Chapter 88 Seeking the Skin of a Tiger

Once the snow started, it kept falling.

The north wind blew, and the forest whistled. The forest outside the outpost was dark. It seemed that there were people hiding behind every tree, and every blade of grass seemed to be breathing.

The guards on the wall were nervous, fearing that they would be killed by the plot, just like the fisherman who was trapped.

On the official website oB, it was too torturous.

Not only the players on duty were nervous, but Chu Guang was also nervous.

He had already eaten two groups of people from the Blood Hand Clan. It was impossible for the other party to leave him alone. Even if he was seriously injured, he had to get the place back.

However, the predators in the north had not made any movement. Chu Guang was always uneasy. He sat upstairs in his exoskeleton for half a night until after 1 a.m. and slept until ** the next day before getting up.

On the other hand, the players were full of energy and took turns to work. They seemed to be unaffected by the heavy snow and were not affected at all.

I really envy them.

Anyway, the body is not their own, and they cannot feel the excessive pain. Even if their hands and feet are frozen and numb, they can recover by eating some meat and carbohydrates and lying in the incubator for a few hours.

Of course, this is just the beginning of winter, and the coldest time has not yet arrived.

Don't say that minus ten degrees is not cold. Go to the south to feel the magic attack? It doesn't even need to be below zero. A gust of wind can blow away half of your life.

"We should add a heating tube to this exoskeleton."

"Forget it, let's wait until they make the armor lining."

Looking at the carts of bricks being transported from the warehouse to the industrial zone, Chu Guang smiled and nodded with satisfaction.

Not bad.

These players are very sensible.

After getting the budget, Brother Ce Suo and Brother Lai were very generous in spending money. As soon as they went online the next day, they used the budget given by Chu Guang to buy 5,000 bricks and 500 kilograms of cement directly from the warehouse. Under the envious gaze of a group of players, they took them to the industrial zone.

Since the silver coins used were all from the company account, they could just debit the money directly from the account book. Old Luca was already able to complete this work skillfully, and Chu Guang didn't even have to worry about it.

As for the sand used for plastering, there was not much in the warehouse, and it was basically used up when the wall was repaired.

But it doesn't matter. Spend some silver coins to rent a cart and hire two people to go to the abandoned construction site in the north direction to pull it. 1 silver coin per cart, calculated as five carts per square, pulling about nine carts is enough for the time being.

Anyway, it's only a little over 2 kilometers to go and back, and the road is flat and not difficult to walk on, and many people are rushing to do this job.

There were piles of sand and gravel there, all used to build 100-meter-high buildings. It was hard to tell what they were made of, but I thought the quality of things in the pre-war era would not be bad.

Although some of the sand was washed into the foundation by rain, the part buried in the soil on the surface was enough for them to use for many years.

To build an 18-meter wall, one square meter requires 96 bricks, 10 kilograms of cement, and more than 50 kilograms of sand.

A 20x10 steel plant would require 30,000 to 40,000 bricks and 4 to 5 tons of cement. Even if the warehouse was emptied, there would not be so much material.

But it doesn't matter.

There is no need to be so particular about the wasteland. If it really doesn't work, you can just paste up the north wall first, then pick up some scrap metal and plastic sheds, and build a "same"-shaped semi-open factory building. The materials can be saved by more than half.

Wasteland should have a wasteland atmosphere. The shack that Chu Guang had on Beth Street before didn't even use a pound of cement, but it was still habitable.

That's called post-apocalyptic style.

At least the two factory managers, Brother Ce Suo and Brother Lai, don't care.

The most urgent task is to make the converter for steelmaking first, then use scrap metal to smelt and cast two rollers, and then build a set of mighty armor for the great manager!

This is their top priority at the moment.

In addition to hiring two people to transport sand, they also hired three players who had worked on the construction site to help build walls and build the base of the converter.

Everything is going on in an orderly manner.

However, compared with the smooth progress of the "No. 81" steel plant, the progress of the Niuma Brick Factory is not so smooth.

Lao Bai and Fang Chang, who were a step behind in going online, were stunned as soon as they arrived at the warehouse.

Oh my god, where is that pile of building materials?

Yesterday, there was such a high pile, and it was sold out as soon as it was launched? !

"Fuck!"

"Why are they so fast?!"

"Tsk, what a mistake."

"The bucket carrier is a professional... Forget it, brothers, don't panic, let's go to investigate the terrain first and then think of a solution."

The four of them selected in the warehouse, and finally bought only a wooden cart and a shovel, an axe, and a hatchet for land reclamation, and set off in the heavy snow with four people's dry food.

It's not that they want to save money for the shelter.

