the staff officer is outside."

Hearing this sentence, Rachel's expression froze slightly, and it took three or five seconds before he spoke slowly.

"Invite him in."

"Yes!"

Watching the guard turn and leave, Rachel, who had been pondering for a long time, sighed, and slowly relaxed her tensed shoulders.

Parachute not found.

The half-dead company employee also escaped.

Not only that, but he also damaged two marine detachments in a row, as well as a reconnaissance team composed of three Awakeneds.

At this time, the staff sent someone over, and it was self-evident what they were going to do.

The door curtain opened again.

An officer in a straight uniform came in from outside.

Rachel noticed that he had just seen this guy during the day.

However, different from what he saw in the daytime, the expression and demeanor on the officer's face were obviously much more serious.

Knowing that the person in front of him is mostly here to hold him accountable, Rachel didn't speak, and kept his mouth shut quietly, waiting for him to speak.

However, to Rachel's surprise, he did not wait for the punishment of demotion.

Instead, I heard an unexpected arrangement...

"General McClane has appointed you to be the commander of the land operations, and we will deploy more troops to the ground tomorrow morning."

"Until the deployment order is revoked, this unit will be under your full command."

Hearing what the officer in front of him said, Rachel's eyes suddenly showed obvious surprise.

seemed to see his surprise, the staff officer continued.

"According to the judgment of the staff, the employees of the company we are hunting are suspected to have joined the reinforcements of the company. There are various signs that the unknown armed forces ambushing our patrol tonight are the people of the company!"

"The loss of the 29th and 31st Marines is not yours. Our lack of regional intelligence led to this accident."

"Captain McClane asks you to behave well, wash away this shame with the blood of your enemies, and avenge the brothers who died tonight!"

The surprised look faded from his eyes, Rachel took a deep breath and said seriously.

"I will."

"Prove it with your actions, Lord Captain is waiting for your news."

dropped this sentence, the staff officer did not stop, turned around and left the camp neatly.

He stared straight at the tent's curtain.

Rachel clenched his fists and slowly released them, his eyes flashing with fighting intent, and he chewed those words repeatedly in his mouth.

As if to bite it and swallow it.

"I will!"

The boiling mountain fire burned all night, and it was gradually extinguished until the night faded.

However, the anger of the Legion did not subside, and the demise of the two marines put the Heart of Steel on the highest level of alert.

And the thunder-like sound of the cannon also kept the survivors in the entire Ruigu City awake all night.

Early morning hours.

The commotion was far from subsided.

The airship Steel Heart continued to deliver armaments to the ground. The deployment scale has reached a whole thousand-man team, and the positional fortifications under construction are being constructed according to the standard of three thousand-man teams.

A dozen marines were dispatched to the eastern suburbs to search for the three girls with two bears and the mortar positions that opened fire on their patrol last night.

According to reports of returning soldiers, they were attacked by at least one centurion, equipped with a highly mechanized exoskeleton.

no doubt.

That's a corporate reinforcement!

But General McClane is not worried, even if it is reinforcements from corporations?

Just a bunch of weak guys.

just caught them all in one go!

At the same time, the Marine Commander Rachel began to send "armed lobbyists" to the surrounding areas at the behest of the airship staff.

With the remnants of last night's cannonball, it happened to convey the will of General McClen to the nearby survivor settlements

or surrender.

Or perish!

On the other side of , east of Ruigu City.

In the mountainous area about five kilometers away from the center of the explosion, more than 20 players of the Storm Corps were resting.

At this moment, the sky is not yet fully bright, and in the distance there is a faint gray light.

Although some people suggested that we could camp in a farther place, Brother Quan Shui said that the seemingly dangerous place is the safest.

After dawn, the legion will most likely send people to search east, but the focus of the search will most likely not be near the explosion area.

What's more, the terrain here is high and the view is wide.

Even if there is a situation, it can be transferred in time.

After more than 30 consecutive hours of forced marching, and after finishing the work, they fought with the regiment's patrol team. Even if the people were iron-clad and could withstand it, the equipment on their bodies could not hold it.

Most players have run out of exoskeleton power.

Fortunately, the tail truck is equipped with a firewood generator.

