Chapter 351 The contest between the awakened and the awakened!

   "Boss, do you think they will come from here?" The strong man with the steel nails on the nose bone said excitedly as he repeatedly rubbed his index finger against the tape-wrapped rifle.

   "Surely it will..."

  In the middle of the abandoned buildings covered with moss and vines, a man in a leather jacket holds a telescope and stares intently at the street ahead.

  His name is Black, he lives in the slums beyond the Wall, and he's a bounty hunter fighting for his employer.

   is also an awakened one.

  Although he lives in a slum, the reason is not because of poverty.

  For an awakened person, moving into the outer city is not difficult. No mercenary group will refuse an awakened person to join the group, as long as it is not a particularly useless ability.

   However, Blake didn't want to live that kind of controlled life. In the eyes of others, that huge wall is the dividing line between barbarism and civilization, but in his eyes, it is a useless concrete cage, and only cowards need others to protect them.

   And the real strong rely on their own fists.

  Last night, he received a mission from the client at the Pirate Bay Tavern.

  The employer did not want to be named, but he spent a lot of money. He paid him a chip with a face value of 1,000 just as a deposit, and said that he would give him two more chips when things were done.

   This kind of high-value chips are rarely circulated in the market, and usually only those nobles in the inner city will use them. General stores can't be found at all, and you need to go to the bank to change money.

  After seeing the deposit, Black’s eyes wished they could turn into colorful bargaining chips, and he took over the task without saying a word.

  Although generally speaking, the more expensive the reward, the more dangerous the task, but he is not very worried.

   Firstly, he has absolute confidence in his own strength, and secondly, the content of the entrustment does not sound too difficult.

  The mission of the new alliance is going to Boulder City. For the future of Boulder City, the mysterious employer hopes that he can intercept and kill the group of messengers on the way.

He doesn't need to kill everyone, he just needs to launch a sudden attack, teach those country bumpkins in the northern suburbs a profound lesson, let them learn to be courteous and polite, and bring the so-called friendly cooperation agreement, wherever they come from, get lost .

  Black licked the corner of his mouth excitedly, but as time passed, his eyes suddenly became a little unnatural.

   "... something is wrong."

  Why haven't people reached the ambush circle yet?

   Was discovered in advance?

   Logically speaking, this is impossible.

   At this moment, he suddenly remembered a rumor circulating in the Pirate Bay Tavern.

  There is a mysterious "intuitive system" awakener in the northern suburbs, and a group of mercenaries once stumbled in their hands.

  Black's expression gradually became a little dignified.

  If this rumor is true, maybe the other party has already discovered them.

   "All ready to fight."

   With a low snort, he gestured to the brothers next to him, then picked up the RPG launch tube on the ground, and inserted a high-explosive grenade into it.

  He bought this thing from a weapons store.

  Although the explosive and armor-piercing capabilities are not as good as the rocket launchers produced by the Boulder City military industry, they are still better than the short and powerful iron fists.

  The most important thing is that it is cheap and can be reloaded. Even if the mid-range hit rate is not good, not everyone needs that thing.

   Like not everyone needs to deal with evolution.

  The brothers next to him were also ready, the submachine guns and automatic rifles in their hands were loaded, and the heavy machine gunner hidden in the building also clicked and pulled the bolt.

  On the quiet street, murderous intent pervaded the air.

  Although the fight has not yet begun, it seems that the smell of blood can already be smelled.

  Black waited quietly, adjusting the rhythm of his breathing.

   However, at this moment, a loud explosion sound suddenly came from a window 200 meters away from him.

  Boom—!

  He looked over there suddenly, and saw a figure thrown out of the window, with a drawn-out scream, falling to a pulp on the sloping concrete broken bridge.

   That's the direction of the heavy machine gun positions!

   It was his partner who was thrown down earlier!

  Blake's eyes were instantly bloodshot, and anger and panic were written in his pupils.

   "Damn it! Lute!"

  How was he found? !

  But it was too late to think about this question now, he raised the launch tube without saying a word, and pulled the trigger towards the window.

