The main reason for buying a second-hand Warthog, or a Warthog that has been through unknown hands, is to hide it from others.
The Griffin has a transport boat that can accommodate a hundred people and can also carry two armored vehicles, so they can definitely bring a few old Warthogs, but Lyon wants to understand the local situation more intuitively.
For example, during the conversation with the proprietress of the car dealer to lower the price, Leon discovered that a group of "treasure hunters" had recently emerged in the Roland neighborhood and purchased a large number of off-road and transportation vehicles. There were also many mercenaries who went to the Roland neighborhood to try to find a job.
"temporary job".
However, the motivation is a bit naive, even to the point of being "cute". He wants to go deep into the desert of Sri Lanka to find the so-called treasures of ancient civilization.
As for the theory that there are treasures in the desert, it is not groundless.
While "chatting" with the taxi driver and the proprietress of the car dealer, Leon caught the common ground that the two mentioned, that is, in the past few months on Earth, in the desert northwest of Glory City, there have been oozing screams at night.
There was a loud sound, and sometimes, the sky was even lit up with bloody red light.
If this abnormal phenomenon were placed in a normal colony, the former UNSC, the current Imperial Army, and intelligence personnel would have gone to investigate, and then all personnel would have entered a state of readiness to combat the abnormal phenomenon or facilitate rapid evacuation.
etc.
But in Sri Lanka, for those "ordinary" residents who do not have biometric information and biometric IDs, it is indeed a terrifying phenomenon, as well as for stowaways, violent criminals, gangsters and black marketeers, local forces, and gang organizations.
, but it is a phenomenon worth taking the risk to obtain more benefits.
As for the possibility of alien space demons?
It's so tiny that it's impossible to be a demon.
Although Srilan has been officially abandoned and has no engineering department and no professional soldiers stationed there, Srilan is still within the protection of the psychic amplification device, so the possibility of demonic invasion is basically eliminated.
As a result, over the past few Earth months, many cities, including Glory City, organized hundreds of expeditions deep into the desert.
Even if there are special abnormal creatures or unknown alien races, they cannot stop the expedition team.
After all, if the humans gathered on Srilan are not from the main universe or have parents from the main universe, they are not afraid at all.
But the results were not very promising.
Before the small expedition team could find the source of the blood-red light, they died from sandworm attacks or magnetic field interference, causing these teams to lose their way and never get out of the desert.
Medium and large expedition teams with airships, transport planes, and more expensive equipment and weapons return without success every time.
Due to the special magnetic field of Srilan, sometimes the equipment is not as reliable as human eyes, but the harsh storm weather in the desert makes it even more difficult to search for the source of the blood-red light.
At this time.
Leon, who was sorting out the past, was sitting in the co-pilot's seat of the Warthog, using his mobile phone to bring up the holographic screen and looking up the floor plan of Glory City.
Magnetic field interference is indeed a problem, but the Griffin can violently reshape Srilan, causing it to completely lose the protection of the magnetic field, and then scan the source of the bloody red light when the surface of the earth collapses...
It's just that the consequences and process of doing so are not proportional in Leon's eyes. What's more, he trusts his own judgment more when it comes to using technology and tools, and this is also what his immediate boss (Sui Bian) personally told him to use his sixth sense more.
and intuition.
"Sir." Lin Hong, who was in charge of driving the Warthog, followed the car in front, paying attention to the road conditions, and asked Leon who was sitting beside him:
"Should we follow other expeditions, or go deep into the desert on our own after obtaining enough information from the Roland neighborhood?"
"Of course we are following other teams." Leon never looked away from the screen and explained: "Going deep into the desert alone is not a dangerous action, but it will waste our time, and other teams already have exploration experience, so with
Compare and you will know which option has the upper hand.”
Having said this, Leon dissipated the holographic screen, glanced around at the street buildings that "dream back" two hundred years ago, and continued: "It just so happens that I haven't carried out such an investigation mission for a long time. It's time to show off some skills.
, let you know why I am a legend, haha~."
"Okay..." Lin Hong didn't know how to answer this sentence.
“…”
Leon also noticed that he was a little out of sorts, so he immediately stopped smiling, turned into the indifferent and calm look that an officer should have, and began to pay attention and observe the street scene.
