Chapter 187.2: What Year is it Now?

On the road to Longevity Town.

Vanus sat in the back of the truck, his shoulders bumping up and down. Glancing at the road outside, he spoke to the young guard sitting next to him, "Did you guys already clear out everything along this path?"

"Yes." Although he didn't want to pay attention to the prisoner, Lu Bei thought of the administrator's instructions to him, and replied impatiently.

Vanus couldn't help but praise, "A wise choice... Few survivors who live in settlements would go to great lengths to repair those roads, but they don't know that this is the greatest wealth left to them by the pre-war society."

Every time the army occupied an area, the first thing they did was to repair the road connecting that area, and if conditions permitted, they would build a railway.

Although it was extremely difficult to maintain a stable traffic route in the wasteland, only by ensuring smooth logistics could the combat effectiveness of the front-line troops be guaranteed.

To ensure smooth logistics, they even arranged for young junior officers to patrol the army's road network with light infantry made up of clones.

It just so happened that Vanus discovered that the people who were clearing the road were all his subordinates as they slowly passed by. His expression suddenly became slightly complicated, and he stopped talking immediately.

The only thing that made him feel relieved was that his subordinates seemed to be well taken care of.

At least they were all wearing thick clothes, and they didn't seem to have been brutally abused. However, they all looked kind of lost.

Enjoying his defeated expression, Lu Bei snorted and said nothing.

What a joke!

Does the wise administrator need you to teach him how to do things?

Stupid captive!

The journey was not far, plus it was a nearly straight road, there was not much place to slow down in the middle, so the truck arrived at the station very soon.

Pushing the butt of his gun against Vanus's back, Lu Bei signaled him to get out of the truck.

Vanus didn't say anything. He didn't even think about escaping in the hellish weather. He simply jumped out of the truck obediently.

Following him out of the truck, Lu Bei carried the rifle on his back, stepped on the snow to the south gate of Longevity Town, and gave a military salute to the guards on duty at the gate.

"By the order of the administrator, I brought the captive."

The slightly older guard looked at him and nodded. "Good job, the administrator is in the house in the middle, you can bring him over."

"Yes!"

Lu Bei turned around in a good spirit, and waved to Vanus, signaling him to approach. "Listen, I'm taking you to see the administrator now, you'd better pay attention to your words and how you behave."

Vanus replied obediently, "Okay, I will."

It had been a while since the last meeting, and he also wanted to see the person who once defeated him on the battlefield again.

Although the one who defeated him on the frontal battlefield was Lu Yang, he did not have much respect in his heart for those profiteers who relied on the strength of their equipment to barely stand against him.

On the contrary, it was the survivors, who were not afraid of death and rushed to the flanks of his position, that left a deeper impression on him.

When he was in the captive camp before, Vanus heard from his squad leader how brave those survivors were on the battlefield.

They were as agile as normal people, but they were more fearless than the clone infantry. It was as if they were not afraid of death.

What kind of charismatic leader was he that could make his soldiers have such a noble spirit of sacrifice and enthusiasm?

After this period of hard work and communication with the brick factory workers, Vanus found some answers, but more confusion followed.

Intuition told Vanus that maybe only that person could answer the questions in his heart.

Through the gate, Vanus followed in the footsteps of the young guard, and soon came to a concrete house.

Through the half-closed windows, a roaring fire could be seen.

Lu Bei stepped forward and knocked on the door. After getting the reply, he brought Vanus in.

There were a lot of people sitting in the room, including Luca, who was in charge, the captain of the guard, and two people he had never met or knew. They seemed to be discussing something.

Vanus noticed that when he entered the house, everyone looked at him.

Especially the tall man who he didn't know, after seeing his nose, there was a trace of anger in his pupils. The other man, who looked a little thin and dressed as a nomad, had a trace of fear in his eyes.

Vanus probably had some idea in mind.

He felt that they were most probably refugees. One was a landless survivor, and the other was estimated to be a migratory herdsman. And they most likely came from the northern or central areas.

He had seen a lot of such people when his force marched south. Basically, they would turn around and run away when they saw his flag.

Walking in front of the administrator, Lu Bei straightened his back, put his right hand on his chest, and said respectfully, even reverently, "Sir, I've brought you the person you asked for!"

Seeing the guard who looked only a little older than a child, Chu Guang nodded in appreciation. "Very well, he can stay here, you can leave and take a rest."

"Yes, sir!" When leaving the room, Lu Bei closed the door.

As the wooden door closed, the atmosphere in the room suddenly quieted down, except for the crackling of the firewood in the fireplace.

Vanus' Adam's apple bobbed up and down, hesitating whether he should take the initiative to say something.

Before he could reach a decision, the administrator sitting on the main seat looked away from him and looked at the nomad who had fear written on his face.

"Go on."

"Yes, sir..."

