"Future plans?" Hao Ren turned his head to look at Ulyanov. Strictly speaking, he was looking at Ulyanov's helmet. "I've never thought about it. Let's take it one step at a time and find a place to settle down first. "
Ulyanov mumbled a few words in his throat before he asked in a low voice, "Where did you learn your combat skills?"
He initially thought that Hao Ren was just a mentally disturbed civilian, a rich man who lacked knowledge of the wasteland. But after witnessing Hao Ren's combat skills, he became very interested in Hao Ren's background. It was rare even in the lawless zone to possess combat power beyond that of regular soldiers without any biochemical modification and electronic auxiliary devices. Feeling the curious gaze from behind the helmet, Hao Ren turned his head away slightly. "I've been in a war before. Don't ask why."
"Mercenary too?" Ulyanov looked at Hao Ren from head to toe. "You don't look like a regular soldier."
"Sort of," Hao Ren whispered, pretending to comb the blonde girl's hair to end the topic. "I don't really want to talk about the past."
Carl, who was sitting across from him, suddenly reminded him in a gruff voice, "Ulyanov, you talk too much."
The armored truck moved forward in the barren and vast wilderness. Finally, traces of man-made buildings appeared in front of them. Hao Ren saw through the side window that both sides of the road had turned into cement. Crooked street lamps and utility poles flashed past the window from time to time. He felt like he was back in human society. A screen at the front of the carriage suddenly lit up, showing the scene in front of them. At the end of the road, there was a continuous row of buildings that looked like factories. Between the buildings, there were many huge chimneys that were emitting thick smoke. Between the tall buildings, there were a large number of simple houses that looked like building blocks.
The entire building complex was shrouded in a haze. Smoke rose from the top of the town to the same gray sky as if the whole world was dyed black by those factories. Ulyanov coughed subconsciously when he saw this scene. "Ahem … I feel uncomfortable looking at it a few times."
"Can you still feel the smog in your throat now?" The female mercenary teased. "They've been replaced with plastic, haven't they?"
"Vanessa, no one will take you for a mute if you don't speak." Ulyanov glanced at her through the mask and then turned to Hao Ren. "Up ahead is part of the Black Street. The Black Street is basically sustained by these factories. They provide electricity and products to Zero City, and the coolies of the Black Street exchange for food and life-prolonging drugs. To be honest, this place is not suitable for a rich person like you. It's better for you to go to Zero City. After all, you don't lack money. "
"If you stay in the Black Street, you'll soon lose your money and your life," the unrestrained female mercenary called Vanessa teased Hao Ren. "No matter how good you are, you can't defend against the 'rules' of the Black Street. Those gangsters have a million ways to plot against a simple-minded guy like you."
Hao Ren shrugged. It seemed that in the eyes of this big sister, he was basically a model of a fool with a lot of money. But he did not explain anything. He just looked at the buildings that were getting closer and closer. "The Black Street … Isn't it a block?"
"Of course not," Ulyanov shook his head. "But a lot of people who come here for the first time will misunderstand. The Black Street is a large market town, almost the size of a city. But because it was originally expanded from a block, people here used to call it the Black Street. Before the war, this place was called New Continent City. But now there are not many people who still remember this place name. "
"Only the old man will remember this kind of thing." Vanessa opened her arms and leaned on the seat, looking up at the car shed. "New Continent City, Rift Valley City, Pearl City … New Anca City. You can only read about it in the history books. And maybe even the 'history books' will become extinct. Who cares about this now? "
"Zero City is not far from the Black Street," Ulyanov said to Hao Ren. "Our station is on the edge of the Black Street. We can take you to the checkpoint of Zero City. After that, you'll have to rely on yourself. "
Hao Ren did not answer immediately. He was thinking about his own things. But at this time, Nolan's voice suddenly came from the front. "If you have nowhere to go, you can come to our place for the time being."
"Huh?" Hao Ren looked up at Nolan's back in the driver's seat, puzzled. "You want me to join you?"
