In the cabin of the airship, I glanced at the pleasant scenery of French Fries Harbor through the glass window, and I couldn't help but curl up with a secretly amused smile.
"good."
This time I can finally get over the addiction of being a city lord.
But that being said, in fact, he did not have the final say on this French fries port alone.
Most small development projects are subcontracted to various specific units or institutions, while large development plans and project approvals are jointly decided by the board of directors of Baiyue Strait Development Co., Ltd.
This joint-stock company established in Shuguang City is currently jointly held by a number of player institutions that are interested in developing the Baiyue Strait. The equity is divided according to the proportion of capital contribution, and the coast of the Baiyue Strait is developed within the framework of the alliance law.
As for Niuma Group, its main business is infrastructure construction and logistics and transportation.
And this is what they do best.
The two airships, one behind the other, hovered above the French Fries Port, and then slowly lowered their pods.
Looking at Fang Chang coming down from the pod, Toge Ryuto, who was the construction project manager, stepped forward and took a look at the airship behind him.
"Good guy, you bought another one?!"
"Why did you buy another one? It belongs to the scientific expedition team! From now on, the work of recycling salvaged objects will be left to those professionals. I
We mainly transport goods.”
Fang Chang smiled and patted the brother on the shoulder, then took him to the gondola and pointed to the boxes of goods unloaded from the gondola.
"I bought these good things. Ten sets of turtle-type engineering armor and twenty-five cross spider robots. I leave them to you!"
After hearing these words, Dao Xia Liu Ren's face suddenly showed an expression of surprise.
The performance of the turtle-type engineering armor in Camp 101 and the urban reconstruction project in southern Xizhou City is obvious to all.
That thing can be called a masterpiece of personal construction auxiliary equipment, the culmination of two hundred years of construction experience in Vault 100!
It is like a machine that can travel freely on complex terrains
The "SCV" can not only switch the tools workers need according to the construction tasks, but also provide them with visual digital guidance services.
If the K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton is the pinnacle of heavy-duty exoskeletons for battlefield use, then the Turtle Engineering Armor is the K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton specially designed for construction workers.
Paired with the Cross Spider robot that can transport materials straight up and down vertical walls, if other construction units can keep up, an engineering team of ten people can even exert the work efficiency of a construction team of a hundred people. Even someone like him can
Professionals who have worked in the civil engineering industry for many years were greatly shocked after going on site inspections.
It is precisely because of the excellent construction performance of this set of equipment that its price has remained high. Not only players are rushing to buy it, but NPCs are also placing orders. Even the construction companies in Ideal City are full of interest.
I didn’t expect this guy to come over with a whole set of equipment!
He couldn't wait to step forward, and the people under the knife quickly gave way to others.
The staff on the side helped open one of the two-person-high cargo boxes.
Looking at the crab-shaped engineering armor, he was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. However, just after being excited for a while, he quickly realized a new problem.
"Wait a minute, I remember you need to be trained to use this thing, right?"
As if he guessed that he would ask this question, Fang Chang said with a smile as if he had been prepared for it.
"Don't worry, I have also hired trained workers. They will be down in a moment. Remember to protect their safety. According to the contract, they will only work within the safety zone."
"That's necessary! Can I get them to go out to work?" Dao Xia Ryuto said with a smile, "Don't worry, just leave it to me!"
"With you here, I'll definitely feel at ease!" Fang Chang said with a smile.
Brother Dao, like him, was among the first batch to enter the game.
I am a veteran player, and have been a group friend of the Cow Horse Group for a long time.
It's just that this guy's gameplay style is too hard-core, or niche, and his combat effectiveness is mainly reflected on the construction site, so he is rarely noticed by other players.
If it were anyone else, he might not be so reassured, but it would definitely be reliable to leave it to this guy.
The two of them walked towards the center of the camp.
On the way, Fang Chang suddenly noticed bundles of furs tied with hemp rope in the shape of tofu blocks on a cargo pile not far from the beach.
There are some with fur and some without fur, with different shapes and sizes. There are also various types and colors.
There must be thousands of pieces in total!
"Good guys, have you hunted so many prey these days?"
Seeing the surprised expression on Fang Chang's face, Daoxia Liuren made a helpless expression.
"It's not like we took the initiative to hunt this. It was brought here by the prey themselves."
It's alright that I brought it to you. When did Brother Guang become so generous?
Fang Chang was surprised, but soon he thought of the rumors he had heard from the scientific expedition team before, and after thinking for a moment, he said.
