Armor-piercing bullets don't believe in carbon-based monsters

Chapter 152: Radiant City
After receiving the gold from the Yuanhuan Chamber of Commerce, Chen Jian's team's gold reserves reached 6 grams.

If converted according to the price level of the most basic living materials in this world, the money they have is roughly equivalent to about 600 million in the old world.

However, if calculated based on industrial products such as bullets, the money they have is only equivalent to about 6 yuan.

The gap between industry and agriculture is vividly reflected in the price level, so although it seems like a lot, there are actually not many things that can be bought with this money.

On the way to Tongling, Chen Jian made detailed plans for the money.

He carefully studied the functional attributes and resource environment of each settlement, selling food in settlements that lacked food resources in exchange for waste, and selling it in settlements that lacked waste and resources in exchange for handmade earthen weapons and tools.

Finally, he would exchange these tools for food at relatively stable prices in the next settlement as a means of hedging risks.

Relying on this not-so-clever management method, the team had earned more than 100 grams of gold when they arrived in Tongling.

This number is certainly not large, but its real significance lies in opening up trade routes and understanding the world's trading system.

In this regard, Chen Jian gained a lot.

".The closer you are to a large settlement, the lower the food prices will be."

"In contrast, the prices of weapons and tools are much higher than those of surrounding small settlements."

"This situation is quite counterintuitive. Theoretically, the smaller the settlement, the less protection it has from large forces, and the higher its security needs should be."

“But the current situation is the exact opposite.”

"This means that small settlements should not be able to sustain themselves in the long term. It's not that they don't need tools and weapons, but they just don't use them most of the time."

"Except for those important nodes on the trade route, such as Wuxue Town, most small settlements should be in a state of uninterrupted migration."

“This is basically consistent with their residential style.”

"So from this point of view, we can also make some changes to our strategy."

"We can use the abundant food resources to attract small settlements to migrate toward Yellowstone City and expand our population."

"During the migration process, civilians in these small settlements would also bring a small amount of production tools."

“As long as they can sustain themselves to a certain extent, a virtuous cycle will soon be formed around the city of Yellowstone.”

"When our population and armed forces are developed to the point where we can drive out the monsters, our base will be basically stable."

As Chen Jian spoke, he updated his judgment on the PDA. He Shuo corrected some of the details. After everyone reviewed it, it was finally included in the intelligence file.

Ji Xing watched their actions curiously, and when she noticed the complicated records displayed on the PDA screen, she couldn't help but sigh:

"What you are doing is just like what the historian of the Adeptus Mechanicus is doing."

"They also record these things, but their purpose seems to be different from yours."

"So what is their purpose?"

Chen Jian asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's just to record his achievements?"

"That's impossible."

Chen Jian shook his head and said:
"The fact that the Adeptus Mechanicus has grown to such a scale today proves that they are definitely not an organization that has gained a reputation in vain."

"Although they often appear quite stupid on the outside, you can never doubt their core wisdom."

"The fact that they created the position of 'historian' shows that they have realized the importance of archives and records."

"This alone reflects their level."

".It seems to make sense, but I can't understand it."

Ji Xing shrugged and pointed at the faintly visible city in the distance and said:
"Tongling City is just ahead. We'll be there soon."

"Tongling City?"

Chen Jian asked in astonishment:

"Are you sure that's not the Tongling ruins?"

Before Ji Xing could answer, Zeng Yi interrupted and said:
"Tongling City is different from other cities. It is a city built directly on ruins."

"The monsters here were cleared out a long time ago. Although monsters continued to migrate towards Tongling City, they basically avoided this city."

"So, the environment in Tongling City is quite safe."

"only"

Zeng Yi hesitated to speak, and Chen Jian immediately asked:

"Just what?"

“It’s just that the people there are not normal.”

Ji Xing on the side explained directly:

“Although they are not monsters, they have the characteristics of monsters.”

"You could say it's a characteristic of a monster, but it's different from the characteristics of the monsters we're familiar with."

"To be more precise, it should be the people there who have a particularly high rate of deformities and a short life expectancy."

"But after all, this is still a normal city under human power."

High deformity rate and short life expectancy?

Chen Jian's face was full of question marks.

These two keywords can only make him think of one thing.

That's radiation.

But there is no nuclear power plant in Tongling, so where does the radiation come from?
Perhaps only after entering Tongling City can he get the answer he wants.

So, the team of eight people did not hesitate much, crossed the bridge and headed straight for Tongling.

The vegetation in this area is quite lush, but the road surface shows obvious signs of having been cleared, and the cat car is moving very fast.