It's just that they really can't spend the money...

By the way, since the corporate account can only be used in the warehouse, it is not allowed to buy guns at the weapon store.

In order to verify, Fang Chang also went to try it, but the owner of the weapon store was too lazy to pay attention to him, so he had no choice but to give up.

There was a lot of snow outside the outpost, and the north wind was blowing even harder.

Ye Shi, holding the iron rifle in his hand, bared his teeth, freed his arms to wipe the snow hanging on his bangs and eyebrows, and complained in a low voice.

"The wind is too strong. Is it really that exaggerated at the end of September?"

Lao Bai was optimistic and said with a smile.

"It is probably to test whether the weather system is stable. Isn't it a planner's decision whether it snows in the game world? I wouldn't be surprised if it snows in summer."

Fang Chang glanced at the only perception system in the team and reminded him.

"You should be careful and alert. We are now at war with the Blood Hand Clan. Although this river is in the wetland park, it is not far from the north gate. If the predators attack, we may be the first to encounter the enemy."

Ye Shi grinned.

"What the hell! The forest is our home ground! When the predators come, I'll go up and s---, it's not good, there seems to be someone in front of us."

"What the hell? Seriously?!"

Although Ye Shi is not very reliable, this guy's perception is the highest among all the players at present.

After receiving Ye Shi's alarm, the other three players did not dare to hesitate, and hurriedly threw down the cart and scattered to the nearby area with their weapons.

This is not the first time they have teamed up to hunt.

This is not the first time they have faced predators.

Ye Shi leaned against the tree, his usual playful expression was gone, only seriousness and alertness remained.

He carefully poked his head out, his eyes swept along the snowy forest, and his eyes suddenly locked on one place.

Gestured a general direction with his hand, and Ye Shi gave the other three teammates a look of affirmation.

"Encircle them."

"Understood."

Old Bai, who was on the outermost side, took action first. The four men moved forward in tacit understanding, spreading out in a quadrilateral and encircling them.

Ten meters.

Fifteen meters.

Twenty meters!

In the vast snow and fog, a sneaky figure finally emerged.

The man was wearing a gray coat, a thick cotton felt hat on his head, and an iron rifle on his back. He pressed the brim of his hat that was constantly blown up by the wind with his right hand while walking towards the outpost.

It was not a good thing at first glance!

Fang Chang made a judgment immediately. Before the man found them, he immediately pulled the bowstring, put an arrow on it, aimed at the man's right arm, and released the string with a snap.

There was a whoosh sound of breaking through the air.

The man had no time to react, and was shot in the thigh by an arrow. He fell to the ground with a scream of pain.

"Don't move if you don't want to die!"

Lao Bai rushed forward first, kicked the gun in his hand away, and put the javelin on his head with great momentum.

The man was terrified, and he was chattering, and no one knew what he was saying.

Fang Chang suggested.

"We have to have someone take him back."

"I'll do it."

Kuangfeng raised the crossbow in his hand.

Although it is an intelligence system, crossbows don't need too many attribute bonuses.

The other three were also very confident in Kuangfeng's carefulness and had no objections.

Lao Bai returned to the cart, found a rope to tie up the man, and poked his back with a javelin to threaten him.

"If you dare to run away, we will remove your other leg!"

After saying that, regardless of whether the man understood or not, Lao Bai handed him over to Kuangfeng, and watched Kuangfeng escort the limping prisoner away in the direction of the outpost.

…

Earlier, seeing that the cattle and horses squad had left the outpost, Chu Guang saw that it was getting late, so he went to the warehouse to chop off a crab leg and found a room in the former sanatorium to roast it and eat it.

In this snowy weather, food is not so easy to rot, and it is still no problem to eat this crab leg for two or three days.

This thing is high-quality protein, and you have to eat more of it to build muscle.

Chu Guang is now idle every day, just wearing an exoskeleton without turning on the power to take a walk, or carrying a nitrogen-powered hammer to do push-ups and bench press to train arm strength.

After each training session, he would take a shower in the bathroom, dry his clothes, and make himself some food when it was time for dinner. His life was much more comfortable than when he was on Bette Street.

Although the training marks on his body were not obvious, and the attribute panel did not change due to the training, he could still clearly feel that his strength and muscle coordination had improved slightly.

Chu Guang speculated that the data scanned and summarized by the physical examination equipment mainly measured the "basic hardware" of the body, and training might provide efficiency bonuses for the hardware in the form of BuFF.

For example, "strength +3%" or "strength +5%".

The larger the basic value of the attribute, the more obvious the effect of the training.

