Chapter 928: Intra-city trade, Gopher Man’s rules!
The patrol team sent by the Gopher Man was very vigilant, and the six of them left almost no blind spots for surveillance.
Sumo waited patiently for more than two hours before the first batch of changing workers came to the sewer port.
Three people in total.
I’m not wearing an exoskeleton, so it looks like the equipment needs to be replaced.
"No. Zero, record the conversation between them and give me real-time feedback."
"Good master, we are already under directional monitoring."
As long as there is sufficient power, No. Zero's The detection function is really easy to use.
The other party is like a fighter plane exposed to radar monitoring, with no privacy at all.
However, these people were also careful. There was no communication at all during the process of putting on and taking off the mechanical exoskeleton, and they were terrifyingly calm throughout the process.
It wasn't until the shift was completed that the man who was the first to come out whispered.
"According to the usual agreed time, they should have come by now."
"The manager asked us to wait here stupidly, just in case we encounter the unwanted group of people the day before yesterday. The mutant lunatic who lost his life may have lost a lot of ammunition."
"There is no way." The man who was talking to him moved his stiff shoulders and comforted: "This fog is too inexplicable. , We have not seen them in Qinggang City for a hundred years. They have been delayed, and we should understand."
"Besides, if they really can't come." The man looked around and continued to lower his voice. : "The administrator has said that if there are not enough supplies to last until the next merchant ship from the Foundation arrives, some people will be thrown out from the base to fend for themselves. You don't want the people thrown out to be your women."
"Merchant ship? Oh my God, it will take at least two months, right?"
The man muttered a complaint, and finally resisted the idea of continuing.
According to the previous patrol position, he walked over honestly and continued on duty.
The three replaced people disappeared on the ground through the sewer opening.
From the beginning to the end, no one noticed that a stranger was looking at them not far away, and no one knew that their conversation had been exposed.
Standing in the blind corner of the ruins of the building, Sumo thoughtfully took out the notebook on his chest and wrote down the information.
“It seems that the information from the Desolate Wolf is not mixed. There are indeed transactions between these gopher guys in Qinggang City, and they have some good things left over from before the war. A steady stream of valuable trading items are produced. "
The Wild Wolf, a group of cockroaches who can only wander around the corners of the city looking for food, are naturally not qualified to trade with the Gopher Man, but this does not mean that they have the right to trade. I've never gotten any good stuff from the bunker.
Those machines that relied on intelligence to drive production in the pre-war era were well preserved by the Gopher Man.
With the help of high-energy bio-battery conversion devices, the unbridled growth of moss is the best power source, and the energy source continuously provides enough power for production.
The favorite trading items among the predators are also produced by the Gopher Man.
It can be exchanged for food, supplies, weapons, slaves, women, and intelligence.
Sumo has not yet been able to figure out what the transaction items of the group in front of him are, but based on the exposed information, he can already roughly guess that they have high-value items in their hands.
Cotton? Exoskeleton? Biomass batteries?
If they really have the ability to produce these things, they are really hard currency in the wasteland.
As for the issue they just exchanged.
Let’s temporarily name this underground fortress the Western Suburbs Bunker.
According to the information analysis just now, they should have reached an agreement with forces in other places in Qinggang City. They will trade once at this time and exchange for supplies that are enough to support the arrival of the so-called "Foundation Merchant Ship" .
This time, it may be due to the influence of heavy fog, or it may be due to other factors.
Not to mention that the group of forces that were supposed to arrive as scheduled were late, the blood stains left behind should also be that they encountered mutants who survived the radiation.
Faced with these lunatics wandering around the city and almost losing their minds, the western suburbs bunker should logically stay out of the spotlight.
But the reason why you are still here, patrolling back and forth.
The bunker in the western suburbs must be short of supplies? !
Coming to this conclusion, Sumo suddenly had a whim.
“Since we can’t get inside them in a short time, is the transaction feasible?”
As long as we can find out what the transaction between them is, or simply there is an accident with the group of people trading in the western suburbs bunker and they can't come here as promised.
In this case, what if the territory can become their trading object?
The most important thing in the wasteland must be the population, and it can only be the population. If any force wants to operate, it must ensure that the internal personnel structure is stable and there will be no major changes.
