Chapter 361 This is a precious task item

   East Gate of Boulder City.

Next to the unloading point of the    trading post, boxes and bundles of goods are piled up into hills.

  Standing beside a pile of grain, the shirtless stevedore slung the dirty rag over his shoulders, reached out and pushed the sturdy sack with surprise in his eyes.

   "Is this the shipment from yesterday?"

  Henry still remembers it well.

  Yesterday morning, he just unloaded this batch of goods from the back of the two-headed cow, but he didn't expect to put it back on so soon.

   A co-worker bared his teeth and said.

   "Yeah, the millet from the farms in the south smells like freshly dried clothes."

   After entering June, the weather here is really getting hotter and hotter. It would be nice to have an iced bottle of Nuka-Cola.

   But with their income, they can't afford that kind of luxury.

   "Where are these goods going?" A tanned youth leaned over and asked curiously.

  Henry remembered his name. It seemed to be Hang. He lived in a nearby slum. He didn't know if he was thirteen or twelve years old.

  The trade post is different from other places. Many employees here come from the slums outside the giant wall.

   I heard that these people are asking for less salary than they are, and a chip and two scoops of sticky nutritional paste a day are enough.

   Honestly, Henry dislikes these slum children very much, because there are always people who are willing to endure a lower standard of living, causing their wages to drop again and again.

   One chip may be enough for him to live alone, but he has to support a family!

   "Send it to our neighbor." Henry said coldly.

   The stevedore on the side couldn't help complaining.

   "Damn...so much food, why are those profiteers not willing to sell it to us cheaper?"

   They can still afford a single chip for a kilo of bread, but usually it's only enough to buy a hard and stone-like green wheat cake.

   At this time, the manager of the trading station came by and happened to hear the complaints of these poor ghosts, and rolled his eyes without thinking.

   "What a daydream of yours!"

   "Do you expect the food grown in the ground to be as cheap as the nutritional cream? Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and work, if you don't work hard, you can't even afford the nutritional cream!"

  Under the urging of the manager, the stevedores who gathered in a group to complain quickly dispersed, burying their heads in their work, daring not to talk more.

  Although I am full of resentment and dissatisfaction, it is not easy to find a job these days. If you are fired, the whole family will have to go hungry...

  …

   It’s not just food that needs to be moved.

   There are also bundles of cotton cloth, parts and utensils needed for construction, as well as lighting equipment and generators.

   The total value of these goods is as high as 500,000 chips, and the weight is a full 450 tons.

   It can be shipped 10 times a month, the trade volume is 5 million, and it is 60 million in a year.

   If the shipping fee is also included, the 200 million chips are actually not that cost-effective...

   At the same time, not far from the trading post, several well-armed players also completed their assembly.

  Old Bai, who was wearing an exoskeleton and carrying a rifle, glanced in the direction of the slum.

   It was calm there.

   The faces with dull eyes were so ordinary that it was impossible to tell that a murder had occurred here a few days ago.

   couldn't even feel it, someone was looking at him with malicious eyes.

  Old Bai breathed a sigh of relief.

   As he expected, the Dagger Gang didn't dare to come and trouble them.

   Their alliance is very young, and its size is not comparable to the giant stone city that has led the way for two hundred years, nor is it comparable to the military giants and city lords riding on the top of the giant wall.

   But in front of a few gangs of marauders, they still count as an elephant.

   The two sides are not a dimensional existence at all.

   The other party is naturally aware of this, and it is impossible to trouble a younger brother for his life.

   Of course, it is also possible that I think too much, maybe it is just that there is no follow-up about the plot in the game program.

   Just when Old Bai was thinking about it, a guard NPC from the office came over and stopped in front of him and said.

   "The trade post is loading the trucks, we'll have to wait a while."

  Old Bai is not very good at connecting people, so he just nodded and replied concisely.

   "It's okay, it's okay to wait a while."

   The trading post not far away is busy at the moment.

  The shirtless stevedores shuttled back and forth between the stockpiles and the camels, carrying the goods onto the backs of the two-headed cows and tying them up.

   This two-headed cow has a docile temperament and a strong physique. One head weighs five or six hundred kilograms. The mutant species can even reach an astonishing one ton, as large as a hippopotamus.