An hour later, several people arrived at the outskirts of the residential area of Tongling City. They hid the cat car and left He Shuo, Shen Yue, Li Shi and Zeng Yi to guard it. Then Chen Jian took the other three into the city.

Those buildings from the old times appeared before his eyes in a majestic manner. Although most of them had been weathered and collapsed, his old glory could still be vaguely seen from them.

"The Gate of Mountains and Rivers."

Chen Jian pointed at the sculpture in the distance and said:
"To be honest, I never thought this thing could be preserved for so long."

"I remember this thing was once ranked among the ugliest sculptures on DY. Is that true?"

"No."

Lei Jie shook his head and said:
"How could something this conventional be on the list? The only things that can be on the list are abstract things like Yuanbao Pavilion."

"But then again, human aesthetics have always changed. In this apocalyptic era, bigger is more beautiful."

“No matter how ugly it is, as long as it is big enough, it is beautiful to the people here.”

"? How is that possible?"

Chen Jian turned his head to look at Ji Xing and Xie Liu and asked:
“Do you think this sculpture is beautiful?”

".Actually, I think it's quite good."

Xie Liu answered seriously, while Ji Xing nodded on the side.

".good."

Chen Jian was speechless. Several people passed through the Mountain and Water Gate and entered the core area of Tongling City.

It was only at this moment that he finally intuitively felt why the people here were called "deformed".

Because this is just an objective description, not a vicious attack.

The iron fence at the entrance to the core area was covered with purple-red vines, and the back of the leaves were covered with dense hairs, which were definitely not any of the varieties Chen Jian had ever seen.

An old beggar wrapped in a heavy cloak huddled beside the fence, his three arms crossed in front of his chest like spider legs, two of the deformed arms having translucent webbed membranes stuck to the ends.

In the rusty iron can in front of him, a sticky liquid with a fishy smell was boiling on the fire.

"A businessman?"

The city defense soldiers on duty reached out to stop Chen Jian and his companions. Chen Jian noticed that the other party's lips were split into four parts.

"Entrance fee is 10 grams of gold."

"10 grams?"

Chen Jian frowned and looked at Xie Liu, who nodded and replied:

“That’s indeed the price.”

“You have to pay to enter the core area, but if you just stay in the outer residential areas, it’s free.”

"Got it. Give it to him."

Upon hearing this, Xie Liu took out a small bag of gold that he had carried with him, measured it with the scales carried by the city defense soldiers, and paid the city entrance fee. After passing the last checkpoint, the few of them successfully entered the core area of Tongling City.

The glass windows of the roadside grocery store were covered with yellow-brown scale, and strange-looking gas masks and unknown pills were packed in faded orange metal boxes with the word "Civil Defense" printed on them.

The woman behind the counter wrapped her neck with a scarf. The scaly skin spread from the collar to behind the ears, glowing with a bluish-gray metallic luster in the sunlight.

When Chen Jian's gaze passed over her, she frowned at first, but then provocatively untied her scarf, exposing her chest which was also covered with rough keratin under the collar.

"What are you looking at? Is this your first time here?"

Chen Jian didn't know how to deal with such a situation. At this time, Xie Liu and Ji Xing's experience came in handy.

They walked forward, revealing the Holy Blood Mark on their wrists below their sleeves, and then spoke:

"We are merchants from the Holy Blood Temple. We enter Tongling City to trade in the name of Holy Blood."

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman's tone immediately improved.

"Holy Blood? Good, good, we welcome the Holy Blood."

"Do you need any medicine? I have some medicine to maintain your health. If you want to live in Tongling City permanently, these are necessary items."

"have a look."

Ji Xing gave Chen Jian a look, and the latter walked forward like a leader, took the iron box handed to him by the woman and examined it carefully.

“You can try it!”

The woman was eagerly trying to sell her goods. Chen Jian carefully stretched out his fingers to pick up a piece, licked it gently and spit it out immediately.

[Bitter, salty to the point of being bitter]

He typed on the tactical eyepiece. Lei Jie nodded slightly and typed back:

[Radiation levels are increasing, most likely some kind of iodine extract]

[You can buy some, we don’t need it for now, but don’t be special]

【1】

Chen Jian replied briefly, and then said:

"We want four."

"It's not enough for four people!"

The woman swiftly picked up the pills from the box and said:

"Holy Blood people like you need a larger dose of medicine, otherwise, the holy blood in your veins will not be stable."

"You may not have heard that a while ago a Saint Blood went crazy in Tongling City. He was talking about 'sun' and 'holy light', as if he had encountered an evil spirit."

