That night.
To the west of the Second Ring Road, there were constant artillery fire and gunfire. The mercenaries were fighting with the swarming alien species under the cover of air strikes and artillery fire.
On the contrary, the north, which had been noisy all night yesterday, was quiet tonight.
The straight-line distance of more than ten kilometers was full of steel forests. Gunfire was definitely not audible, but explosions could always be heard faintly.
However, Zhao Yongxu did not find it strange at all.
It would be strange for a group of country bumpkins fighting with fire sticks to deal with the waves.
Presumably, the battle last night had exhausted all their strength. Even if they were not submerged in the surging waves, they would probably have fled with their tails between their legs.
Looking at the silent night sky in the north, a trace of contempt flashed in his eyes.
"These idiots."
If they don't have the ability and don't know how to stay away, aren't they asking for trouble?
As we all know, the wave will move towards the direction of dense population and fewer slime mold species. Whether it is population growth or large-scale elimination of slime mold species, it will accumulate "hatred value".
Of course, it is normal for those country bumpkins not to know.
At most, they can stuff half of the "Get Rich Sutra" of "The Voice of Boulder City" into their heads. They may not know many words, so how much can they know?
In his opinion, there is no essential difference between those people and the beggars begging for food at the gate of Boulder City. It can even be said that they are all the same kind of people.
Retracting his sight from the north, Zhao Yongxu, who was standing by the window of the building, continued to look to the east.
As an officer of the militia, the front-line commander appointed by the Lord of the City, beautifully solving the wave that threatens the prosperity and stability of Boulder City is what he should really care about now.
Not far away.
Two arcs of light streaked across the night sky.
As four black dots fell one after another, the scorching flames engulfed the entire street and dried every grain of soil on the ground.
A vacuum zone was cleared near the entrance of the underground complex, and the mercenaries began to move forward.
In the area between the West Third Ring Road and the West Second Ring Road, two new mother nests on the surface had been destroyed by air strikes a few days ago, but there were still three mother nests hidden in the underground commercial complex.
The mutation of the incubator is random and cannot be predicted at all. Even after a carpet search, it is inevitable that there will be fish that slip through the net.
Especially when the mutation occurs underground.
The underground space and rail transportation connected under the towering buildings are intertwined and dense, like a spider web - or a ball of wool tangled together.
It is said that in the distant prosperous era, only quantum computers can help people find the fastest way home.
Unfortunately, the Giant Stone City does not have a quantum computer that can ask for directions, nor does it have a strategic weapon that can reach tens of meters - or even hundreds of meters underground.
But it doesn't matter if there is none.
They have enough cannon fodder and sufficient logistics.
With the support of indirect and direct firepower, even two powerful evolutions occasionally cannot be their opponents.
If optimistic, a mother nest hidden underground can be eliminated tonight.
If not optimistic, it will take at most two more days.
Zhao Yongxu quietly waited for good news from the front line, and at this time, the voice of the pilot came from the communication channel.
"The airstrike is over, the target has been cleared...returning."
"Good job, go back and rest, there is no work for you tonight."
As soon as he said this, Zhao Yongxu's heart suddenly moved, and then added another sentence.
"By the way, take a detour to the north when you come back."
"I want to know the situation of the North Fourth Ring Road."
He didn't need to worry about what the northern suburbs looked like.
The reason for saying this was purely to satisfy his personal curiosity.
The pilot on the mission didn't care so much, and replied concisely.
"Received."
Two arcs of light drew an arc in the air and took a long detour to the north.
Zhao Yongxu waited for a while.
Not long after, a report came from the communication channel.
"We have arrived above the North Fourth Ring Road, and no abnormalities were found."
"There is an exchange of fire."
"Nothing is seen... It is pitch black here."
It seems that not only the artillery fire has stopped, but also the gunfire has completely stopped.
Zhao Yongxu chuckled in his heart, but at this moment, the voice that had paused for a moment sounded again.
"Not only the North Fourth Ring Road, the Changling Elevated Road is very quiet, and no open flames have been found... But in the north to the Fifth Ring Road area, sporadic lights can be seen."
Zhao Yongxu was stunned.
Sporadic lights?
