A Viper transport plane landed on a bare field, and two soldiers wearing exoskeletons jumped down from one side of the cabin.
The two were soldiers of the Guards Corps.
They usually provide support and assistance in missions where players are active.
These soldiers are elites selected from other corps, and all of them have received injections of induced expression serum, and without exception, they are awakened.
There is a saying on the forum that they are all the eyes of the manager.
However, some players do not think so. After all, who can be more like the eyes of the manager than the hardworking "task masters" themselves?
Looking at the plane with arc light spraying from the tail, Kong Lingkai's eyes were full of greed, and he thought in his heart that it would be nice if he could buy one.
This thing must be much more comfortable to sit on than his broken wood.
The two soldiers ignored the guy, one of them walked straight to the body of the prosthetic mutant thrown on the ground, and the other walked to Lao Bai and saluted.
"We are here to recover the body of the mutant 'Oger' under the order of the administrator."
Knocked his right fist on his chest armor, Lao Bai said concisely.
"I have seen it in the mission briefing, and the rest is up to you."
"Understood!"
The soldier nodded and was about to turn around, when Lao Bai suddenly thought of something and spoke.
"By the way, are you going back to Dawn City directly?"
"Yes."
Seeing the soldier nod, Lao Bai hurriedly asked.
"Is it convenient to take a ride? Several of us here need to go back."
The soldier was stunned and said after a moment of hesitation.
"I have to ask the administrator..."
After speaking, he turned back to the plane, connected to the communication base station of the outpost at the junction of the provinces through the onboard radio, and contacted the shelter.
After a while, he walked back.
"The manager said yes."
"Great." Lao Bai nodded with a smile, and looked at Xinghe standing beside him, "My friend, your mission..."
Xinghe was stunned.
"Ah?! Is this... okay?"
"What's good or bad about this? Anyway, there are so many empty seats, and five or six people can still sit down." Looking at Xinghe who was still hesitating, Lao Bai patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "The manager has agreed, so don't be polite."
As he said that, he looked at the farmer who had woken up and was slumped next to the Mosquito attack aircraft.
"By the way, do you have any objection to releasing the people?"
Unexpectedly, the man in the iron lump would talk to him. Kong Lingkai, who came to his senses, was startled and shook his head quickly, fearing that he would neglect it for a second.
"No, no!"
"He has no objection," Lao Bai looked at the confused Xinghe and Luoyu, and said with a smile, "Hurry up and pick them up, don't waste time."
Xinghe took the farmer back to the Hope Farm. Kong Lingkai did not dare to neglect him at all, and sent the whole family out like a plague god.
It can be seen that Kong Lingkai was not very willing to give up these cash cows, but he was really afraid. He had no doubt that it would take less than half an hour for these people to wipe him out...
"Really not considering it? I'll give you... 500,000 silver coins, as long as you bring that guy here." Looking at Xinghe who was about to leave, Kong Lingkai's face was full of reluctance.
Except for the child who had just been weaned, Zhou Nan's family showed fear on their faces when they heard this.
They knew that if the young man nodded, they would be dead.
But their worries were obviously unnecessary.
Looking at Mr. Kong with a hopeful face, Xinghe smiled and said.
"You think too much. Let alone 500,000 silver coins, even if you give me 1 million silver coins, I can't do anything you can't do."
Kong Lingkai was anxious.
"Is it because you don't have enough money? I'll pay--"
"It has nothing to do with money," Xinghe sighed, "Here we have things that are more expensive than silver coins."
For example, gaming helmets.
But the NPC obviously didn't understand, and said after a pause.
"Things more expensive than... silver coins?"
Xinghe said casually: "Yes, in the alliance, honor and dignity cannot be traded. We want to build an equal society... the manager said."
Hearing this, Kong Lingkai knew that it was useless to say anything.
He was like a deflated ball, sulking in his heart, but he didn't dare to get angry, so he could only whisper and curse.