"But we can tell at a glance that he must have sneaked into the forbidden area."

"Why are you so sure?"

Chen Jian asked curiously. "Because his skin is peeling off piece by piece, which is exactly the same as the curse of the forbidden land."

confirmed.

There must be high doses of radiation in the forbidden area of Tongling City.

Although we don't know where the radiation comes from, it is obvious that the reason why no monsters approach is most likely because of this radiation.

It is the instinct of living things to seek benefits and avoid harm, and in this regard, monsters may be more sensitive than humans.

After putting away the pills, Chen Jian led the team further into the core area.

Along the way, in addition to the regular trading items, they also saw the prosperous business that was born around "radiation" in Tongling City.

The "eternal flower" whose roots are said to be able to absorb the curse of the forbidden land, and the airtight protective clothing made of animal leather, which can reduce the curse when applied to the body, but will cause another kind of poisoning "silver dust" after long-term use.
Although they looked absurd at first glance, what shocked Chen Jian was that most of these things were actually useful.

Apart from the fact that the Eternal Flower is purely a gimmick, the protective suit can block radioactive dust, and the "silver dust" is simply lead powder.

There is no need to explain why it can reduce the curse. As for the poisoning, it is obviously heavy metal poisoning.
After taking a look around, Chen Jian was truly eye-opening.

After following the experienced Ji Xing and the other man to find a place to stay, he immediately informed the people waiting outside the city of the situation, and then ordered He Shuo to launch a drone and try to organize reconnaissance of the forbidden area of Tongling City from high altitude.

But unfortunately, as soon as the drone flew over Tongling City, the abnormally high values caused the detector to sound an alarm.

In order to protect this precious equipment, He Shuo had no choice but to quit even though the radiation value was not high.

Because no one wants to take the risk.

If you want to find out the secrets of the forbidden area, you may have to go there in person.
-
After all, in some scenarios, the human body can withstand more stress than machines.

After cutting off the radio communication, Chen Jian put down the PDA in his hand and said to the others:

"From what I just observed, the business here is quite developed."

"There are many types of weapons and ammunition. Although the quality is not very good, if we choose carefully, we can always find what we want."

"Like the rocket launcher we just saw, according to the owner, it should have been shipped from Huadu not long ago, and the price is quite reasonable."

"200 grams of gold per body. If it were in the Han River, the price would probably be double that."

"Let's take them all and don't leave them to others."

"clear."

Ji Xing nodded and said:
"I can do the purchasing. I'm very familiar with this area - provided you can trust me."

"Our principle has always been to trust the people we employ."

Chen Jian signaled Lei Jie to take out the gold he had with him, and Lei Jie gave half of it to Ji Xing, then said:

"You will be in charge of the purchase, and I will give you the list in a moment."

"You can decide the price yourself. The only thing you need to pay attention to is that there are three things on the market that you must get. Even if the other party raises the price, as long as you are willing to buy, you have to get them."

Ji Xing nodded seriously and then asked:
"What is it?"

"The first thing is those old exoskeletons. Although most of their functions have been damaged, they can be used as spare parts."

"The second item is the device connected to the electric motor. It's a cutting machine. It's in good condition. It might be usable after it's powered on again."

"We need this thing to cut the planes and glass on the 10th Air Division base, and make a shield for Li Shi."

"The third thing is the bomb that the boss boasted about being able to blow down a house. That thing is an anti-tank mine, and it's the kind that can really blow down a house."

"I saw that he had no less than 20 of them. Take them all down. With proper planning, blowing up a level monster would be as easy as playing."

"clear."

Ji Xing nodded again and asked again:

"Are there any other tasks? Besides purchasing, is there anything else I can help with?"

"Have."

Chen Jian said:

"You need to go back outside the city and look for Shen Yue."

"He has some radiation protection drugs from Room 7025. Take them all."

"You want to sell it?"

From the previous conversation between Chen Jian and others, and his rough explanation, Ji Xing could already guess that the people around him were fully aware of the truth about the curse.

The so-called curse is probably what they call "radiation".

Since they have anti-radiation drugs, their purpose is of course to sell them.

After all, in a place like this, the means to effectively fight the curse must be priceless. If it can be sold successfully, it will definitely be a huge help to the team's business journey.

But she didn't expect that after hearing her guess, Chen Jian would immediately shake his head.

“No, we don’t sell it.”

"We eat it ourselves."

"Eat it by yourself?? You want to enter the forbidden area??"

Ji Xing was shocked and quickly persuaded:

"The curse of the forbidden land is no joke. The forbidden land in Tongling is notoriously dangerous."