The survivors there didn't leave?
Could it be that they have solved the wave... But how is this possible!
With a strange look on his face, Zhao Yongxu immediately continued to ask.
"What about the clock tower on Street 65? What's the situation there?"
There was silence in the communication channel for a while.
Soon a confirming voice came.
"We are now above Street 65. A large number of bacterial plaques were found on the wall of the clock tower, which was confirmed to be the remains of the mother nest..."
"There should have been a battle here before. The battle was quite tragic, and there were corpses everywhere on the ground... But they won."
The cigarette between his fingers fell to the ground.
Zhao Yongxu widened his eyes, his eyes full of disbelief.
"The remains of the mother nest? Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?!"
The pilot answered in an affirmative tone.
"... I can be sure!"
The cruise mission ended and the plane began to return.
Staring blankly at the sky in the north outside the window, Zhao Yongxu was silent for a long time without saying a word.
He couldn't figure it out.
Without the support of air firepower, how did those people kill the alien species that came like a tide with only homemade artillery shells and iron pipe rifles?
After a long silence, he squeezed out a half-sentence filled with incomprehensible muttering from his lips.
"...How is this possible!"
...
"Damn, the explosion last night was like thunder...Does anyone know what happened there?"
"You mean the south? I heard it too!"
"It's the wave, right? Those blue jackets have been dealing with that thing for the past two weeks. I heard that the battle on the front line was very lively."
"The wave? I've been to Qingquan City so many times, but this is the first time I've heard that the wave will go north."
"Maybe this year is different from previous years? After all, it wasn't so lively last year."
"Strange, can the wave know where there are more people?"
"I can tell you're ignorant. My uncle who served in the Boulder City Militia told me that every gnat you kill outside will come back to you in the form of a wave next spring."
"Don't talk nonsense. If it's really as mysterious as you say, the survivors in Qingquan City would have died long ago!"
The first floor of the roadhouse next to the trading station on the north gate street of Changjiu Farm is a noisy scene of toasts and banquets.
Whenever it gets dark, this place becomes a tavern for mercenaries, merchants and caravan guards.
Some people eat meat and drink, some play finger-guessing games and cards, and some people talk about what they saw or heard on the road with strangers sitting next to them, just to earn a glass of beer.
As we all know, where there is wine, there are stories - although many stories are made up, occasionally there will be one or two pieces of information that sound a little valuable in the rumors.
Therefore, whether there is work or not, mercenaries and merchants like to come here to sit and kill time.
"My people and I need to stay another night."
Sun Shiqi walked to the side of the bar and woke up the old Hooker who was dozing off at the back.
It's a pity that he can sleep in such a noisy place.
Opening his cloudy eyes, the old Hooker raised his eyelids and looked at the young man standing in front of the bar, yawning.
"No problem... Why do you suddenly plan to stay one more day? I remember you were in a hurry to go back and make a fortune?"
"The order was delayed, what bad luck..." Sun Shiqi muttered, sitting at the bar, "Give me another beer, or the kind with water."
Not only his order was stopped, but all the arms orders for export from Changjiu Farm were delayed for one day, saying that the inventory in the industrial zone was sent to the front line.
The little girl named Shuanghe came to the hotel in person to express her apology to him, and said that the trading station was willing to compensate him for 10 silver coins for accommodation.
Although Sun Shiqi wanted to complain that the cost of staying here for one more day was not just 10 silver coins, and he paid for the wages and board and lodging expenses of the mercenaries, he did not embarrass her because the girl apologized sincerely.
Besides, it would be useless even if she did, there was nothing she could do.
There was a war on the front line, and it was impossible to drag the bullets sent to the ammunition depot back.
If you run into an unreasonable survivor settlement, it is not impossible to delay the delivery until next year, and it is not too much to postpone it for one or two days.
Doing business in the wasteland is impossible without taking some risks.
"We are not Boulder City. We don't sell fake goods diluted with water."
When selling things, he did not forget to put a label on his neighbor. Old Hook walked to the wooden barrel tremblingly, turned on the silver faucet, took a cup with a wooden cup as thick as a thigh, and returned to the bar and put it on the table.