"You keep talking about equality... Is this fair to me? If I hadn't given this ungrateful person freedom and borrowed his capital to make a fortune, how could he have achieved what he has today!"
Looking at the guy who wanted to get angry but didn't dare, Xinghe shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know about your business, and I'm not interested in it. Maybe in his opinion, he has served you for so many years, which is enough to repay the favor he owes you. The planes, cement, machine guns... many things here are actually produced by us, right? Maybe in your opinion, these may be far from enough, but that's another question."
"If you ask me, you should sign an agreement to stipulate the ownership and profit sharing, and use things written in black and white to constrain each other, and we will protect the legal rights and interests of all partners. But with something as vague as "favor", you actually know that there will be disputes in the future, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't take someone's family hostage."
"Anyway, at least here, kidnapping is illegal, no matter the reason. You should be glad that this is not yet in the alliance, otherwise the people who come here are not mercenaries."
Not yet...what does it mean?
Looking at the group of people turning around and leaving, Kong Lingkai's eyes showed a trace of panic, and the private soldiers and servants standing around looked at each other...
...
On the bare field.
Xinghe, sitting in the Viper transport plane, looked at Luoyu who was watching him and said with a face full of shame.
"Good brother! I will come back to help you!"
We had agreed to help each other before, but he went back first, which made him feel a little embarrassed.
Luoyu didn't care, looking at the slowly rising transport plane, smiled and waved.
"Yeah! I remember, have a good trip!"
Carrying the remains of the cyborg mutant, as well as Xinghe and Zhou Nan's family, the Viper transport plane dragged two arcs of light and flew towards the Dawn City more than 800 kilometers away.
Retracting his sight from the plane, Lao Bai looked at Luoyu.
"Let's go back to town to discuss it."
"Yeah!" Luoyu nodded and said with a smile, "It's a good opportunity for me to introduce the leader NPC to you. He is a local here and knows more about the situation here than I do."
Fang Chang suddenly thought of something and spoke.
"Is he your employer's man, or the farmer's man?" Luo Yu scratched his head. "I don't know... but my employer said he can be trusted, and he knows about the commission." "Is that so? That should be fine." Fang Chang nodded, as if he was thinking about something, but he didn't say anything else. Just as the group was walking towards Hope Town, the mayor of Hope Town and a group of important officials in the town had already come out to greet them. Everyone had different expressions on their faces, some were grateful for surviving the disaster, some were grateful for the kindness, or some were alert and nervous. The leader bowed and said politely. "I am the mayor here, Ma Hechang. Please allow me to thank you for your help on behalf of more than a thousand households in Hope Town! If it weren't for you, I'm afraid few people would survive tonight." Looking at the mayor in front of him, Lao Bai said with a smile. "You're welcome. If it's convenient, please prepare a hotel for us. We have to stay here for one night. Ah, of course, we will pay."
Seeing that this person was about to pay, Ma Hechang said hurriedly.
"How can I be so embarrassed? We will arrange the accommodation for you. Warriors can stay as long as they want!"
Lao Bai said with a smile.
"We won't disturb you here for too long. We will leave early tomorrow morning..."
Hearing that they will leave early tomorrow morning, Ma Hechang breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he didn't know why the mutants suddenly went crazy and killed here, his intuition told him that it must be related to the people in front of him.
After all, they have joined the big family of the Torch Church. Strictly speaking, the strange tribe must be considered their ally.
Obviously, these outsiders angered the mutants, otherwise he really couldn't think of any other reason why the mutants would attack their own people.
Before, it was the Iron Tower, and now there is an alliance. These people are like crazy... Why must they find trouble with the mutants?
They can actually reach an agreement like civilized people.
I really hope they can be polite and not bring their grudges into other people's homes.
However, even though he thought so, he still made a warm and hospitable and regretful expression on his face and said hypocritically.
"If you need anything, please let us know."