"This rainforest is a bit weird. I heard that the heterogeneous and mutant slime molds here are related. Maybe there is a mother nest not far from us. Remember to be careful when you are doing construction and pay attention to safety."
"Just be careful, I will be careful whether there is a nest or not!" Patted his arm, Dao Xia Liuren said with a smile.
He said, "But having said that, if you can really dig out the brood nest, you will make a lot of money. Just for discovering the location, there is one million silver coins, which is a huge reward!"
"Indeed, even I was moved.
Fang Chang smiled, looked at the pile of furs, and suddenly noticed the blood and mucus on it, and asked in his heart.
"So these are all unprocessed rawhide?"
The man under the sword nodded.
"I guess it takes a lot of time to process these hides. I heard from players in the fur business that the salt in the camp is almost sold out, and it's still close to the sea."
Fang Chang was stunned for a moment. "Is it so exaggerated?"
"No," Dao Xia Liuren said helplessly, "I think they
Recently, two more salt fields have been opened, but manpower is still a problem.
Question. I heard that players in the fur business are thinking about whether to send the raw hides back to Dawn City to find someone to process them."
There are only over 300 players in French Fries Port.
Although this time the Niu Ma brought more than 200 good brothers who came here because of their reputation, many of them had died before and were resurrected. This number of people was not even enough for the construction team and the scientific expedition team.
What's more, hiring players to do such delicate work as leather processing is somewhat overkill, and it is not economically suitable.
"If I send this back for processing, I'm afraid it will stink on the road.
"Fang Chang thought for a moment, and suddenly his heart moved. He looked at Daoxia Liuren and said, "By the way, isn't there someone over there from Taiyi and the others?"
The man under the knife said: "Are you talking about those Yue Clan refugees?" Fang Chang said with a slight smile.
"These jobs are not very intensive, so there should be no problem if they are left to those people. And it is not just leather tanning, but also some prey handling work. If it can be done by NPCs, it will not only save costs, but also
More quality labor is released from those simple and repetitive tasks, you know what I'm talking about."
The man under the sword looked at the guy in front of him with a strange expression.
When he heard these words, he always had the illusion that the way this guy thought about problems was more and more like an NPC he knew.
"Is there something on my face?" Seeing that Liu Ren was staring at him without saying a word, Fang Chang reached out and touched his face, but he didn't feel anything.
After coming back to his senses, Dao Xia Liuren coughed slightly, cleared his throat and said.
"It's nothing, I just think your idea is a good one."
This is indeed a good idea. Although the facilities at Chip Port are still a bit rudimentary, at least the walls have been built.
As long as you don't leave the camp, safety is still guaranteed.
"I'll go to the forum to ask their opinions later, and there's one more thing." Halfway through, he suddenly remembered something else.
Fang Chang cast a questioning look at him. "What's the matter?"
"About the work of clearing the rainforest," after a moment of pause, Dao Xia Liuren scratched his head and said in an uncertain tone, "According to reports from some construction teams, when they were clearing the rainforest, they discovered that this forest has unique characteristics.
Self-healing." Fang Chang frowned slightly.
"Self-healing?"
The man under the sword nodded and continued.
"I don't know if this expression is accurate. In short, the situation is that in the area they just cleaned the next day, when they inspected it the next day, they found that some shrubs, grass blades and vines had grown out. They seemed to have grown from nearby areas.
It was the same thing that spread in the forest. At first I thought it was the construction teams who took over the task who were lazy, but similar situations occurred in various work areas, which was very strange.
When there is abundant rain and light, most forests will naturally expand towards areas with fertile soil, which is not surprising in itself.
However, this kind of thing is often done on a year-by-year basis, and only by observing on a year-by-year time scale can some clues be discovered.
But this tropical rainforest is different.
It's like it's alive, recovering its "wounds" at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Looking at Fang Chang who was deep in thought, Dao Xia Liuren suggested.
"I suggest you mention this matter to the Alliance Biological Research Institute next time you go back and see what their opinion is."
Fang Chang nodded cautiously and turned his attention to another airship in the sky.
"There's no need to wait to go back. They came with the scientific expedition team."
"You can just report the situation here to them later."
At the same time that the two airships arrived at the French Fries Port, a dry bulk ship loaded with cargo was slowly sailing away from the rough Borneo Sea and entering the quiet Baiyue Strait from the west.
"Watch for a while for me."