For players with the strength gene sequence, training can also accumulate the development progress of the gene sequence and break through the boundaries of the hardware.

Currently, Chu Guang's strength attribute is 10, and the hardware foundation is about 200% of that of a normal adult male (base value 5).

Even without any skills and unable to exert the maximum coordination of muscles, he can easily crush opponents of the same weight class with his attributes.

If he encounters a crawler again, even without an exoskeleton and a nitrogen-powered hammer, Chu Guang will not be able to win easily, but at least he will not be as embarrassed as before.

However.

This assumption is unlikely to be true.

After all, let alone going out, even in the outpost, he always wears the exoskeleton inside his deerskin coat.

It's just that he doesn't turn on the power at ordinary times, just as a weight training.

Two and a half kilograms of the five-kilogram crab legs are shells, but the remaining two and a half kilograms of crab meat are also quite solid. After eating, Chu Guang clapped his hands and put out the fire.

Just at this time, a player came in from outside, holding down a native in a coat.

After taking the captive to the main building of the sanatorium, Kuang Feng stood at attention with a serious face and reported to the manager.

"Dear manager... We have captured a scout of the looters!"

"Captive?"

Chu Guang wiped his mouth and squinted at the man in front of him.

The man was covered with snow, mud and dead leaves, with a broken arrow stuck in his thigh, and dark red blood staining half of his pants. He looked very embarrassed.

He gritted his teeth and said.

"Is this your way of hospitality?"

"Hospitality is reserved for guests."

Chu Guang felt that he didn't look like a looter, but he didn't look like a scavenger nearby, so he continued in an interrogative tone.

"Who are you? Why did you enter our territory? There are signs at the three entrances of the wetland park, which clearly state that outsiders are strictly prohibited from entering. Even if you can't read, you should recognize the skull logo."

"I'm here to mediate!"

"Mediate?" Chu Guang narrowed his eyes and said in a somewhat unfriendly tone, "Are you from Blood Hand?"

"No! I don't belong to anyone!"

Feeling the unkindness in the tone, the man hurried to clarify, but the wound was too painful. When he was emotional, his muscles were involved, and he grimaced again.

It took a long time to recover. The man tried to stay awake and squeezed out a half-sentence from his teeth.

"... Can you treat my wound first? I might be gone in a while."

It's okay if I'm gone.

Seeing you are so calm, I thought you were not seriously injured.

Chu Guang's expression was happy, but he didn't embarrass him.

He threw 5 silver coins in Kuangfeng's hand and sent the little player away. Then he took out a roll of bandages from a blind box from his pocket and threw it to the man.

I haven't tried the hemostatic effect of this thing.

It's just right to use him for an experiment.

The man obviously knew how to use this thing. After taking it apart skillfully, he first broke the arrow shaft, pierced the flesh with the tool inside, and took out the arrowhead while enduring the pain.

The blood gushed out like a faucet, flowing down the trouser legs and all over the floor.

Chu Guang frowned as he watched from the side, and couldn't help but be amazed, but the man seemed fine. After gritting his teeth and tying the bandage, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Feel better?"

"Better," the man nodded, took a deep breath, and continued the previous topic, "My name is Haien, a businessman from Honghe Town."

"Why would a businessman from Honghe Town mix with the predators?" Chu Guang looked at him with interest and continued, "And it's about 50 to 60 kilometers from Honghe Town to here."

"50 to 60 kilometers? Oh, that's the straight-line distance. If you want to bypass the city group, you have to go at least 130 kilometers! Of course, if you want to be safe, you have to bypass the highway bridge... about 150 kilometers."

"So?" Chu Guang looked at him and raised his chin, "You didn't answer my question, why did you mix with the predators."

"Well, it's not mixed together, it's just... we have some business dealings."

Hain's eyes were a little wandering, and he continued after an awkward moment.

"Okay, let me get this straight. I'm a merchant...or employee of the Horseshoe Trading Company in Red River Town. Because of our boss, we occasionally do business with some trustworthy raider tribes in the southern part of the River Valley Province, mainly for population. Don't look at me like that. Without us, those captives wouldn't survive the winter. At least we gave them a chance to start a new life!"

"So you're in the slave trade?" Chu Guang touched his chin with interest, but didn't show his interest on his face.

"That's right!" Hein nodded and continued, "This time I was sent to Qingquan City by my boss to buy some slaves from them. But when I got here, I heard that you were fighting?"

Chu Guang smiled kindly.

"Yes, and the enemy of your trading partner is considering something now. Assuming your boss doesn't know you've been here"

Hein swallowed his saliva and nervously interrupted Chu Guang's words.