The dismounted exoskeletons lined up beside the trucks.

Kakarot took a few strength-type players to the nearby forest to chop down trees, and a few agility-type players helped everyone prepare food.

Rou Rou took Teddy, who would no longer wake up, to a nearby mountain, intending to find a place out of reach of scavengers to bury him.

Tail and Sesame Paste also accompanied her.

Although sss wanted to follow him, he was too injured and had to stay in the camp.

Looking for a corner where no one was around, she performed a minor operation on herself with the medical tools in the car and took out the warhead stuck in her body.

Because the operation is not very skilled, the ground is covered with blood, but fortunately, after fiddling for a while, I still get something.

"Get it done!"

Looking at the deformed bullet in the tweezers, Si Si let out a long breath and threw it into the aluminum box, intending to keep it as a souvenir.

Although the recovery speed of physique players is much faster than that of ordinary people, it is not to the level of mutants that "wounds heal at a speed visible to the naked eye".

A simple bandage and suture can make the wound heal faster. Sisi estimates that he will probably be able to fight side by side with his friends by this time tomorrow.

sewed the wound smoothly, she took out a new box of bandages and put them on, looked at her masterpiece with satisfaction, and then returned to the side of the truck.

Breakfast will be ready for a while. Kakarot and his party have just returned with firewood for the stove and generator.

The other players sat in a circle, mostly yawning exhausted.

The only one standing in the middle is Brother Quan Shui, who is now talking to everyone about his battle plan with a full face.

"...Airships can store a lot of supplies, but their supplies are not unlimited after all! Thousands of troops, not to mention how much food they have to show off every day, just the **** they pull can fit a truck!"

I yelled the worst: "Damn, why can't you stop this before dinner?"

The spring commander said with a smile.

"Just an example!"

"The Heart of Steel has dropped the anchor chain. If they plan to stay on a monthly basis, they will definitely collect supplies on the spot, and obtain supplies from the local area as much as possible - whether it is paying dinars to buy it, or using Forced to force."

"And this is an opportunity for us!"

Looking at the players with bright eyes, he continued.

"We need to distinguish between those who are bought by them and those who are coerced by them, and then win over those who can win!"

Siss said after thinking for a while.

"But how many settlements are there for the survivors who dared to resist the Legion?"

The spring commander said with a smile.

"We don't need them to stand up for resistance, we can fight tough battles."

"We just need them to give us a little help within their power!"

Even just tell them the location of the Legion Patrol.

Even if it was just to remind them when the convoy to collect supplies was coming.

There was a hint of surprise in the eyes of the battlefield guy.

"I understand, right?"

"correct!"

Commander Quan Shui nodded approvingly and continued.

"There is a high probability that the people of the legion will go to the nearby survivor settlements during the day, so we will come back with them and go at night!"

"After everyone has finished eating, go offline and return to a state. Let's chat in the group about the specific combat plan."

said, he turned his eyes to Si Si who was beside him, and said with a smile.

"Brother, can you please keep a corpse?"

Smiley.

"Small things, don't bother, Awei and I will help to watch."

She just lay down on the truck for a while, her fatigue level has dropped, she is not very sleepy now, just wait for the tail and the others to come back and sleep for a while.

Quan Shui clenched his fists and said with a smile.

"Hmm! Then please!"

The players who arrived in Ruigu City with Brother Quan Shui are mostly full-time players.

Even if there are a few who are not full-time, they are all the ones with more free time, otherwise it would be impossible to play a long-distance attack for 30 hours in a row.

After a full meal, everyone agreed on the time to go online, then they found a place where they would not get in the way, lay down, and logged out of the game.

As for equipment and game characters, Sisi helped to watch.

The members of the White Bear Knights were originally members of the Stormtroopers, and they were teammates who played together several versions ago. Naturally, there was no question of trust or distrust.

After going offline.

Commander Spring Water gathered all the members of the Storm Corps' guild group, and divided the twenty-odd members who arrived first with him into three groups.

Group A is mainly composed of agility and perception players, who are responsible for reconnaissance of the surrounding terrain. Group B is mainly composed of players who can easily communicate with NPCs, and is responsible for collecting information on nearby survivors' settlements.