Yawning, he came out of the cab. The old man in a brown jacket gave up the door behind him to a young man in a white shirt. He went to sit on the lounge chair under the gangway, picked up the things and put them in a plastic basket next to him.
I took two sips from the unfinished beer bottle and squinted my eyes as the sea breeze blew.
Normally, he would never allow others to touch his ship, but he made an exception when he sailed to the Baiyue Strait.
Compared with the open Borneo Sea and the southern sea, this strait that runs through the Baiyue Province cannot be called a sea, but is more like a peaceful river.
In addition, there are reference objects on both sides of the strait to determine the course, so it is still a bit difficult to deviate to the point of sailing the ship back.
It was precisely for this reason that he left the job of sailing the ship to his young men, while he came down to relax and rest for a while.
The old man's name is Song Haining, and he is a resident of the Ring Island, but he has lived in Silver Moon Bay for much longer than on the Ring Island.
Much longer.
Of course, the total time he spent in the two places was definitely not as good as the time he spent floating on the sea.
Years of exposure to the wind and sun made his face look like a freshly dried rag, and it was also the kind that looked black after wiping the bottom of a pot.
As long as he can remember, he has been working on ships with his father, and it was not until he was thirty years old that he got his own cargo ship.
And now the "Mistral" has been following him for twenty years.
Whenever he saw the mottled rust on the deck, he couldn't help but think that maybe he should seriously start thinking about retirement.
In the wasteland, being in your fifties is definitely considered old.
"It's still so quiet here."
Walking next to Song Haining, the young man in a gray jacket put his arm on the railing of the ship's side and said something with a smile.
His name is Mogavi, and he is a merchant in the Silver Moon Bay of the Camelback Kingdom. He is also the owner of the 5,000 tons of iron ore and coal on the cargo ship, and the employer of 30 mercenaries.
Recently, the Federation of the Southern Islands and Shelter 70 have been at loggerheads, and offshore mining stations have been closed down due to the impact of the war. However, the production of factories on various islands cannot be stopped, and the prices of various resources are rising almost suddenly.
Although there are considerable risks in doing business in this area, there are still many people who are not afraid of death and decide to wade into this muddy water.
For example, this person is one of them.
Song Haining didn't know his details, but the possibility of problems with the transaction introduced by the port was low, and it was also a shipping route he was familiar with.
Even though this guy occasionally seemed a little off-line, he didn't care, as long as the dinars were enough.
Hearing the voice coming from the side, the old captain squinted at the scenery and smiled lightly, putting the empty beer bottle aside.
"I wish it would always be so quiet here." "It will definitely be!"
The man showed a confident smile on his face and continued, "Before I went to sea, I asked someone to do a divination! The fortune teller told me that as long as I keep moving forward in the direction of the rising sun, the land covered with gold will be there.
Waiting for us there."
The land covered with gold
Hearing this interesting statement, Song Haining couldn't help but smile, raised his eyebrows and glanced at the thin sunlight, and then returned his gaze to the emerald green shore in the distance.
He has been busy traveling in this sea area for most of his life, but he has never heard of any island covered with gold.
As for the land on both sides of the Taiwan Strait? Not to mention that.
What is hidden in that dense rain forest cannot be treasure, only death.
Even if the ships plying this sea area run out of supplies, they would never consider trying their luck on the shore. The forest there is like a monster's open mouth, swallowing up anyone who tries to go deep.
"You should take that fortune teller on board so we can ask him how far away the land covered with gold is."
Song Haining replied lazily.
However, just as he finished speaking, two incredible exclamations suddenly came from above the gangway.
"Ahead! Look at the sky!" "What is that?!" In the sky?
Hearing the sound from above the gangway, Song Haining and Mogawei who were on the deck were stunned.
The latter was the first to come to his senses, shouted in surprise, "Silver Moon Goddess is on top," and trotted towards the top of the gangway in a hurry.
Did the prophecy come true?
Looking at the overjoyed guy, Song Haining had a strange expression on his face.
Although he instinctively did not believe in mysticism, he still stood up from the recliner and followed the Silver Moon Bay businessman up the ladder.
"What did you see? What's in front of the sky—"
Walking to the guardrail of the observation deck, Song Haining was about to ask the yelling sailor what he had found, but stopped mid-sentence.
Looking in the direction the sailor was pointing, he looked across rows of cargo boxes filled with ores, and two white spheres floating below the clouds soon caught his eye.
Because of the distance, the thing looked as small as a balloon, but he would not think that it was just two balloons. That thing was an airship!
But why is the airship here?
