Chapter 248 Brother Fang's "Market Research"

  The towering giant wall has made the Stone City a well-known paradise. Compared with the remote province of clouds and the ideal city, it seems to be within reach.

However.

   This majesty does not benefit everyone here.

   On the way to the main gate of Boulder City, the first thing that catches your eye is a huge slum.

  The shabby shack is like psoriasis, growing under the feet of the giant wall, looking from a distance like a stinky ditch with no edge.

   Most of the people who live here are yellow and skinny, sitting in a daze in front of the door wrapped in a piece of clothing that they have been wearing for an unknown period of time, or preparing to go out to scavenge waste.

  There is not much garbage to pick up in the nearby area. If you want to have a good harvest, you can only go to a higher floor or go to a farther place.

  The sewage and excrement that can be seen everywhere dye the snow that should be white into other colors. It must be worse when the snow melts. It is a miracle that no plague broke out.

   Fang Chang, who has never seen so many NPCs in this game, asked blankly at the scene in front of him.

   "How many people are there?"

   Xu Shun asked his question again, and Qian Lai answered in a nonchalant tone.

   "10,000, 20,000, maybe 100,000, anyway, there are never too many people here. Who would bother to count such things, it's meaningless at all."

   Xu Shun had a surprised expression on his face.

Thousands? !

   This is too exaggerated.

   At the moment, Fang Chang, who was staring at the VM screen and watching the subtitles, was thinking of something completely different.

   "Ten thousand people?!"

   "...What are so many people eating?!"

   It’s not farming anyway.

   It doesn't look like there is a place to farm.

   The end of the slum is a crooked telephone pole with a few horns wrapped around it, playing several boring channels in turn.

   One hundred meters ahead is the main gate of the Stone City.

   There are clean concrete roads, there are militiamen on guard, there are caravans ready to go, and there are poor people looking for work, many of them even small children.

   For the vast majority of people here, life has two hopes.

   One is to be favored by caravans or traders, and the other is to catch up with factories to recruit workers.

   If you can't count on these two, and you can't put down your only self-esteem to beg or sell your soul, then you can only be a mercenary.

   Catch the wave, you don't even have to buy a gun yourself.

  Because they were carrying the goods from the outpost on their backs, Fang Chang and his group were quickly targeted as traders.

   A little boy with slightly curly hair and a dirty face followed Qian Lai step by step and said in a very sharp voice.

   "Sir, do you need a servant? I can count, do laundry, move things... I can smell mice and cockroaches hiding in the crevices, I can do anything."

   His eyesight is good, and at a glance, he can see who is the most like a business person in this group.

   However, with abilities like his, there are a lot of them in the entire slum.

"unnecessary."

"gentlemen--"

  The boy wanted to fight again, but Qian Lai interrupted him impatiently.

   "I only said it once."

   Looking at his unfriendly eyes, and the pistol on his waist, the boy took a step back, not daring to entangle any more, and ran to the side, looking for the next target.

   Xu Shun glanced at the boy's lost back and said nothing.

   He is not a person with a lot of sympathy, and of course he will not naively think about helping children or anything. Once this kind of thing starts, the troubles that follow will never end.

   Who is not pitiful in this wasteland?

   For him, the task given to him by the manager is the first priority, and everything else has to be put aside.

but……

   Looking at the towering giant wall, Xu Shun couldn't help but sigh.

  The giant wall is very high, and it makes people feel safe when they look at it.

   But it is still the northern suburbs ruled by the manager, which makes him feel warmer...

  Across the street from the main entrance of the Boulder City is the Wind of the Distance Hotel, and the signboard hangs on the magnificent gate.

   But the guests there seemed to have a little conflict with the hotel.

   In front of the hotel waiter, a man wearing an old leather jacket, his face flushed with anger. There was a suitcase lying beside him. Judging from the scattered luggage, it should have been thrown out from the door.

  Behind him, stood the guests who were kicked out just like him.

   "Didn't you say you only need one chip a day?"

  The hotel waiter scratched his ears and said impatiently.

   "Yes, that's what our manager said, but it was winter, and now the price has gone up. We didn't stop you from renewing, did we?"

   "Ten chips a day? Are you robbers? Why is it more expensive after winter?!"