   There was a whoosh, and a white tail flame rushed towards the window diagonally opposite.

  The air waves and flames of the explosion gushed out from the dark ruins, even scorching the moss on the wall.

   At the same time, Black opened his voice and roared with red eyes.

   "Rip them up for me!"

   On the other side, in the window where an RPG was fired, an agility player got up from the ground shaking his head.

  His ID is [Killing Dagger], Alpha0.5 version entered the game. Since "Killer" and "Zhidagger" are not easy to pronounce, buddies who are familiar with him call him Killer.

  As an LV15 agility player, his ability is to convert half of his reflexes into perception of the environment.

  Although in the current version, the perception department has a faint tendency to inherit the position of the younger brother of the intelligence department, but for stealth players, this talent is just right!

   The polymer bulletproof plate of the light cavalry exoskeleton blocked most of the fragments, but the shock wave of the explosion still shook his internal organs almost to the point of displacement.

  However, since he can't feel the pain, he is more concerned about his equipment and the flying away spoils at the moment.

   "Damn it—Lao Tzu's original armor!"

   And that heavy machine gun!

   It seemed that it could be seized, but when the bobbin was thrown at him, it was directly raised by him.

   Absolutely a plot killer!

   Targeted by the dog plan!

   Just as he was cursing, Lao Bai's voice came from the communication channel.

   "...how is the situation on your side?"

   "I'm okay...the opponent has heavy firepower."

   "Need support?"

   "No, no, no," Killing Dagger chuckled, "Leave it to us!"

   There are three people in the investigative team, besides him, there are [Kidney Fighter] and [Good names make dogs come up].

  One of the two is a strength system, the other is a perception system, and their levels are 15 and 14 respectively. Like him, they are old players who entered the game in Alpha0.5 version.

  Before joining the Burning Corps, the three of them formed a team to paint pictures and do tasks.

   Reached out and tapped twice next to the helmet, Killing Dagger moved towards the half-collapsed stairwell while communicating with his teammates.

   "Kidney, dog, what's the situation with you?"

   There was a quick answer in my ear.

   "...The perimeter defenses have been disarmed, and they are moving upstairs. Where is your side? I seem to have heard something explode just now."

   "Eat a tube, it's okay... I'm heading to the support position here, and it's expected to arrive in a minute."

   "Got it, be safe."

   "Quick battle!"

  Gunshots rang out in the ruins, and the flames flickered.

  The small drone on the shoulders was released, and the two players in the exoskeleton held the rifles in their hands, pushing forward all the way, and shuttled flexibly on the damaged concrete ruins.

  The light cavalry exoskeleton can exhibit unparalleled mobility in urban terrain, especially the complex ruined terrain, where ordinary people can't reach by jumping, and wearing a light exoskeleton can easily climb up.

  The screams of his subordinates kept coming from downstairs.

  Hearing the gunshots getting closer, Black's eyes were full of fear and anger.

  Finally, all the emotions turned into a roar, and the muscles all over his body began to swell outward, like a coiled python, his eyes were bloodshot, exuding a penetrating red.

   "I fight with you!"

  A steel needle was stuck in the thigh, and Black, who let out a roar, left the bunker, grabbed a rusty steel plate, and slammed into the flickering gun flames at the other end of the corridor.

  Every cell in his body swelled to the limit, and the whole person was like a crazy tank. With his striding meteor charge, the floor tiles in the entire corridor screamed.

  The bullet hit the steel plate leaving only pits, and the 7mm full-power bullet couldn't penetrate it!

   At such a short distance, it is definitely too late to use the bazooka, and it is impossible for the investigation team to bring that thing.

   "Fuck! Is this guy crazy?!"

  Gou Dongxi was surprised, but after playing the game for so long, he had never seen anything.

   Before he could even pass his gaze, the kidney fighter next to him put down the assault rifle in his hand, pulled out the engineer shovel, and let out a low growl from his mouth.

   "Madness!"

  The strength of his whole body soared, he did not retreat but advanced, and charged towards the muscular monster.

