Staring at the dark blue power armor on Chu Guang's body, Ye Xiao couldn't help but murmured in a low voice.
Not understanding what he meant, Du Conglin tilted his head slightly and asked hesitantly.
"Do you mean?"
"I put this thing on early in the morning," Ye Xiao glanced at the power armor and smacked his lips and said, "If it were me, I wouldn't wear such a bulky thing around the house."
At least I wear it when I go on a long trip.
Dolu, who was walking next to him, couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha, do you have it?"
Ye Xiao glared at him and was about to say something when the manager's voice came from in front of him.
"Here we are."
This is the reception room of the outpost. They were here yesterday and watched a "movie" at the invitation of old Luca.
After asking everyone to sit down, Chu Guang walked up to them.
Because he was wearing power armor, he did not sit down with everyone, but chose to stand and talk.
"Regarding the relocation, my subordinates should have conveyed our suggestions to you last night. I would like to know how you have considered it."
The room was quiet for a while.
After Brown was silent for a moment, he slowly raised his head and said.
"Is this a negotiation or an ultimatum?"
Chu Guang looked at him and said.
"Of course it's the former. Even if you have your own plans, as long as you are not an enemy of ours, we will not interfere in any way."
This sentence also has another meaning.
That is to say, we will not be responsible for your safety, let alone send reinforcements when you are attacked.
The survivors present exchanged glances with slightly troubled expressions on their faces.
Seeing the concerns on their faces, Chu Guang continued.
"I know what you are worried about, such as whether you will be treated unfairly if you rely on others, and whether we will keep our promises to ensure your safety."
"It is natural for people to have these worries. Out of strict considerations, my subordinates did not make promises to you on my behalf. Here, I make a promise to you as the manager of Vault 404. All relocation
The survivors who come to the Long-term Farm will be fairly protected by the laws of Vault 404 and live with dignity under our order."
When they heard Chu Guang say these words, the survivors sitting in the reception room whispered to each other.
Some people are already moved, and some are still wavering, but it is obvious that their attitude has wavered.
Just like Chu Guang said, as outsiders, they are worried about only two things.
The first is whether he can be treated fairly, and the second is whether his own safety can be guaranteed "as promised".
From the current point of view, there is no need to worry about the first point. These blue coats have even taken in nomads, so there is no reason to treat them differently.
As for the second point, let alone that.
Although there is no more intuitive understanding of the strength of these shelter residents, they even have power armor, so it is certain that they are at least not weak.
It is not a bad thing to rely on the strong, as long as everything is worth it.
At least for those smaller, decentralized gatherings of survivors, having someone to hold them is far better than fending for themselves like orphans.
However, a proposal that is friendly to other survivors may not be so good to a certain landowner.
The ambiguous attitudes on the faces of other survivor representatives around him made Brown feel a little nervous.
If everyone else except yourself accepts the olive branch extended by Vault 404, then does your own opinion still matter?
He could almost foresee what his end would be.
Who knows if these blue coats will take the opportunity to settle the matter of paying protection money to the Bloodhand Clan, seize his house before the Bone-Chewing Tribe targets them, and do some hard work to clear the country.
No one can guarantee that something like this will not happen.
"Will you keep your promise?" Looking at Chu Guang, Brown said nervously, "I have heard that you invaded Beit Street."
Brown regretted the words as soon as he said them, but it was too late to take them back.
The survivors present were whispering.
Chu Guang didn't pay attention to those voices. He looked at Brown without hesitation, and the moment the latter met his eyes, he avoided his eyes in fear.
"Invasion? If you'd been there, you wouldn't have said that."
"After our people arrived at Beit Street, the residents of Beit Street took the initiative to open their doors and welcomed us. We ended the rule of a vampire and returned the streets to their people, allowing them to live in a new order.
Now they don’t have to endure the old mayor’s exploitation, and they don’t have to dig out their own flesh and blood to try to feed a group of wolves that will never be fed.”
