Northern suburbs of Qingquan City.
Walking on the snow that buried their calves, five black power armors walked under the abandoned viaduct and headed towards Qingquan City.
"...Radio activity detected, about four kilometers ahead, the signal activity is low and cannot be analyzed."
"Can you identify the other party?"
"Obviously not, we know nothing about the situation here... I suggest you find a nearby native to ask about the situation first."
"Good idea."
Looking past the road sign with the place name, Lu Yang looked up at the dead city in front of him, and his eyebrows under the helmet frowned.
"Is this Qingquan City?"
Qingquan City is located in the southern part of the Valley Province. As one of the important hubs of the central urban agglomeration, there used to be hundreds of millions of people living here.
As for now, the number of people living here may not even be a fraction of the past.
Lu Yang stretched out his index finger and tapped the side of the helmet lightly, and soon retrieved the geographic information image of the Qingquan area from the database.
Compared with the good times before the war, the present place is just like hell, with only desolation, ruin, depression and death.
"This damn war..."
Lu Yang checked the map, waved his fist forward, and continued to move forward with his four team members along the wreckage of the viaduct.
It's not just Qingquan City that has become like this. If they want to reminisce about the past, they can reminisce from the horizon to the Kuiper Belt.
But there is no point in doing so.
The reason why they came here from the East Coast is not for archaeology or documentary filming, but to move forward, all the way west, deep into the wilderness, to find the legendary No. 0 Shelter, the last hope of human civilization.
As for why they stopped here...
To be honest, Lu Yang didn't want to either.
Unfortunately, their means of transportation had some problems.
If they wanted to repair it as soon as possible, they could only seek help from nearby survivors.
He didn't want to waste several months here.
According to the experience during the journey, if they stop for more than a month, there will be continuous troubles.
"Captain, there are drones watching us."
The Marine walking on Lu Yang's left raised his head and looked at the airspace in front of him, and continued in a joking tone.
"It's a cute little guy... There is no matching model in my database, but judging from the appearance, it should be a modified civilian model of drone before the war. It's hard for it to fly so high."
Another Marine said lazily.
"It seems that there should be a shelter nearby. Great, finally we don't have to deal with the natives."
"How do you know that the people living in the shelter are not natives? Have you forgotten the blue jacket we met last time? He kept claiming that he was from Shelter No. 117, and then he swallowed the gum I gave him."
"Hahaha!"
As he spoke, laughter came from the communication channel.
Obviously, they didn't take the little guy in the sky seriously.
"Don't interrupt, others are watching us."
Pulling out the jammer on his waist, the Marine walking on the outermost side cast an inquiring look at their captain.
"Do you need me to take it down?"
"No need."
Lu Yang gestured to his comrades beside him to stop, and then waved to the sky, indicating that he had found it.
"Friends from afar, we have no ill intentions. If it's convenient, can we talk?"
Lu Yang was not sure whether the drone had a sound collection system, so he turned on the speaker on the power armor helmet and used a loud voice to show his friendliness.
The sound echoed in the ruins.
Perhaps it heard his voice, or perhaps it realized that it had been discovered, the drone descended and flew in front of them.
It was a silver-white sphere, surprisingly small, and the propeller blades were made of unknown materials. It was silent when flying.
Lu Yang watched it stop in front of him, circle around him, and then slowly float towards the wetland park in front.
The team members on the side exchanged glances.
"Is this a friendly gesture?"
"Maybe, it seems to be inviting us over."
"Captain, are we going over?"
Lu Yang thought for a moment and spoke.
"Wang Yi stays and looks for a commanding height nearby for observation, and the rest of you follow me."
"Yes!"
...
Outpost, third floor of the sanatorium.
Through the screen worn on his arm, Chu Guang's face showed a little solemnity as he watched the four people entering the wetland park.
Power armor!
He had only heard of this thing from the survivors before, but now he saw it with his own eyes for the first time, but he didn't expect it to be more exaggerated than he imagined.
The heavy full protective armor covered every inch of their skin, and the rectangular modular rifles in their hands exuded a cold light.
They looked like human tanks from a science fiction film studio, and they were intimidating.
Chu Guang even had some doubts. What was the difference between a normal-caliber bullet hitting them and a tickle?
The heavy armor and equipment did not affect their mobility at all. At least judging from the way they moved freely in the jungle, crossing obstacles was like playing for them.
