"Hehe, Boss Jiang, are you satisfied with this?"
The weather on the wasteland was very strange. It was summer, but occasionally, it would be as cold as the end of autumn. The dense radiation dust blocked most of the ultraviolet rays, making abnormal weather in this world a norm. If the cloud-like radiation dust did not drift away, the temperature here would become even colder.
Especially in the morning, the chill was especially obvious.
Wearing a trench coat, Jiang Chen put one hand in his pocket and scanned a resume with the other. The fat man standing on the side was already balding. He looked old enough to be Jiang Chen's father, but he was bowing to Jiang Chen.
In the survival camp with absolute freedom and capitalism as the core, anyone with crystals was the boss. Although he didn't know who Jiang Chen was, if he offended a customer, the boss would not let him off easily.
What's more, Jiang Chen was someone with status.
Under Sun Jiao's suggestion, Jiang Chen created a fake identity for himself – the general manager of the Fishbone canned food company. In this wasteland, apart from the leaders of the various forces, there were two types of people with the highest status. One was an arms dealer, and the other was a food manufacturer.
Both of these things were extremely profitable. After all, most of the soil could no longer be cultivated.
As for why it was called a company and why it was called Fishbone, it was naturally because it was convenient. The canned food Jiang Chen brought were all Fishbone brand. He even began to consider if he should buy the Fishbone canned food company after he made some money. This also saved him the trouble of erasing the production date with sandpaper every time …
"… Zhang Tianyu, former vice president of Pacer Technology. Proficient in economic management and electronic product development. He led the development of the popular Pacer P7 phone in Asia …" Jiang Chen grinned. Vice president? How ironic. "Ahem. I say, Mr. Wang Yi. What I need is a talent in the computer field, and at the same time, someone who can do some manual labor. You found me a deputy general manager? "
Although it was a pity, this general manager had been eliminated. He didn't need any corporate strategy or business plan.
For some reason, it felt great to get rid of the so-called general manager … Of course, he didn't show it on his face.
"Sorry, sorry, please wait a moment!" The talent market manager named Wang Yi quickly nodded and smiled apologetically, then turned around and ran into the reference room to continue his selection.
Jiang Chen sighed as he looked at the ragged people in the ghetto.
Among them, there was no lack of families. Young men with labor force and even women with a healthy body would enter the industrial zone to engage in production and exchange for a few cheap nutrient supplies and a small iodine tablet. They would survive with their families or alone.
If he encountered a disease …
Jiang Chen looked at the radiation clouds in the sky. The sunlight that penetrated through the clouds was so unhealthy.
Soon, the fat Wang Yi jogged out of the information room and handed a stack of documents to Jiang Chen. Then he wiped the sweat off his head with a smile.
There was some dust on these resumes, and it could be seen that they had just been wiped. There was no shortage of high-tech talents in this wasteland. It could even be described as a surplus. After all, the production of bullets did not require too high-end technology, and no one would pay for a new computer or a new phone.
Jiang Chen carefully selected the materials in his hand and frowned from time to time.
"Mr. Jiang, are you … not satisfied?" Wang Yi asked cautiously. After all, this was related to his commission and his only source of income.
"There are a few people whose skills are indeed not worthy of criticism, but …" Jiang Chen pointed at the column at the bottom of the resume with criminal records. "Why did you pick all criminals for me?"
Lu Haitao, an IT employee, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing 15 nutrient supplies and was forced to do manual labor in the organic synthesis furnace.
Li Kaiming, the former project manager of Feixun Technology, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for armed robbery and was forced to do manual labor in the bullet factory.
…
The fat on Wang Yi's face squeezed together as he forced a bitter smile that was uglier than crying. He used an almost begging tone to speak.
"I say, Mr. Jiang, there's nothing I can do about it!"
After listening to Wang Yi's explanation, Jiang Chen finally understood.
It turned out that not all the refugees in the ghetto had freedom. Those who could be traded as commodities were the refugees who had lost their freedom. Every person who received social security in the ghetto was nominally the "property" of the Sixth Street. Their identity was similar to the serfs in the old society. Every person with the ability to work would be forced to work in the factory. Those without the ability to work would be reserved as a population base and sent to the frontline as cannon fodder when necessary. As for the refugees who had freedom, although they were poor, they could more or less feed themselves, so they didn't need social security.
But these were the rules from ten years ago. Now that Wanghai City had formed a stable "ecosystem," mutants and zombies wouldn't attack the living space of the survivors for no reason. Without external threats, the Sixth Street's demand for the serf-like refugees naturally decreased.
To absorb the excess population, the Sixth Street officials had to participate in the human trafficking business.
