Chapter 379: That airship should be quite valuable, right?
Eighty kilometers east of Ruigu City.
The campground of the corporate expedition team.
The rolling muffled thunder floating in the distance caused the soldiers from the east coast to stop what they were doing and stop and look to the west.
"What is that sound?"
"It's thundering?"
"It's not like..."
"It sounded like something exploded."
"It's strange. When I was in Dawn City, I specifically inquired with the caravans coming from the west, but I didn't hear that there was a war going on nearby."
The soldiers whispered.
In the center of the camp, at the entrance of the tent.
Standing next to captain Yun Song, logistics officer Heding looked slightly nervous. He often traveled around and was extremely sensitive to danger.
He knew very well that the sound was definitely not thunder or anything.
"That was a nuclear bomb just now?"
Yunsong's brows furrowed slightly.
"Not sure."
In fact, there is nothing terrible about nuclear bombs. They are just cost-effective weapons. There are many more powerful weapons in the wasteland. What really makes him care is the power contained in that sound.
According to his experience, the explosion yield was at least ten tons.
Regardless of whether it was a nuclear weapon or not, the power was enough to make them wary.
However, the strange thing is that according to the information they investigated in Shuguang City, there should be no other regional powers from Qingquan City to the east until Luoxia Province.
At most, there are only a few scattered small settlements of survivors.
Although the number of people is not small, they obviously do not have the ability to manufacture such weapons.
Hedin whispered.
"I suggest changing the direction of travel. Before entering Luoxia Province, we should try our best to avoid participating in regional conflicts."
Yunsong thought for a while and nodded.
"Um."
Northwest side of Ruigu City.
The camp directly below the Heart of Steel.
Rachel, who was sitting in the tent, looked as gloomy as the clouds outside the tent.
Especially when he heard that his most capable hunter, Vito, died on the battlefield, and died in humiliation under the enemy's artillery, he clenched his fists angrily.
"These lurking bugs..."
When he caught those guys, he vowed to torture them with the most cruel punishment until they shed the last drop of blood and breathed their last breath.
At this time, the door curtain opened.
The guard who entered the tent gave a military salute, interrupting his thoughts.
"Sir, the officers from the staff are outside."
Hearing these words, Rachel's expression froze slightly, and after three to five seconds, she slowly spoke.
"Invite him in."
"yes!"
Watching the guard turn and leave, Rachel, who had been thinking for a long time, sighed softly and slowly relaxed her tense shoulders.
The parachute was not found.
The half-dead corporate employee also escaped.
Not only that, he also lost two marine squadrons and a reconnaissance team composed of three awakened ones.
At this time, the staff department sent someone over, and it was obvious what they planned to do.
The door curtain opened again.
An officer in a crisp uniform walked in from outside.
Rachel noticed that he had just met the man in front of him during the day.
However, what was different from what he saw during the day was that the expression and demeanor on this officer's face was obviously much more serious.
Knowing that the person in front of her was probably here to hold him to account, Rachel didn't speak and kept her 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 McClung has appointed you as land combat commander. We will deploy more troops to the ground tomorrow morning."
"Until the deployment order is revoked, this force will be under your full command."
Hearing what the officer in front of him said, Rachel's eyes suddenly showed obvious surprise.
Seemingly noticing his surprise, the staff officer continued.
"According to the judgment of the staff department, the enterprise employees we are chasing are suspected to have merged with the enterprise's reinforcements. Various signs indicate that the unknown armed forces who ambushed our patrol tonight are from the enterprise!"
"The losses of the 29th and 31st Marines are not yours. It is our lack of regional intelligence that led to this accident."
"Captain McClun asks you to behave well, wash away this shame with the blood of your enemies, and avenge the brothers who died tonight!"
The surprised expression disappeared from her eyes, Rachel took a deep breath and said seriously.
"I will."
"Use your actions to prove that the captain is waiting for your news."
After saying these words, the staff officer turned around and left the camp without stopping.
He stared straight at the tent door curtain.
Rachel clenched her fists and slowly released them, her eyes flashing with fighting intent as she chewed the words over and over again.
It was as if he was going to bite it into pieces and swallow it.
"I will!"
The boiling mountain fire burned all night and gradually extinguished until the night faded.
However, the Legion's anger did not subside. The destruction of the two marines put the Heart of Steel on the highest level of alert.
And the thunderous sound of the cannon also kept the survivors throughout Ruigu City sleepless all night.
Early morning.
The commotion is far from subsided.
