Chapter 353 Why don’t you lend me a bargaining chip

   "It's here, hahaha! We're finally here!"

  The majestic giant wall finally appeared in the eyes of everyone, and the man wrapped in a white robe cheered happily.

  Old Luca, who was walking on the elevated third ring road, finally showed a trace of relaxation on his face.

   They walked for two full days on this trip.

  In addition to the guy named Blake they encountered at the beginning, they encountered at least three waves of attackers along the way.

  Of course, the next two waves were all young people. Not only were their weapons tattered, but their morale was also low.

  As for the man wrapped in a white robe next to them, they saved them from the last wave of looters.

  His name is Hal, and he comes from the Luoxia Province. According to him, he is the prince of the Lion tribe, the successor of the oasis, and believes in the spirit of the sand sea.

  And when asked why he, as a prince and heir, would travel so far to the south of Qingquan City and be captured by a group of villains with fire sticks, he said embarrassingly.

  “…Our kingdom has many princes, we must do something to prove that we have the courage and character to rule the kingdom.”

  A young diplomat asked curiously.

"for example?"

   Hal said eloquently.

   "For example, it is our tradition to bring back something that is not found in the desert. Whoever brings back the most expensive thing is eligible to be a candidate to inherit the throne."

   another older diplomat asked.

   "So did you find it?"

  Hal's expression was slightly awkward, and he coughed lightly.

   "...Didn't I just arrive in Boulder City? Trust me, I'll find it."

   Not to mention finding anything valuable, his two guards and the dinar he was carrying were all gone.

  If he hadn't met this group of kind people, he might have died in the frying pan.

   Just like the unlucky guy in the same cage as him.

  He even started to regret that he didn't go south to Jinchuan Province with his brother, but went to the Boulder City instead.

  The folk customs here are tougher than he imagined, completely different from the endless sand sea. There are tall buildings everywhere, and every window seems to hide a gun.

   The two diplomats following Luca glanced at each other.

  As survivors living in the Qingquan City area, the concept of throne and prince is completely unfamiliar to them.

  If the manager is compared to a king, then this guy...is probably the son of the manager of the Lion Kingdom?

  Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help feeling envious.

   Wish their manager had a few more...

   "Dear sir, do you need a guard?" Hal looked at Luka who had been silent all this time, and said respectfully.

   His intuition told him that this old man should have the highest status among all the people here.

  Luka gave him a strange look, wondering where this guy got his confidence.

  However, Luca finally gave the young man some self-esteem and said succinctly.

   "No need, what's the matter?"

  Hal had an embarrassed expression on his face, hesitated for a moment, and finally opened his mouth.

   "I've been robbed of all my money and have nowhere to go...Can I have a job?"

   Luca asked.

"what will you do?"

"I can make tea, play the piano, write poems, draw pictures, and of course... also shoot. I can prove myself that as long as you give me a revolver or rifle, I can hit a plastic bottle from 100 meters away! "

  Hal said confidently, but Brother Dog and Brother Dagger walking nearby couldn't help laughing.

  Plastic bottles 100 meters away are okay.

   As far as the hit rate of the revolver is concerned, it is not bad to be able to hit someone from a distance of 100 meters.

   "If we don't help him, he may not even be able to pay the city tax."

  An elderly diplomat lowered his voice and whispered next to Luka.

   "If he really knows how to play the piano and draw pictures, his status should not be low... It wouldn't be a bad thing to help him."

  That's right.

  Although the new alliance has not yet established diplomatic relations with the survivor forces in other provinces, it will be a matter of time.

   I often walk outside, and it is never wrong to make two more friends.

  Luka nodded, looked at the unlucky young man and said.

   "I just happen to be short of someone to do clerical work, so follow me first."

   Hal said overjoyed.

   "Thank you so much! By the way, I also know twelve artistic fonts—"

  Luka coughed lightly.

   "That's not necessary, as long as you can write things neatly."

  The group continued to move forward, and it didn't take long before they came to the foot of the towering giant wall.

  The plaque of the Distant Wind Hotel is hung on the building opposite the giant gate. All kinds of businessmen and tourists shuttle back and forth in the square in front of the gate. Occasionally, you can see prosthetic bodies made of metal or silicone, or machines with antennas inserted on the sky cover.

  The naked poor stood by the roadside, holding a wooden sign, waiting for work to come to them by themselves.