   The most important thing is that these animals are not picky eaters, have iron stomachs comparable to mutant hyenas, and develop relatively fast, so they are widely used as transportation in the wasteland.

  Where tires and tracks can't go, they can ride on the ground.

  Although the speed is not fast, the victory is stable enough, and it can even be used as a cover when fighting.

   For creatures like two-headed cows, players are not surprised. The Frostspear Ranch in the northern suburbs is raising them.

   However, what surprised the players was that the two-headed cow they saw this time was different from the previous one. Not only was it bigger, but it also had a metal utensil on it.

   looks like an exoskeleton.

   "I rely on... even cows have exoskeletons?" Looking at the camel caravan not far away, Sha Dagger said with a look of surprise.

   Brother Dog who was standing beside him followed his line of sight, stared at the cows for a while and said.

   "That's an unpowered exoskeleton."

   "What is an unpowered exoskeleton?" Killer asked curiously.

   explained the Kidney Fighter.

   "There is no power supply and no motor. It acts as a trolley with wheels, allowing you to unload part of the weight of the cargo on the ground."

   "Then why don't you just start a mechanical cow?"

   Brother Gou rolled his eyes.

   "It can be transported directly by rocket."

   Kidney Fighter said casually: "Because the transportation cost of the mechanical cattle is not a piece of grass every 100 kilometers, and the worn parts have to be replaced, and the oil must be added regularly... I guess."

   This statement is acceptable to Kill Dagger.

   However, equipping the two-headed cow with an unpowered exoskeleton can be regarded as the best interpretation of the word.

   Loading didn't take long.

  Old Bai raised his arm and glanced, only to see a line of pop-up windows appearing on the VM screen.

   The **** mission begins.

   They need to deliver the goods to the northern suburbs within 48 hours and ensure the safety of personnel and supplies.

   "The goods have been loaded."

   "Where's Fang Chang?" Killing Dagger glanced left and right, and found that there was one missing person.

  Old Bai said casually, "He has something to do. He has to stay here for a while, so let's hit the road first."

   Brother Dog let out a howl.

   "Damn, this guy is eating alone again!"

   "That's right! Acting alone every day these few days must be doing bad things!"

   Hearing the complaints from his teammates, Lao Bai smiled heartily.

   "Don't care about him, he has his own affairs to deal with, and he will come back naturally after he has dealt with it."

   Looking at the camel caravan behind him, he waved his hand forward cleanly.

"Set off!"

  The team started to move.

   escorted more than 200 two-headed cattle and hundreds of tons of supplies, and the group embarked on a mighty journey to the northern suburbs under the watchful eyes of the traveling wastelanders.

   The people who escorted the caravan were not only a few players from the Burning Corps, but also two local mercenary groups from Boulder City, adding up to more than a hundred people.

   For such a caravan, plunderers usually hide far away when they see it.

   Don't say it's coming over to test, these guys who bully the soft and fear the hard don't dare to look here.

   I heard that the new alliance also plans to renovate the subway tunnel from Boulder City to the northern suburbs and block all forks, so that the original two-day journey can be shortened to one day.

   If you lay out cables and arrange a few trams to go back and forth in the tunnel, maybe two or three hours will be enough to go there!

   Originally, the straight-line distance from Boulder City to Bette Street was only ten kilometers, and the extension to Linghu Wetland Park was only fourteen or five kilometers.

   However, this project has not been negotiated yet.

  The City Hall of the Stone City was not willing to pay the money, and the reason given by Duron was quite good. They could not spend the tax money of the people of the outer city outside the giant wall.

  Although the new alliance stated that it can repair the tunnel itself and be responsible for the operation of the tunnel, the cost of such a huge project is astronomical.

   With the current financial situation of the new alliance, it cannot afford it at all, and it can only borrow from the Boulder City Bank.

  Although Governor Malvern said that he would like to borrow another hundred million points from the new alliance, but the two hundred million have just been thrown out and have not seen the effect.

  Chu Guang did not urge.

  Wool is such a tricky thing.

  The most perfect situation is that after the first chip he borrowed was spent, Boulder City just ushered in the first round of inflation, and the price of "commodities" priced with chips began to skyrocket.

   But if you overdraft the other party's production capacity, it's not his debt that shrinks, but the money he just borrowed...