"I will..." Lao Bai nodded, and suddenly thought of something, and continued, "By the way, can you take me to visit the pastor in the town?"
Ma Hechang was stunned.
"You mean..."
Lao Bai went straight to the point.
"I heard that there is a church of the Torch Church here."
Ma Hechang's face was suddenly enlightened, and he nodded quickly.
"Okay, I'll take you there."
...
The town was quiet.
After getting rid of the mutants, many caravans removed the roadblocks at the door and took their people to the north without saying anything, for fear that they would stay here for another night and be killed by the mutants.
The militia in the town didn't dare to force them to stay, and could only watch those people go away.
After this incident, those people may never come here again. But compared to the future, people are more worried about the present.
Why did those mutants come back here?
They suffered such a big loss, will they come back to kill again...
Not to mention those outsiders.
Some locals who were born and raised here are also hesitating whether to pack up their belongings and run away, and completely leave this place of right and wrong.
After entering the town, the players are divided into two teams.
Fang Chang and Luo Yu went to the hotel to contact the leader of the pine fruit farm caravan to see if they can find a chance to sneak into the farm.
Lao Bai, Ye Shi, Kuang Feng and others followed the mayor to the church of the Torch Church.
The church is in the center of the town. It is a pointed house with a layer of tiles on the roof. It doesn't look grand, but it's not shabby either.
The emblem of the Torch Church is engraved above the main entrance - a torch made of two inverted triangles.
Seeing the man in power armor looking at the emblem thoughtfully, Ma Hechang coughed lightly and said.
"This is the church we built for the Son of God... It was just built some time ago."
Lao Bai said casually.
"It seems that you still love the Son of God."
Ma Hechang said with a smile.
"Of course, he really brought us good news."
"In what aspects?"
"In what aspects? There are simply too many..." Ma Hechang was stunned for a moment, and then he talked about it like a treasure, "For example, Naguo. In the past, there were fights every now and then, and those who herded cattle, farmed, cut trees, and hunted were all like gunpowder, but since the emerald trees were planted in the town, there are no more troubles. Those who do manual labor are honest like sheep, and finally they are a little bit like they should be."
Lao Bai suddenly asked curiously.
"Do you eat that stuff too?"
"Of course," Ma Hechang continued with a smile, "I had a severe cold before, but it got better after I ate the Naguo."
Lao Bai was puzzled.
"Then why didn't you do the same as them?"
He knew that the holy water could exempt the negative effects of "trance", but he couldn't get injections every day, right?
And the holy water only exempted the negative effects, and could not prevent the "trance" state itself. It was not a good thing to be immersed in the illusion of happiness.
Feeling pleasant to pain, obeying other people's voices... these effects cannot be eliminated by holy water.
Ma Hechang smiled embarrassedly.
"Of course it's because of the gospel of the Holy Son... As long as we donate a little bit of tax, we can keep our original heart in his gospel. In short, it is to avoid entering the trance state."
Seeing the man's confused face, Ma Hechang took out a small medicine bottle.
"That's it. Its name is "Gospel". It's enough to take one pill every morning. It's like a mild holy water, but not so strong. It's just enough to keep people healthy and awake."
After staring at the small medicine bottle for a while, Lao Bai asked with interest.
"How is this sold?"
Ma Hechang said hurriedly.
"This is not for sale. This is a favor for the pious. As long as you obey the will of the Son of God, you can get the gospel..."
"What is his will?"
"Build a church for the Son of God to spread faith, and then donate a small amount of property regularly to support the clergy."
The so-called small amount here should refer to the small amount for those who are rich and powerful. Obviously, this "gospel" has a cost and is not cheap enough for anyone to afford it.
But where is this thing produced?
As if vaguely thinking of something, Lao Bai took out ten silver coins from his pocket and put them in the hands of the mayor.
"Can you give me one?"
The mayor hesitated, but when he saw the weapons in the hands of these people, he nodded and obediently knocked out a pill and handed it to Lao Bai.
