Even though there was noisy music around him, Fang Chang could tell that those words were meant for him.
The expression on his face subconsciously turned serious. He quickly turned his head and saw the girl who was also sitting next to the bar. 1
Through the dim light, what comes into view is a head of unconventional short green hair.7
Even in Boulder, this eye-catching hair color is extremely rare.1
She is short in stature and has a thin figure. Under her fluffy bangs are a pair of eyes with different colors, and her left eye is obviously distorted. It is probably a prosthetic eye or an electronic eye. The delicate bridge of her nose and chin look like they have undergone surgery.
, or it itself is the crystallization of technology... 8
Fang Chang's gaze moved down and landed on her left shoulder, where he could see a large piece of metal parts, similar to Brother Guangfeng's style. 3
However, Guangfeng's metal arm is the work of the Pioneer after all, and it looks obviously much more high-end than hers. 2
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 No. 12 was exactly where the group that Fang Chang was following sat.
"May I have your name?"
"Dolly... your pronunciation is very strange, are you from another province?" The girl looked at Fang Chang, her eyebrows raised at an angle of interest.11
Dolly?5
What a strange name.
"Fang Chang," Fang Chang continued after a pause, "It doesn't matter where I come from... How are you going to inquire about the proposal you just made?"
"I know that dancer, her name is Nicosie, she's one of the top names here." Dolly pointed to the dancer sitting in the booth and said without hesitation, "Give me a tip.
I can ask you anything, including her measurements." 3
"That's not necessary." 5
Fang Chang reached out and groped around in his pocket, and after a while he found the smallest chip and flicked it into her hand with his thumb. 1
Dolly clapped her hands and caught it, using the light to see clearly the numbers on the chips and the color of her hair, a hint of surprise suddenly appeared in her right eye.
"...The boss is really generous."
25 chips.9
If you work in a factory, it would take two weeks to earn this amount.3
Dolly's eyes couldn't help but become charming, and she looked at the handsome guy in front of her with interest. 1
"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 ask for me if they know the news about the fire in the warehouse area last night." 1
There was a hint of surprise in Dolly's eyes, especially after hearing the last sentence, her eyes became slightly alert.
"You shouldn't ask like that. If you ask like that... even a fool can guess who sent you."
It was too difficult to go around in circles with the human couplets of the three-legged cat, so Fang Chang simply stopped acting and said with a smile.
"It's okay, I only said this to you today...are you scared?" 7
Afraid?1
Dolly raised her eyebrows and stood up from the 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 rested her elbows on the back of the sofa, blew into the dancer's ear, and naturally started laughing and joking with her old friends, blending into the atmosphere.
Watching her chatting and laughing with the dancer, rubbing the wine glass with her square index finger, I felt nervous.
He suddenly began to feel that trusting a stranger seemed to be a rash decision.
What will happen if this guy sells himself? 4
Or...should I pay a deposit first?
Just as he was thinking wildly, someone tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned his face sideways and saw that the girl named Dolly was already sitting next to him.
"Did you ask?"
Dolly hooked her fingers, motioning for him to bring his ears closer, and whispered softly with her thin red lips.
"...The name of the young man sitting in the middle is Alec, who is the security captain of Vega Trading Company. His sister Sophie is Vega's lover and works as an accountant in the cannery owned by Vega. He is very lucky today.
, made a small fortune."
"What kind of wealth?"
"He didn't say it, but he kept showing off, saying that he could make those high-ranking officials have a headache and not be able to eat for a whole day just by talking." Dolly's eyes flickered slightly, "My guess is that he
The boss of the company gave him a sum of money to incite workers to surround the city hall... and he should have deducted a little from that funding."
Means strike?1
But why do you want to stop working? 2
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 insignificant matters.
Just identifying those people is enough.
"What about the fire last night?" Fang Chang then asked what he was most concerned about.
"It's hard to ask about this kind of thing, but he told my friend that something happened last night and he was sorry that he couldn't be here with her..." When she said this, Dolly's expression was a bit teasing.