"I would rather call it liberation than invasion."
There was silence in the reception room.
When they heard the second half of Chu Guang's words, many survivors blushed and invariably showed expressions of shame.
Isn't this what they are talking about when they dig out their own flesh and blood to try to feed a group of jackals that can never be fed enough?
If it wasn't for the protection fee paid to the Bloody Hand clan, they wouldn't have had to live in such a tight situation this winter.
"I have never doubted that you and your inhabitants are a noble people."
Du Conglin looked at Chu Guang and continued in a solemn tone.
"The vanguard of the bone-chewing troops has arrived at the border of Qingquan City. The crisis is imminent. The current situation no longer allows us to continue to disagree. Our Morrowind community is willing to accept your resettlement, and we are very grateful to you for your willingness to take us in."
"Me too," Ye Xiao, who was sitting next to him, also raised his hand, "the one hundred households in Highway Town have no objections to this!"
The other survivors also nodded, indicating that they accepted it.
Brown originally wanted to say something, but in the end he did not dare to speak again and suppressed the words that had already reached his lips.
Only Dolu could not help but whisper.
"Can you tell me the specific resettlement plan... I mean, in terms of property."
Chu Guang looked at him and said.
"Of course, that's what I'm going to say next. I'll convince you that accepting our placement is not a bad thing."
As he spoke, Chu Guang took out a map and drew a circle in the northern part of Linghu Lake and Yumu District, enclosing a large area of land.
"It is ten kilometers from the north of Linghu Lake to Yumu District, and the usable land area exceeds 100,000 acres. I have visited this area before. It has rich freshwater resources and fertile soil. It is a good place for farming. Although there are
There are mutant jackals, mutant hyenas and even split-claw crabs and other alien activities, but it’s not a big problem, our patrol team will solve these troubles for you.”
"I hope you can move to Jiujiu Farm, where the garrison and walls can ensure your safety to the greatest extent. In the coming year, I will allocate you some land for farming. In addition, the forest farm in Yumu District will also
Open to you, it is a natural hunting ground and is currently one of our main sources of meat."
"Your property is all your own, and we will not do anything to dispose of it. There are only two things you need to pay attention to, one is to abide by our laws, and the other is to use our currency on our territory. If there are any questions
If so, you can raise it now."
Upon hearing this, Brown immediately asked.
"What about slaves? Slaves are also part of our property, but your laws don't seem to recognize slaves."
Guessing that someone would ask this question, Chu Guang decisively came up with the rhetoric he had already thought of.
"Vault 404 advocates equality. We advocate the employment system and prohibit anyone from enslaving others in any form. Of course, we will not require you to give up your ownership of slaves without compensation. You can voluntarily release them or sell them to us.
In our area, a young man aged 16 to 35 can exchange for 5 acres of cultivated land, and the rest will be counted as 3 acres of land."
"They will be incorporated into the pioneer team as semi-free people, receive ideological transformation through labor together with our captives, and reintegrate into our society as free people after a period of time."
It is unrealistic to expect these wastelanders to understand the benefits of the employment system and voluntarily free slaves. They do not have that ideological consciousness, and the wasteland does not have this realistic basis.
Trading heads for fields is a good idea.
This is the method Chu Guang summed up from practice when dealing with the refugee problem.
Although some slave-holding refugees resisted handing over their slaves and would rather kill them than let them go, when they learned that the slaves could be exchanged for land, they immediately handed over the slaves tied to them with joy.
Rope around slave's neck.
Only by having land can they settle down and settle down, so that they can get rid of their status as refugees and no longer have to live a precarious wandering life.
As for Chu Guang, he happened to have a large area of land waiting for people to open up wasteland. It would not be a problem to allocate a little wasteland, but it would reduce his workload.
After those refugees have land, they will immediately change from time bombs that endanger order to shields that maintain order.