  The polarization of living standards is the same here year after year.

  Hal stretched his neck excitedly and looked around, everything here was full of novelty for him.

   On the other hand, those players who have been here countless times have long seen the strange things, and are used to the people and things here.

   "A new task has been triggered." Looking at the VM on his arm, Old Bai raised his eyebrows in surprise.

   "What task? Let me see." Fang Chang came over.

  I saw a line of words written on the screen.

  【Mission: Go to the Pirate Bay Tavern to find Bit and find out about the employer】

  Old Bai stared at the task for a while.

   "It should be the follow-up mission of that muscular guy named Black... I have synchronized to the team."

   "Tavern? Brother Fang is familiar with you." Killing Dagger said with a hippie smile.

   "Boss, when will we write Fengyue Raiders? We've been waiting for a long time!" Gou Dong also booed from the side.

   "Fuck off, I'm a pure group, unlike you old filthy monsters, you know art every day."

  Looking at the group of teammates with hippie smiles, Fang Chang rolled his eyes angrily.

  Old Bai did not laugh at him, but just said with a smile.

   "What do you say? After sending the NPC to the destination, let's go to the Pirate's Bay Tavern to inquire about it?"

  Fang Chang sighed.

   "Do you think this kind of thing is something that you can ask when you walk into a tavern?"

   Lao Bai asked curiously.

   "Then what do you say?"

   Clenching his chin and pondering for a moment, Fang Chang's eyes fell on the poor people holding signs beside him, and his eyes moved slightly.

  "...Blake lives in a slum. Let's find out where his home is first. Regardless of whether there are relatives alive or not, there are always friends who know him. Through his friends, we should be able to find out who the person named Bit is."

   "Is it so troublesome?" Killing Dagger asked in a daze.

   "This game really needs to use some brains," Lao Bai said with a smile, "Just follow what Fang Chang said, let's go to the city first."

  Pay the entry tax.

   A group of people deposited prohibited explosives and passed through the towering city gate.

   Regarding the exoskeletons on their bodies, the militiamen at the city gate didn't say much. After all, in a place like Boulder City, this thing is not so rare that they keep staring at it.

  According to the manager's instructions, Luca was going to the Alliance's office in Boulder City, but as soon as he arrived on the street, he found that the atmosphere here was a bit strange.

  I saw a sea of ​​people at the gate of the warehouse area, and it was dark as far as the eye could see.

  Citizens wearing linen shirts and hyena-skin coats gathered together. They looked angry, holding wooden signs high in their hands, shouting chaotic but extremely loud slogans, and marching towards the core of the outer city.

   "No to unequal trade!"

   "Give us our jobs back!"

   "Get the new alliance stuff out of Boulder!"

   "I want bread! No nutrition cream!"

   "Guys who eat inside and out, get out of the giant wall!"

  The noisy flames were like a boiling heat wave, and it was even more scorching hot like a piece of iron under the bright June sun.

  The guards standing on the edge of the crowd looked helpless, the sticks in their hands had begun to lose control of the crowd.

  The militiamen loyal to the city lord watched the excitement.

  As long as it doesn't develop into a shootout, they don't care about these things.

  Hal, who came to Boulder City for the first time, stretched his neck excitedly, looking towards the turbulent crowd.

   "Are they on holiday?"

  The diplomats on the side had a heavy expression.

   “…do you feel like they’re celebrating?”

   "It's the same... I mean, they are yelling for someone to get out?"

  Luka glanced at him, ignored him, and looked at the diplomats on the side.

   "Let's walk faster, it's better not to stay on the street for too long."

  Everyone nodded and quickened their pace.

  Although the players following the NPC were curious and wanted to go over to see what happened, the mission was important.

   "...It's really strange," Killing Dagger muttered in a low voice, "It wasn't like this when we came here last time."

   "I didn't expect that the one who should come is still here." Looking at the turbulent crowd, Fang Chang said thoughtfully.

   "What should come?" Dog asked curiously.

  Fang Chang: "Didn't you see that they are protesting that the things we sell to them are too cheap."

Too cheap?

   I don't quite understand, the dog is at a loss.

   "Ah well...we gave them nice and cheap stuff, what can they complain about?"

"Under normal circumstances, it is reasonable to exchange 10 sticks of nutritional cream for a piece of bread, but now a person suddenly appears, willing to exchange 1,000 sticks of nutritional cream for an oven for baking bread, and at the same time change the business of both nutritional cream and bread." unprofitable."