But I don’t know what I’m teasing.1
"Thank you, the information you provided is very valuable." Fang Chang stretched out his index finger, lightly scratched the v exposed from the cuff, and archived the recording.
[Mission (side line) completed]
[Reward: 120 silver coins, 100 contribution points, 500 reputation points in the "Boulder City" area...] 1
[Trigger task (side): Gather intelligence and write press releases] 3
[Task requirements:...]
Looking at the pop-up window that appeared on the screen, Fang Chang raised his eyebrows in interest.
Write an article?2
He is familiar with this.10
"You're welcome, I still expect you to come and take care of my business. There are not many customers who spend as much as you do." The girl curled her lips and continued with a beaming look, "No matter what kind of secret it is, as long as you bring it with me
Come to me, I can pry it out of his mouth." 4
Hearing this, Fang Chang chuckled and turned off the v screen.
"Wasteland" has been rumored to have three major unsolved mysteries.
How deep is Vault 404, how big is Crow Crow, and when does Gou Guang plan to open the beta test? 23
It's a pity that Aguang is not in the game.9
Otherwise, he really wants to bring his good friend here for a drink and get some inside information that ordinary people don’t know. 3
"I've finished asking my questions, but I still have some more personal questions." 1
"Say it."
Today's performance was satisfactory. The girl was no longer in a hurry to find the next target. She leaned her chin on the back of her hand and looked at him with interest. 1
"Your eyes are very special."
Dolly smiled and joked.
"This pick-up line is too deliberate...and it sounds fake."
No normal person would find her eyes like those of a bionic person attractive.
However, she was obviously mistaken.
When the man in front of me said "special", he meant it literally.
"No, I'm really curious, where did you get your eyes and mechanical arms?" Fang Chang asked with interest.
Installing an electronic eye and a mechanical arm would be so cool, right? 7
Especially since he uses a bow.
He bets that there is a place where prosthetics can be modified, but only he is interested, and other players are probably the same.2
Looking at Fang Chang, who was full of interest, Dolly was stunned for a moment, and her face gradually became a little ugly. 3
"Your order has been completed. This is the second question."
She wanted to use these words to get rid of the man in front of her, but what she didn't expect was that a chip with a face value of 50 spun around and landed on the table. 5
Dolly's eyes widened and she opened her mouth, but no words came out for a long time.
"……Are you serious?"
"It seems I gave too much." Fang Chang joked. 1
He suddenly found that this p was quite interesting.
"It's too late!" Dolly quickly reached out and took the chip into her arms.
Fang Chang looked at her and continued.
"Since you have received the money, aren't you going to reveal some of your secrets to me?" 1
Dolly was silent for a while, then suddenly waved to the bartender, shook her two fingers, and then pointed to the top line of the wine list.
Not long after, two blood-red cocktails were placed on the bar.
"...Two cups of 'Dragon Blood', use them slowly."
The pungent smell of alcohol reminded Fang Chang of his apartment in the suburbs of Shanghai and the unlicensed dark bar in the back alley. 7
The taste of the fake wine blended is really the same.
After all, Queen of the Night is one of the best bars on this street. The living standards of the people in the wasteland are really worrying.
Or is this the taste you want? 1
Fang Chang planned to pay.
However, the girl was already one step ahead of him and handed the bartender the 50 chip he had given her earlier.
Putting the change of 40 chips into her pocket, Dolly picked up her own cup and touched it lightly with the cup in front of the square table, then took a sip of the spicy "dragon's blood". 4
"It's not really a secret...you've heard of Awakening, right?"
"certainly."
Fang Chang felt a little strange.
What is the relationship between mechanical prosthetics and awakening?
Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Dolly continued.
"A serum produced by Jushi Military Industry has the same name as this cocktail, called 'Dragon Blood'. As long as you inject it, there is a certain probability of awakening..." 3
"Of course, not everyone is qualified to inject dragon blood. After all, I heard that the thing is not cheap. Over the years, Jushi Military Industry, which assists the militia in recruiting mercenaries, will conduct a simple physical examination on the recruits, and one of them
The first step is to test the compatibility of dragon blood."