Of course, when the land issue was mentioned, Chu Guang did not take the initiative to discuss the "tax" issue.
Now is the early stage of starting a business. He needs people to make the cake bigger. There is no point in charging one or two pitiful silver coins. Anyway, the money in their hands is distributed by themselves. It is better to let it flow in the market and drive the economy.
develop.
When the long-term farm develops, the wasteland outside the farm is saturated with development, and the originally worthless land becomes valuable, taxation is a natural thing.
After listening to Chu Guang's answer, Brown made a calculation in his mind.
The slaves themselves were of little value, and in winter they were even completely negative assets. If they did not want to freeze to death and starve to death, they would have to spend food and fuel to maintain them.
He has more than 20 serfs in his hands. If they were all exchanged for land, they would be worth more than 60 acres.
This amount of arable land may be less than the land he currently has, but the manager's attitude towards the land gave him a glimmer of hope.
The location of his farm is actually not very good. It is too close to the city and the cost of land reclamation is too high. He has not expanded the planting area for many years.
If he could buy some more land from the manager, he might be able to own a larger farm than before.
Of course, there are risks involved.
No one has really dealt with these blue coats, and no one can guarantee that they will abide by the rules and will not kill them after taking over their property.
Brown weighed it in his mind.
At this time, the night owl from Highway Town asked.
"Where are the weapons? Do I need to hand them in too?"
Chu Guang replied.
"Guns are prohibited inside the settlements, and there are no restrictions outside the settlements. Private armed forces who stay within our jurisdiction for a long time need to register, and their business and management projects must comply with our laws. There are no other restrictions."
None of the survivors present spoke.
Although these conditions may sound harsh, at least they can survive.
Seeing that no one was talking, Chu Guang continued.
"If there are no other questions, then the above are all the things that need to be paid attention to during the relocation work."
"We will provide you with a residents' handbook later, which contains all the things you need to pay attention to in our gathering places. You can understand it as our law."
"In addition, I hope that the relocation work can start as soon as possible. According to the information sent by our investigation team from the front line, the reinforcements of the Bone Chewing Tribe have arrived in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City and are now raging about 16 kilometers northeast of us. It is difficult to tell
Will they do something irrational?"
Noticing the slight changes in the faces of several survivors, who became restless, Chu Guang paused and continued.
"I'm not sure if any of you live around there. If so, it would be best to notify them to evacuate as soon as possible-"
Before he could finish his words, there were sudden sounds of rapid footsteps outside the living room.
There was a knock on the door.
After receiving permission, a guard quickly walked into the room, gave Chu Guang a military salute, and reported seriously.
"Master Manager, according to the news from Jiujiu Farm, we saw a lot of smoke in the northeast... It seems like something is burning!"
Upon hearing this, Chu Guang was stunned.
Damn it?
Has my crow’s mouth been opened?!
Chu Guang immediately said with an ominous premonition in his heart.
"Can you confirm the specific location?"
"Our captain, Wrench, has sent people there to check the situation. We can only speculate on the approximate location..."
At Chu Guang's instruction, the guard stepped forward, stared at the map hanging on the wall for a while, and drew a circle on it with charcoal.
Looking at the circled position, Night Owl, who was closest to the map, was slightly startled and blurted out subconsciously.
"Camp Winter Willow?"
This was the first time Chu Guang heard this word.
However, judging from the reactions of other survivors around him, it was obvious that they were no strangers to this place name, and they all looked at the thin man sitting in the crowd.
Chu Guang also looked at him.
That person's presence was very low. From the beginning of the relocation work meeting to now, he didn't say a word during the entire process.
The sudden bad news caused his face to lose all color and become as white as the snow on the ground outside the door. His lips trembled uncontrollably, and his dilated pupils were full of fear.
"No!"
…
Northeast of the outpost, in the wild.
Two heavy bicycles were struggling to move forward on the snow.