“Even among the Holy Blooded, not many people can survive after entering the forbidden area.”

"In order to limit the curse, the people here spent countless hours to build a wall. If you want to go in."

"impossible."

Chen Jian shook his head and said:
"The curse here may still be in effect, but the source of the curse must have been three hundred years ago."

"For three hundred years, I don't know what kind of nuclear fuel can continue to release high-intensity radiation. This is completely contrary to common sense."

"The radiation in the restricted area has most likely been reduced to a safe and controllable level. Most of the 'deformed people' we see now are probably genetic bodies whose DNA was damaged by the strong radiation."

"But their lifespan is indeed affected by the curse"

Ji Xing wanted to persuade him again, but Chen Jian interrupted him again:
"When I say safe and controllable, I don't mean it's completely harmless to humans."

"Long-term low-dose radiation can also lead to various diseases. Coupled with the harsh living environment, it is normal that life expectancy is low."

".Understood."

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Chen Jian, Ji Xing had no choice but to nod.

But at this moment, Xie Liu suddenly raised his hand.

"Let me go."

"If that kind of curse or radiation can cause disease, then the conditions of the Holy Blood are obviously more suitable."

"We are more resistant to diseases and have stronger recovery abilities. If I take medication, maybe I can get out of this unscathed."

"I know. I was planning to let you go first."

Chen Jian answered without any concealment. Xie Liu was stunned at first, then smiled with relief.

This might be the answer she really wanted.

There was no deception, only cold but rational instructions.

Only under such instructions can the team's strength be maximized.

As ordinary people, are these "chosen ones" and "captains" afraid of death?
of course not.

If they are afraid of death, they will never be able to earn their own respect.

They just don't want to die in a meaningless way.

This is completely consistent with my own pursuit.

Thinking of this, Xie Liu suddenly said:
"Thank you."

"Ah? You're welcome."

Chen Jian was somewhat puzzled by her thank you, but he did not think much about it and continued to explain the details:
"I'll take the environmental monitoring indicator apart and give it to you. There's a simple Geiger counter on it. You don't need to look at the value, just listen carefully to the sound."

"If you hear a continuous sound, it means the radiation dose is already dangerous."

"You need to retreat in time and don't advance rashly. Do you understand?"

"clear."

Xie Liu answered solemnly. Chen Jian opened his PDA. After Ji Xing marked the approximate location of the forbidden area, he sat down and began to communicate with Xie Liu about the entry route.

At the same time, Ji Xing returned to the outside of the city and took from Shen Yue a series of anti-radiation drugs including metal chelating agents that Shen Yue had brought with him.

Xie Liu swallowed all the medicines in one gulp, and then prepared to go to the forbidden area according to the route marked by Chen Jian.

At the same time, Chen Jian and the other man who stayed in the city were not idle either. While Ji Xing was purchasing supplies, they took off their equipment and shuttled around the core area of Tongling City, collecting a complete collection of information on all aspects of the city.

It was not until nightfall that they returned to the inn where they were staying.

At this time, Ji Xing, who had already completed the purchasing task, was already waiting for them in the room.

"Everything has been purchased, and the total cost is 12600 grams of gold."

"I'm sorry, I didn't buy all the items on your list."

"Some things are really scarce. For example, we only have over 12.7 rounds of 35mm caliber bullets, and we don't have the mm grenades you requested."

"Some are of poor quality, such as mortar shells."

“Although the boss claimed that they were shipped from Huadu, it is obvious that the quality of those things is far different from the authentic Huadu goods.”

"But I bought the three things I had to buy."

"All the goods are currently in the warehouse, and we can go inspect them now."

"Not urgent."

Chen Jian waved his hand and said:
"We have to wait for Xie Liu to come back first."

"She didn't have any electronic devices with her, so we had to make sure she could find us as soon as possible."

"According to the time calculation, she should be back."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the hostel door.

Immediately afterwards, Xie Liu's voice was heard from outside the door.

"Captain, it's me!"

Chen Jian opened the door cautiously, and Xie Liu entered the room with wet hair.

Obviously, she had washed her whole body before returning as Chen Jian requested.

"Are you okay? How's the situation?"

Chen Jian asked.

"Fortunately!"

Xie Liu immediately replied:
"The 'radiation' there is indeed not strong. The detector beeps very rapidly, but not continuously."

“But that’s not the point!”

"I found what you were looking for there!"

"That must be what you are looking for!"

"The wreckage of five planes! Two of them are what you call 'space planes', two are 'God of War', and the other one is a bigger plane that we have never seen before!"

(End of this chapter)