Chapter 364.1: Being Cheap Is One Of Our Advantages!

"... The Assault Team appeared in the northern suburbs?"

In the Boulder Arms Industry, within the chairman's office.

Sitting behind his desk, Ibers, after hearing his subordinate's report, was filled with astonishment.

Unlike Malvern and Dulong, he of course didn't need to rely on something like Survivors’ Daily to get information about the northern suburbs. As early as the night before, he learned from his spies disguised as mercenaries and caravan guards that a group suspected to be a trade delegation from Ideal City had appeared.

After a night of investigation, he was certain that those people were professional soldiers from the Enterprise.

"... Why would members of the Enterprise appear here?" A hint of apprehension surfaced in Ibers' eyes.

Unlike the nobles of the inner city, his attitude towards the Enterprise was more one of respect from a distance. Based on past experience, rashly getting involved with those giants wasn't going to bring anything good.

Especially since the previous year where the Enterprise and the Army had clashed in the northern suburbs, God knew why those people had come...

Standing next to him, the old secretary seemed to have reached the same conclusion and spoke slowly. "Could it be related to the Pioneer which appeared last year?"

"That’s what I’m thinking too." Rubbing his temples, Ibers pondered for a long time, then suddenly said, "Regardless, we need to figure out what they're here for."

The old secretary asked, "Should we report this to the Mayor?"

Ibers replied succinctly, "Just make a routine report."

Whether they made the report or not didn't really make a difference.

He had his own network of informants, and the wise and majestic Mayor certainly had his own.

However, as the most loyal servant of that great person, it was his duty to report this news as soon as he learned of it, whether the Mayor knew or not.

That was his duty...

...

With the news of the arrival of the delegation from the Enterprise spreading, the whole of Clearspring City was buzzing. Especially the business owners, factory owners, and nobles of Boulder Town, who cast eager and even envious glances towards the northern suburbs.

Why should those damn country bumpkins get the Enterprise's friendship?

Of course, more than envy, what really interested them was the business opportunities hidden in this news.

That was a visiting delegation from Ideal City! Just an item or two they brought could sell for unimaginably high prices.

The commoners of Boulder Town might not have the spending power, but the nobles of the inner city certainly did.

Their industries were spread throughout Boulder Town. Those big factory owners or business owners weren't short of money, only places to spend it.

Whether it was bionic prostheses to enhance physical abilities or serums to delay aging... Any of them would drive the entire inner city wild...

While Clearspring City was bustling, West Continent Municipality, 100 kilometers away, was no less lively.

However, the reason they were in a state of excitement was completely different.

Next to the crudely constructed platform, heaps of supplies in boxes and bundles piled up like a small mountain.

Looking at the mountain-like supplies, whether it was the construction team leaders or the survivors from Dawn City, all had faces full of astonishment.

"170 tons of grain, 81 tons of goat's horn potatoes, 1,000 cotton work uniforms, 1,000 pairs of rubber-soled boots, 11 boxes of medical gauze and alcohol..." Holding the cargo list handed over by the train conductor, Rudy, murmuring in astonishment, couldn't believe his eyes.

The supplies listed were exactly what they needed most, especially the work uniforms and waterproof shoes.

It had been raining continuously for several days previously, and the terrain at the northern construction site was low. It was almost completely soaked.

Without pumps to remove the water, the workers had to carry buckets down into the trenches.

Ordinary straw shoes, wooden shoes, and bark-made shoes were not waterproof at all, and there were only a limited number of plastic waterproof shoes available, leaving many people with rotten feet.

Medical gauze and alcohol were also necessities for a construction site where bumps and scrapes were common. Without disinfecting and bandaging supplies, even a small wound could become inflamed and fester, turning into a serious problem.

As for food... That was a precious supply everywhere in the wasteland.

They could be short on other supplies, but with empty stomachs, no world could be done.

Dawn City had 30,000 people, and 251 tons of food, along with the prey and fish caught by the shelter residents, was enough to feed them for 2 weeks!