Soon, he discovered that the residents in Glory City were similar to those in the colonial metropolitan areas in terms of life and routine, except that their clothing and electronic equipment were old and out-of-date, and none of them had undergone prosthetic surgery.
However, it is not the police officers who patrol the streets to maintain order, but a group of private soldiers also dressed in dark green and lightly armed.
For a planet like Srilan, which is left to be managed by the empire and is not under direct jurisdiction, once there is a situation where the army has its own self-respect and replaces the empire's "tax collection", in theory, the legion battalion or the battle sisters should be dispatched as soon as possible to take charge of the extermination.
If the water is clear, there will be no fish.
Whether it is UEG or the human empire, they all need a complete cycle chain so that they can continue to move forward and develop upwards.
Many people in power in Sri Lanka and leaders of gang organizations have also thoroughly understood this unspoken rule and accepted some "incorrigible" people for society, and as long as they are honest, there will be no explosion.
The baptism of bombs.
Dishonest?
They have long been forced to screen by rules.
The layman explanation is that he cannot die any more. You must know that what the Astartes hate most is betrayal. If any Astartes find out the slightest clue, then the legion battalion will execute it without hesitation.
"Counter-insurgency" procedures.
Observed for a moment.
Their convoy turned right one after another, left the spacious main road, and continued to move forward for several kilometers. The soldiers patrolling on both sides of the road became less and less until they disappeared, and were replaced by more and more interstellar mercenaries.
, gang members, and scantily clad street girls and cowherds.
It is obvious that starting from here is the important "attraction" of Glory City, the most chaotic and dangerous Roland neighborhood, but also the most full of opportunities.
Next.
The group of them parked their vehicle on the side of the road, left two auxiliary troops behind, and walked to the "exchange" here...
Moreover, during this period, many gang members cast malicious glances, wanting to show off the new faces in Lyon. However, after Lin Hong and his party got off the bus, they immediately gave up the idea of finding trouble.
After all, gang members can gain a foothold here not simply by being aggressive and reckless, but also by knowing people and understanding their own identity.
Therefore, when Lyon and the others walk in the Roland neighborhood, not only will they not be ostracized or hated, but they will be able to travel unimpeded.
Some of the more courageous street girls would approach Lyon and others and say something like, "Brother, would you like to help me and my sisters unblock the sewers?"
However, in the face of the "warm" invitations from the street girls and a few cowherds, the group simply chose to ignore them, especially Leon. He was finally able to take a break and would never go out for entertainment.
Arriving at the so-called "Exchange", which was a black market converted from a large warehouse, Lyon and the others found that there were people coming and going here, just like a bustling snack street in a metropolitan area.
But the difference is that the rental spaces or shops here sell all kinds of items that ordinary people can't imagine.
The most common ones are various prohibited weapons and equipment, such as fully automatic Gauss rifles, TPS 1 and 2 model power armor that have long been withdrawn from use, etc.
There are also unknown, domesticated alien beasts that can be used as pets or hunting dogs.
at this time.
Lyon found an arms dealer whose business was tepid, and then asked Lin Hong and the auxiliary army to take out sixteen equipment boxes containing plasma grenades from their backpacks...
"Ouch!
Are you going to blow up the entire neighborhood?!" The arms dealer, whose head was wrapped in a white scarf, suddenly opened his eyes wide and sighed.
Leon didn't bother to talk to the arms dealer, but said directly: "One hundred thousand Srilanka coins per box, this is the lowest price, don't try to bargain with me, and I don't need bullets of any caliber or type.
, and gold of equal value, as long as paper currency, understand?”
No matter how good the arms dealer is, he has seen the scene before. When he noticed the temperament displayed by Lyon, Lin Hong and others, and coupled with the price given by Lyon, he knew that he could not just talk nonsense.
After pretending to think for a few seconds, the arms dealer reluctantly accepted the price, "Okay, one hundred thousand is one hundred thousand, please come with me."
"Okay." Leon nodded in response.
After that, Leon, accompanied by Lin Hong, followed the arms dealer deep into the "shop", tapped and took out Sri Lankan banknotes with a face value of 500, totaling 1.6 million.