The Heart of Steel airship continues to deliver armaments to the ground, and the deployment scale has reached the scale of an entire thousand-man team, and the position fortifications under construction are being constructed according to the standards of three thousand-man teams.
A dozen Marine teams were sent to search the eastern suburbs, looking for the three girls with two bears and the mortar emplacement that opened fire on their patrol last night.
According to the reports of the soldiers who escaped, they were attacked by at least a hundred-man team, equipped with highly mechanized exoskeletons.
no doubt.
That’s corporate reinforcements!
But General McClung is not worried, so what if it is reinforcements from the enterprise?
Just a bunch of weak guys.
Just enough to catch them all in one go!
At the same time, Marine Commander Rachel, under the instruction of the airship staff, began to send "armed lobbyists" to surrounding areas.
With the remnant power of last night's cannon, General McClung's order could be conveyed to the nearby survivors' settlements.
Or surrender.
Or perish!
On the other side, east of Ruigu City.
In a mountainous area about five kilometers away from the center of the explosion, more than 20 players from the Storm Corps were resting.
The sky was not completely bright yet, and there was a gray dim light in the distance.
Although some people suggested that you can camp farther away, but Quan Shui said that places that seem dangerous are actually the safest.
After daybreak, the legion will most likely send people to search eastward, but the focus of the search will most likely not be near the explosion area.
What's more, the terrain here is higher and the view is wider.
Even if there is a situation, it can be transferred in time.
After more than 30 hours of continuous forced march, they had a fight with the legion's patrol. Even if the people were strong enough to resist, the equipment they carried could not withstand it.
Most players' exoskeletons have run out of battery.
Fortunately, the truck behind me was equipped with a diesel generator.
Unloaded exoskeletons lined up next to the truck.
Kakarot took several strength-based players to the nearby forest to cut down trees, and several agility-based players helped everyone prepare food.
Rourou took Teddy, who would no longer wake up, to a nearby mountain, intending to find a place to bury it out of reach of scavengers.
The tail and sesame paste also accompanied her.
Although Si Si also wanted to follow, he was too seriously injured and had no choice but to stay in the camp.
She found a deserted corner and used the medical tools in the car to perform a minor surgery on herself and remove the bullet stuck in her body.
Since I was not very skilled in the operation, I got blood all over the floor, but fortunately, after tinkering for a while, I finally gained something.
“Done!“
Looking at the deformed bullet clamped on the tweezers, Sisi let out a sigh of relief and threw it into the aluminum box, intending to keep it as a souvenir.
Although the recovery speed of physical players is much faster than that of ordinary people, it is not to the level of mutants where "wounds heal at a speed visible to the naked eye."
A simple bandage and suturing can help the wound heal faster. Si Si estimated that he would be able to fight side by side with his friends by this time tomorrow.
After sewing up the wound, she took out a new box of bandages and put them on. She admired her masterpiece with satisfaction, and then returned to the truck.
Breakfast won't be ready for a while, and Kakarot and his team have just returned with firewood for the stove and generator.
The other players sat in a circle, most of them yawning from exhaustion.
Only Brother Quan Shui, who was standing in the middle, was telling everyone about his battle plan with an energetic face.
Airships can store a large amount of supplies, but their supplies are not unlimited after all! With thousands of troops, not to mention how much food they have to show off every day, they can load a truck with just their shit!"
I yelled the loudest: "Damn it, can you not do this before the meal?"
Commander Quan Shui said with a smile.
"Just an example!"
"The Heart of Steel has dropped its 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 to pay dinars or use force.
force."
And this is an opportunity for us!”
Looking at the players with sharp eyes, he continued.
"We need to distinguish between those who have been bribed by them and those who have been coerced by them, and then win over those who can!"
Si Si thought for a while and said.
"But how many survivors are there who dare to resist the Legion?"
Commander Quan Shui said with a smile.
We don’t need them to resist clearly, we can fight tough battles.”
"We just need them to provide us with a little help within their ability!"
Even if you just tell them the location of the Legion patrol.
Even if it's just to remind them when the convoy to collect supplies will arrive.
There was a hint of surprise in the warlord's eyes. "I understand, is it right to fight guerrillas?"
"correct!"
Commander Quanshui nodded approvingly and continued.
"The people from the legion will most likely come into contact with the nearby survivor settlements during the day, so we will go in the opposite direction with them and go at night!" "After everyone has finished eating, we will log off and return to the state first. We will come to the specific combat plan.
Let’s continue chatting in the group.”