"If you pass, you will have the opportunity to get a free injection. Once you successfully awaken and show excellent qualities, you will have the opportunity to become an employee of Jushi Military Industry and live a life without worries about food and clothing."
Fang Chang looked at her in surprise.
"Are you awake?"
"No," Dolly put down the wine glass in her hand, and there was a hint of haze in Dolly's eyes, "Even if you pass the physical examination, it does not mean that you will be able to awaken. The success rate of dragon blood is 50%, and the probability of no reaction at all is 40%.
…”
"The remaining 10% will cause irreversible damage to body tissues... In the words of those bastards, this is also an awakening, but just like mutation, not all mutations are good." 1
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"...
There is also a serum New Alliance that induces awakening, but the success rate of that thing is a mystery. It must have a certain potential before it can be used, and this potential is difficult to stably measure.
That potion is of no use to players. It should be a prop used to increase P level.
Fang Chang’s own understanding is that players and players have completely different power systems.
Therefore the evolutionary routes are also completely different.
but……
Although the probability of awakening from the serum of the New Alliance is not high, I have not heard of anyone experiencing side effects.
Can you even try two more injections?
"I seem to have asked a topic that makes you sad."
"It's okay, I know you're not interested in that dragon's blood. After all, a rich man like you won't need that thing." Dolly smiled self-deprecatingly and tapped her left arm with her right index finger. 2
"My left eye and this arm were installed by Jushi Military Industry. The bank in Boulder City generously provided me with a loan, for which I had to repay them 50 chips every month until I was 40
When I was 20 years old, this piece of shit was not as useful as I imagined. It would break down from time to time, and it would shut down if I didn’t pay back the money on time. Sometimes I was thinking... I should have just given up on it then." 9
Fang Chang was silent for a while.
"I'm sorry for reminding you of something sad."
Although he wanted to sympathize with the girl in front of him, how should he say it? 1
He is disabled, has huge debts, and looks like an orphan... 3
It always feels like there are a lot of elements.3
"You don't have to sympathize with me," the girl curled her lips mockingly and touched his glass with her index finger, "If you really feel sorry, just have a drink with me." 16
……2
slum.
Lao Bai and the two players followed the woman's footsteps into Blake's house.
The environment inside is not affluent, but it is still much better than the slums in the slums.
The shoe cabinet in the entrance was filled with empty wine bottles, and a cardboard box was thrown on the ground, with recovered bullet casings exposed inside.
"My name is Mary, what's yours?"
"Lao Bai." As he said this, Lao Bai gave Brother Sha from the Perception Department a look and asked him to go take a look at the second floor.
The dog walked to the utility room next door, and based on someone's confession, he found the locked safe inside the moldy ammunition box.
Also based on someone's confession, there was an unspent deposit hidden there.
"Old...Bai? A very rare name." 11
Although the woman was surprised, she didn't say much.
She took a candle from the cabinet, put it in an aluminum tray and lit it, then brought it to the low wooden table in the living room and put it down, adding some dim light to the dark room.
Unlike inside the giant wall, there is no electricity in the slums. Those who can afford it will use candles or kerosene lamps for lighting. Most people go to bed as soon as it gets dark. 2
After all, there are no guards here. The nearby gangs just hate people causing trouble in front of their homes, but that doesn't mean they are bored enough to check the names of every corpse.
This is a truly unclaimed land, and the people living here are like weeds, growing again when the spring breeze blows.
Compared to the unlucky people who freeze to death every year, starve to death, or get lost while scavenging in the wasteland, the number of people who die from murders and accidents is nothing to mention.
Sitting down on the sofa, Mary looked at Lao Bai who was sitting opposite, as if he was hesitating on how to speak.