  …

   Northwest of Dawn City, here is the granary in the northern suburbs.

   Standing next to the towering mill, Chu Guang was accompanied by old Charlie, inspecting the situation in the fields.

   After a series of reforms and personnel changes, Charlie has resigned from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and was transferred to the Union Economic Department as minister.

   And the vacant position of president of the trade guild was held by the former head of the trading post.

   This is also the suggestion of old Charlie himself.

The staff of the trading station often deal with the traders in the wasteland, especially the management staff who have been promoted from the grassroots level. They are not only familiar with the nature and transaction process of those wastelanders, but also dealing with the relationship with those wastelanders will be even more important. Handy.

   It is very fitting that the top leader of the trading post manages the trade guild!

  The Traders Guild mainly serves players, but not just players.

   This agency is more like a service department, acting as a bridge between players and NPCs in the field of trade.

   The Ministry of Economic Affairs is more responsible for the formulation of macro strategies and serves the entire alliance, which is of greater significance.

   Although there is currently only one office, all the staff can be counted on one hand, but in the future this department will play an increasingly important role in the league.

   The work of reforming the management of the alliance was finally done, and Chu Guang was rarely free recently.

When    is not too busy, he likes to come around the farm to relax and see how the crops in the fields are growing.

   Sometimes he comes alone, and occasionally he brings other people with him.

   The most spectacular is probably the paddy field. The crops in the field are growing quite gratifyingly, and the thick dark green seedlings have been drilled with a little bright yellow.

  The improved seeds cultivated by the CNC planting tower, combined with the fertilizer produced by the chemical factory, coupled with the hard-working little players and survivors, the harvest in the fields this year will be quite gratifying.

   Maybe the yield per mu in the first year could break a thousand catties!

  At present, the arable land area of ​​the new alliance has increased from 30,000 mu to 40,000, more than half of which are high-yield corn and rice.

  Wait two more months.

  Wait until August, the grain produced from this fertile soil will fill the granary of the Alliance!

   Looking at the endless farmland, Chu Guang's face couldn't help but have an old father's smile.

very nice!

but……

   These are obviously not enough.

   "...I thought the 30,000 mu originally planned was enough, but I didn't expect the plan to keep up with the changes."

  The ideal situation is that 1~2 acres of land can support a survivor, and 3 acres of land can support a player.

   With the population of Dawning City, the 30,000 mu planned in the early stage of Chuguang is enough.

   What's more, in the "Forging Swords into Plows" expansion pack, the players actually reclaimed 5,000 acres more land than he actually planned.

   In Chu Guang's vision, the food produced by these lands can not only fill the stomachs of the residents of the new alliance, but also enrich a lot.

  However, at the beginning of the year, how could he have imagined it? By the middle of the year, the permanent population of the new alliance had doubled several times, from 3,000 to nearly 30,000...

   This is not counting the super-eaten players and the 20,000 slaves in the POW camp.

  Due to the drastic population fluctuations, the granary of the new alliance is like Schrödinger's cat, switching back and forth between sufficient and insufficient.

   "Our population growth is indeed a bit faster... The growth rate far exceeds our cultivated land area." Following Chu Guang's side, Old Charlie's eyes were also a little worried.

  A large number of people is of course a good thing. In the wasteland, the population itself is a valuable asset.

   But this is also a double-edged sword.

  People only have the strength to work when they have enough to eat, they understand shame when they have clothes to wear, they are loyal when they have a room to sleep, and only when they form a family can they think about the future of the next generation.

   If the excessively growing demand cannot be filled, the excess population will become a burden.

   "There's no way, we can't just leave those people alone." Looking at the survivors working in the fields in the distance, Chu Guangyan replied succinctly and casually.

   He once lived in Bate Street for a not-so-short time.

   To him those survivors were living people, not just a number.

   It is precisely because of this that so many people are willing to devote their loyalty to the Alliance from the bottom of their hearts.

   In fact, if you think optimistically, there are still many ways.

   He has a lot of cards in his hand.

   "...35,000 mu of arable land is far from enough, and we need to reclaim more farmland. Before the sowing of winter wheat begins, we must ensure that the area of ​​arable land is expanded to 50,000 mu and 100,000 mu before spring ploughing next year."

   After thinking for a moment, Chu Guang continued.