  A look of surprise flashed across his face full of flesh, but it soon turned into an arrogant laugh.

   "If you want to die - I will help you!" Black roared, and bumped against the steel plate.

Exoskeleton?

   Drones?

  Those precious gadgets are not worth mentioning in front of pure power!

  His muscles are the strongest engine!

  Boom! !

  The collision of metal and metal makes a clanging roar.

  However, the person in front of him was not knocked out as he expected.

  The steel plate in his hand seemed to have hit a wall, and it was motionless after only a slight shake.

  A trace of surprise appeared on Black's face, but it was quickly replaced by anger.

  He lifted the steel plate abruptly, pulled out the mace hidden inside the steel plate, and pointed at the head of the exoskeleton to greet it.

  The sonorous symphony sounded again.

  I saw that the man was holding a shovel in his hand that was very different from the high-tech equipment, and he took his blow abruptly!

  Blake was startled and frightened, especially when a trace of numbness came from his tiger's mouth.

   "Haha! Well done!"

  The man yelled something he didn't understand, drew an arc with the sapper in his hand, and slashed towards his head.

  Blake hurriedly set up the mace in his hand to block, and there were two clanging sounds, which made him take two steps back.

  The man seemed to be tireless, and the engineer shovel in his hand was waving like a windmill.

   Even though the steel had been smashed and deformed, it still kept greeting him.

  Blake was afraid, and a trace of fear was written on his face.

   No matter how dull he is, he clearly realizes at this moment that the person in front of him is an awakened person!

   And the strength is not inferior to him at all!

  Under the blessing of the exoskeleton, the warhead driven by muscles and motors at the same time hits like a storm.

   Instead of feeling tired, the man became more courageous as he fought.

  Body function is on the verge of limit.

  Black couldn't stand it anymore, pulled back the distance, fell to his knees on the ground with a plop, and raised his arms begging for mercy.

"I surrender!"

  The few younger brothers who survived behind were stunned on the spot, looking at each other in blank dismay. But seeing that the boss had surrendered, they finally put down their weapons.

   Staring at the level boss kneeling on the ground, the player named Kidney Fighter froze for a moment, and the raised engineering shovel stopped in the air.

  He was playing high.

  Why did you vote?

   Get up and continue!

   Black, who was kneeling on the ground, was shivering, with cold sweat dripping from his head. The look in the eyes of the person in front of him made him feel instinctively uneasy.

  However, he couldn't move.

  At this time, the panting voice of teammates came from the ears of the two players.

   "Damn, I'm here... I've arrived at the support position, which floor are you on? Why did the gunfire stop? Are you okay?"

   "...It's over, the boss voted," Gou Dongxi said with a delicate expression, "Go down."

   Killing dagger: "%￥#@!"

  …

   On the roof of the building not far away, a woman covered in alloy stood there quietly.

  The black mirror and helmet cover her entire head, and her gender can only be judged from her body shape.

  At first glance, she seems to be wearing an exoskeleton, but if you look closely, you will find that the helmet and mirror are non-detachable parts, directly growing on her neck.

  She has no name, only an X-16 number written on her left chest and a processor buried in her chest cavity.

  A small and exquisite electronic sparrow landed on her shoulder, and a string of dark green strings flashed on the smart black eyes.

  X-16 nodded silently, looked straight ahead from the jet-black mirror, and spoke with a cold electronic voice.

   “…the bait was captured.”

   "Need to start Plan B?"

  An answer came from the communication channel.

   "No need, come back."

  X-16 nodded.

"yes."

   Not long after the voice fell, the figure standing on the top of the building had already quietly left.

  Like never been here before...

  …

the other side.

  Black and his five slumped men walked out of the dilapidated abandoned building with their heads in their hands under the supervision of three players wearing exoskeletons.

  When he saw the seven soldiers standing next to the mission, Black couldn't help showing a trace of despair.

  Until a few seconds ago, he naively thought that the three people he met just now were already the strongest fighting force of the new alliance mission.

  However, the seven exoskeleton-wearing warriors standing in front of him at this moment did not lose any momentum to those three.