Chu Guang roughly estimated that these people's equipment was at least 1.5 tons or even more than 2 tons. If nothing unexpected happened, it should be driven by fusion batteries.
Just now, he operated the "Hummingbird" and flew around the power armor in front. He did not see any obvious fuel tank or battery structure. If it was powered by a fuel cell such as solid hydrogen, the fuel density could be made very high, but it could not be so high.
Obviously, the power armor these people were wearing was high-end!
If a conflict occurred, it was estimated that in the entire outpost, only the hammer behind him could pose a certain threat to their armor.
Compared with these people, the green-skinned muscle guy on Street 76 was a piece of shit.
"Xiao Qi, go back underground first."
Xiao Qi tilted the camera and looked at Chu Guang and asked.
"But Master, it's only afternoon now."
"It doesn't matter what time it is. I'm not sure if those people outside are friends or enemies. If a conflict occurs, I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of you. It's safer for you to go down first."
"Although Xiao Qi is very happy that Master said this, Xiao Qi will not leave you alone to hide. Also, you don't need to be too nervous. Those people are likely to have come out of a shelter and should not embarrass us too much."
Chu Guang looked at it in surprise.
"Can you see this?"
Xiao Qi said.
"Well, not necessarily, but the electromagnetic rifles in their hands do look like the models of pre-war standard weapons. And after they found our drone, they did not shoot it down, but took the initiative to show us friendship... If they came with hostility, it always feels unnecessary to do so much. What do you think, master?"
"Me? I don't know, but I generally don't pin my hopes on the kindness of others."
After thinking for a moment, Chu Guang weighed the EMP grenade in his hand and stuffed it into his pocket.
Although it is not clear how much effect this thing has on power armor, it is better to have it than not.
Even if it can only paralyze the opponent's electronic equipment for two seconds, it can buy two more seconds for himself to respond.
Chu Guang will control the negotiation distance within 3 meters.
In this way, even if an accident occurs, he can use the nitrogen-powered hammer in his hand to teach the other party a profound lesson.
...
North gate of the outpost.
Seeing the four iron lumps coming from a distance, the players at the North Gate Market all showed expressions of inexperience on their faces.
"Oh my god! What is that?"
"Is it the power armor on the official website?"
"Where did these NPCs come from?"
"Analyze rationally, this game should have a hidden prosperity setting. When the prosperity reaches a certain level, it will attract wild NPCs to visit!"
"Their guns are so cool... To be honest, I want to buy them!"
"The price is at least 100,000 silver, buy it."
"Fuck!"
The sisters Qiucao and Qiuye, who were setting up stalls in the market, also noticed the situation outside the market.
Looking at the four iron lumps walking towards the North Gate, Qiuye blinked curiously.
"Sister, what is that? I feel their armor is more beautiful than the administrator's."
"I don't know... it seems to be called power armor," Qiu Cao nervously pulled her sister's hand and pulled her into her arms, "Don't stare at them."
It was obvious that these people did not know the blue coats around them.
A group of strangers with guns suddenly appeared at the door of the house. No matter what the reason was, it could not be assumed that they came with good intentions.
Should I tell the clan leader?
Qiu Cao thought nervously.
Just then, a figure appeared at the north gate.
The administrator, carrying a long-handled warhammer, walked out of the outpost surrounded by several blue coats.
Looking at the man walking towards this side, a marine next to Lu Yang couldn't help but tease in the communication channel.
"Did you see the hammer behind him? I have never seen such a strange weapon... Is it a weapon?"
"Shut up."
After glaring at his teammates beside him with a warning, Lu Yang put the weapon in his hand behind his back, raised his index finger and tapped the side of the helmet, and put away the mask covering his face to show friendliness.
"Are you from the shelter?"
"Chu Guang, the manager of Shelter No. 404," stopped in front of the man, stared at him sharply and said, "Who are you? Why are you here?"
"Lu Yang, an employee of the Enterprise, working for the First Pioneer Corps of the Overseas Division of the Silver Wing Group. We are from the distant East Coast and are heading to the West to find something. We have no ill intentions, we just happened to pass by here."
Chu Guang has heard of the word "Enterprise". It is said to be a large survivor base located on the East Coast. Some say its predecessor was Shelter No. 6, while others say it was Shelter No. 66. Their sphere of influence is very large, and it is said to cover an entire province on the East Coast.