After putting the banknotes into their backpacks, Leon, Lin Hong and others left. This was when the transaction was completely completed.
Money grabbing?
Although the black market is a "free market", dealers who can open businesses here need to pay a protection fee every Earth month, and the customers who come here to buy and trade are also protected by gang organizations, and no one dares to do so.
stir up trouble.
The main purpose of Lyon coming here is to exchange grenades for some banknotes. In this way, combined with the gold they have on hand, it will be enough to complete the task of gathering intelligence in this glorious city.
Get off the black market.
Not far away, there is a building that was also converted from a warehouse and is called the "Bulletin Office"...
Go to the bulletin board.
The first impression is that it is much more spacious than the black market. It has the layout of a star port service hall, and there are bulletin boards with many holographic screens, which display various bounties, wanted orders, escorts, and even assassination tasks or hires.
condition.
Hundreds of mercenaries in different costumes gathered at the bulletin board and stood under the bulletin board to browse for employers and tasks that met their needs.
Moreover, in addition to human mercenaries, there are also many Sangheili (elite) mercenaries who gave up glory and chose for money or simply for freedom. They sat in the rest area and then ordered some drinks from the elf bartender in charge of the bar. They were passive
Waiting for the employer.
There are also some elite mercenaries standing under different bulletin boards, browsing different employment tasks, preparing to proactively contact their employers.
Leon came here to see if there was any valuable intelligence or information, and also to ask which expedition team was about to set off, and whether he could join the team, etc.
Just as they were passing by the rest area, an elite sitting on the edge of the bar raised his glass and said to Leon: "Hey, do you want to hire a guide to help you explore the bloody sand sea! Haha!"
After saying that, the elite drank all the vodka in the glass and then let out a loud burp.
Hearing this, Leon stopped and turned around, looking at the elite who originally had a four-petal mouth, but seemed to have suffered some kind of accident and lost the two right petals, and his demeanor and expression were extremely lazy.
But through the old-fashioned armor worn by the other party and his understanding of the Sangheili clan, Leon knew that the other party was definitely no less than a hundred years old and that he was an elite among the elite.
More importantly, the elite knew that they also wanted to go deep into the desert just by looking at their clothes, which piqued Leon's interest.
Then he asked: "How much do you want?"
The elite raised his left hand, stretched out the "index finger" of his four fingers, and still smiled and said: "Ten thousand a day."
After hearing the offer, Lyon had not expressed his position yet, but Lin Hong and the accompanying auxiliary troops all frowned, seemingly unhappy with the "lion's mouth" of the elite in front of them.
Ten thousand a day?
Why not grab it?
As for the elite, he didn't care about the unkind looks from Lin Hong and others, and continued: "If you want to get in and out of the bloody sand sea alive, the price is definitely worth it, otherwise I would have told you there.
Of course..." Elite put the wine glass on the bar, waved his hand, and asked the bartender to fill it up, "If you think it's expensive, just pretend I didn't say anything, why bother making it uncomfortable."
"You're right."
Leon quite agreed with these words, then took out a wad of banknotes from Lin Hong's backpack and handed it to him without any hesitation.
They really needed a guide, and a guide with the ability to protect themselves. Unexpectedly, this elite took the initiative to "send it to their door."
And the price is too high...
Leon was sure that the other party had some information, so he dared to be so confident.
If the other party is really trying to deceive people, and money is a trivial matter, and the main thing is to delay the process, then Lyon has many ways to "slowly" end the other party's life.
"readily!"
The elite took the money and knew it was ten thousand without counting. Then he put the money into his pocket, drank the vodka in one gulp, put in a few small-denomination banknotes, got up and left the bar, looked down at Lyon and said:
"Just call me Lum. If you want to go to the Bloody Sand Sea, I suggest you do it as soon as possible, because the expedition team convened by the Horatl Gang will leave in three hours. If you set out now to buy necessary supplies, you might be able to
Join them, otherwise it would be too dangerous for us to go to the bloody sand sea alone."
With that said, the elite named Lum walked towards the outside of the bulletin board.
"It really saved us a lot of time." Leon whispered to himself, and then ordered Lin Hong and others: "Let's go buy the necessary supplies."