   Especially the person standing at the front, his strength is unfathomable!

  At this moment, he finally realized how stupid it was to take on this task.

  The captured weapons were gathered together.

  Looking at the RPG launch tube on the ground, there was a hint of surprise written on Lao Bai's face.

   "Bazooka, where did you get it?"

  He used Renlian language for this sentence.

  Black answered cautiously.

   “…the black market in the ghetto sells this.”

   There are actually weapons stores in Boulder City, but they don’t have a big place on the shelf, and there is only a small launch tube.

  Explosives with an equivalent of more than 50 grams are not allowed to be brought into the giant wall. After payment, you need to pick up the goods at the trading station outside the giant wall.

  Survivor colonies in the wasteland seem to be like this.

  Luka came over, looked down at Black who was squatting on the ground with his hands on his head, and said in a deep voice.

   "Who sent you here?"

  Seeing the triggering of the plot, the surrounding players all looked towards this side with great interest.

"I have no idea…"

Black was talking tremblingly, and suddenly seeing the unfriendly eyes of the people, he hurriedly explained, "I really don't know, I, I also take money to do things, and the last person I connected with is a regular customer of the Pirate's Bay Tavern, his name is Bit... You can ask the bartenders there, they all know the guy."

   "Doing things for money?" Luca frowned and stared at him, "What did those people ask you to do? How much did they pay you?"

"My upper family only told me to lead people to ambush you here, and then gave me... a deposit of 1,000 chips," Black said with flattery and flattery on his face, "I am willing to give up all my property Here it is, I just ask you to spare a way out."

   Didn't listen carefully to the bounty hunter's begging for mercy, old Luca's face was a bit dignified.

  Although he expected that his trip would not be peaceful, in order to avoid long nights and dreams, he deliberately arranged the signing time very close, so as not to prepare things for those who have evil intentions.

  However, unexpectedly, they were still targeted.

  Old Bai cast a questioning look at Luka.

   "How to deal with these prisoners?"

  Luka pondered for a while, then spoke.

   "Leave it to the manager."

   After finishing speaking, he showed the VM, the coordinates set on the map, and then looked at Lao Bai.

   "The Guards Corps will send someone over to recover the captives, please arrange for two people to wait here for a while."

   Lao Bai nodded, and looked at the two Agility players beside him.

   "The NPC who is taking the prisoners is on their way here, you stay here for a while, and follow up after the handover is over."

   Both of them nodded in unison.

   "Ocquer!"

"no problem!"

  …

  The captives and trophies stayed where they were, and two people were assigned to guard them, and the group continued on their way.

   If you shrink back because of this difficulty, you are undoubtedly playing into the opponent's arms.

  Old Luca made up his mind in his heart that no matter what happened, he must bring that agreement back.

  At the same time, the outer city of Boulder City, inside the industrial building.

  A man in a formal suit sits in the office, quietly looking at the holographic image projected on the desk.

  Although it is an office, there is no sense of simplicity here.

  The whole room is completely designed according to the standard of the presidential suite of the inner city hotel.

  From the table in front of him to the bed in the next room, every piece of furniture is imported from Ideal City.

  His name is Ibers, the chairman of Jushi Military Industry.

  As the underground emperor of the outer city of Jushi City, only he has the financial resources to enjoy all this in the entire outer city.

   Only he is worthy of such enjoyment.

  Standing beside the man, the secretary with a slightly aged face said softly.

   “…their strength is astonishing.”

   Ebbers nodded and said expressionlessly.

   "Well, it should be mastered some kind of technology that can induce awakening."

   "And the strength of the awakening performance is not weak."

  Although it is not easy to induce awakening, it is not difficult to do it.

  When the population is in crisis of life and death, one or two strong and unreasonable individuals will always be born.

  Supplemented with the achievements in the field of genetic engineering in the era of the People's Federation, this special situation has been infinitely magnified, which has led to the so-called "awakening"-this is the most mainstream view.

   Even without relying on any technical means, some survivor settlements can give birth to awakened people under natural circumstances.