   "Of course it's to make room for guests from afar. Why do you think it's cheaper in winter?" The hotel waiter sneered, "Okay, take your luggage, you can get out."

   "What if I say no?" The man stared at him.

   "What does that have to do with me?"

  The waiter yawned, turned around and walked towards the main entrance without looking at him.

   When passing by the main gate, he glanced at the security guard at the gate.

"give it to you."

  The fully armed security guard nodded expressionlessly, standing there motionless, his eyes looking straight ahead, like a statue.

  The ignored man looked annoyed and stretched his hand to his waist.

   However, just as his hand just touched his waist, a gunshot rang out, and a blood hole was imprinted on the man's eyebrows, and he fell back.

The woman next to    screamed.

   Several other guests hurriedly stepped back, packed their luggage and left here.

   Witnessed this scene all the way, Fang Chang looked at the militiamen at the city gate in surprise, but saw that they didn't bother to look here at all.

   Xu Shun, who was walking beside him, asked his surprise for him.

   "Those people... don't care?"

  Qianlai gave him a strange look.

   "Those people? You mean militia?"

   Xu Shun swallowed.

"Um."

   Qian Lai smiled and said.

"The militias don't care about disputes outside of the Stone City, they only care about the land at the gate. Law enforcement has boundaries. The wasteland is so big, we can't manage every piece of land. If we control this street, we should control the next street. ?The reputation of this hotel is still good, the owner is a noble in the inner city, the manager is a capable person, and has a good relationship with several gangs in the slums. If you are here for business, they will introduce you to customers... Only 10% commission, and only once.”

   took out his rusted pocket watch and looked at the time, Qian Lai continued.

   "It's noon and there are not many people. If it's night, it will be more lively here, but I don't recommend you to have fun here."

   "Fun?"

   "It's nothing, it's fine if you're not interested. If you're interested, you can ask the waiter at the door just now, and he'll introduce you to it."

  “…?”

   Xu Shun looked blank.

   Qian Lai urged him.

   "Let's go, it's time for us to queue at the city gate... By the way, have you prepared the city entry tax?"

   Xu Shun was stunned.

   "City entry tax? Do you have to pay tax when you go in?"

   The manager told him that these goods were sold, and a share was given to the caravan, and part of the remaining money could be used for their activities.

   But those goods haven't been sold yet, and he has no chips in his pocket.

  I don't know if those people don't receive coins...

  Qian Lai said with a smile: "Of course, you enter the city with 3 chips at a time, so most people won't come in and out at will. It's fine if you don't bring them with you. I'll pay for you this time."

   There will be more opportunities to deal with each other in the future.

   Judging from the boss's reaction that night and the manager's attitude afterwards, Qian Lai felt that he needed to have a good relationship with them.

   This is a long-term investment.

  Six chips was a small number for him and his boss.

  The queue didn't take long.

   is mainly to check whether there are dangerous goods in the goods.

  It is worth noting that explosives with a yield of more than 300g are contraband, but bullets and rifles are not. Perhaps with absolute confidence that they can kill the troublemaker in the first place, these militiamen don't seem to care whether they bring weapons or not.

  Think about it too.

  The barrels of several heavy machine guns can be seen on this huge wall, and it is reasonable to arrange a few snipers or similar things in places that cannot be seen.

   On the other hand, when they checked Fang Chang, several militiamen unexpectedly looked at him and the bow behind him. After a few words in a low voice, they added a note to a book full of words.

   Of course, Fang Chang is also doing the same thing, calmly holding a pen and writing in a small notebook.

  […The militia leader at the gate of the boulder city is very strong and can sense the aura of danger. It is probably an awakened person, not sure how many levels. 】

  【In addition, the Awakened will be registered when they enter the Survivor Base. 】

  【But judging from the reactions of the people around you, ordinary awakened people should not deserve special treatment, and registration is just a routine. 】

   The militia released the group.

   Looking at the towering gate passing overhead, Xu Shun, who was carrying his luggage, couldn't help feeling emotional.

finally reached.

  …

   "...We followed the caravan into the Boulder City, and the caravan leader paid the city tax for us, a total of 6 chips."

   That night.

After    went offline, Fang Chang immediately went to the official website to open a post, and brought the first-hand information of Jushicheng to the forum.