"5 silver coins."
"Put it on my account."
Taking the wooden wine glass, Sun Shiqi took a look inside.
Good guy, he didn't know whether the beer was diluted with water, but the foam alone had piled up half of the cup.
Now he realized that the hotel did not make money from the room fee, but from the consumption of guests in the store.
According to this selling method, a barrel of beer might be exchanged for a cow.
It's really shady!
"How is the battle situation on the front line of the Northern Ring Road?"
Old Hooker replied casually.
"It's over."
"It's over?" Sun Shiqi showed a surprised expression on his face, suspecting that he had misheard, "You mean the wave?"
Old Hook: "What else could it be?"
Sun Shiqi smiled shyly after restraining his surprised expression on his face.
"I just didn't expect it to be so soon."
Usually, the wave would not end until the end of March.
And it's not even the end of February yet.
Without asking about the wave any more, Sun Shiqi habitually leaned close to the wine glass and sniffed, smelling the fragrance of wheat malt.
"You brewed it yourself?"
Old Hook replied casually.
"Brown Farm's malt and hops, plus the special fermentation process of Shelter No. 404, I guarantee that this is a fine wine you will never drink in the tavern in Boulder City."
The lines were recited so skillfully.
So much so that Sun Shiqi always felt that this guy seemed to have memorized it.
However, this was not the focus of his concern.
Sun Shiqi pointed to the barrel behind him and asked curiously.
"How much is this barrel of beer?"
Old Hook's eyes lit up, and a happy smile appeared on his wrinkled face.
"Are you interested? I'll sell it to you for 500 silver coins."
500? !
This wooden barrel is only 50 liters at most, maybe only about 40 liters, and it's questionable whether it can fill a hundred glasses.
Only a fool would buy it!
Sun Shiqi rolled his eyes, took a sip of beer, and didn't respond to Old Hook's words.
He made a small fortune recently.
But he's not stupid.
The smooth taste made him feel happy. Just when he was about to inquire about some business information, the wooden door of the hotel suddenly opened, and a dusty figure walked in.
Old Hook looked at the man and asked skillfully.
"Eat or stay at the hotel?"
"Neither, I'm here to find someone..."
Noticing Sun Shiqi standing by the bar, Zhou Nan's eyes lit up and he immediately walked towards him quickly, "Hey, friend, I'm looking for you!"
Sun Shiqi recognized him and remembered that he seemed to be staying at the hotel opposite. When he first came to Changjiu Farm, this man invited him to go to Boulder City together.
"Give him a beer... and two skewers of grilled lizard meat, put it on my account."
"Okay." Hook turned and walked towards the kitchen.
Sitting on the bar stool next to Sun Shiqi, the merchant from the south said with a happy smile.
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome," Sun Shiqi looked at him and asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"
"If it's okay, I certainly won't bother you." With a smile on his face, Zhou Nan continued, "It's like this, we plan to leave for Boulder City at noon tomorrow. What do you think about what I asked you yesterday?"
Sun Shiqi made a helpless expression.
"My order has been delayed, and I don't know if it can be delivered tomorrow. You guys go ahead, I'm afraid I'll have to stay here for a day or two."
Zhou Nan said regretfully: "That's a pity."
Sun Shiqi looked at him and asked curiously: "Have you gathered enough people?"
Zhou Nan smiled and said: "No, but I heard that the battle near the North Fourth Ring Road has been fought, and those blue jackets have solved the mother nest. Regardless of whether the waves in other places have ended, at least the waves in the northern suburbs have ended. Now is the best time to go to Boulder City! My partners and I have carefully studied the map, and we can go west along the North Fifth Ring Road, and then go north, and we can reach our destination safely."
Sun Shiqi looked at him enviously and said.
"... Can you ask what business you are going to do?"
Most of the businesses that everyone can get in touch with are similar, and Zhou Nan did not deliberately hide them, saying with a beaming face.
"Salt and sulfur, these two are the best-selling items there, especially during this period of the wave! Oh yes, there are also gas masks and devil cloths from the trade station."
Speaking of this, Zhou Nan couldn't help but sigh.