  And if some technical means are used, it is also possible to induce the active awakening of individuals with potential.

   Although this will be accompanied by a series of risks including reproductive isolation.

  Ibers has heard of this kind of technology, and even the technical routes he knows to induce awakening include more than a dozen.

   Jushi Military Industry has mastered two of them, and it is meaningless to master one more.

  They will produce a batch of cloned babies on a regular basis, select a few who have the potential for awakening, and concentrate on cultivating them. Those who have no potential will be thrown into orphanages in slums or disposed of.

  Although the screening is not 100% accurate, as long as the overall good product rate is greater than 80%, it is enough for them.

  The Awakened is just a piece of "cost-effective, low-yield" equipment for the Jushi military industry. Their military industry capabilities rely not only on one or two pieces of equipment, but on the entire system.

However…

   What makes Ibbs feel jealous is that.

   The new alliance has too many of these cost-effective equipment.

  The secretary standing next to him obviously went with him.

   "...If ordinary soldiers and awakened people have such combat power, I am afraid that the militia will have to be mobilized to deal with them."

  According to the information they investigated, the new alliance has an awakened corps with a size between 1000 and 3000, and this is also the confidence they announced for the Northern Expedition.

  Although their high-tech equipment is limited, sometimes numbers are also a terrifying force.

   “…Also, there’s always something wrong with these people.”

   Ebbers asked casually.

   "What aspect are you talking about?"

   "In various senses," the secretary continued clearly after a pause, "They don't look like normal people, but they don't look like clones either. They're more like special existences between the two."

   "I suggest that we can increase the communication with them, and it is best to find out what is going on with these people."

   There are many strange things in the wasteland, but this thing happened on their doorstep after all.

  Ebbers thought for a moment, then nodded slowly.

   "You are right, it is indeed necessary to study this."

  The old secretary said respectfully: "Do you need me to arrange for the head of the city hall to meet with you?"

   "No need, I called him last night and things are moving in the direction we expected."

  The old secretary continued: "Although that's what I said... Mr. Du Long seems to be in some trouble."

  Ibbers raised his lower eyelids.

   "What trouble."

   "The workers surrounded the town hall. They were not satisfied with the results of the negotiations between Duron and the new alliance and demanded renegotiation."

  Ebbers was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

"interesting."

  …

  A long, long time ago, Boulder was not a city, or even a settlement of survivors, but just a mansion.

  Like other survivors in the apocalypse, the people living there are struggling in the apocalypse.

  However, at this moment, a group of people came here and told the people in the building—

   "We will build you walls, and give you swords, seeds and torches."

   "Yet unreliable alliances are crumbling, and our days are numbered."

   "For the future of all of us, please keep the last tinder."

"till the end-"

  Later, as time went by, more and more people gathered in front of the "flame".

  Everyone gathered firewood and the flames were high, and the fire became more and more prosperous. Although it was not as good as in the prosperous era, there was still a trace of warmth.

   Gradually, the original mansion and the surrounding blocks became the inner city, while the buffer zone between the inner city and the giant wall developed into the outer city.

  Up to now, even the huge outer city is not enough to accommodate all the people. People who cannot enter the huge wall have built shacks outside the wall, or spread to the surrounding area, forming a village like Beit Street.

   Of course, if you are unlucky, you may be caught by slave traders and sold to places like Brown Farm.

   "...Or, simply become the rations of mutants, predators, and aliens."

   After listening to Xia Yan's "history", Chu Guang spoke thoughtfully.

   "That group of people...is it called the Post-War Reconstruction Committee?"

  He has repeatedly watched the video of Dr. Principle. Although there is no mention of Boulder City in it, the mysterious organization of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee has been mentioned many times.

  Two centuries ago, there should have been no such big forces as corporations, legions, and colleges in the wasteland, and the Church of the Torch only emerged ten or twenty years ago.

   It was the only possibility to build such a majestic wall on top of the ruins.

   "Then I don't know, I heard that there are other versions, but that's all the stories I know..."