They provided the necessary "connections" to a fixed "agent" and sold the excess refugees in the ghetto through their hands. These refugees would often be bought by some mercenaries or caravans, and used as bait to test the dangers, or bait to lure prey to take the bait. It was fair to say that the people who were bought did not end up well.
No one would waste nutrient supply to feed useless people.
Therefore, other than the worthless people who didn't have the ability to work, the only people allowed to be sold were the criminals who committed crimes.
Jiang Chen began to feel troubled as he didn't want either type of people.
Those with bad personalities were hard to control, and those with weak bodies were hard to take care of.
"Mr. Jiang, you don't have to worry. Those people will wear electronic collars when they are sold. If they do anything that endangers your safety, hehe." Fatty Wang seemed to have seen through Jiang Chen's concerns as he carefully explained to Jiang Chen. In the end, he even made a blossoming gesture with his finger.
In this case … although he was still worried, there was no better way. Jiang Chen let out a sigh as he planned to pick a decent criminal from the bunch.
[I just have to be careful.]
"010342, please stop, or you will be shot." A cold voice came from the door. Jiang Chen couldn't help but turn his head.
A soft sensation came from his leg. Jiang Chen paused for a moment and looked down.
"I'm sorry to eavesdrop on your conversation. I know how to use a computer. Please, buy me." The girl spoke very quickly. Her pupils were filled with fear and pleading.
Being hugged by the skinny body, Jiang Chen cautiously reached for the weapon on his back. But when he saw the soldier in combat uniform signaling him to calm down and aim his gun at the girl, Jiang Chen gave up on the idea of taking out his gun.
The soldier dragged the skinny girl away like he was carrying a chick. Jiang Chen's eyebrows furrowed, but he didn't say anything.
Although he sympathized, he was more worried about the girl's intentions.
What if it was a conspiracy by the Huizhong Mercenaries?
"Hehe, I'm really sorry. There are always people in the ghetto who want to be reincarnated." Wang Yi immediately apologized to Jiang Chen as he signaled the soldier to bring the girl back to the camp.
Jiang Chen noticed that the girl was wearing a watch-like device that was flashing a red light. Once a "slave" who received social security left the ghetto, the alarm would be activated and the soldiers on duty would capture the person.
"What will happen if she is captured?" Jiang Chen asked nonchalantly.
"Put into the labor camp." Wang Yi shrugged. This kind of thing happened every day. He was used to it.
"A child this young can work?"
"Actually, she's not that young. Only those over 16 years old will wear the restriction bracelet. She's just not fully developed." Wang Yi smiled. "Let's not talk about this. Mr. Jiang, do you want to choose …"
"I'll take the girl." Jiang Chen sighed.
Such a skinny girl, if sent to the labor camp, she would probably die in a few days from the high-intensity labor.
Jiang Chen had seen many corpses along the way, and he had killed people with his own hands. But no matter what, he couldn't just watch a little girl be taken to hell.
[Also, that girl seems to be doing it because of me.] Jiang Chen convinced himself.
[Perhaps this is conscience?] [A luxury.]
"Hmm?" Wang Yi paused for a moment as he looked at Jiang Chen with a strange expression.
"Hehe, Mr. Jiang, if you like this kind of stuff, there are actually more good options. Hehe, I have some ways to get you more …"
"You talk a lot."
Wang Yi saw the icy expression on Jiang Chen's face and shivered.
"Yes, yes, no problem." It was not worth offending a potential customer, so Wang Yi immediately nodded and bowed.
"How long do you need to complete the procedure?" Jiang Chen didn't want to waste any more time with this person.
"About a day, please tell me your address." Although the girl had just committed the felony of being restricted from leaving the country and was technically a criminal, she was still within the scope of the license. But after all, without going through the procedure, it would not be easy to get it done.
"Two crystals, I'll wait here."
"Mr. Jiang, this is the legal procedure …"
"Three crystals, I'm talking about the tip," Jiang Chen said impatiently. [Why are there so many problems? Civilization doesn't exist, and you want to talk about the law with me?]
"Yes! I'll get it done right away! " Wang Yi ran back to the information room. He needed to immediately get in touch with his "relationship."
Although the fat man looked sloppy, he was very efficient. Of course, it was all because of the crystals.
Jiang Chen only waited for half an hour before he saw a soldier bring the girl back to the door.
In just half an hour, Jiang Chen noticed that the girl's face had a bruise.
Wang Yi noticed that Jiang Chen's expression was a bit unnatural, so he moved closer.
"Hehe, Mr. Jiang, the physical examination took a bit of time. This is for your safety, please understand." Wang Yi tried to explain as he moved closer to Jiang Chen and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry, the quarantine officer told me. She's the original, hehe. "
Jiang Chen slightly moved his head. This guy was like a moving heat source, and he emitted an unpleasant smell.