   "No matter how cheap bread is, the cheap ones are those who have bargaining chips. For ordinary survivors, they don't have jobs, and it doesn't help if they can't afford it. It's a coincidence that they are happy."

  The factories in Dawn City took away the jobs of the residents of Boulder City, and recently the city hall in the outer city even planned to expand the scale of trade with the new alliance.

  The residents of the outer city who were maintained on the edge of the poverty line broke out completely.

but…

   Is the root of the problem really because the products of the new alliance are too cheap?

  The essence of the crisis is that wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few people. Once the currency is no longer in circulation, it loses its role in the market.

  The residents of Boulder City have no chips to consume, factories reduce production, jobs are reduced, residents are poorer, and eventually enter a lose-lose cycle.

  The massive input of external industrial products only accelerated this process.

  The easiest way is nothing more than foreign colonization.

Whether it is economic colonization or military colonization, as long as the surplus goods can be continuously sold to small and medium-sized survivor settlements like Beit Street and Brown Farm, and exchanged for industrial raw materials from them, the original chain can continue. keep it up.

  However, it is a pity that the New Alliance is not only unwilling to be a colony of Boulder City, but even liberated part of the settlements of the survivors of Boulder City's economic colonization, and reversely exported industrial products to their market.

  The economic crisis in Boulder began a long time ago.

   It's just that in the wasteland, the economic crisis is nothing compared to the survival crisis, so no one has ever realized it, and there is no time to care about it.

  The nobles in the inner city don't care how the "suppliers" in the outer city are intriguing. In the eyes of the city lord, except for the things that really deserve his concern, everything is an ant.

   What's more, even if they are deeply impoverished and unemployed, the residents here are still much luckier than the residents of Beit Street and the serfs of Brown Farm a year ago.

   Only recently, those poor people finally found someone to vent their anger on.

  Thinking of this, Fang Chang couldn't help showing a hint of interest in his eyes.

   It's not that he's cold-blooded.

  For a pure player like him, the NPC is just a piece of data, so it doesn't make him sympathetic.

   It's just that he didn't expect that the economic system of this game was unexpectedly real.

   Not only the supply and demand relationship has been made, but even the production relationship has been restored.

   Awesome.

   It seems that the day of the public beta is one step closer!

   A group of people came to the office on the edge of the warehouse area.

  When they got here, they found a large group of people around the door, and several guards were standing in front of the crowd to maintain order.

   Judging from the chaotic situation at the scene, it is likely that something bad happened just now.

  Received the news of the arrival of the visiting group early, Shuyu, who was in charge of the operation of the office, had already greeted him from the door.

   "You guys have arrived safely. I was worried just now, if something happened to you on the way." Shuyu had a comfortable smile on his face, although that smile looked a little tired.

  Obviously, he has been overwhelmed by what happened here these days.

  Looking at the **** and stones on the ground, as well as the smashed glass, Luka frowned, led the crowd through the crowd, and walked to Shuyu.

   "What's going on here?"

  Shuyu followed his line of sight and saw the shards of glass scattered on the ground, and a helpless expression appeared on his face.

"Most of the factories in the industrial zone gave their workers a holiday, and the residents who lost their source of income took to the streets... Guards were sent from the city hall, but you have seen the situation, so many people are not just one or two guards It can be settled."

   "Aren't you injured?" Luca asked with concern.

"No," Shuyu shook his head, "There are a lot of 'players' living here, and the city hall has sent guards to maintain order, so it's not a big problem in terms of safety...but at this critical point in time, it's best to Just don't go out casually."

   I'm afraid that someone will make some small moves while someone is messing around.

  Such as suddenly firing a gun in the crowd.

  With the proliferation of weapons on the wasteland, this kind of thing is not surprising at all.

  The so-called order is only relatively safe, and absolute safety does not exist even in Ideal City, let alone here.

   Speaking of this, Shuyu paused for a moment, glanced at the guard next to him, and continued.

   "The situation here cannot be explained clearly in a few words. Anyway, let's talk first."

  …

  After sending the NPCs to their destination, the players dispersed to do their own business.

  Old Bai took the two brothers and went to the slums outside the giant wall.

  Fang Chang took off his equipment and put on casual clothes, and mixed into the crowd of demonstrators.