"I know what you want to say, but it's meaningless. People die every day in the wasteland, and my death is of no importance to my boss."

"Really?"

"Compared to how to deal with me, don't you want to listen to my proposal first?"

"You say."

Hain continued to speak quickly.

"Blood Hand wants to stop fighting with you. They are willing to pay a ransom of 20 chips for each prisoner... Of course, if they are missing limbs, they are only willing to pay half."

"Oh, what about the contract they gave you?"

"Mine? Contract? What contract?"

"Okay, stop pretending," Chu Guang said impatiently, looking at Hain who was pretending to be stupid, "Do you think you can fool me? You said that people die every day in the wasteland. Will someone risk their life for something that has no benefit? Or is it good for you to stop fighting?"

Hain said with a shy smile.

"I'm not hiding it on purpose...it's just that I really don't have a contract with them. Okay, I'll tell you the truth. His leader promised me that as long as I can bring their people back, they are willing to "deal with" the wounded at a low price. But this is actually good for you, isn't it?"

"No one wants to fight in the heavy snow, and your neighbors are also troubled by this weather. Why don't you sit down and have a good talk? In fact, it's not a deadly conflict. The misunderstanding here can definitely be resolved."

"I'll take the prisoners back to report, you get a war compensation, and shake hands with your neighbors...all three of us can win!"

Chu Guang smiled.

But the arc of his mouth was cold.

Misunderstanding?

Resolved?

Hahaha.

He has never heard such a funny joke.

If he hadn't run into him and this group of players by chance, if it had been any other survivor base, not to mention what would have happened to the men and women, they would have been sucked clean of their bones.

Make peace?

Those people are just waiting for an opportunity.

For example, the snow stops.

"Mr. Hein, I feel like you're making me laugh. Make peace with the predators? Do you believe what you said?"

Hein's expression was a little awkward.

In fact, before he entered this outpost, he had a hunch that this group of people was different from the survivor bases he had visited before.

Walls, trenches, sentries on duty, hunting sentries...

No one here is a professional soldier, but everyone seems to be able to fight well, and the most important thing is that they dare to fight.

They wear blue coats, but they don't have any illusions about the kindness of this world.

This negotiation is going to fail...

"I understand. You have your own difficulties. If we can't talk, I won't force you... Can you let me go? I will keep my mouth shut about everything I see." Haien made a decision to stop the loss in one second.

However, Chu Guang did not speak, but just stared at his eyes motionlessly, and stared at him for a long time.

The latter felt scared by being stared at, and felt that he was being stared at by a crawler. Sweat gradually seeped out of his back. Unable to bear the oppression, he spoke with trembling lips.

"Even if you kill me, you won't get any benefit... Why bother? I have no grudges with you. You can continue to fight, and I promise not to get involved."

"But there is no harm."

For a moment, Haien felt that his heartbeat had stopped.

However, Chu Guang's next words rekindled his hope of life.

"You said, you are in the slave business?"

"Yes, yes!" As if grabbing a life-saving straw, Hein nodded in panic, "You need slaves? I can serve you! We not only import slaves, but also export them, and provide door-to-door delivery, if you need it"

"Follow me."

Looking at the man walking out of the door, Hein was forced to stop talking, swallowed his saliva, dragged his lead-like legs, and limped after him.

The snow outside was getting heavier and heavier, and the wind blew on his face like a knife, especially on the wound. Hein felt as if his blood was about to freeze.

Fortunately, it was not far away.

The man took him to a simple shed, and then said a few words to the old man on duty at the door, and then saw the old man nodded, turned back to the house, and took out a wooden box.

Chu Guang weighed the box and handed it to Haien.

Hain felt his hands sink after taking the box, and looked at the man who handed him the box in confusion.

"...What is this?"

"Open it and have a look."

Hain had a bad feeling in his heart, but he still freed up one hand and opened the box.

When he saw the ornaments made of finger bones in the box, the blood in his body seemed to solidify, and his face lost color.

Hain, who has been dealing with predators for many years, of course recognized these things.

Those people would take the index fingers of their prey as trophies, dry and wash them, make them into ornaments and hang them on their bodies, and they are inseparable like their lifeblood.

This devil in blue skin!

Not even one was left...

"Winter is coming, and I don't have that many cells here. I'm afraid the prisoners you want can only be found here."

Looking at Hai En who seemed to have lost his soul, Chu Guang smiled nonchalantly.

"Let's make a deal."

"I promise that you will get a large number of prisoners... and a large number of prisoners. Perform well in front of your boss and reach the peak of your career. If you're lucky, you can even say goodbye to the life of having your head on your belt."

"And I can solve the trouble in the north once and for all."