Glancing at Vanus who was standing by the door, the nomad swallowed and continued cautiously.

"We passed through the northern part of the River Valley Province, where the situation was terrible beyond description. The hills there were sunk by shells, the hard ground was turned into a quagmire, and there were corpses everywhere, attracting vultures, hyenas, Crunchers and even Deathclaws..."

"The people of the Great Rift Valley refused to take us in. We dared not stay there, so we had to bypass the battlefield along the west side and continue to the south. However, the situation on the south side was also very bad, and the routed soldiers of the army were fleeing in all directions. We were unlucky enough to run into 2 of them, and it cost us 5 people to kill one and control the other. After inquiring, we learned that the people of the Great Rift Valley had won, the army's expeditionary force had collapsed, and General Klaas was killed in the chaos."

The expeditionary force was defeated?

Vanus had a blank expression on his face.

However, for some unknown reason, when he heard the news, there was no trace of shock in his heart. He clearly believed that General Klaas was invincible until half a month ago, but now he felt a sense of relief.

It's finally over.

Jiu Li, who was standing in the room, glanced at Vanus, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, showing a trace of mockery. But he didn't expect that the person couldn’t be bothered with him, so he could only look back in disappointment.

Chu Guang stared at the nomad and asked, "Is the news reliable?"

The nomad responded meekly. "I'm sorry sir, I don't know, but it should be accurate... After all, it was said by the soldiers of the Army."

Since it's said by the soldiers of the army.

They should know what they’re talking about.

Chu Guang fell into deep thought.

At this time, the captain of the guard, Wrench, who was standing by the side, stepped forward and said with a serious expression. "Sir, if the army's rout continues south, we'll probably encounter those locusts soon. I suggest digging trenches and fortifying north of Longevity Town, deploying patrols further north, and establishing outposts at Elm District and the northern urban area respectively."

Luca also advised. "I think so too."

Building lines of defense and expanding the scope of patrols were the most basic solution, and it was something he must do. But no matter what, this winter would be more lively than he imagined.

Chu Guang nodded in agreement, then looked at the nomad and continued, "Did you see anything else along the way?"

The nomad frowned for a while, and as if he suddenly remembered something, he hurriedly said. "When we were passing Heavenly Water City, we heard a rumor from the survivors who were trying to form a settlement there. 'm not sure if it's true."

Chu Guang looked at him and said, "Don't worry, tell us what you heard."

The nomad continued cautiously. "They said that in the midwest of the River Valley Province, a huge marauder tribe was rising rapidly. Some people said that they had absorbed part of the Army's routed soldiers, and others said that they were the Army's routed soldiers. They would burn, kill, loot, and commit all kinds of evil acts."

Chu Guang frowned and asked, "What do they call themselves?"

The nomad said in a low voice. "Bonechewer, sir, I remember they are called Bonechewer."

"It must be the Army's troops!" Jiu Li scolded, "Those bugs are like the plague, wherever they go will be completely ruined by them!"

Vanus didn't dare to say anything, trying to pretend that he didn't exist.

Luca looked at Chu Guang and whispered. "Sir, the chaos is spreading, and I have an ominous premonition."

Do I need you to tell me something like this?

Tapping lightly on the armrest of the chair with his index finger, Chu Guang stared at the uneasy nomad in front of him and fell into contemplation.

This group of nomads, like Iron Axe Wu, also migrated from the north, but they were obviously not the same tribe.

More than 50 people were not too many. However, based on less than 30% of the labor force they had, it could be seen that they must have had many battles before they arrived here.

But what Chu Guang was more interested in was that in addition to bringing 5 yaks, these people also kept a certain number of poultry.

It was an absolute surprise for him.

He hadn't eaten tea eggs for a long time, and he didn't know if the taste of eggs boiled with psychoid leaves would be good.

After a long time, Chu Guang said, "Your tribe is allowed to migrate to Linghu Wetland Park and stay with other nomadic tribes who migrated here."

The man was relieved, kneeling on the spot gratefully. "Thank you, sir! My tribe and I have decided that we will serve you until we die!"

"You are called Spear, right? In order to avoid any confusion, it is better to have a name that contains more than two words. Since you came here during winter, you will be called Frost Spear from now on." Looking at the man kneeling on the ground, Chu Guang continued, "I will confirm your loyalty with my eyes. As for now, stand up. We don't kneel here. You don't need to kneel when you see me, just put your right fist on your left chest."

"Yes, sir! Thank you for giving me a name!" Frost Spear, who received the name, left happily.

It didn't matter what the name was.

The key was who gave it to him.

In the culture of most tribesmen and refugees in the wasteland, the bestowment of a name meant acceptance. They would pass on part of their name from generation to generation until their bloodline ended.

As soon as the door opened and closed again, a cold gust blew into the room.

Chu Guang then looked at Vanus who was standing beside the door and said, "Now, let's discuss the problem with you."