   There is something he cares about, and he wants to investigate it.

  In my own words—"Participating in this special event may trigger a hidden mission."

  As for the old Luca, after condolences to the staff of the office for the manager, he followed Shuyu to the lounge on the third floor.

  A young waitress came and poured a cup of hot tea for the two.

  Shuyu took a sip slowly, and was about to talk about some soothing topics, but seeing Luka sitting there indifferently, he couldn't help but put down the teacup with a wry smile.

   After a pause, he spoke.

   "Last night, the warehouse in the industrial area was on fire."

"on fire?"

  Looking at the surprised Luka, Shuyu nodded.

   "Well, the 1,000 tons of Didiwei nutritional paste stored there were burned... that thing was not resistant to high temperatures, and basically all of it was destroyed."

  1,000 tons of nutrient paste, based on wholesale cost, is worth close to 100,000 to 200,000 chips.

  If it is a retail price, a 0 is often added to the wholesale price.

  Luka's heart tightened slightly.

"is it serious?"

   "The warehouse has bought insurance and will pay part of it, but it is not clear how much will be paid in the end."

   After a pause, Shuyu continued in a serious tone.

   "You should have seen it when you entered the city. The demonstrations against us are intensifying. These contradictions did not accumulate in a day or two, but they all broke out in a few days."

   "I'm worried that... recent events will affect our signing of a treaty of friendship and cooperation with the city hall."

   "In order to avoid long nights and dreams, I suggest that we better sign the contract as soon as possible."

  Hearing Shuyu's suggestion, Luka pondered for a while, and then spoke.

   "The manager said that the treaty is just a piece of paper. If the problem is not fundamentally resolved, even if we go back with a beautiful agreement, they will tear up that piece of paper at any time."

  Shuyu pressed the center of his eyebrows with some headache.

   "That problem you're talking about has no solution at all... You know what those people are yelling about? They keep asking the city hall to impose a 100% special tax on us, and the tax collected will be distributed to the poor who have lost their jobs."

   "More than that, they also require us to deposit all chips in their bank, adopt the book-entry settlement method, the exchange rate is determined by the market, and all chips must be used according to the method they stipulated."

to be honest.

  Not only do they want the products of the new alliance to be unprofitable in Boulder City, but they also stipulate how to use the profits earned by the new alliance from them.

  If they really agree, the new alliance will become a dumping ground for their industrial products, or even de-industrialize, becoming a large farm and mine.

  The residents of Dawn City also need to work.

  This kind of agreement is impossible for individuals to sign.

  Those protesting people, and the factory owners behind them, obviously didn't intend to solve the problem at all, but hoped to make some impossible demands to turn the table.

  Since I can't beat you.

  Then we will not play.

   "Of course there is a solution," Luka said seriously, "I came here for this purpose."

  Shuyu looked at him with a slightly astonished expression, not understanding what method he could come up with.

   Just when he was about to ask curiously, there was a knock on the door.

  The maid who made tea for them before came in again.

   "Sir, the mayor of the city hall is downstairs now, do you want him to come up?"

  Shuyu was stunned for a moment, completely forgetting about this arrangement today.

   "Has he... made an appointment?"

  The maid shook her head.

   "No, he claimed to have come here temporarily while inspecting the fire scene in the warehouse area."

  Shuyu looked at Luka, saw the latter nodded, and looked at the maid again.

   "Mr. Director, please go to the reception room on the second floor."

  The other party has already arrived downstairs, so you can't turn people away.

   "Yes, sir."

  The maid nodded slightly, turned and exited the lounge.

   "...What are you going to do? This guy definitely didn't just pass by temporarily. He was probably kicked out by the survivors who surrounded the city hall...I bet he definitely didn't come here this time to seek peace."

   Shuyu lowered his voice and said.

  However, at this moment, he suddenly noticed that there was no nervous expression on Old Luca's face.

   There was a moment of confusion in his eyes, and Shuyu immediately reacted.

   "...the manager has told you what to do?"

  Old Luca didn't answer, but just gave him a reassuring smile, and stood up from the sofa.

   "Let's go, let's meet that Mr. Director."

  …

  The reception room.

  Durong's face was full of anxiety and irritability from lack of sleep.

  He couldn't figure it out.

  I clearly signed a beautiful agreement to go back, which not only made the new alliance give up its request for the airspace of Qingquan City, but also opened up the market in the northern suburbs without paying any price.