  Sitting on the sofa in the reading room, Xia Yan held a cup of hot milk with cocoa in her hand, and blew gently on it in small sips.

  She didn't know why Chu Guang suddenly became interested in the story from 200 years ago, but she happened to have heard a little about it.

  For the sake of chocolate, it doesn't hurt to chat with him for a while.

   Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully, and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard.

  Xia Yan looked curiously at Chu Guang, who was staring at the computer meticulously. The slightly curved bionic prosthetic body was casually placed on the other well-shaped leg.

   "Are you keeping a diary?"

   "Diary?" Chu Guang was slightly taken aback, then smiled, "Why do you think so?"

  Xia Yan blinked.

   "Because it feels like you are writing every day."

   After stopping what he was doing and thinking for a moment, Chu Guang said.

   "...Well, it's more like weaving dreams than a diary."

  Xia Yan rolled her eyes helplessly.

   "You're saying something difficult again."

  Chu Guang smiled lightly, but did not speak.

  Every sentence he said was the truth, but he rarely finished a sentence.

   Politics and sales are really alike in this regard.

   It's just that the things sold are different.

   After completing the world view in the setting set, Chu Guang logged into the official website forum and took a look.

   It's not time to go offline yet, the players are all in the game, but the excitement on the forum has not diminished in the slightest.

  Two hours ago, the silver coin trading platform reopened, and the trading price has gone through more than a dozen rounds of roller coaster, which made the melon-eating onlookers call it out of line.

   "Damn it! Breaking a hundred!"

   "Awesome!"

   "Why did it fall to single digits?!"

   "Bosses, please help! Everyone is not selling, and lift the silver coins to the sky!"

   "Damn! Who is throwing it!"

  Because the gossip forum forbids the exchange of related topics, similar posts swiped the screen in the trading section.

  Leeks focus on the price, but Chu Guang flips through the information of those big orders in the background.

  Even without using Xiao Qi’s computing power, he can roughly judge based on the flow of funds that the major forces in reality are consciously increasing their holdings of the air coins he issued.

   Even hired a professional trader.

   "...It seems that the energy of this battery is not small."

  Chu Guang had a smile on his face.

  If they decide to misunderstand themselves as an extraterrestrial civilization and regard "Wasteland OL" as some kind of fable containing enlightenment, then let them continue to misunderstand.

   This is not a bad thing.

   It is a matter of course to give rewards to those who work hard.

  Although he can't go to that world, he still hopes that his little players can live a better life.

   At this moment, Xiao Qi's voice suddenly floated over.

"Owner."

   The characteristic of this assistant AI reporting worries but not good news is almost ptsd, Chu Guang looked nervously at the puppet sitting at the corner of the table.

"What's wrong?"

   Being stared at so directly, Xiao Qi showed an embarrassed expression and a shy smile.

   However, that doesn't make bad news good news.

   "You only have the last two qualifications left for the beta test."

  Chu Guang froze for a moment.

   "There are only two left? Didn't I say that the circulation will be reduced as soon as the beta qualification is over?"

  Xiao Qi said aggrievedly: "I'm doing as you ordered... Last week, the number of qualifications issued per day has been reduced to 10, and this week it has decreased a little bit, but the number is only so much."

  Although it also wants to help Chu Guang recruit more players, but the "recruitment limit" is there, and it can't help it.

   Chu Guang didn't speak today, but Xiao Qi whispered.

   "Should I change it to one every day?"

   Or send a gold coin every day, collect all 10 and exchange for a discount coupon for buying a helmet.

  Xia Yan tilted her head, unable to understand what Chu Guang and the decoration on the table were talking about.

   "That's unnecessary, let's post the last two directly."

   Glancing at the tasks in the work log, Chu Guang pinched his brows with a headache.

   "...It seems that contact with Vault 101 has to be put on the agenda as soon as possible."

  In order to make that Pai happy, he specially sent a well-behaved, sensible and cute little fish to act as her "exclusive customer service".

   I don’t know what’s going on with her...

  —

   (Thanks to the leader of "czhang59" for the reward!!)

  (end of this chapter)