He slammed the transfer fee and the tip on the table, a total of five crystals, and signed his name on the agreement. From now on, the girl with number 010342 had nothing to do with the Sixth Street.
"What's your name?" Jiang Chen looked at the bruise on the left side of the girl's face and the blood on her arm. He moved his eyes away and sighed.
The bruise was probably caused by the butt of the gun. Although the injury had nothing to do with him, he still blamed himself.
"Yao Jiayu." The girl answered meekly and timidly, but her voice was stiff with timidity.
"You know how to program?"
"I do!" The girl suddenly raised her voice, but she seemed to realize her abruptness, so she lowered her head and whispered, "In computer, I received a B grade in the virtual education system. Whether it's programming or hacking, I'm confident I can do it well. "
"Oh? Then why are you still so down and out? "Jiang Chen looked at the little loli, slightly shocked. If a sixteen year old could achieve this level of proficiency, it would not be surprising if she was given the title of genius in the modern world.
But it seemed to be a very common thing in the apocalypse. The virtual education system eliminated unnecessary quality education and provided specialized education according to each person's talent. It only required a few years in the petri dish to achieve outstanding results in a certain field. As long as one grew up in the fallout shelter, they all received similar education. To receive a B grade was already quite impressive.
The little loli named Yao Jiayu obviously came from a fallout shelter, but due to various reasons, she ended up here.
It was a common situation. When the resources of the fallout shelter ran out, the people inside would often choose to leave and find a new home. Most people would choose to enter a survival camp like this.
"A lot of people in the ghetto can do it." Yao Jiayu's face turned slightly red as she lowered her head guiltily. But as if she was worried that Jiang Chen would not be satisfied, she gathered her courage and lifted her head.
"Although, although my ability might not be the best, but my potential will definitely not let you suffer a loss … Also, also, I'm very obedient … No matter what you want me to do, I won't resist, and I'll be very docile …"
In the end, perhaps it was because of excitement or shyness, the girl's face turned bright red.
Seeing Yao Jiayu trying her best to sell herself, Jiang Chen couldn't help but smile.
He didn't care about the crystals he spent. Just like money, it always had to be spent.
"Relax, you don't have to be so nervous working for me."
Seeing Yao Jiayu shivering and nodding, Jiang Chen suddenly realized the clothes she was wearing.
The thin material tightly clung to her weak body. It seemed that the people in the ghetto all wore this type of clothing. When she left the camp, all of her "assets" were confiscated, including the tattered jacket she was wearing.
"Are you cold?"
The girl shook her head while shivering.
Jiang Chen then realized that the girl was not shivering because she was afraid of him, but because the weather was too cold.
Jiang Chen let out a sigh as he put the jacket on Yao Jiayu's shoulders in front of her shocked eyes.
"Don't catch a cold, it's not easy to treat here."
Jiang Chen didn't know how to say anything heartwarming, but the girl quietly lowered her head. A blissful smile appeared on her face covered by her messy and greasy hair.
"… You're so lucky."
"Mhmm?" Jiang Chen tilted his head.
"No, nothing."
Hearing this, Jiang Chen smiled and didn't pursue the topic. After doing a good deed, he felt more or less at ease. Perhaps this was the characteristic of a civilized person.
Yao Jiayu peeked at Jiang Chen's curled up lips before she timidly lowered her head again and tightened the collar of the jacket.
[So warm …]
What she didn't say was that she had waited for too long. Every day, she would hide in the corner of the ghetto's labor market and secretly observe the people who came to "buy" slaves. She wanted to leave here. She was waiting for a "not too bad" buyer.
There were cruel mercenaries, well-dressed merchants, and people who looked like they had no idea what they were doing.
But she didn't do anything like what she did today.
[Why?]
[Why did she risk her life to beg this man?]
Perhaps she saw a special emotion in his eyes when he looked at the ghetto.
It was a feeling called pity. Although it was thin, although it was almost worn out …
If she didn't take the gamble now, she would spend the rest of her life in this hell. She knew very well that the thugs in the ghetto hadn't made a move on her yet because her body hadn't matured yet. Once she grew up, she had already understood what kind of hell she would face. She had already learned from the big sister next door.
Being forced to trade her body for a pack of cigarettes? Or being humiliated by a group of people? …
Her father died to protect her mother, and her mother begged on the ground. She, who had witnessed too many tragedies, was far more mature than she looked.
The world had gone crazy.
Since she was going to be robbed by others and rely on others to survive, it was better to choose someone who might treat her a little better. Not to mention treating her well … She would be satisfied if she could be a little lighter.
As for losing the bet, and if Jiang Chen didn't buy her out of kindness …
Dying in the labor camp was not too bad an ending.
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