  He thought that everyone would cheer for his wisdom.

  However, apart from the city lord and Jushi Military Industry who had no opinion, the residents of the outer city and other factory owners almost scolded him bloody.

  Durong completely didn't understand.

  These factories in Boulder City need technology, technology, and people. They don’t have a bunch of 12-hour work restrictions and minimum wage standards. Are they afraid of small workshops created by a group of scavengers?

  They use low-priced industrial products to dump, and you also dump them back, won’t it be over?

   This doesn’t work, that doesn’t work either, what on earth do these greedy vampires want!

  Durong couldn't help thinking that it would be great if the city hall also had a militia.

   It doesn’t have to be as strong as the city lord’s. As long as the combat power is slightly higher than that of the mercenaries, he won’t need to spend so much effort negotiating.

   These people are neither willing to give themselves the rights they deserve, nor money. What else can they expect from him?

  At this time, footsteps came from outside the reception room, and after three knocks on the door, the door opened.

  Looking at the acquaintance he had met in the holographic image before, Dulong got up from his seat out of politeness, cleared his throat and spoke proactively.

   "Hello...Mr. Santo."

  When he said this, his expression was a little unnatural.

   After all, in Boulder City, the Lord of the City is the exclusive title of that adult.

   "Hello, Mr. Dulong, you don't need to be so polite, please sit down..." Luca sat down opposite Dulong with a relaxed smile on his face, "Actually, we can call each other by first name."

"These are trivial matters." Du Long sat down again and waved his hands, not at all polite before, "I'll get straight to the point. I know it's rude to say this, but our agreement needs to be renegotiated. ..."

   Not surprised by Dulong's proposal, but Luca still frowned.

   "This is different from what was said."

"Because the current situation is not the same as it was then," Du Long stared at him, and continued, "You have also seen the outside situation, if I can't bring back an agreement that satisfies those people, they will take me and the agreement Tear it up together, and then I won’t be the one sitting here talking to you.”

   "So everything we talked about before is void?" Luca asked calmly.

   "Only about the trade part, there is no need to discuss airspace and border issues... This is the request of our city lord."

   Although Du Long's tone was tactful, his tough attitude remained unchanged.

  Luka nodded.

   "We can understand your difficulty."

  Seeing the other party's unexpected compromise, Du Long couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief after being pleasantly surprised, and finally a smile appeared on his face.

"That's great... Don't worry, I'm not an unreasonable person. In exchange for your concessions, we will take care of your safety. After all, we are friends now. Including the lease of the plane, and the power Bigger weapons... I will try to help you get some concessions within the scope of my remit."

  Shuyu looked at old Luka in disbelief.

  He remembered that he should have said just now what those people were asking for.

  With a winning expression on his face, Dulong took a list from his assistant and placed it on the table in front of him.

   "We have listed some residents' demands, and I think many of them are reasonable. The specific details need to be discussed, but I hope that the negotiations will follow this framework."

  In his view, the other party has let go, and the matter is basically settled.

  However, things did not develop as smoothly as he imagined.

  Luka just glanced at the list on the table, then turned his gaze to him.

   “We sense your sincerity in wanting to solve the problem, but this is clearly not a solution.”

  Durong looked at Luka blankly, and slowly frowned.

"…What's the meaning?"

  “Imposing heavy taxes on our goods, requiring us to put the money we earn in your pockets and spend it in the way you want, this kind of business dog will not do it.”

  Looking at Dulong with a surprised expression, Luka shook his head and continued.

   "It doesn't make any difference whether this agreement is signed or not. If I sign it, there will no longer be a silver coin trade between the New Alliance and Boulder City. If there is, it must be in the form of a black market."

   "...Then do you have a better way?" Du Long frowned.

  Luka nodded happily.

   "Of course, in comparison, our esteemed manager has a better proposal."

  Although his intuition told Du Long that these cunning blue coats were probably trying to play some tricks, he still decided to listen to what these people had to say first.

   "...what a proposal."

   Seeing that the fish was about to take the bait, a smile appeared on Luca's calm face.

   "Your factories and residents are dissatisfied. In the final analysis, the former needs the market to make profits, and the latter needs to work to support their families."

   "In this case..."

   "Why don't you lend us a bargaining chip?"

  (end of this chapter)