Just when Song Haining was stunned, Mogawei on the side screamed with joy.
"Airship! It's an airship!"
"I damn well know that thing is an airship. I want to know why there is an airship in this damn place!"
After finally recovering from the surprise, Song Haining's face did not show any excitement at all, but gradually showed a trace of worry or fear.
The southern sea area is not peaceful now. The Federation of the Southern Islands and Shelter 70 have been fighting for more than two months. Both sides are red-eyed and have already abandoned their bottom line.
Before he went to sea, he heard someone say it in a tavern near the Silver Moon Bay Pier.
In order to cut off supplies to the islands of the Commonwealth of the Southern Islands, submarines from Shelter 70 are attacking ships indiscriminately in the southern waters. Many ships have been killed in the past month.
If that airship was an observation airship released from Vault 70, they would probably have marked it on the opponent's chart by now.
He pushed open the door of the cab and walked out. The young man who had previously steered him hurriedly ran behind him and asked.
"Captain, do you want to keep driving forward?"
Before Song Haining could speak, Mogawei standing aside said excitedly.
"I think we should go over there and take a look! Maybe there's a surprise waiting for us there.
Glancing at the guy who hadn't realized the seriousness of the matter, Song Haining pondered for a moment and looked at the young man behind him.
"Keep driving forward."
At this point, it's too late to turn around.
What's more, if they change their course at this time, they will have to take a detour from the southernmost tip of Baiyue Province. Not only will the voyage be doubled, but there won't be that much supplies on board.
The young man nodded nervously, turned around and ran into the cab.
Song Haining took out his telescope and stared at the two silver-white airships, trying to discern some clues from them.
Unfortunately, there is no obvious identification mark on the airship.
The only thing that made him feel a little relieved was that the two airships had wide cargo bays and were obviously cargo airships, not observation airships as he thought.
and--
The rough design doesn't look like it came from Vault 70, but maybe it was something created by the Southern Islands Federation.
But the problem came again soon after.
Why did the Federation of the Southern Islands release balloons in the Baiyue Strait? Song Haining was puzzled.
While he was staring closely at the two airships, the cargo ship "Mistral" continued to move forward and close the distance between the two airships.
When the horizontal distance between the two sides was less than three nautical miles, a scenery he had never seen before suddenly appeared on the yellow-green coastline.
He wasn't the only one to notice what was happening on the shoreline.
The sailors and mercenaries standing on the side of the ship watching the excitement almost invariably let out even more surprised exclamations than before.
"Is there someone there!?" "And there are quite a few of them!"
"Sand Sea Spirits, are they desperate for their lives?!" There are no ships on the shore.
Those people should have gotten off the airship.
Looking blankly at the camp on the shore, Song Haining opened his mouth involuntarily and was speechless for a moment.
Mogavi, who was standing next to him, shouted excitedly.
"Port! It's a port!"
To say that thing is called a port is absolutely bragging. This place doesn't even have a pier that extends into the deep water. The golden beach is completely pristine.
However, the rows of tents and tin houses, as well as the surrounding earthen walls and sentry towers, do not look like they were just built.
A long time ago, there was a rumor circulating in the taverns of Silver Moon Bay that the Baiyue Province was inhabited by demons who were exiled by the spirit of the Sand Sea. No one could stay in this land for the rotation of the sun and the moon.
Song Haining did not believe in the spirit of the sand sea, but he believed in the second half of this rumor.
The Camelback Kingdom tried to colonize this land a long time ago, but all attempts ended in failure without exception.
Not to mention the settlement of survivors in the southern seas. Many of their ancestors fled to the island from the Baiyue Province.
Someone actually tried to camp along the Baiyue Strait. Are these guys desperate for their lives?!
Just on the boat, everyone was surprised
As they were landing, two speedboats flying the flag of the Federation of Southern Islands approached from the eastern sea.
From a distance, he saw the man on the bow of the speedboat. Song Haining waved his hand in the direction of the cab behind him, made a gesture to stop the ship, and then shouted to the sailors below the gangway.
"Drop the anchor!"
The anchor was thrown from the stern of the ship and hit the seabed heavily. Together with the counter-rotating propeller, it didn't take long for the cargo ship to stop.
The two speedboats divided into two groups, one was on guard in the distance, and the other was approaching.
After boarding the deck with two sailors, Mu Da looked at the captain walking towards him and spoke concisely.
"Routine inspection, please cooperate."
Song Haining skillfully took out the cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette and handed it over, smiling politely.