"In addition, we have to mobilize prisoners of war to reclaim the land from the east of Xizhou Lake to the south bank of Tianshui. Although the terrain there is rough, it is better than the fertile soil. When the lake embankment on the east bank of Xizhou Lake is completed, we will collect 100,000 It shouldn't be a big problem to come out with mu of arable land."

   "Before we can fully achieve food self-sufficiency, we can only import as much as possible from farmers in the south. Regarding trade issues, you need to pay more attention to the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

   Old Charlie nodded seriously.

   "I'll keep an eye out."

   Fortunately, the industrial products of the new alliance are quite popular in the south.

   Especially the LD-47 series rifles and various large-caliber weapons are simply too suitable to deal with mutants active in Jinchuan Province.

  Those green-skinned muscular guys have strong resilience and fierce melee ability. They are just as good as anyone who takes a few shots, but even so, they can't stand the strafing of 7mm full-power bullets and the 20mm high-explosive bullets fired by the "lance".

   Recently, many farmers have sent their servants here to buy some propeller planes.

   However, flying this aircraft requires a certain amount of skill.

  The plan of those farmers was to send a group of loyal servants to study and learn to drive the plane back directly.

   Of course, they pay their tuition with food.

   The profit of selling planes is much higher than selling rifles. Although it is a propeller plane, it can fly anyway.

   It is not a problem to change the rations for one or two thousand people on a plane.

   After finishing his plans for the future, Chu Guang looked at Old Charlie and continued with a smile.

   "Tell me something happy."

   "This morning, Luca and I talked on the phone and said that the materials we imported with 500,000 chips have been dispatched. This includes the food we need, cotton cloth, equipment for building the power grid, and tools for construction, etc."

   "Two days later, he will arrive in the northern suburbs with the 450 tons of supplies, and then a large batch of new supplies will be delivered to us every three days."

   "With these goods, our construction in Dawn City will do more with less. Maybe in less than two years, before the end of this year, our new settlement will be on the right track!"

  Looking at the manager with a happy face, although Old Charlie also squeezed a smile from his face, the smile was somewhat awkward.

   Can this be considered good news?

  500,000 chips...

   In just one day, they spent the life savings of five old leeches.

  These money have to be repaid...

  …

  Boulder City.

   A mansion near the inner city.

   Sitting on a luxurious chair, Alyssa stretched out her pale index finger and gently teased the black shorthair cat lying in her arms.

   Hearing the coquettish purring of the cat in his arms, the slightly curled eyelashes curved into a soft crescent.

  Beside her chair, stood two bodyguards and a servant.

   In the eye sockets of one of the bodyguards, the electronic eyes full of metal texture were turned, and he was staring at the strange guest in the room.

   Although three pairs of eyes stared at him, Fang Chang didn't care.

  NPC.

   When the plot is triggered, isn't it normal to pay attention to the player?

   What made him more concerned was the girl sitting in the chair.

   She was wearing an expensive long dress, and her dark brown hair was delicately tied, revealing her fair neck.

   Unlike Dolly, she has an indescribable temperament, like she doesn't belong to this world.

  It's not surprising when you think about it.

   After all, standing in this mansion, no matter what window you look out from, you can’t see a single bit of the wasteland.

   Looking at the girl sitting on the chair, Fang Chang couldn't help feeling that the game production team should really add two more chicken drumsticks to the modeler's lunch.

  Incorporates three distinct artistic styles into the same map, and scene switching brings a strong visual contrast without the slightest violation.

  What is the ninth art?

   This is called the ninth art, okay?

   "Thank you, Mr. Mercenary."

   "I thought I would never see my little blackie again."

  's sweet voice pulled Fang Chang back to reality, and when he came back to his senses, he withdrew his gaze and replied politely.

   "You're welcome. It's my pleasure to make you worry."

   Recently, his human conjunctions have become more and more proficient. In line with the principle of speaking more, he said two more sentences.

However--

   may be your own expression is not accurate enough, or there is a problem with grammar.

   The bodyguards and servants next to the NPC named Alisha stared at them in astonishment.

  Alyssa was also obviously stunned.

   But the girl who came back to her senses just couldn't help laughing, then she blinked, and said in that pleasant and pleasant voice.

   "Maybe you mean something else."