"There are so many good things here, and they are cheap and good quality! Do you know how much the nutrient paste here is? The wholesale price of one ton is only 299 silver coins!"
299 silver coins...
Equivalent to 1.5 assault rifles?
There are all kinds of currencies in the wasteland, and even the same currency has different values in different regions. Sun Shiqi subconsciously made a conversion in his head.
And when he realized what this price meant, he was shocked.
"Are you sure?! The price of two assault rifles can be exchanged for one ton of nutrient paste?!"
In Boulder City, the retail price of nutrient paste is 1~2 chips per kilogram, and the wholesale price is 300~400 chips per ton.
If it is replaced with drone assault rifles, at least two!
And this is based on the fact that the latter is also not cheap.
Noticing the surprise on Sun Shiqi's face, Zhou Nan looked at him strangely, as if he was surprised that someone didn't know about this.
But thinking that this man had just been here for two days, Zhou Nan was relieved and continued with a smile.
"Isn't it amazing? I was also shocked when I first knew about it! I suspect that the nutritional paste produced by the Didiwei Food Processing Factory costs less than 200 silver coins per ton! If I hadn't had money, I would have wanted to set up a factory!"
The bank of Changjiu Farm can lend money, but not everyone can.
Unless two conditions are met.
Either have technology.
Or have equipment.
Or have enough "contribution" to the local economy.
As a merchant from the south, he happened to have none of these three things.
However, this did not prevent him from transporting the nutritional paste to the south in exchange for food or livestock, and then transporting the livestock back in exchange for silver coins.
Zhou Nan spent the whole day studying yesterday and found that the demand for livestock here is quite strong. A two-headed cow sold to Changjiu Farm can be exchanged for at least three or four thousand silver coins!
Take two or three tons of nutrient paste to the south, and use the local currency obtained to easily buy one or two two-headed cows from farmers and ranchers there.
Seeing that his friend was full of excitement, Zhou Nan asked with a smile.
"Brother, do you want to partner? We can set up a factory with some money. I have studied it. As long as we buy some second-hand equipment from Jushi City, we can set up this factory with 200,000 chips."
Sun Shiqi admitted that he was indeed tempted.
But after hesitating for a long time, he finally shook his head.
"... I admit that this proposal is very tempting, but it is too far to go to Jinchuan Province. It may take half a month to go back and forth."
The northern suburbs have the weapons and food that Honghe Town lacks the most, and the latter has the mines and people that the former needs.
He could make a lot of money by bringing slaves and minerals from Honghe Town to sell here, exchanging them for rifles and food and then trading them back.
There are many ways to make a fortune, and he can't eat them all by himself. The best way is to manage this trade route well!
Sun Shiqi has thought about it.
He plans to save some money to buy a few trucks, form a fleet, and take over the copper mine business from here to Honghe Town.
The demand for copper mines here is the strongest. It is used for laying wires and making bullets, and the price is always so stable. The cost-effectiveness of transportation is much higher than that of steel.
After making hundreds of thousands of silver coins, he plans to buy a piece of land on North Street, build a warehouse first, and then build a mill.
If he is lucky enough to catch the autumn harvest, he can grind the harvested corn and wheat into flour, and make a lot of money whether he sells it to Honghe Town, Boulder City or Garbage City.
The unit price of grain is not high, but the gross profit is never low. Not everyone wears shoes, but everyone has to eat.
Last year was a cold winter.
This year should be a good year, and the price of grain will be very cheap.
Sun Shiqi was dreaming about the future. Zhou Nan, who was sitting next to him, felt a little regretful, but didn't say much and raised his glass.
"It's a pity. If we join forces, we will definitely have the hope of becoming the largest grain merchant in Qingquan City."
"No regrets, there are many opportunities to make a fortune," Sun Shiqi clinked glasses with him and said with a smile, "I wish Boss Zhou more and more business!"
"Haha, I'll toast you a glass!"
"I toast you!"
The two drank until their faces were flushed, one glass after another, and they talked happily.
Old Hook, who was sitting behind the bar, listened to the two bragging, his wrinkled face was full of smiles, and he would praise them from time to time.
No matter how they made money, they would have to pay for the wine.
Of course he was happy that they drank more.