As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Sisi aside and said with a smile.
"Good brother, can you please keep a lookout for me?"
Si Si smiled.
It’s a small matter, no trouble, Awei and I will help take care of it.”
She just lay down in the truck for a while, her fatigue level has dropped, and she is not very sleepy now. She will just wait for Tails and the others to come back later and sleep for a while.
Quan Shui fisted his fist and said with a smile.
"Yeah! Please then!"
Most of the players who arrived in Ruigu City with Brother Quanshui were full-time players.
Even if there are a few who are not full-time, they all have relatively free time. Otherwise, it would be impossible to perform strong operations such as traveling long distances for more than 30 hours in a row.
After a good meal, everyone agreed on a time to go online, then found a place to lie down and logged out of the game.
As for the equipment and game characters, Sisi helps take care of them.
Everyone in the White Bear Knights is originally a member of the Storm Troopers, and we are all teammates who have been playing together several versions ago. Naturally, there is no issue of trust or distrust.
After going offline.
Commander Quanshui gathered all the members in the Storm Corps guild group and divided the twenty-odd team members who arrived first with him into three groups.
Group A is mainly composed of agility and perception type players, and is responsible for investigating the nearby terrain. Group B is mainly composed of players who can simply communicate with NPCs, and is responsible for collecting information on nearby survivor settlements.
As for the group, it consists of the battlefield atmosphere group and several other players who like guns. They continue to move west and are responsible for searching and attacking the legion's patrols.
It doesn't matter how many people you kill.
Mainly through frequent harassment, strategically disrupt the enemy's line of sight, causing them to misjudge their own position and number of people.
As for the task of searching for the entrance to Vault 79, Quan Shui plans to leave it to Taiwei and the others after it comes online.
On the one hand, he felt that Taili seemed to be very interested in things like treasure hunting, and on the other hand, considering that they did not bring high-end equipment, high-frequency mobile combat would be more difficult.
In this game, there are completely two ways to play, wearing an exoskeleton and without wearing an exoskeleton.
It has nothing to do with ability, it's purely a matter of suitability.
When the morning sun shines on the land of the Valley Province, Boulder City, which is far away on the edge of the Third Ring Road in Qingquan City, is peaceful and peaceful at the moment.
No matter how powerful the 400mm main gun is, the shock wave will never reach here.
unless-
Someone plans to add fuel to the fire.
"Extra!"
Newsboys running around the streets and alleys of Boulder City, carrying canvas bags, delivered the temporarily printed newspapers to pubs and grocery stores that cooperated with "Survivor Daily", and also stuffed them into customers' windows and doors.
seam.
The temporarily printed newspaper only has one page.
The photo printed on the newspaper is a continuation of the headline of the newspaper that just came out in the morning.
Huge craters were imprinted in the mountain col, and a devastating shock wave swept across the entire forest. The fiery red flames were like boiling mushroom clouds.
Under the photo, there is an intriguing line of text: [Heart of Steel's 400mm main gun! Just six rounds are enough to level the entire outer city!] This is of course an exaggerated metaphor.
However, after such a comparison, people who had no idea about its power suddenly realized how terrifying this thing was.
Gray squirrel clothing store.
Seal, who was sitting behind the counter, had his chair tilted up, his hairy arms resting on his tall belly, and he was holding a still-warm newspaper in his hand.
The reason why he ordered the "Daily Survivor" was very simple. He mainly wanted to read the advertisements and learn about the latest trendy styles in Nabian, Dawn City.
However, the news occasionally published on it also interested him.
Although Mr. House's broadcast makes people feel energetic, the guy's voice is like a psychoactive leaf, which only has the effect of refreshing people, but has no nutrition other than that.
The "Daily Survivor" is different. It has a variety of news. 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 Siel's low murmur, his old friend Robbo, who was shopping in his store, replied casually.
"Of course you have heard that it is the southeast corner of the River Valley Province and the west gate of the southern corridor. Most of the caravans passing through Boulder City will pass there."
"Yes, that's right there!"
There was a hint of surprise in Sil's eyes, and he sat up straight from his chair, "It's really strange that the Legion actually went there... Shouldn't they be looking for trouble in the Great Rift Valley in the north?"
"Legion?!"
The index finger that was rubbing the "artwork" stopped. Robbo looked away from the legs of the mannequin, looked back at Schier who was sitting behind the counter, and couldn't help but ask.
"What nonsense are you talking about? What is the Legion doing here?"