Lao Bai didn't waste time, turned on the translation function of v, connected the headphones, and then spoke. 1
"Your friend accepted a commission that he shouldn't have accepted."
"Is he still alive?"
"He is still alive, but he will probably spend the rest of his life in prison."
"Prison?"
There was a trace of confusion in the woman's eyes, but she did not dwell on this issue.
It was obvious that she didn't care so much about Blake's final fate.
The man would occasionally bring some money back, but he would never be lavish 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. Relying on the strong is also an option.
"Ask me if you have any questions."
She crossed her legs on her knees, leaning slightly against the shabby sofa, looking at Lao Bai sitting opposite. 1
Lao Bai did not go around in circles and placed the previous chip with a face value of one hundred next to the candle.
"What did he say to you before he left?"
Mary stretched out two fingers to hold the chip, lightly opened her red lips and said.
"He said that we were going to get rich. There was a generous customer who gave him a large sum just for the deposit. He also said that he had deposited the money in the bank and would take me with him after the commission was completed.
Go live inside the giant wall."
When she said this, there was no longing in her eyes. After all, her ears were getting calloused hearing those words. 1
Gu Jie
That guy can't save money at all, and he can't stand life in the city.
But the man in front of her made her see the opportunity to live a good life. 8
"Did he mention who the client was?" Lao Bai continued to ask.
"A man named Bit is an old acquaintance of his. He lives in an apartment on 71st Street in Boulder City. The rent there is not cheap. I heard that you can get 2,000 chips a month." When she said this, there was a look in Mary's eyes.
A hint of envy arises.2
"Have you seen that bit?"
"Of course, he is completely different from the rude Blake. He is a polite man. Not only is his manners elegant, but his eyes are clear and clean. It is said that he does business for the big shots in the city. If only that guy could learn from him, we don't have to
Living in a stinky ditch."
Mary couldn't help but complain, while Lao Bai silently wrote down this clue.
It seems that Blake wasn't entirely telling the truth.
He and the man named Bit did not meet by chance, nor did they meet at any Pirate Bay tavern.
In addition, Lao Bai sent a message to Fang Chang, who was in the city, asking him to check out the apartment on Street 71.
However, what is surprising is that this guy Fang Chang did not reply to his message?15
Look, this guy hasn’t even gone offline... 7
Lao Bai's expression was a little strange.
After waiting for a while, he guessed that something happened to Fang Chang, so he sent the message to another teammate who was still online. 1
This time the message was returned very quickly.
[Kidney Fighter: Got it! I’ll go take a look right now!] 2
[Lao Bai: Confirm the target location first, and be careful not to alert the enemy. 】
[Kidney Fighter: Understand!] 1
Hope he really understands.
Withdrawing his index finger from the screen, Lao Bai looked at the woman sitting opposite the candlelight.
"...Do you know what kind of business that bit is doing?"
"He seemed to have said..." Putting her index finger on her 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 thick-skinned mutants. Large-caliber weapons are there.
Very popular.”
There was a hint of surprise in Lao Bai's eyes.
Were they attacked by arms dealers?
This is the most impossible thing.
"...Could it be Jushi Military Industry?"
Sha Dian, who came down from the second floor, happened to hear it.
Looking at the translation on V, he exchanged glances with the dog walking out of the door next to him.
"This is incredible...hiss, but it doesn't make sense logically," the dog muttered, confused, "I heard that the negotiations between the New Alliance and Boulder City included concessions on the arms deal, didn't they?" 1
Sha Dagger nodded with a subtle expression.
"...I heard about it too."
The weapons of the New Alliance will no longer enter the market of Boulder City, and Dawn City does not ban the weapons of Boulder City.
In exchange, Boulder City opened up markets in other areas and granted each other tariff preferences with Dawn City.
Everyone has reason to be dissatisfied with them, but the arms dealers in Boulder City have no reason to hate them.1
He couldn't help but think in his heart, it would be great if Elder Brother Fang was here.
That guy has a lot of crooked intestines, and he can definitely analyze a lot of nonsense at random.
