"Future plan?" Hao Ren turned to look at Ulanov, strictly speaking at the opponent's smooth helmet mask, "I really haven't thought about it. △, let's take it one step at a time. After we get there, we'll find one first.
A place where I can settle down and live my life.”
Ulanov muttered a few times in his throat and asked in a low voice: "Where did you learn your fighting skills?"
He originally thought that Hao Ren was just a mentally disturbed civilian, a rich man who lacked common sense in the wasteland, but after seeing the opponent's fighting skills, he still became keenly interested in Hao Ren's origin. In the absence of various biochemical
With the improvement of modifications and electronic auxiliary devices, they can have combat effectiveness beyond that of regular soldiers, which is very rare even in lawless zones. Feeling the curious gaze from behind the mask, Hao Ren turned his head slightly: "I have fought in the past.
, don’t ask why.”
"You are also a mercenary?" Ulanov looked Hao Ren up and down, "You don't have the temperament of a regular soldier."
"That's right," Hao Ren muttered, ending the topic on the pretense of combing the hair of the blonde girl next to him, "I don't really want to talk about the past."
Sitting across the carriage, the taciturn Karl suddenly reminded him in a rough voice: "Ulanov, you talk too much."
The armored truck was moving forward in the desolate and vast wilderness, and traces of man-made buildings finally appeared in front of it. Through the side window, Hao Ren saw that both sides of the road had turned into concrete floors, with crooked and incomplete street lamps and telephone poles.
From time to time, flashes of light flashed through the window, and a feeling of returning to human society came over my face. A screen in front of the carriage suddenly lit up, showing the scene directly ahead. I saw a shadowy, factory-like building complex lined up at the end of the road.
.You can also see many huge chimneys emitting thick smoke between the buildings, and a large number of simple houses like building blocks are filled between the tall buildings.
The entire building complex was shrouded in haze. Smoke and dust rose from the top of the market town to the equally gray ceiling, as if the whole world was blackened by those factories. Seeing this scene, Ulanov subconsciously
He coughed twice: "Ahem... I really feel uncomfortable after watching it several times."
"Can you still feel the haze in your throat now?" The female mercenary accompanying her teased. "Have they been replaced with plastic ones long ago?"
"Vanessa, no one will think you are dumb if you don't speak." Ulanov glanced at the other party through the mask, and then turned to Hao Ren, "In front of you is a part of the black street. The black street basically relies on these factories to maintain its existence.
They provide electricity and products to Zero City, and the coolies in the underworld exchange them for food and life-extending medicine. To be honest, this place is not suitable for rich people like you to live, so you would be better off going to Zero City. After all, you are not
Lack of money.”
"Stay on the underworld, and soon you will lose both your money and your life," the unrestrained female mercenary called Vanessa carelessly teased Hao Ren, "No matter how good you are, you can't guard against the underworld."
Rules, for a simple-minded guy like you, those little gangsters have ten thousand ways to plot against you."
Hao Ren shrugged. It seemed that his image in the eyes of this sister was basically a role model of a stupid person with a lot of money. However, he did not explain anything. He just looked at the building complex in front of him that was getting closer and closer: "Black Street"
...Isn’t it a neighborhood?”
"Of course not." Ulanov shook his head, "But many people who come here for the first time will misunderstand it and there is nothing they can do about it. Black Street is a very large market town, almost as big as a city, just because it was originally from
The neighborhood was expanded. People here used to call it Black Street. Before the war, this place was called Xinzhou City...but there probably aren't many people who still remember this place name."
"Only an old man can remember this kind of thing," Vanessa spread her arms and leaned on the seat, looking up at the carport. "Xinzhou City, Rift Valley City, Pearl City... Anka New City, we can only
I’ve read it in the history books. And you never know when “history books” will become extinct. Who cares about this now.”
"Zero City is not far from the Black Street," Ulanov said to Hao Ren. "Our station is on the edge of the Black Street. We can take you to the checkpoint of Zero City. After that, you will be on your own."
Hao Ren didn't answer immediately, thinking about his own affairs, but then Nolan's voice suddenly came from the front: "If you have nowhere to go, you can come to our place temporarily."
"Huh?" Hao Ren looked up at Nolan's back in the cab in confusion, "You want me to join you?"
"Although Zero City is safer, it may not be suitable for you," Nolan said calmly. "You will have to take away all your property in exchange for a few years of 'citizen rights'. After that, you can only rely on working as a horse for the city committee."