In the end, Zhou Nan leaned on the wall to get out, while Sun Shiqi himself lay on the bar for half the night and was carried back to the room by the hotel waiter in the middle of the night.
When he woke up early the next morning and saw the bill on the bedside table, Sun Shiqi's originally groggy head suddenly became clear and his face turned green.
"220 silver coins?!"
What did he drink last night? !
...
Official forum.
Usually at this time, it should be the peak time for players to go online, and there are not many people on the official website, but today at this time it is very lively.
Quit smoking: "I can't go online!"
I am the darkest: "Me too! Strange."
Similar posts popped up one after another, and many LV9 players were surprised to find that they had broken through the bottleneck as soon as they put on their helmets!
The most surprised one was undoubtedly Jun Lazi.
He has been stuck at LV9 for almost a month!
This time he finally broke through!
Garbage Pickup Level 99: "Hahahaha, awaken! I finally awakened!"
Looking at the prompt in the upper right corner of the official website, Garbage Jun was so excited that tears flowed down his face.
How long has it been since the account was created?
As one of the first few Europeans to enter the game, and an account exclusively for the European emperor, it should have been an exciting thing, but it just happened to catch up with the cold winter that only occurs once in N years.
Coupled with the debuff of "experience is more difficult to obtain", he successfully upgraded to LV10 when the A round of testing was almost over.
Watching the "younger generations" successfully awaken one by one, I am afraid that only he himself knows the sadness in it.
It is really not easy!
Ye Shi: "Fuck, Jun Jun has awakened?!"
Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Shocked! Will he become a Deathclaw?!"
Garbage Picker Level 99: "How is that possible? But the strength is really amazing. I think I can fight the Deathclaw at the west gate! (grin)"
Fang Chang: "Good brother, show me your attribute panel!"
Tail: "Hurry up! Let me see it! (｀?ω?′)"
Under the instigation of everyone, Jun Jun finally couldn't resist the urge to show off and posted his attribute panel in the post.
[
ID: Garbage Picker Level 99
Gene Sequence: Alien·Lizardman
Level: LV.9→LV.10
——Basic Attributes——
Strength: 17→27 (+10)
Agility: 9→14 (+5)
Constitution: 9→14 (+5)
Perception: 9→11 (+2)
Intelligence: 2→3
]
[
Talents:
Cold Blood (stronger concealment, slow movement in low temperature environments)
Parallel Feet (stronger endurance, difficulty in operating complex machinery)
Physical Regeneration (stronger recovery, difficulty in increasing gene sequence levels)
Boiling Blood (remove the debuff brought by the "Cold Blood" talent for a certain period of time, and gain 10%~20% bonus to strength and constitution attributes.)
]
The moment the attribute panel was posted, the comment area below the post was instantly boiling!
Tail: "?"
Quit Smoking: "???"
Night Ten: "What the hell?!"
Funnel Commander: "Are you fucking cheating?!"
Edge Slacker: "Oh my god... this attribute is too outrageous!"
Old White: "Are you serious about the strength attribute?!"
Construction Site Boy and Brick: "Please ask the planner to cut it down quickly!"
In just a few minutes, all the "balance is broken" and "combat power is broken" came out at once.
These people have done whatever it takes to achieve their goals, as if the closed beta server will not be able to operate the next day without cutting it down.
Of course, some people are joking.
But for the garbage picker 99, this joke is not very funny.
Seeing that everyone started to tag the planner, Garbage Jun panicked and quickly wrote.
"Fuck! I'm at least a circle bigger than you guys, is it too much to have higher attributes?"
Stop bullshitting: "Too much! Not only do you have high attributes, but you also have to show it off! (Going crazy)"
Macababa: "That's right! Is this what a human would do! (Going crazy)"
Garbage Picker Level 99: "??? Didn't you ask me to post it?!"
This is too much!
Just when Garbage Jun was arguing with the crowd, an announcement suddenly popped up on the official website, which helped him out.
Because of this sudden update announcement, both players and cloud players were attracted to it.
[The closed beta server of "Wasteland OL" will start the B round of testing in 6 days, and the new version will meet with friends at that time, so stay tuned! ]