However, due to its special expansion method, the Enterprise has very weak control over the "branch companies" within its sphere of influence. The assets that are truly completely controlled by the "Enterprise" may be a survivor base larger than Boulder City.
Many caravans that are obviously not from the Enterprise, or even merchants who are not from the East Coast at all, also like to do business under the banner of the Enterprise.
As for the Silver Wing Group, it is probably a branch of the "Enterprise". Maybe they just established it to achieve some purpose. Anyway, Chu Guang has never heard of it.
The straight-line distance from the East Coast to the River Valley Province is thousands of kilometers. If the actual distance is even farther, it may be tens of thousands of kilometers.
With such a long distance, any news that reaches here may be distorted.
In short, no matter who they are loyal to, they can walk from the East Coast to the River Valley Province. The equipment and strength of this group of people should not be underestimated!
Although he was very curious about what the "Enterprise" was going to find in the west, Chu Guang knew that even if he asked, this person would probably not tell him, so he did not speak presumptuously.
After staring at Lu Yang for a while, Chu Guang continued.
"Is what you are looking for in Qingquan City?"
Lu Yang shook his head and said.
"Of course not. The River Valley Province can only be regarded as the middle of this continent at most, and the west we are talking about is a place farther away than here."
After a pause, he looked at Chu Guang and continued.
"Let's be frank. Our main force is stationed in an open area about 10 kilometers away from here. If possible, we don't want to stay here, but our Pioneer has a little problem, so we can only come here to seek help."
Chu Guang: "What is the Pioneer?"
"You can think of it as our means of transportation. Its predecessor is four SC-500 tracked transport platforms, but we have slightly modified it, connected them together, and added some modular facilities suitable for long-distance travel. As for what it looks like..." Lu Yang didn't know how to describe it, so he could only gesture with his hands, "Anyway, it's very big!"
"Tracked transport platform?"
Chu Guang frowned at his vague description, "Can you be more specific? For example, length, width or tonnage..."
Lu Yang thought for a while and said in an affirmative tone.
"In terms of tonnage, it's about 12,000 tons!"
"???"
What the hell? !
12,000 tons? !
Chu Guang was stunned when he heard this number.
If he remembered correctly, the Gustav railway gun was only 1,500 tons, right?
Even the tracked transport platform used to transport giant rockets such as the "Saturn V" only weighed 3,000 tons, and the total load was only 8,000 tons...
12,000 tons!
Did the cruiser land on land?
Chu Guang did not ask whether the 12,000 tons was the net weight or the maximum load. Anyway, no matter what it was, this number was beyond his cognition.
It was hard to imagine how such a big guy could "sail" on the wasteland.
Anyway, it was definitely not burning oil.
After recovering from the shock, Chu Guang took a deep breath and shook his head at Lu Yang who looked expectant.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you. Although we have some engineers in our shelter... But the kind of thing you mentioned is obviously beyond their capabilities. I'm afraid I can't help you with this!"
Let alone beyond their capabilities.
For his little players, this kind of tonnage of transportation can only be understood by game settings.
Chu Guang suddenly became curious about what this thing looks like.
If possible, he wanted to take a photo and post it on the official website.
Seeing that the manager misunderstood his meaning, Lu Yang waved his hand and explained.
"No, no, no, my friend, you misunderstood! We are not seeking technical help from you. We have our own engineers and production tools. We know how to repair damaged parts. But the problem is that we are short of manpower, and the reserves of materials and energy are almost exhausted."
To sum up, is it a lack of people, mines, and electricity?
But I am short of it too!
Chu Guang looked at him and asked cautiously.
"So what is your proposal?"
Lu Yang said in a sincere tone: "We hope you can lend us some manpower to help us collect nearby resources. In addition, we also need a guide who is familiar with the terrain of this area! We know where to find what we need! Of course, we won't let you help us for free, we will pay you."
Hearing the word "reward", Chu Guang finally became interested in his topic.
And from what he said, they seemed to know where to find the fuel for nuclear fusion?
That's a good thing!
With a happy smile on his face, Chu Guang stretched out his right hand.
"Of course, no problem, my friend, helping others is the noblest virtue!"
"But the snow seems to be getting heavier. If it's convenient, please come in with me to talk."