"...Who is that big shot? Jushi Military Industry?" Lao Bai continued to ask without interrupting, staring at the woman in front of him.
Mary looked confused.
"I don't know...maybe?"
Time passed by minute by minute, and before I knew it, the candle had burned out.
Based on the information listed on v, Lao Bai then asked a lot of questions, and the sky outside the window turned completely dark.
"...I have understood the basic situation, thank you for your cooperation." Lao Bai reached out and clicked on v, extinguishing the dim light of the screen.
"Is it over yet?" Mary's expression was slightly disappointed.5
Lao Bai nodded.
"Well, I will contact you again if necessary."
Unwilling to give up just like that, she did not get up to see the guests off, but instead looked out the window. 1
"You see it's getting dark outside. If you enter the city after seven o'clock, you have to pay twice the city entrance tax... If you don't mind, you can stay here for one night and go back when it gets light." 9
The voice seemed to carry some kind of hint, or perhaps an invitation.
Lao Bai was slightly stunned.
This game...
Is it really for all ages?5
His intuition told him that no matter whether he chooses ye or ye at this time, it will not affect the plot of the game later. 9
Just like the one he chose in The Witcher 3.6
but……
Will there be a black screen skip here? 3
At this time, a knock on the door came from outside the house, breaking the suddenly ambiguous atmosphere in the living room.
"...It's probably that bastard's drinking buddy again. I'll go check it out."
Hearing the sound coming from outside, Mary murmured and got up from the sofa.
At this time, she suddenly noticed Lao Bai sitting on the sofa, with an awkward expression on his face, and whispered.
"...Um, could you please keep quiet?"
Although Blake probably won't be able to come back, she still has to take some dignity into account if she can't leave here right away.
This also makes it easier for her to find a new home.
Lao Bai nodded, expressing his understanding, and glanced at the two teammates not far away, telling them to avoid it. 2
Mary breathed a sigh of relief, twisted her graceful body, and reluctantly walked to the door.
The sound of turning the door handle came, and then the door creaked open, appearing very quiet in the flickering candlelight.
There were voices coming from the door, but they couldn't be heard clearly.
Lao Bai took a deep breath and calmed himself down.1
However, at this moment, there was a "bang" sound, which made him reflexively jump up from the sofa, and at the same time, he tightened his grip on the submachine gun hidden under his clothes. 3
There was more than one shot.
When he rushed to the door, Mary was already lying in a pool of blood, her body was filled with bullet holes, and the entrance was scarlet. 9
The two men standing at the door were stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting there to be anyone else in the room.
The man holding the P-9 submachine gun immediately pointed the smoking muzzle at Lao Bai.
However, Lao Bai was obviously one step ahead of him, and the dagger he took out directly pierced his forehead.7
The huge kinetic energy lifted the muzzle of the gun, and a shuttle swept across the ceiling.
Lao Bai stepped forward, reached out and pulled the dead man with the dagger 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 whose neck was grabbed was completely frightened and said in a trembling voice.
"Don't, don't kill me... I, I am also acting under orders. If I knew that you were still alive, I would definitely not dare to swim in this muddy water.
He apparently mistook Lao Bai for Blake.2
Brother Sha and Brother Gou, who heard the gunfire, also rushed out of the room and looked at the two corpses on the ground with surprise written on their faces. 1
"what's the situation?!"
"Lao Bai, are you okay?"
Why did the fight suddenly start?
"fine."
Lao Bai pinned the man to the ground and pointed his submachine gun at the back of his head.
"You, you're not Black?" the man begged tremblingly, his voice incoherent, "Don't... don't kill me, please, it's so dark at the door, I didn't see anything." 1
"Who sent you here?" Lao Bai said solemnly.
The man said tremblingly.
"Our boss...he said that the awakened person living on our street messed up things and offended people who shouldn't be offended. He asked us to come here to clean up..." 1
The street outside was quiet.