He runs Queen of the Night, the most famous bar in Boulder City, which is not only a famous gold-selling cave, but also an intelligence gathering center where everyone is mixed.
Not only the nobles in the inner city would come to him for fun, but the mercenaries who had made a fortune were also happy to contribute their chips to him.
Except for the White Shark at the Pirate Bay Bar, no one is better informed than him.
Take a look at what happened this morning."
Seal handed the newspaper in his hand to his old friend along with the newspaper he had just delivered to the outside. "This photo is not fake, right?"
Taking the newspaper, Luo Bo glanced at it hastily, his eyes quickly widened into two chips.
"Heart of Steel?! Wait, I think I've heard of this guy!"
Sil looked at him strangely.
"Where did you hear that?"
With disbelief written all over his face, Luo Bo spoke quickly.
"The caravan from the west! Just two months ago! They said that the legion settled in the oasis where the sunset set, and there was a steel fortress floating above their heads... Damn it, I thought that guy was here
Bragging!"
The 400mm main gun that burns everything
This caliber can squeeze someone in!
When imagining that scene, Luo Bo couldn't help but shrink his neck.
He really couldn't think further about the sight of this big ship flying to his door.
"Don't worry too much, the city lord will definitely not let it fly to us." Seeing this guy's exaggerated reaction, Sil's expression was a little strange, but he still said comfortingly.
"That's hard to say... Last year, I don't know if it was the legion or the enterprise, but they threw a verification bill in the north of Yumu District, but in the end it was nothing." Luo Bo couldn't help but complain.
I hope someone can take care of this.
By the way, aren't there a group of nosy guys in the north?
Xizhou City is about a hundred kilometers away from here, and Ruigu City may be a little further, but it’s not too far away.
After all, there is a giant wall in Boulder City, and a large number of fixed weapons are installed on the giant wall, but those people have nothing, and they have planted a large field.
You'll do something after all, right?
Compared to the annoying legion, of course the country bumpkins are cuter.
Luo Bo couldn't help but feel a trace of sadness on his face.
Can they win?
Robb is not alone in having similar concerns.
Almost the vast majority of wastelanders holding the "Daily Survivor" had almost the same idea as him.
Not everyone cares about the life and death of those hillbillies in Yin, the northern suburbs.
But they would not be so naive as to think that the Heart of Steel's range was only a dozen kilometers away and just missed them.
At this moment, the city hall of Boulder City is very busy.
Du Long, the director of the city hall, has held three consecutive meetings, not only calling in people from the bank, but also summoning the president of the "Daily Survivor" newspaper.
Although it can't be said that it was a mess, at least it was a panic.
Different from those ordinary residents.
They are not only worried about the safety of the survivor settlement, but also worried about the 200 million chips they just lent!
What is the concept of 200 million?
There are probably more than half a million residents in the outer city of Boulder City. Excluding mercenaries and merchants, the per capita income is about 10 chips.
In other words, it would take three or four months for all the workers in Boulder City to earn so much money even if they beat the screws and smoke!
Yes, the money is not in the hands of the alliance, but is placed in the supervision account of the Bank of Boulder City. But the problem is that the alliance has already taken these chips and placed orders with their factories and caravans!
Almost all factories in Boulder City are busy borrowing money, recruiting workers, expanding production, and working hard for the 200 million chips.
The industrial fires are burning brightly, and there has never been such a grand occasion!
Whether it is Boulder City Bank or City Hall, they have already tasted a little bit of the sweetness, and they are unwilling to see the signs of "economic recovery" being snuffed out.
This kind of thing must not happen!
That idiot Jaeger actually proposed to terminate the loan. How could such a big thing be stopped at the drop of a hat! Fortunately, Mr. Director is on my side...
After a whole day of meetings, Malvern returned to the mansion exhausted, handing the coat to his wife while complaining nonstop.
He worries every day so that the poor people who owe him money can repay the money smoothly.
The lady who took the coat gave him a kiss and comforted him softly.
"You may need to rest for a few days."
"Honey, I want to, but there are a lot of troubles."
Malvin sighed and sat on the soft sofa.
At this moment, he suddenly noticed the newspaper on the coffee table, and his eyebrows, which had relaxed a little, suddenly knitted together again.
"Survivor Daily. Has our family ordered this too?"
He reached out and rubbed his eyebrows. Malvern had a headache now that he saw this newspaper.
"I ordered it. I saw a lot of things I haven't seen before, such as nutritional ointments, which I heard are food for wastelanders." Sitting next to her father, Alyssa blinked curiously and said, "We
Can I buy some? I want to see what it’s like.”
