Bring Interstellar to the end of the world

Chapter 11 Into the Tiger's Den
In the evening, the rain stopped, and he also woke up from a light sleep. Led by Shan Ji and Chang Wu, he and two other newcomers boarded an old pickup truck and headed east along the bumpy road.

The shorter of the two rookies was very chatty, talking all the way about how he escaped from Gem City by killing the overseer hired by the farmer and grabbing the opponent's gun.

Now he has no way out, he can only join the black saints and embark on a path of the brave... just like the black saints' recruiting poster says.

Tang Yan asked a few questions about Gem City, all of which were answered in detail by the man.

The so-called Gem City is the largest human settlement within a radius of 200KM.It was a "new city" built on the wasteland, controlled by warlords left over from the old era.

From the first generation of the city lord of Gem City, the people below are all called governors.

We must know that more than 100 years have passed since the outbreak of nuclear war. During the process of human civilization lingering in the wasteland, those surviving scientists are not idle. They are trying their best to use existing resources to develop purification technology. The goal is to clean water and plenty of food.

There is a team of scientists in the Gem City, under the protection of the governor, who specializes in the research of purifying the radioactive dust attached to the soil.From the outbreak of the nuclear war to the next 100 years, they can only carry out simple filtering operations, extract clean soil, and cultivate food in the closed facility of Gem City.

In the past 50 years, as some radioactive substances with short half-lives have lost their contaminating effect, and purification research has continued to deepen, Gem City has initially mastered the technology of removing radioactive particles from soil, and has applied this technology to the open air environment. Small farms were built in blocks to produce easy-to-live food crops such as corn and potatoes with very low radiation values.

Where there is a farm, there will naturally be farmers and workers.

The price of hiring labor in the city is very high, and it is obviously not as cost-effective to buy those poor poor clothes from slave traders.

The man in front of him named Zeng Hua was born as a slave.

No, strictly speaking, even if he becomes a laborer of Xinghui Agriculture under Gem City, his actual nature remains unchanged. He is still a serf without freedom, personal property, and no guarantee of survival.

Killing the overseer and escaping from the farm meant causing big trouble and becoming the target of Gem City's arrest. Whether he was a slave trader or a bounty hunter, he would probably not mind catching him and handing him over to Gem City in exchange for the bounty.

The reason why he didn't hide in a deep mountain forest, or joined bandit forces like the Razorman and Pandaren Legion, and came to the Black Saints, a relatively small organization with a short development time, was all because of the Black Saints. Lord Prophet and the governor of Gem City have different ideas and dislike each other.

It sounds unbelievable that a small group of bandits dared to challenge such a powerful force as Gemstone City.

However, this is an undeniable fact, because the Black Saints do not need to rely on the resources of the Gem City's bazaar at all. This emerging bandit organization has its own trade channels, which can exchange the plundered proceeds for the resources needed to maintain the development of the organization. Food, ammo, guns, medicine, etc.

Speaking of his life after joining the Black Saints, Zeng Hua was very excited, as if the picture shown in the recruitment poster was close at hand and within reach.

Compared to Zeng Hua's talkativeness, the other newcomer was speechless throughout, with indifferent eyes and a stiff expression, like a living dead without emotion.

When the stars lit up the night, the pickup truck stopped in front of a mountain villa.

It is said to be a villa, but in fact a large part of the building has collapsed, only the outer wall has been repaired and strengthened, and it looks relatively intact.

From the badly faded plaque on the gate of the villa, it can be concluded that this building was a nursing home before the nuclear war.

Compared with the predecessor of the Black Saints base, Tang Yan cared more about those people walking on the wall.

There is no doubt that it is the patrol soldier in charge of the base security.

There are several simple sentry towers built behind the gate of the villa and in the corners of the courtyard wall. Light machine guns of unknown models are mounted on the cement bunkers, and searchlights are mounted on the roofs, constantly moving left and right of the sentry towers.

Tang Yan was a little surprised. He thought that the Black Saints were a group of bandits composed of mobs. He didn't expect that the guy who likes to be called a prophet is quite capable, and he really looks like a base in running the lair.

The guard at the gate confirmed the identities of Pheasant and Chang Wu, and the people inside unbolted the door bolt, slowly opened the heavy iron gate, and let the pickup truck drive into the parking lot in the yard.

After the car came to a complete stop, Tang Yan jumped out of the car, and looked around with the light cast by the light pole.

There are several cars parked next to the pickup truck, most of which are modified models.Some are equipped with stainless steel guards on the outside, and some are equipped with light machine guns with outstanding firepower in the rear cargo compartment.

A broad military off-road vehicle caught his attention.

This is an era of scarce resources, most vehicles are driven by electricity, and the military off-road vehicle is obviously a diesel-powered locomotive, which is definitely synonymous with expensive in this world, and it is also a status symbol.

"Let's go, what are you still doing?"

The sound of the pheasant woke him up, and he quickly looked away from the distance, and followed the footsteps of his predecessors to the brightly lit hall not far away.

"That car is great, isn't it? It's one of the few diesel-powered cars in the entire Gem City. The boss of the Razor Demon even offered 10 beauties and 20 bags of food and he didn't even agree to exchange it."

Chang Wuyi's mouth was full of alcohol, it seems that he had a lot of wine on the road just now.

Tang Yan didn't speak, but just nodded.

Outside the brightly lit hall are piles of cement bags in the corners, M16s older than the M14 behind them, and empty magazines scattered on the floor.

No one is on duty.

Everyone is in the hall.

The hall is transformed from an indoor basketball court, with the basketball backboard removed, and a small generator in each of the four corners supplies energy for the high-power searchlights placed on the roof, illuminating the entire room brightly.

Pheasant led a few people inside and saw a wall of people.

Behind the human wall is a high platform with a gallows set up on the edge. A thumb-thick hemp rope under the gallows is tied around the neck of a dying middle-aged woman.

Standing in front of the stage was a man with a birthmark on his forehead, raising his arms high and shouting at the bandits below.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...

After a burst of passionate cheers, the man with the birthmark on his forehead went down from the high platform, and another person walked up the stairs and came before the crowd.

Unlike the gangsters wearing worn leather armor or metal pieces, the man was wearing a neat suit, a red tie, a white spotless shirt inside, and a silver watch strap that appeared and disappeared between the swings of his left hand.

Ascending to the high platform, the man smoothed his shiny hair with clean five fingers, and pressed down with his arms outstretched.

(End of this chapter)