As for the C group, it is composed of the battlefield atmosphere group and other players who like guns. They continue to move westward and are responsible for searching and attacking the patrols of the legion.

How many people are killed is not the point.

is mainly through frequent harassment, strategically disrupting the enemy's sight, making it misjudgment about the position and number of one's own side.

As for the task of searching for the entrance to Vault 79, Quan Shui plans to wait until it goes online and leave it to Tai and the others.

On the one hand, he felt that the tail seemed to be very interested in things like treasure hunting. On the other hand, considering that they did not have advanced equipment, high-frequency maneuvering would be more difficult.

There are two different ways to play in this game: wearing an exoskeleton and not wearing an exoskeleton.

has nothing to do with ability, it is purely a question of suitability.

When the early morning sun shines on the land of the river valley province, far away from the boulder city on the edge of the Third Ring Road in Qingquan City, it is peaceful and peaceful at this moment.

No matter how powerful the 400mm main gun is, the shock wave will never reach here.

unless--

Someone is going to add fire to it.

"Extra!"

Running in the streets and alleys of Boulder City, newsboys carrying canvas bags sent the temporarily printed newspapers to the pubs and grocery stores that cooperated with "Survivor Daily", and also stuffed them into the windows and doors of customers. sew.

The temporary overprint is only one page.

And the photos printed in the newspapers are a continuation of the headlines of the newspapers that just came out in the morning.

The huge crater was imprinted in the mountain, and the shock wave that destroyed the sky and the earth swept across the entire forest, and the fiery red flames were like boiling mushroom clouds.

Below the photo, there is an intriguing line of text

Heart of Steel's 400mm main gun! Just six shots are enough to level the entire outer city!

This is of course an exaggerated metaphor.

However, after such a comparison, the melon eaters who had no concept of power, instantly realized how terrifying the power of this thing is.

Grey Squirrel Clothing Store.

Seale, who was sitting behind the counter, cocked his chair, his furry arms resting on his tall belly, and he was holding a warm newspaper in his hand.

The reason he subscribed to "Survivor Daily" is very simple, mainly to see the advertisements and find out what new trendy styles are in Dawn City recently.

However, the occasional news published above is also very interesting to him.

Mr. House's broadcast was exciting, but that guy's voice was like a psychic leaf, it only had the effect of refreshing, and other than that, it had no nourishment.

"Survivor Daily" is different. The news is varied. In addition to what happened in Boulder City, it occasionally reports news from the outside world.

"...Ruigu City, I seem to have heard of it somewhere."

Hearing Seale's low voice, Rob, an old friend who was picking out a selection in his shop, replied casually.

"Of course you have heard of it. It is the southeastern corner of the River Valley Province, the western gate of the southern corridor, and most of the caravans passing through the Boulder City will pass there."

"Yes, that's right there!"

There was a look of surprise in Seale's eyes, and he sat up straight from the chair, "It's amazing that the Legion actually ran there... Shouldn't they be looking for trouble in the Great Rift Valley in the north?"

"Legion?!"

The index finger that rubbed the "art" stopped, Rob looked away from the leg of the dummy model, looked back at Seale who was sitting behind the counter, and couldn't help asking.

"What nonsense are you talking about, what is the Legion doing here?"

He runs the Queen of the Night, the most well-known bar in Boulder City, which is not only the well-known Selling Gold Cave, but also a mixed intelligence distribution center.

Not only the nobles of the inner city would come to him to have fun, but the mercenaries who made a fortune were also happy to contribute their chips to him.

No one is better informed than the White Shark at The Pirates Cove.

"Look at what happened this morning."

Siel put the newspaper in his hand and the newspaper he had just delivered to his old friend, "This photo is not fake, right?"

took the newspaper, Rob hurriedly glanced, his eyes quickly widened into two chips.

"Heart of Steel?! Wait, I think I've heard of this guy!"

Seale looked at him strangely.

"Where did you hear that?"

With disbelief written all over his face, Rob said quickly.

"Caravan from the west! It was only two months ago! They said that the legion settled in the oasis where the sun sets, and there is a steel fortress floating above their heads... Damn, I thought that guy It's bragging!"