Every house had its doors and windows closed, and no one came out to watch the fun.
Lao Bai noticed the tattoo on the neck of the man beneath him.
The pattern looks like a dagger.1
He didn't care about gangs, let alone the Dagger Gang.
A more savage and cruel predator than this group of villains, he killed at least three figures in Xizhou City. 3
What really surprised him was the dominance of that huge military-industrial group over the entire city... 2
Whether inside the giant wall or outside the giant wall.
Every part seems to be revolving around the core hidden beneath the water.
Those people can control the life and death of everyone, or even a group of people, at will, just like operating chess pieces.
And don't hide anything.
Lao Bai suddenly discovered unexpectedly that there might not be any real order here.
Or civilization.
The lights inside the giant wall are bright, maybe even darker than the wasteland outside the giant wall...
Seeing the silence behind him, the man seemed to misunderstand, 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 smart way.
"...Friend, the light here is very poor. I didn't see your face. If you let me go, I will tell you that the unlucky guy who shot you had his head stabbed by that woman... Our boss will not ask anything."
This matter."
"...But if we both confess here, this matter will definitely not be settled like this." 1
Lao Bai didn't quite understand the first sentence, but I did understand the last sentence.
He laughed.
"Good guy... was threatened."
Lao Bai stretched out his hand to lift the man up, turned his face towards him, and said with a smile.
"Now you see clearly."7
The man's face was pale and his eyes were filled with fear.
Just when he thought he would be silenced, he was thrown to the ground.5
"It's time to withdraw."
Lao Bai didn't look at that man again.
He made a gesture to his teammates next to him and walked out of this bloody house. 2
At this time, the v on his arm and the screen flickered slightly.
[Kidney Fighter: I have arrived at my destination, but the apartment building was separated by guards... There were many people around. I heard there was a murder. 】
Not very surprised, Lao Bai typed a message back.
[Most of the people are already cold. Come back first. See you at the save point later. 】
【Kidney Fighter:】
After taking a look at Fang Chang's icon, Lao Bai couldn't help but feel a little worried as he hadn't replied to his message yet. 3
I'll ask after I'm offline later. 2
…
After Lao Bai and his group left, Blake's home.
The man who discovered that he had unexpectedly survived struggled to get up from the ground.
He felt that except for his pants, which were hot, the rest of his body was cold. 1
"Oh shit……"
He cursed, venting his fear in swear words, and limped towards the door.
The door opens.
The cool breeze blew on my face.
For a moment, he felt so good to be alive.
At this moment, a group of people appeared in his sight.
Looking at the leader, there was a hint of surprise in the man's eyes, and he immediately put on a flattering smile on his face, and walked up to him in two steps.
"...Mr. West, why are you here?"
The man in front of me is the boss's confidant, and he is also the leader in charge of this street.
West glanced at the door behind him and frowned.
"What happened?"
The man immediately told the truth about what had just happened, and even added fuel to the fire. 2
After West listened quietly, he suddenly asked a question.
"Do you remember what that man looks like?"
"Remember! Of course I remember!" 2
The man nodded quickly, with excitement flashing in his eyes, 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!" 9
Wade nodded, glanced at the men standing next to him, then turned and left.
The quiet night was broken by a gunshot.8
Not long after, a fire broke out in Blake's house, engulfing the three bodies. 3
at the same time.
The city hall in the outer city. .
The lights are on in the conference room.
Du Long faced his staff in high spirits and vividly described the genius plan for a 200 million chip loan.
Deputy Director Yeager's face was filled with confusion.
He didn't know what the man in front of him was going crazy about, let alone what kind of ecstasy soup those gophers poured into this guy.
But if you ask him to find fault with this plan, he really can'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 relaxing his brows.
He also had concerns in his heart, but he couldn't ignore the temptation of the cake. 1
A loan of 200 million chips...
Although it is not without risks, it is much safer than lending money to merchants and mercenaries. 4
After a long time, he nodded.
"...Although there has been no such precedent before."