   "Anyway, thanks to your help, I was able to get Xiao Hei back."

   Two days ago, when the little-known newspaper found her, Alyssa didn't have much hope.

   But what she didn't expect was that they actually found the lost Xiao Hei.

   Out of curiosity, she asked the servant to bring the mercenary to her.

   is not the same as expected.

   She thought that the mercenaries were all rough people with beards and more scars than wrinkles, but she didn't expect that a young man who looked at Swan Wen came in.

   Staring at Fang Chang for a while, Alicia asked with interest.

   "Can you tell me how you did it?"

   The long and square expression is a little subtle.

   Of course he couldn't tell. He spent 200 silver coins to ask a fat mouse to help him to find this stupid cat jumping up and down on the half-waist of the giant wall.

   Of course, it wasn’t all due to the brothers who were hard-pressed by strong men. Dolly also helped him a lot these days.

   The black briquettes-like kitten was somewhat afraid of him for some reason, but not so much of Dolly.

   Could it be the smell of engine oil?

   In any case, this commission, which the head of the Alliance Office personally asked him to do, has finally been completed.

  The reward is a total of 25 chips.

   Regardless of contribution points and regional prestige, he still lost a bit from the point of view of amount alone.

   "That's a long story..."

   "...It seems to be an inconvenient secret, so I won't ask."

  Alyssa did not ask any further questions, and after comforting the cat in her arms for a while, she gently put it aside.

   Looking back at the man standing in front of her, she suddenly blinked playfully.

   "In exchange, can you tell me about the world beyond the giant wall?"

   "Beyond the giant wall..."

   Fang Chang was a little troubled, showing a troubled expression, "This range is too large, where should I start?"

   said Eliza.

   "Just tell your story. Like...where did you come from?"

   "Northern suburbs." Fang Chang said truthfully.

   Hearing this answer, a look of surprise appeared in Aliza's eyes.

   "Are you a resident of the northern suburbs?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

   "Well, nothing, but I've been hearing about that place from my father lately."

   shook his head slightly, with obvious curiosity in Alisha's eyes, "Can you tell me what kind of place it is?"

   "It's hard to describe, if I were to rate it, it's not rich, but a place full of hope..."

   Fang Chang organized his thoughts for a moment, and briefly described the situation there with his limited vocabulary.

   He thought that this girl would not be interested, but he didn't expect her to listen unexpectedly seriously.

   After about ten minutes, Alyssa closed her eyes and thought for a while, and a smile suddenly appeared on her face.

   "Thank you for chatting with me for so long."

   "You're welcome... By the way, can I trouble you to write a thank you letter?" Suddenly remembering that the NPC named Howl asked him, Fang Chang quickly added.

so close.

   I almost forgot the business.

   "No problem, I have already written it." Alyssa smiled and nodded to the servant beside her.

  The slightly old-fashioned servant stepped forward, took a letter from his arms and handed it to Fang Chang.

   Fang Chang took the letter from him, politely declined the invitation to afternoon tea, thanked him, and left the luxurious mansion under the "escort" of two guards.

   Turning two streets, he saw Dolly with arms folded under a street lamp.

   This little girl with short green hair is kicking the bottle caps on the ground with her toes to pass the boring time.

   Seeing Fang Chang coming from the corner, she immediately stopped and asked.

   "You gave Xiao Hei to her?"

   "Well, it took only half a day to develop a relationship?" Fang Chang looked at her and teased.

  Dolly raised her eyebrows.

   "How is it possible, I... just ask casually."

   Fang Chang laughed and said.

   "I believe it."

   He could feel that this little girl actually likes that clingy little black.

   But she also knew in her heart that it was someone else's pet after all. Not to mention that she can't even take care of herself, that kind of picky eater will only suffer when she follows her.

"Hey."

"What's wrong."

   "Is that bank president's daughter beautiful?" Dolly asked curiously.

   Fang Chang replied casually.

   "It's pretty, she's a dignified and elegant girl."

   Dolly moved the tip of her nose. It seemed that her curiosity was satisfied, but her expression was rather intriguing.

   "...By the way, are you also interested in the commission of 25 chips?"

   "The chips are not my goal, what I need is this letter." Fang Chang gently shook the envelope between his fingertips and put it back in his pocket.