Since the manager in their mouth said that when necessary, throw some people out to fend for themselves.
At this time, Tianyuan Territory happened to appear and provide them with some things they needed
"There should be a lot of people in the western suburbs bunker, and the pressure on all aspects of material needs is great, and trading materials must be replenished regularly to meet the needs. And according to the analysis of the so-called managers' remarks, since they have to send some people out to reduce expenses, then they lack It should be related to food and supplies. "
"Having an exoskeleton basically crushes the surrounding areas, but still does not participate in external plunder under the pressure of supplies, which is in line with the character of the gopher man."
“It is easy to make them wary by rashly proposing a trade in food supplies.”
“Perhaps we can start from another direction.”
Write these in your notes The message, Sumo put it in his arms and put it away.
The gopher guys from the Free State tend to be lawful and neutral in character. They have a good reputation among wanderers like the Wild Wolf. They are a force that will not be targeted as long as they don't take the initiative to provoke them.
They didn’t believe anyone, they only acted according to the rules set in the bunker and never exceeded them.
And this is the biggest reason why this group of people was able to form a force before the war.
If you decide to contact or even trade with them, simply asking them will be the stupidest choice.
The best way is to let the other party come to you and try to cooperate, so that there is room for maneuver.
"How can we let them come to the door on their own?"
While Sumo was thinking and analyzing this most important issue, a group of people finally hurried up not far away.
This group of people wore close-fitting black armor, even their heads were covered under it, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.
The outside of the black armor is covered with blood vessels, and every breath and breath is looming in the mist.
Behind them were two creatures similar to oxen.
However, just like the two armored black dogs seen on the fifth floor area before, these two cows have also changed. Not only have they become taller and burlier, their four legs are as thick as pillars, even their tails have also changed. Like a whip, it was dragged out on the ground for more than three meters.
"The trader is here?"
According to the information provided by Wild Wolf, Sumo quickly found the general information about the cow.
Whip the bull.
It has a docile personality and strong carrying capacity. It is one of the most useful tools for short-distance transportation after the war.
At the same time, its whip also has a certain power and can be used as a pioneer to rush out at critical moments and forcibly destroy the opponent's encirclement.
The two whip oxen were loaded with cargo boxes, and it looked like they had delivered a lot of supplies.
"Why are you here just now? This is one day away from the agreed time!"
The leader on duty breathed a sigh of relief, and while sending someone to inform the information, he used a slightly complaining walked up in a tone of voice.
"Haha, Captain Liu Lu, you are just glad that we can still abide by the agreement." The leading man in black armor took off his mask, revealing a face full of scars.
His voice was like two pieces of iron rubbing against each other, hoarse and harsh, making those who listened frown.
But the next sentence made Liu Lu's expression change drastically.
"After this transaction, the agreement between us will be voided. Everything will have to wait until the fog dissipates."
"Voided? Captain Garu, your harbor shelter But the deposit for supplies from our Pingtan Refuge was collected in advance, and Qinggang Refuge witnessed it. If you cancel it unilaterally, you will have to pay liquidated damages!"
"Of course, didn't I bring it?" He patted the whip ox behind him and looked at Liu Lu's face becoming more and more ugly. The black-armored man Garu laughed. "The flat beach shelter is really far away from the harbor. It seems that we haven't known what happened in Qinggang City for so long."
“What happened?”
Liu Lu asked subconsciously, but the next second, he regretted it.
In the eyes of outsiders, there are more than a dozen Free State shelters in the huge city of Qinggang. The offense and defense are facing each other. It is a more reliable alliance than any other cooperation. They have a good relationship with each other. Incredible.
But only the people in the bunker know that this relationship relies on "transactions".
In Qinggang City, everything has a price tag.
The cooperation between them can only be achieved by paying a mutually satisfactory price.
Now that he is so eager for information, he shows that the shelter really does not know what is going on.
Let the manager know later.
Indispensable, he will not be able to distribute a lot of supplies next time.
"Go ahead and make a price."
After a pause, Liu Lu glanced behind him, and finally gritted his teeth.
"Refreshing!"
"I need this." Pointing at a grenade hanging on Liu Lu's waist, Garu raised his eyebrows.
The value of intelligence depends on its scarcity and urgency.