The 400mm main gun that burned everything...

This caliber can put others in!

Imagining that scene, Rob couldn't help shrinking his neck.

He really couldn't think further, how this big guy flew to the door.

"Don't worry too much, Lord City Lord will definitely not let it fly to us." Seeing this guy's exaggerated reaction, Xier's expression was a little weird, but he said comfortably.

"That's hard to say...Last year, I don't know if it was a legion or an enterprise, and threw a nuclear bomb in the Elm District to the north, and it didn't matter in the end." Rob couldn't help complaining.

I wish someone could take care of this.

By the way, isn't there a group of nosy guys in the north?

Xizhou City is also more than 100 kilometers away from here, and Ruigu City may be a little further away, but it is not very far.

Boulder City still has a huge wall, a large number of fixed weapons are installed on the giant wall, and those people have nothing, and plant a large field, what will they do?

Of course, the hillbillies are cuter than the nasty legions.

Robo's face couldn't help but show a trace of melancholy.

Can they win?

It wasn't just Rob who had similar concerns.

Almost the vast majority of wastelanders who hold "Survivor Daily" have almost the same idea as him.

Not everyone cares about the life and death of the hillbilly in the northern suburbs.

But they would not naively think that the range of the Iron Heart was only ten kilometers away, and they just let them go.

At this moment, the city hall of the Stone City is busy.

City Hall Director Duron has held three meetings in a row. Not only has he summoned people from the bank, he has also summoned the president of the Daily Survivor newspaper.

Although it can't be said that it was a mess, at least there was a panic.

is different from those ordinary residents.

They are not only worried about the safety of the survivors' settlement, but also about the 200 million chips that they just lent out!

What is the concept of 200 million?

There are about half a million residents in the outer city of the boulder city, and the per capita income is about 100 chips, regardless of mercenaries and businessmen.

In other words, all the workers in Boulder City blow the screws and smoke, and it will take three or four months to make so much money!

Yes, the money is not in the hands of the Alliance, but in a custodial account at Boulder City Bank. But the problem is that the alliance has already taken these chips and placed orders with their factories and caravans!

Almost all factories in the entire Boulder City are busy with loans, recruiting workers, and expanding production, busying themselves with the 200 million chips.

Industrial fires are burning like never before!

Whether it is the Boulder City Bank or the City Hall, they have already tasted a little bit of sweetness, and they do not want to see the signs of "economic recovery" being extinguished.

This must never happen!

"That idiot Jaeger actually proposed to terminate the loan. How could such a big thing be stopped? It's because Mr. Minister is on my side..."

After a whole day of meetings, Malvin returned to the mansion full of exhaustion, handing the coat to his wife while complaining constantly.

For those poor ghosts who owe him money to be able to repay the money smoothly, he worries every day.

The lady who took the coat gave him a kiss and comforted him softly.

"You may need to take a few days off."

"My dear, I think so too, but there are a lot of troubles..."

Melvin sighed and sat down on the soft sofa.

At this moment, he suddenly noticed the newspaper on the coffee table, and his eyebrows, which had been stretched a little, suddenly twisted together again.

"Survivor Daily... Did our family order this too?"

reached out and rubbed between his eyebrows, Malvern now has a headache when he sees this newspaper.

"I ordered it. I saw a lot of things I haven't seen before, such as nutritional ointment. I heard that it is food for wastelanders..." Sitting next to her father, Alicia blinked curiously and said, "Can we buy some? I want to see what it looks like."

"You wouldn't be interested in that thing, it's like... like fermented vomit, only a little better than hard-to-swallow bark." Malvern pondered an image metaphor.

Even he himself felt disgusting, which should dissuade his daughter's curiosity.

Alyssa: "Bark?"

"Well, if you're too lazy to take out a chip, you can only eat that thing. But nutritional creams are cheap enough, usually only sold for one kilogram... What am I talking about," Malvin touched a small The daughter's head, said dotingly, "You don't need to understand this."

One of his two sons moved to the inner city, the other traveled to the east coast with a reliable caravan, and the other two daughters have married, so there is only so much left in their hearts.