"Understood, please."
Mu Da took his cigarette, but did not take out a match to light it. He just casually inserted it into his pocket under his collar and led the two sailors toward the cargo boxes on the deck.
Seeing the slow movements of those guys, Mogavi couldn't help but walk down the gangway.
"We are delivering iron ore and coal here, so we can't do business with Vault 70. Besides, they don't have a port to unload the goods.
Mu Da snorted with his nose and replied in a neutral tone.
"That's not necessarily the case. If you plan to sell them some ruthless goods, this is the most suitable delivery point. Even if you throw a box down, no one will notice it, right? And the seabed here is not too deep, and there are some nearby
It's a reference object, and it's also convenient for salvage." Mogawi's eyes widened.
"Are you kidding us? How can we do such a small business on such a big ship?"
Damn it? You can still play like this?
If I had known, he would have brought some ruthless people that Vault 70 might be interested in!
Mu Da stopped and stared at him twice.
Feeling frightened by that look, Mogavi put back his words with a smile, obediently stepped aside, and made a gesture of invitation at the same time.
"Please do as you please.
Mu Da ignored this guy and continued to lead his men to inspect the cargo boxes piled on the deck one by one.
In fact, what he did not say is that his recent mission is not only to prevent passing ships from trading with Vault 70, but also to intercept refugees who intend to go to the southern seas.
Recently, a cargo ship named Rourou was stuck in their port and could not be repaired. More than a thousand people were eating and drinking from them and they could not drive them away.
Although those guys are paying, this is a special period after all, and the materials on the ring island are not rich.
On the one hand, out of concerns about offending the alliance, and on the other hand, perhaps because of unrealistic illusions about those guys, the Governor's Mansion of the Ring Island did not take strong measures to drive away the cargo ship waiting in the port, or cut off the cargo ship.
Ship's supplies.
However, they cannot allow those nosy, well-meaning people to throw refugees into their homes.
In order to prevent more refugees from being stranded at the port of the roundabout, the local governor-general came up with an idea and applied to the maritime patrol team of the Federation of the Southern Islands.
If a large number of survivors from Borneo are found among passing ships, they will be forced to disembark near the Alliance's French Fry Port.
Don’t those guys like to meddle in other people’s business? Just leave it alone!
However, this ship seemed to be filled with ores. Mu Da looked around and found no one hiding there, so he looked at the captain who was following him and said.
"I want to take a look below the cabin." "No problem."
Song Haining smiled, suddenly thought of something, looked towards the shore to the north and asked.
"Speaking of which, do you know those people?" "Those?"
Mu Da raised his eyebrows and subconsciously followed his gaze to the north shore of the strait. After seeing the scrawled camp, he looked back hastily.
"They are from the Alliance." "The Alliance?!"
Song Haining had a surprised expression on his face. "You mean the one in the River Valley Province?"
Muda
:"Um."
Song Haining was stunned for a long time before he managed to hold back half of a sentence.
"What are those people doing here?"
It must be more than 2,000 kilometers away from the Valley Province! No wonder we came by airship
Mu Da said impatiently, "Then you have to ask them."
Following the patrol officer back to the gangway, Song Haining suddenly saw the restless businessman, calling on his mercenaries to drag an inflatable boat onto the deck.
"What are you doing?"
Clapping his hands and standing up, Mogavi looked at the captain walking towards him with a smile on his face.
"I plan to take a closer look at the shore to see what those guys are doing. Remember the divination I mentioned before? That land covered with gold! Don't you think that beach looks very similar? I have a hunch! Make a fortune.
The opportunity is here!"
Song Haining stared at him blankly, listening to his nonsense.
"Are you crazy?"
Mogavi said disapprovingly.
"Staying here is a waste of time anyway, why not do something else. Besides, I just went up to have a look, and I have no intention of spending the night on the shore.
Song Haining stared at him and said.
"The inspection will be over soon. There is nothing to see below the cabin. You won't be delayed for long. We will be on our way soon.
Mogavi said with a hearty smile.
"That's fine. I'll be down for half an hour at most. You guys wait for me for a while."
As he spoke, he had already ordered someone to throw down the inflatable boat hung with black iron wood, and hurriedly put a life jacket on himself.
Looking at this guy who was not afraid of death, Song Haining's brows twitched fiercely, but he finally suppressed his words.
"Come back soon." He vowed.
For the sake of money, this is the last business deal he will do with this guy.
Mogavi, who grabbed the ladder with both hands, chuckled. "Okay!"