It's just a grenade, of course it can't be replaced.
But Liu Lu's current intention was not to exchange, but just to prevent him from "accidentally" leaking the details of the conversation between the two.
“What a greedy thing.”
Muttering in a low voice, Liu Lu untied the grenade from his waist and threw it away with pain.
Among all the refuges in the Free State, the Harbor Refuge is the one with the weakest foundation and basically does not have much industrial production capacity.
But the location they chose was so good that every refuge had to regularly trade fish caught from the harbor with them to meet their material needs.
These greedy things are always trying to find ways to steal money from their trading partners.
If there was no choice, the foundation's merchant ship would only come once every six months. Who would want to trade with these damn jackals.
But seeing the other party catching it in a hurry, Liu Lu felt a little more comfortable.
He carefully sorted out his words, and then cautiously stretched out his hand: "Bring it here, this time's cargo list."
"Go and give the cargo list to our Captain Liu."
Patting the cow's head, Garu's smile became even stronger.
With the ravaged scars on his face, it looked like a mushroom corroded by mold, with creepy little sarcomas everywhere.
Liu Lu stared at him suspiciously, then looked away as if nothing had happened.
Soon, two pieces of yellow paper that looked like they were soaked in sweat were handed over.
"Don't you want to look at it?"
"I don't want to look at it." Liu Lu shook his head quickly, turned around and wanted to go to the wellhead with the list.
Just one more word, and you paid the price of a grenade.
Even though he was now curious about the price changes on the goods list, he decided to stop his impulse.
But
"Let's see, the price this time is very different from before."
"And I promise, I will not use this to blackmail you."
A devilish temptation Whispers sounded from behind.
Liu Lu took two steps forward bravely, and finally couldn't help but glance at the top line of the list.
According to the usual transactions between the two parties, what is recorded here must be the largest catch.
The price is not high.
“Damn it, are your seaports crazy??”
At a glance, Liu Lu was stunned when he glanced at the number that was ten times higher than usual. land.
“You want to exchange five pounds of fish for a commercial coupon, why don’t you grab it?”
Commercial coupon.
The currency issued by the Foundation was used throughout the postwar world.
Only by holding this thing can you purchase goods from merchant ships that come once every six months, or from traveling merchants that arrive from time to time.
The face value is divided into 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100.
Usually a coupon with a face value of "1" can buy more than fifty pounds of fish.
Now that purchasing power has plummeted, only less than one-tenth is left?
Is the manager of this harbor shelter crazy? Does he think anyone will trade at this price?
"Don't worry, just look down slowly."
Garu still kept his smile, as if he didn't hear the question just now.
Following his words, Liu Lu looked down.
At this sight, his face turned even more livid.
Sure enough, among the basic materials on the first sheet, not only did the price of catches increase tenfold, but the prices of things produced in other harbor shelters also increased to a certain extent, on average they were at least five times higher than before.
In the second piece of stuff they collected and made from outside
For the first time, Liu Luxian saw the signature and seal at the bottom.
Is that the sign of the giant city shelter?
"Hey, what are you doing, kid? I asked you to get the cargo delivery note for the Pingtan Shelter. How did you take out the cargo delivery note for the Jucheng Shelter?" Liu Lu looked at Liu Lu. His expression kept changing, and Garu quickly slapped the little brother behind him on the head.
"Go, hurry up and get a new one."
"Yes." The black-armored boy was beaten. You couldn't see his facial expression, but his tone sounded happy.
This shows that there is no consciousness of doing something wrong at all, it is obviously done on purpose.
“Brother Liu Lu, you have also seen that it is not me and your Pingtan Shelter family that charge such a high price now, it is because of the great changes in our Qinggang City that the prices have risen.”
“When you go to report to the manager, don’t forget to mention it.”
Taking out the grenade that had not been warmed just now, Garu threw it forward with a smile.
Liu Lu caught it, said no more, and nodded silently.
In the confrontation just now, he lost completely.
The other party picked him up without paying any price.
Taking off his exoskeleton, Liu Lu quickly went down the ladder at the entrance of the well.
When he stood on the ground at the bottom and looked at the heavy iron gate, he sighed in his heart:
"I hope... the manager will not be angry."
( End of chapter)