"... Logically, we can't give it to people other than believers, but Mr. Apostle didn't say what would happen if we gave it."
"Thank you." Old Bai smiled and handed the pill to Ye Shi, who stuffed it into his tactical backpack.
This thing is a valuable research material.
The white-haired lady from the Institute of Biology should be interested.
When he reached the door of the church, Mayor Ma didn't knock on the door, but stretched out his hand to push the wooden door open.
The pastor in a gray robe stood behind the wooden pulpit, mumbling something in his mouth.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, he immediately raised his head in fear, and was relieved to see that it was not a mutant who broke in.
"That... Mr. Wei, the crisis outside has been resolved! I forgot to tell you just now, forgive me."
Seeing that the middle-aged pastor was looking straight at him, Mayor Ma coughed, winked at him, and continued.
"...These friends who came from afar are very interested in our faith. Please help them solve their confusion."
Lao Bai noticed that although Mayor Ma looked pious when talking about the Son of God, he was not very respectful to the servant of God in the church.
The words sounded polite, but there was a lot of meaning in them.
It was probably because he had just converted, and the pastor was a local in the town.
Looking into the pastor's eyes, Lao Bai said with a smile.
"Excuse me, is it convenient to sit here?"
The middle-aged pastor said nervously.
"Please."
Lao Bai nodded, sat down on the bench in the front row, and then turned back to look at Mayor Ma.
"We have something to talk to him about alone."
Understanding the meaning of this, the mayor immediately laughed.
"Okay! Then I'll go and do something else."
With that, he turned around and left the church, and even closed the door for everyone.
The church fell silent.
Being watched by a pair of eyes, the pastor swallowed his saliva and said nervously.
"My name is Wei Ming, I am the pastor here. I wonder what you all want to ask me?"
His intuition told him that these people did not like him.
There was clearly ill intention in these eyes.
"Are you from this town?"
The pastor named Wei Ming nodded nervously.
"Yes..."
Lao Bai continued to ask.
"How do you know Zhang Zhengyang?"
The interrogation tone made Wei Ming feel a little unhappy, but he did not dare to complain at all in the face of this group of ruthless people.
There were still pieces of meat and blood on the exoskeletons of those guys, and a hideous blood-red color was printed on them. Even if he didn't say a word, it was enough to be intimidating.
Swallowing his saliva, he replied nervously.
"... Two years ago, the apostle came here, and I met him at that time."
Having heard about this from the Iron Tower Organization, Lao Bai was not surprised and continued to ask.
"Did the Naguo also come here at that time?"
Wei Ming nodded.
"Yes... But it was different from now. The original Naguo was not mature and could only grow in a hot environment. I also heard that it was a tropical crop, and it was said to be introduced from several small islands in the south."
Although Jinchuan Province is far south compared to the River Valley Province, it is far from tropical and can only be regarded as being on the edge of the subtropical zone.
If it is a cold winter, it will still snow.
Lao Bai frowned and asked.
"Did they improve the crops?"
"Well..." Wei Ming nodded and glanced in the direction of the backyard. "At the beginning, there was no church here, just a warehouse. The apostle rented a piece of land in the town and hired some people to help him try to grow those special crops."
Lao Bai stared at him and asked.
"Why did he ask you for help?" Wei Ming answered truthfully. "I'm a doctor in town... I know a little about biology. He told me that if his plan goes well, there will be no need for clinics in the future. If I am willing to help him, he can decide to give me a higher reward." "Are there others besides you?" "Yes." Old White asked immediately. "Are they still in town?" Wei Ming smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Those people are serfs bought from nearby farms. To put it bluntly, they are both coolies and experimental subjects. The apostle will let them eat the Naguo they grow, and my job is not only to preach, but also to record their clinical reactions... After the first phase of the experiment, I haven't seen those people again, but I can roughly guess where they went." Old White: "Where did they go?" This time Wei Ming was silent for a long time. After a moment, he spoke. "I don't have evidence... but I feel that they should have been sent to the mutants." Old White was stunned.