"Even though Zero City is safer, it may not be suitable for you," Nolan said faintly. "All of your property will be taken away in exchange for a few years of 'city citizenship.' After that, you'll have to rely on the city committee to survive. That place is indeed safe, but there's nothing else other than safety. I think you … don't like this kind of life. Otherwise, you wouldn't have run away from the comfortable city of the Naturals. "
After discovering that Hao Ren was actually a combat force, the mercenary leader wanted to recruit him. This was a very normal reaction, especially when her team was in urgent need of new recruits. However, although Hao Ren wanted to investigate the situation of this world, he did not intend to join any group to restrict his actions, so he politely declined. "Forget it, I'm not interested in being a soldier."
"Oh, is that so?" Nolan said casually and did not continue after that.
"But I really have no place to go for the time being." Hao Ren thought for a moment and felt that at least he needed a place to stay. "Can I stay with you for the time being? Of course, I'll pay. "
When he said this, he thought that the mercenaries might not be willing to let him stay in their station. He did not expect Nolan to agree readily. "It's fine if it's just for a few days, and I don't need your money. You saved my life, so consider it a repayment."
Hao Ren was a little surprised. "Is the place where you stay considered a military station? Don't you need to check the identity information of outsiders or something? "
Nolan raised her hand and waved near the front window of the carriage. "Do you want to live here?"
"Of course."
"Do you want to kill me?"
"Why would I want to kill you?"
"The check is done."
Hao Ren was speechless.
"How do you think the check is going to be?" Nolan's voice was still flat, but this time with a slight hint of ridicule. "Write a stack of identity forms? Check your documents? Go to the citizen system to find your criminal record? Save it and forget about that. This is the Lawless Zone. Most of the people here are just trying to survive. No one cares what you used to be, as long as you don't stab me in the back — — even if it's temporary. "
Hao Ren was stunned. He found that he had settled down in this world in such a short period of time. It was so smooth that it was a little unreal.
Nolan did not say anything but just continued to drive. Soon, the armored truck arrived at the checkpoint of Black Street. After passing a few sentries, it came to an old barracks.
Hao Ren picked up the MDT (dead body) and jumped out of the car behind the mercenaries. As soon as he came out, he choked on the dirty air around him and coughed. The air quality here was even worse than the previous city ruins. It seemed that the entire Black Street was wrapped in a cloud of dust. After coughing, he smacked his lips and felt that the air in this place was quite chewy.
There were a few soldiers walking around in the open space between the barracks, and some of the outer walls of some buildings were painted with the Gray Fox emblem with poor quality paint. This was the station of Nolan's small team. Although there were sentries around the camp, there was still no sense of tension or seriousness that a "military place" should have. It was not so much a military base, but an armed refugee camp.
When fighting was no longer a distant thing, but a daily life for everyone, this was probably the scene in front of them.
Two mercenaries who looked like commanders came up to greet Nolan. Nolan casually chatted with them, talking about the ambush and the losses today. Then he asked someone to drag out Khiton's body. "Dry him and hang him at the intersection outside. Spray the Gray Fox emblem more conspicuously. I don't want to see any more guys bought over by the Rangers — even if they join other mercenary groups or the Rangers. There's nothing more stupid than that. "
The two officers immediately ordered the soldiers to get to work. Before Khiton's body was pushed away, Nolan bent down and said regretfully to the traitor whose face was blown off. "What a pity. You used to be a poet, but this time you have become like this …"
Hao Ren was shocked by Nolan's ruthlessness at such a young age. Now he felt strange. "There are still poets in this era?"
Ulyanov explained in a muffled voice. "Boss occasionally says something inexplicable. Khiton grew up in the slums. How would he know how to write poetry?"
Hao Ren nodded. Nolan also turned his head. "Well, go back and rest. You … Hao Ren, right? You go with Ulyanov. There's a room next door. It used to be Khiton's. Now it's yours."
Hao Ren nodded and turned to leave. But Ulyanov could not help it. "I don't mind having another person in the next room, but … it's different with more bodies."
Hao Ren was speechless.
He looked down at the MDT in his arms. It was still lifeless, and there was no sign of it coming back to life.
Of course, biologically speaking, it was impossible for 'her' to move.
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