I came here to survive. That place is indeed safe, but there is nothing but safety. I think you... shouldn't like this kind of life, otherwise you wouldn't have run away from the comfortable natural human city-state."
After discovering that Hao Ren was actually a fighting force, the mercenary leader started to recruit. This was a normal reaction, especially when her team was in urgent need of new recruits. However, although Hao Ren wanted to investigate this
Despite the current situation in the world, he had no intention of joining any group to constrain his actions, so he declined politely: "Forget it, I'm not interested in being a soldier."
"Oh, really." Nolan said casually, and then nothing more happened.
"But I really have nowhere to go for a while," Hao Ren thought for a while and felt that he at least needed a place to stay. "Can I stay at your place for the time being? Of course, I'll pay."
When he said this, he was still thinking that the mercenaries might not be willing to let people enter their camp. Unexpectedly, Nolan agreed happily: "It's okay if you just stay for a few days, and I don't need your money. You can save me."
You should repay me for saving my life."
Hao Ren was a little surprised: "The place where you are staying is considered a military garrison, right? There is no need to censor the identity information of outsiders?"
Nolan raised his hand and shook it near the front window of the carriage: "Do you want to live here?"
"Of course."
"Do you want to kill me?"
"Why should I kill you?"
"The review is complete."
Hao Ren: "..."
"How do you think we're going to review it?" Nolan's voice was still calm, but this time with a hint of joking, "Write out a stack of identity forms? Check your documents? Search for your criminal record in the citizen system? Save the province.
Save it, forget about that, this is a lawless zone, and there are many people who stick together to survive. No one cares what you did before, as long as you don't plan to stab me in the back, even if it's temporary."
Hao Ren was startled, and found that he had settled down in this world in such a short period of time. It was so smooth that it was a bit unreal.
Nolan didn't speak anymore, and just continued to drive peacefully. Soon, the armored truck arrived at the Black Street checkpoint, and after passing several sentries, it came to an old barracks.
Hao Ren picked up the data terminal next to him (in corpse state) and jumped out of the car after the mercenaries. As soon as he got out, he was choked by the dirty air around him and coughed: the air quality in this place is even worse than the previous city ruins.
, it seemed that the entire black street was wrapped in a cloud of smoke and dust. He smacked his lips after coughing, and he felt that the air in this place was quite chewy...
There are scattered soldiers walking around in the open space between the barracks, and the gray fox emblem is spray-painted with inferior paint on the exterior walls of some buildings. This is where Nolan's small army is stationed. Although the camp
There are sentries around, but there is still no sign of the tense and serious atmosphere of a "military powerhouse". It is more like an armed refugee camp than a military base.
When fighting is no longer a distant thing, but becomes everyone's daily life, the scene that will happen is probably like this.
Two mercenaries who looked like commanders came forward to greet Nolan. Nolan casually chatted with them for a few words, mentioned the ambush and losses encountered today, and then had Heaton's body dragged out: "Put it out."
He dried it and hung it at the intersection outside. He spray-painted the Gray Fox mark to make it more conspicuous. I don’t want anyone to be bribed by the Rangers again, even if they join other mercenary groups. There is nothing better than joining the Rangers.
More stupid."
The two officers immediately ordered the soldiers to go to work. Before Heaton's body was pushed away, Nolan bent down and said regretfully to the traitor whose face was even shattered: "What a pity, you were still a
Poet, this time it turned out like this..."
Hao Ren had just been shocked by Nolan's ruthless qualities at a young age, but now he became curious: "Are there poets in this era?"
Ulanov explained in a sullen voice: "The boss occasionally says some incomprehensible things. Heaton grew up in a slum. How can he know how to write poetry?"
Hao Ren snorted, and Nolan just turned around: "Okay, let's go back and rest, you... Hao Ren, right? You go with Ulanov. There is a room next door to him, which used to be Heaton's.
It’s given to you now.”
Hao Ren nodded, turned around and prepared to leave, but Ulanov couldn't bear it any longer: "I don't mind having more people in the next room, but...it's different if there are multiple corpses."
Hao Ren: "..."
He lowered his head and looked at his arms. The data terminal that had turned into a corpse still looked lifeless, with no signs of recovery.
Of course, biologically speaking, it is indeed impossible for "her" to move. (To be continued...)