  25 chips are only part of the mission reward.

   If it was just for money, he would not accept this commission at all.

   But explaining this to the NPC is too much trouble.

   It's not that no one has tried it, but they can't even understand what a game is, and it would be rude to say that your world is just a "game".

   Maybe this is also part of the setting.

"letter?"

   "Well, precious quest item."

  “…?”

   Without explaining to the confused Dolly, Fang Chang took her straight to the newspaper office.

   Give this letter to NPC Hal in the newspaper office, and this quest is complete.

  Although I don’t know what the new NPC named Howl is for, there is nothing wrong with brushing the favorability.

   Looking at Fang Chang who was in a happy mood, Dolly was following behind him, but his face was full of complicated expressions.

   She still doesn't understand why this man who can take out more than 50,000 chips at will, is interested in a mere 25 chips.

   Do you like cats?

   It's not like that either.

Or……

   He wanted to approach the daughter of the president of the Boulder City Bank through Xiao Hei, become Mr. Malvern's son-in-law, and then jump into the wealthy family.

  Thinking of this, the expression on Dolly's face was no longer complicated, but contempt.

   She sneered.

   "...I can really dream."

   "Huh? What did you just say?"

"nothing."

   dropped the sentence, Dolly turned her face to one side, and this time it was Fang Chang's turn to be confused.

  The two came to the newspaper office.

   There was a lot of noise in the room, and there were dark circles on every face, but everyone was very motivated.

   even excited.

After listening to Hal's plan, the    league executives immediately gave them a monthly budget of 200,000 chips.

  200,000 chips!

   And monthly!

  When they heard the news, the editors who had worked under Mr. House were so excited that they almost forgot to breathe.

   "The Voice of the Boulder" can't make so much money in a year!

   And their boss is willing to pay such a huge amount of money every month to continue sponsoring their cause without seeing any return.

   With this money, they can do a lot of things!

   Just as everyone in the newspaper office was discussing the next plan, the door of the office opened.

   Looking at Fang Chang who came back with a thank you letter in his hand, Hal's face immediately showed an overjoyed expression, and he took the letter.

   "Great, you're finally back, my friend! We're discussing the layout of the next issue, and it's just in time!"

   "I don't really understand. Finding the cat of the bank president's daughter... Does it have anything to do with your newspaper?" Fang Chang couldn't help but ask curiously, looking at Hal who was holding a treasured envelope in his hand.

  Hal hadn't spoken yet, when the editor beside him spoke up for him.

   "We're going to dedicate a page to the newspaper to publish commissions. How to get those who need it to write to us? The best way is of course to let them see the effect."

   Another bald editor also came over and said.

   "That's right, and I'm sure that those mercenaries who have never been interested in reading newspapers will start buying our newspapers from now on!"

   "Why don't we start a "Mercenary Newspaper"?" an editor interjected.

  Hall's eyes lit up and snapped his fingers.

   "That's a good idea!"

   Fang Chang coughed dryly.

   "If you want me to say... you might as well serialize your novels in newspapers, with 500 words in three days, every day at the most critical places. I can guarantee that your newspapers will be out of stock."

   Hearing this sentence, Hal was stunned for a few seconds.

   Suddenly, he reacted suddenly, and an ecstatic expression appeared on his face.

   "This idea is fantastic! My friend, why don't you come and work at the newspaper?"

   "I don't have to..." Fang Chang coughed dryly, he suddenly felt as if he had come up with a bad idea.

but……

   He was actually curious about what the novels serialized by NPCs would look like.

   At this moment, Fang Chang's eyes suddenly fell on the advertisement for recruiting reporters, and his heart moved slightly.

   "Are you missing anyone here?"

   Hal, who had a disappointed expression just now, immediately nodded excitedly when he saw that Fang Chang had changed his mind.

   "Of course, we're short of reporters, editors, everything... It would be great if you would help us!"

   "Cough, I'm not a professional in this industry, but I can recommend an expert to you. There is nothing she doesn't know about the entire Boulder City, and even if she doesn't know, I believe she must have a way to know..."

   Having said that, Fang Chang looked at the office door, the short-haired girl with her arms folded and her face doing nothing.

   "How do you see her?"

-

   (Thanks to the leader of "orz meow" for the reward!!!)

   (end of this chapter)