After a while, he finally gulped, "Did we stumble upon some pre-war reserves?"

Before becoming the captain of the construction team, he had been a squad leader under Vanus, following the Army in campaigns to the north and south for years. In his memory, such abundant supplies were rare even in some wealthy survivor settlements. The New Alliance might be able to produce such supplies, but there was no way they could be gathered so quickly.

Looking at Rudy’s dumbfounded expression, the train conductor laughed and said, "What do you mean by stumbling upon them? These goods were all bought from Boulder Town! By the way, tell the people in the warehouse that more supplies will arrive in 3 days. It would be best to expand the warehouse to avoid all the chaos that might happen when you run out of places to store them."

Regaining his senses, Rudy immediately nodded and said seriously, "I’ll go and tell them right away!"

As the supplies were stored, news about this batch of goods also spread among the survivors.

During lunchtime, several foremen and workers of the construction team squatted together. They held their bowls and ate while sharing gossip they had heard from others.

"... I heard it! The supplies are imported from Boulder Town!"

"Not just living supplies, but also generators and distribution devices... It’s probably for setting up the power grid!"

"This must have cost a lot of chips, right?"

"That's for sure. It costs at least several hundred thousand..."

"Several hundred thousand? More like several millions!"

Hearing that those supplies cost so much money, many people showed expressions of amazement, leading to a momentary daydream. Especially those survivors who had grown up in Clearspring City.

The refugees had no concept of the purchasing power of chips, but they knew what those chips could buy.

Let alone several hundred thousand chips, even a chip that was worth three-digits was an astronomical figure to them. As for chips worth a five-digit figure, it was beyond the reach of ordinary people anyway.

In their view, only the former Mayor of Baker Street and Old Brown of Brown Farm could come up with so many chips. But those stingy misers would never spend their chips on others.

They wished they could clutch every chip tightly in their palms, let alone spend it on others. They even hesitated to spend more on themselves.

For them, the greatest ambition of their lives was to save enough chips to move into the huge walls, sharpen their wits to squeeze into the upper class there, and spend their later years in luxury and abundance.

If not, buying a few buildings on the outskirts of the outer city to become landlords was also a decent option.

The only ones willing to spend their own chips generously on these ordinary people, as far as they could think, was that benevolent administrator...

...

On the other side, in the eastern district of West Continent Municipality, on the abandoned streets.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

A group of survivors was methodically moving a bunch of stuff from the collapsed subway station and stacking it on an open space not far away.

A bit further away, stood more than 30 container houses and dozens barrack moved from the underground tunnels.

The construction site managed by the aid team was not only in Dawn City but also included Camp 101 in the eastern district of West Continent Municipality.

Since the Bonechewer Clan had been wiped out, West Continent Municipality had regained its former tranquility, and the residents of Camp 101 would return to the surface, giving back the buffer area at the shelter’s entrance to those inside.

Chu Guang had promised to help the residents of Camp 101 rebuild their homes.

A week ago, workers from the New Alliance arrived. There were a total of 200 people involved in the construction.

20 were foremen from Dawn City, and the remaining 180 were survivors from Dawn City.

In addition, there was a patrol team from the Second Corps, responsible for security around the camp.

After all, mutant hyenas, rats, cockroaches, dinner plate-sized flies, and bloodsuckers with proboscis longer than arms, the countless different species that didn’t leave with the raiders.

It was especially so after the start of summer. The number of different species active in the ruins had more than doubled compared to 2 months ago. Fortunately, a group of enthusiastic young players turned them into ingredients, preventing those species from becoming unbearably rampant...

Considering their future, Camp 101, after consulting with Chu Guang, ultimately decided to set up the new camp near the old site of West Continent University, not far from Shelter 101.

The terrain there was relatively flat. Although the buildings were severely damaged, it was actually a benefit as demolition wasn’t going to be too difficult.

In the wasteland, demolishing buildings was much more troublesome than building them.