Some places where the snow is not very deep are okay. If you use your feet to slide on it, you can barely ride it. If you encounter the kind of snow where even the wheels are buried, you can only get down and push.
"If the bicycles are useless in this damn weather, why not give us some sleds!" Ye Shi couldn't help complaining as he pedaled hard.
Fengfeng, who was sitting in the back seat, looked at the VM screen and asked casually.
"Can you ski?"
"No! But I can learn!"
Fang Chang, who was sitting behind Smoking, was also brushing the VM and casually added: "I'm quite good at it. It's a bit difficult to skate on this terrain, unless I have two huskies running in front."
Ye Shi glanced at him.
"Damn, you know how to do everything?"
Fang Chang thought for a while and said.
"Emm...maybe it's because I'm too busy?"
The north wind howls.
It blows people into a trance.
Unable to help but yawn, Ye Shi muttered something softly.
"...The game characters will also feel sleepy."
Guangfeng, who was sitting behind, nodded.
"Well, it is indeed outrageous. I already have fatigue debuff here, but the 5% debuff effect is not obvious... Wait, it seems that a new mission has been triggered."
As soon as he heard that there was a new mission, Ye Shi, who had been listless a second ago, suddenly became energetic.
"What mission?!"
Fang Chang, who was also staring at the VM screen, also followed suit.
"I have also received...the mission requires us to go to the Dongliu camp one kilometer away to support the survivors there, prevent the looters from obtaining supplies from the local area, and buy time for the reinforcements to arrive."
Winter Willow Camp?
What the hell is that place?
Dragging the map with his long index finger, he found a green tent icon on the map.
The icon is located in a forest. No players have explored it, so they know nothing about the situation there. However, judging from the pre-war map, it should be a place like a forest park, with a ranger hut and a tourist area.
rest area.
All in all, it’s a place where birds don’t poop.
Guangfeng touched the bridge of his nose and said calmly: "...To add, the number of enemy units is unknown. It's best to be prepared to encounter elite monsters or even trigger a BOSS battle. Fortunately, the battlefield is in the forest, which is half of our home field.
.”
The quitting brother who was pedaling his bicycle was completely speechless and shouted out breathlessly.
"Brother, give me a direction. Do you want to turn around?"
After staring at the VM screen and thinking for a moment, Fang Chang said.
"No, just go in the current direction. I will tell you in advance where you need to turn right ahead... Tsk, this mission actually has a time limit."
It is surrounded by woods and the terrain is undulating, making it difficult to find a suitable sniping point. The terrain on the west side is relatively high, but it will take some time to get around there.
Fang Chang already had a rough plan in mind.
Guangfeng patted Ye Shi on the shoulder and urged him.
"The mission will fail in 30 minutes. Please pedal faster and learn to quit smoking."
Ye Shi cursed.
"Gan! I am from the perception system, how can I compare with the physical system?!"
Looking at the vast white snow in front of him, Fang Chang sighed silently in his heart.
"It would be great if the motorcycle could be repaired."
If you think about it carefully, the road conditions in the wasteland make it difficult for four-wheeled vehicles to travel, and a two-wheeled motorcycle is simply a magical tool! It can also be used as a sled in winter.
The only pity is that the difficulty of the engine is a little high.
I hope Brother Wusuo and Brother Levin from Factory No. 81 can give me some help!
"There's so much smoke ahead!" Su Qing suddenly shouted, "Do you want to turn a corner?"
"My eyes can see, please speak softer!"
Fang Chang couldn't help but complain and took off the compound bow from his back.
While he was talking, there was a faint sound of gunfire in the distance. The distance was not very far, it was in the forest ahead.
Fang Chang made a quick decision and said.
"parking."
"Bang Feng and Ye Shi go to the high slope on the west side, quit smoking and follow me, turn off the fuse, and remember not to have a fire!"
"We will meet the enemy within seven hundred meters, and we will walk the rest of the way!"