Madame frowned.

"...don't bring that thing home."

"I know," Melvin said with a smile as he put his arms around the lady's shoulder, "I'm just giving our little daughter some science..."

"Some unnecessary knowledge," the lady stared at her husband, her tone slightly reproachful, "you dote on Eliza too much, I never agree with her ordering that kind of newspaper, there are so many books in the study at home, why? To see the vulgar writings written by a bunch of wastelanders."

Melvin laughed dryly.

"I will persuade her."

He doesn't really like "Survivor Daily", mainly because he doesn't think those "non-professionals" can write anything of value.

Although his office has a subscription, he just asks the secretary to check it out for him.

But this time, the headline of "Survivor Daily" was beyond his expectations.

The airships of the Legion have all gone to the River Valley Province. If it weren't for the freak who came here from the next province to write an article, 80% of them would still be kept in the dark.

Like the last time the Pioneer came here, one tactical nuclear bomb was blown up, and their esteemed Lord of the City, belatedly sent someone over to take a look.

Alisa stared into her father's eyes, and suddenly said thoughtfully.

"...Actually, you know, we can't really be isolated from the wasteland. The ideal city of prosperity is enviable, but we are not them after all."

Melvin looked at his daughter in surprise, surprised to hear such words from her mouth.

"Where did you hear this sentence?"

"In the newspaper, but I think it makes sense."

Looking up at his daughter, Malvin thought for a moment and said.

"That's right, not only me, but Duron, and even Jaeger...that uncle who doesn't seem very smart, but there are many, many complicated reasons for this, and this problem has been around for a long time."

Alyssa blinked.

"Since it's been around for a long time, why not change it from now on?"

rubbed his daughter's little head, and Malvin smiled amusedly and said in a gentle tone.

"Because of limited ability, there is a generation of work for one generation, all Dad can do is to let you live a slightly better life. You don't have to be like those wastelanders, selling your soul for tomorrow's lunch, for a bottle of redemption. The water beer hits hard."

He did not intend to break two centuries of tacit understanding.

The origin of the prosperity of the boulder city is the same as that of the ideal city. After all, they are going the way of the enterprise, only with some improvements.

They have a strong armed force, and like companies, they don't participate in the mess in the wasteland. They only make sure that others don't come to their homes to make trouble.

Survivor settlements throughout the southern part of the valley province and even in the neighboring province of Jinchuan, both slave owners and traders, regarded them as role models.

As if they were looking up at the utopia of the east coast.

But now, trouble has finally found the door.

The airship of the Legion had already flown to the door of the house, and the guys with the bulging nose were as savage and rude as the rumors, and they showed their fangs unabashedly.

He had no doubt that those people would definitely covet the prosperity of Boulder City.

Thinking of this, Malvin felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Even the richest man in the city could not convince the great city lord to send out his army and do something for the good of everyone.

After all, to put it bluntly, he is just a beneficiary of the rules.

And that adult is the one who sets the rules.

That man who didn't know how old he lived was colder, stubborn, and more elusive than everyone he knew put together.

Melvin couldn't help but fantasize.

If only there was a way to get the best of both worlds, it would be nice to keep the trouble out for them, or drive the airship away.

At this moment, a best of both worlds... or a crazy idea suddenly popped out of his mind.

Since you can save those factories that are on the verge of bankruptcy by borrowing a sum of money from those blue jackets, why not lend them a sum of money for the military and encourage them to go to war?

That airship...

should be quite valuable, right?

And with their bad and good personalities, they saw the yellow-faced and skinny survivors in the local area, and they definitely couldn't leave them alone, and then they would have to build roads and build houses for them.

"Ruigu City, the west exit of the southern corridor... The potential there is much greater than that of Xizhou City."

whispered in his mouth, Malvin's eyes became brighter and brighter, and he suddenly stood up from the sofa with an excited look.

"Dad?" Alyssa tilted her head, not understanding what happened to him.

Melvin laughed, happily wishing to pick up his daughter and kiss her.

"My Alyssa, you're so right, we do need a little change..."

"At least, a little workaround is needed!"

(end of this chapter)