"You won't be interested in that stuff. It's like fermented vomit, only a little better than unpalatable tree bark." Malvern thought about a vivid metaphor.
Even he himself found it disgusting, which should dispel his daughter's curiosity.
Alyssa: "Bark?"
"Well, if you are too lazy to take out a single chip, you can only chew that thing. But the nutritional ointment is cheap enough, usually only one kilogram is sold...Why am I talking about this?" Malvern touched his little daughter
of his head, and said lovingly, "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 had already gotten married, so this was all they had left.
The lady frowned.
".Don't bring that thing home."
I know," Malvern hugged the lady's shoulders and said with a smile, "I'm just giving our little daughter some knowledge..." "Some unnecessary knowledge," the lady stared at her husband, her tone slightly reproachful, "
You dote on Alyssa too much. I have never approved of her subscribing to that kind of newspaper. There are obviously so many books in the study room at home, why do you want to read the vulgar writing written by a group of losers? "
Malvern laughed dryly.
"I will persuade her."
He actually doesn't like "Daily Survivor" very much, mainly because he doesn't think those "non-professionals" can write anything valuable. Although his office has a subscription, he just asked his secretary to read it for him.
But this time, the headline of "Daily Survivor" was beyond his expectation.
The Legion's airships have all arrived in the River Valley Province. If it weren't for that weirdo who came here from the next province to write an article, they would probably still be kept in the dark.
Just like the last time the Pioneer came here, one tactical nuclear bomb exploded, and their respected city lord belatedly sent someone over to take a look.
Alyssa stared into her father's eyes and suddenly spoke thoughtfully.
"Actually, you know, we can't really be isolated from the wasteland. The prosperous ideal city is admirable, but we are not them after all."
Malvern looked at his daughter in surprise, and was surprised to hear such words from her mouth.
"Where did you hear this?"
"It's in the newspaper, but I think it makes sense."
Looking at his daughter looking up at him, Malvern thought for a moment and said.
"Yes, not only I know it, but Dulong also knows it, and even Yeager's uncle who doesn't seem very smart also knows it. But there are many, many complicated reasons, and this problem has been around for a long time."
Alyssa blinked.
"Since it has been around for a long time, why not start changing it now?"
After rubbing his daughter's little head, Malvin smiled amusedly and said in a gentle tone.
"Because of limited abilities, each generation has its own work. All Dad can do is to help you live a slightly better life. You don't have to be like those wasteful people who sell their souls for tomorrow's lunch or for a bottle of wine.
Water beer fight."
He has no intention of breaking two centuries of tacit understanding.
The root of Boulder City's prosperity is the same as that of Ideal City. After all, they followed the path of enterprises, but made some slight improvements.
They have a strong armed force, and like companies, they do not participate in the troubles in the wasteland. They only ensure that others do not come to cause trouble in their own homes.
The entire southern part of the River Valley Province and even the survivor settlements in the neighboring Jinchuan Province regard them as role models, whether they are slave owners or merchants.
It's like they're looking up to the utopia of the East Coast.
But now, trouble has finally found its way to the door.
The legion's airship has flown to the doorstep, and those guys with swollen nose bridges are as barbaric and rude as the rumors say, and they unabashedly showed their fangs.
He has no doubt that those people will definitely contribute to the prosperity of Boulder City.
Thinking of this, Malvern felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
Even the richest man in the city could not persuade the great city lord to send troops to do something for everyone's benefit.
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 had lived for who knows how many years was colder, more stubborn, and more elusive than all the people he knew put together.
Malvern couldn't help but start to fantasize.
It would be great if there was some way to get the best of both worlds, to block that trouble for them, or to drive that airship away.
And at this moment, an idea of getting the best of both worlds... or a crazy idea suddenly popped up in his mind.
Since lending those blue coats a sum of money can save those factories that are on the verge of collapse, why not lend them a sum of military funds and encourage them to fight?
That airship should be quite valuable, right?
And with their good-natured personalities, when they saw the local survivors who were sallow and skinny, they would definitely not be able to leave them alone. Then they would have to build roads and build houses for them.
"Ruigu City, the west exit of the southern corridor has greater potential than Xizhouzhou City."
As he muttered softly, 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 knowing what was wrong with him.
Malvin laughed and was so happy that he wanted to pick up his daughter and give her a kiss.
"My Alyssa, you are so right, we do need a little change."