"Send them to the mutants?"
Wei Ming showed a bitter expression on his face and shook his head.
"There is no way. They are no longer viable. The Nago at that time could not survive the winter. The withdrawal reaction for a whole winter, and there were not enough antibiotics to help them survive... The apostle said that they were dealt with, but I don't think it should be a simple disposal. Those people had business dealings with mutants a long time ago. I even heard that-"
Looking at Wei Ming who suddenly stopped talking, Lao Bai asked immediately.
"What did you hear?"
Wei Ming was silent for a while, and then slowly spoke.
"I heard that they would buy some slaves from nearby farms with dinars or Cr and send them to the mutant tribe in the city... They seemed to have reached some kind of contract. The mutants helped the church to do things and ensure the safety of the parish, but in return, the church had to provide them with some people regularly."
Ye Shi couldn't help but curse in a low voice.
"This bunch of scum."
Wei Ming didn't understand what he was saying, but he could feel the anger in his tone and couldn't help shrinking his neck.
Old White stared into his eyes.
"Since you are a doctor... you should be able to see that the thing called Nago will destroy you."
Wei Ming's Adam's apple moved and he smiled bitterly.
"My Lord... destruction is something that will happen sooner or later for us living in this wasteland. The only difference is today or tomorrow."
Old White fell into silence.
He suddenly felt a little sympathetic to this guy.
At this time, Kuangfeng suddenly spoke.
"This doesn't make sense... From what you said, the group of mutants in the city let you go because they reached an agreement with the Torch Church, but why did I hear that they rarely harassed nearby villages more than a century ago."
Wei Ming sighed and said.
"This is not contradictory. More than a century ago... or even until 20 years ago, when I was young, the 'Qi' tribe was quite restrained towards us. It has only become irritable in recent years."
Ye Shi: "Why?"
"I also heard it from my grandfather," Wei Ming said slowly, seeing the people sitting here listening attentively, "It is said that a long time ago, there was a settlement in the urban area of Jinhe City that was not inferior to the Giant Stone City. It may be larger than the Giant Stone City at that time, with hundreds of thousands of people..."
His eyes seemed to be lost in the previous meeting. After thinking for a moment, he continued.
"At that time, it was managed by the Post-War Reconstruction Committee. The settlement seemed to be called Singularity City or something... If I remember correctly."
"Later, around 50 years into the Wasteland Era, that is, a century and a half ago, some conflicts occurred within the committee... It was said that they wanted to split up."
Lao Bai nodded.
"I've heard about this, too. It was around the 50th year of the Wasteland Era when the Post-War Reconstruction Committee officially announced its dissolution."
Wei Ming was stunned.
"Did this happen? Actually, it doesn't matter. I heard that the committee had been in name only a long time ago, but that's not the point... The point is that at that time, a group of green-skinned guys ran over from the east."
"Those people claimed to be researchers from a certain facility, from the East Coast, and were persecuted by the Production Department. In order to preserve their research results and escape from the pursuit of the Production Department, they had no choice but to transform themselves into a half-human, half-ghost appearance."
When Ye Shi heard this, he was shocked.
"Good guy... the ancestors of mutants?!"
Wei Ming nodded.
"That's about right. The earliest mutants in the rumors came from this... they were transformed from humans. Those guys are still human in nature, so they naturally can't eat humans. They are even more polite than humans, and they get along well with the residents of Singularity City."
Ye Shi squeezed out half a sentence from his throat with difficulty.
"But why..."
"Why are they eating people now?" Wei Ming's face was full of complicated expressions, "To be honest, I don't know. I only heard what my grandfather said..."
"But if you let me guess."
He swallowed and answered in an uncertain voice.
"Maybe...the earliest mutants thought they were still human, but their children didn't think so."