   It’s not just the players who are curious about what the planner has put in the new map, and even the planner himself is curious, what the **** is going on in Boulder City.

   The truth is true.

  Chu Guang has been saving chips for five months, and is planning to run there from Bette Street.

   If he hadn't found Vault 404, he might have screwed there.

  Because it is a serialized post, Brother Fang’s typing speed is not very fast. Sitting in front of the computer, Chu Guang clicked the option of [Only the landlord], and temporarily filtered the comments of sand sculpture netizens.

   "The situation in the city is completely different from that outside the city. The streets here have been renovated, and the buildings are rebuilt from the ruins that were torn down. The higher you go into the city, but the higher the huge wall."

“Good hotels are expensive, cheap hotels and pubs are tucked away in intricate alleys, and the conditions there are not much better than the slums outside. But it is worth mentioning that due to the construction of the drainage system, it does not smell It stinks."

   "Perhaps the plan is to imply that we should also consider adding some municipal facilities to the stronghold on the surface?"

"In terms of clothing, the clothes of the residents here are mainly cotton and linen, and the weaving industry should be very developed. For the citizens who work in the city, there is basically no problem in dressing, but one piece of clothing can be worn. For a long time. Mercenaries prefer to choose clothes made of leather, or body armor made of special materials, so even if they hide their guns, it is very good to distinguish them."

   "A small number of hospitals and schools are scattered in several communities on the fringes of the inner city. The people living there have a completely different mental outlook than those outside, and their spending power is also stronger."

"There is also a wall in the city center, which is the inner city of Megalithic City. More than ten high-rise buildings before the war have been refurbished to form the top of the pyramid of Megalithic City. And the ruler who dominates all this is a man named Fang Ming. . He seldom appeared directly in front of the public, and was mostly shown in holograms. Most people were in awe of him, but a considerable number of people didn't care."

"It is worth mentioning that the materials and productivity of Boulder City are not lacking, and the productivity is not low. Many technologies have even reached the field of science fiction, but the vast majority of people are still very poor. Especially for the uneducated lower class For people, there are only two ways to get rich, either join a caravan or become a mercenary.”

"After the settlement was settled, we, together with the caravan, took the Devil's Cloth and Spirit Leaf to the trading post. Commodities from the entire Megalithic City are traded there, and there are hundreds of stalls, like a bazaar. The same. The stall owners there are amazed at our weaving craftsmanship, and I have to give a thumbs up to Teng Teng's small change... But I can feel that they are obviously more interested in spiritual leaves."

"In the end, 10 pieces of devil cloth were sold for 5,000 chips, and 100 kilograms of spirit leaves were also sold for 5,000 chips... This is the result after bargaining, and they only planned to give half of this number at the beginning. The weight of the goods is actually similar, But in my personal opinion, the latter is less difficult to obtain and obviously more profitable.”

"After the transaction was completed, the guard NPC and I walked around here and conducted a simple survey of the market. We found that the demand for rubber and biomass oil here is very stable, the purchase volume is surprisingly large, and the most important thing is price transparency. The only downside is that the price is not high and where to get so much rubber and oil is a problem.”

   "In addition, cotton, flax, grain, and other materials like steel, aluminum, and even precious metals like silver and gold can all be traded here."

   "The following is only speculation!"

   "Considering that Boulder City focuses on the characteristics of the two professions of [businessman] and [mercenary], the next version may open the game of running business and mercenary."

   "If you plan to run a business, you must pay attention to the weak spending power of the residents here, and it is estimated that it is difficult to sell a high premium for food!"

"But relatively, mercenaries have strong spending power and clear demand. Cheap weapons, protective gear, auxiliary equipment, alcohol to release stress and even spirit leaves, as well as medical gauze and dry food, can all sell well here. s price!"

   "Maybe we should run a shop in Boulder? Our weapons are clearly oversupplied!"

   "Of course, if you are interested in the power system, you can also go to the factory to make screws? But the trigger method is currently unknown, and the income is very low. The process seems to be extremely boring."

   "Unless you have never entered the factory in reality, it is strongly not recommended!"

-

   (I checked the card text from the data, and it is more comfortable to smooth the outline, but there is not enough time. It is really difficult to do it without saving the manuscript... After laying the groundwork and starting a new plot, I will update it today.)

   (end of this chapter)