Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 137 Prejudgment
"It's a pity that they got away like that."

Santana stood in the shadows at the cave entrance, watching the direction where Scarface's convoy had disappeared.

Behind him were dozens of well-equipped rat guards, strapped with steel plates and carrying assault rifles.

Santana turned around and looked at a gray-haired rat-man: "Uncle Fukang, if they dare to come again next time, let's just leave these scum here."

Old Fukang shook his head, his gaze sweeping over his poorly equipped kinsmen, his voice calm:
"You're just being impulsive. Those guys have heavy firepower, but what about ours?"

He pointed to the tribesmen carrying cold weapons:

"We are rat guards, but not cannon fodder. The adults' plan did not include risking our lives here. Too many casualties would not be worth it."

Santana suppressed his fighting spirit, nodded silently, and turned to give the order: "Continue to keep watch, the rest of you return to the cave."

Old Fukang patted him on the shoulder and took the lead towards the eerie cave entrance.

"Keep up! Quickly!"

The rats immediately sprang into action.

They were filled with an instinctive fear of the eerie black mist churning at the cave entrance.

The black mist was so thick it seemed alive, cold and sticky, and it emitted low groans and howls that sent chills down one's spine.

All the ratmen held their breath, lowered their heads, and quickly passed through the black mist area, not daring to linger, for fear that they would continue to mutate and become breeding grounds for the monsters.

The black fog only spread a few meters.

The moment they passed through the black mist barrier and stepped into the inner cave, the suffocating sense of oppression vanished.

The interior of the cave suddenly opened up.

A fog-repelling lamp is fixed every five meters on the top and side rock walls. Although the air is still humid, it is no longer gloomy and murky.

Mao Shanwang's convoy was parked not far away.

He himself was standing on a wide platform, marveling at the two dark tracks.

It turned out to be an abandoned underground platform, with rusty edges and tracks that stretched endlessly into the darkness.

When Mao Shanwang saw Santana return, he greeted him with a big smile: "You've worked hard, Santana brother, you're finally back."

"Boss Mao, this is what we should do."

A strong feline scent wafted over, causing the fur on the back of Santana's neck to stand on end instantly—a predator signal etched into its genes.

Santana took a step back without making a sound, while the old Fukang walked up with a cheerful smile:

"Boss Mao, you must be tired from your journey."

"It's not hard work, it's just business." Mao Shanwang patted his round belly with a palm-leaf fan.

Old Fukang kindly explained, "His Majesty had important business to attend to today and was unable to come in person, but he specifically instructed that he would do his utmost to assist your convoy."

"Thank you so much, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to get rid of those people."

Old Fukang pointed to the bottomless tunnel: "We have cleared all these stations, so you can get to your destination without any problems."

Mao Shanwang peered inside and saw that apart from the convoy's headlights, the depths of the tunnel were pitch black, with a chilling wind blowing.

"Can it go all the way to a station near the Torch Base?"

"Yes, but..."

The old Fukang looked a little embarrassed. "We're short on cash, so we can only install some headlights for illumination. We really don't have the money to buy more fog lights... The fog inside is very thick."

"There's no black fog, is there?"

"No, no, at most dark fog!"

Old Fukang immediately assured: "Besides, we've already cleared out all the monsters inside. You can drive faster; it's absolutely safe."

"As long as it's safe, it's safe."

Mao Shanwang pulled out a thick wad of gold notes from his pocket and forcefully stuffed them into Lao Fukang's hand.

"Thank you for your hard work, little mice. This is a token of my appreciation."

Old Fukang accepted the gold coins, his smile becoming even more genuine:

"Boss Mao is very generous! Please come this way, our people will guide you onto the right track."

The convoy engines roared again, and Mao Shanwang's convoy drove away from the makeshift platform and plunged into the tunnel.

The density of the eerie fog suddenly increased.

Although it didn't reach the level of black fog, the dense fog still drastically reduced visibility, and the lights could only emit a faint yellow glow.

The convoy turned on all its searchlights, tearing through the dark fog ahead. The defogging devices were also running at full capacity, barely creating a safe zone with a radius of three meters in front of the beams of light.

As a result, the convoy was moving very slowly.

Along the way, there were indeed no mutated creatures, not even a single poisonous rat.

The wheels rolled over the rails, making a monotonous "clang, clang" sound.

Suddenly, another sound seeped in.

"Shh...shh..."

At first, it was very faint, like fine sand flowing, but soon the sound became omnipresent, seeping through the rock walls from all directions and penetrating everyone's eardrums.

"What's the noise?"

A cat-man guard pricked up his ears warily and gripped his shotgun tightly.

"Boss, there's a large red heat source approaching from ahead, and it's moving very fast!"

Mao Shanwang frowned and signaled the lead vehicle to stop.

The convoy slowly came to a stop.

"Everyone, stand by! Weapons ready!"

The searchlight beam from the armored vehicle at the front suddenly swept across the tunnel wall to the side.

Where the beam of light reached, that wall... came to life.

Countless brownish-yellow insects covered every inch of space, wriggling frantically under the beam of light.

cockroach!

They resemble a thick, brownish-yellow carpet, only the carpet has come to life, spreading from the floor to the walls and then to the ceiling, even completely submerging the railway tracks.

Unable to withstand the pressure from their companions, swarms of cockroaches fell from the ceiling with a "thud" and landed on the car roof.

Mao Shanwang sat in the cockpit, his scalp tingling instantly.

He had seen hordes of corpses and green tides, but he had never seen a horde of cockroaches... There were just too many of them.

Fortunately, these cockroaches had no interest in these steel behemoths. They neither attacked them nor showed any hostility; they simply instinctively avoided the light and migrated away.

"Drive...drive past, slowly!" Mao Shanwang suppressed the chill in his heart.

The convoy restarted, rolling over the thick carpet, and a series of crisp "crackling" sounds came from under the wheels.

Silence fell over the carriage.

The catwoman sitting in the passenger seat was on edge, hissing and growling involuntarily, clearly very uncomfortable with the scene before her.

Mao Shanwang spoke slowly: "I once heard an old scavenger who had lived for hundreds of years say that these cockroaches are the only species in the wasteland that has not been 'evolved'."

The catwoman's attention was indeed drawn back: "You mean, they've always been in this form?"

"Yes, I've read some ancient texts. Six or seven hundred years ago, they were called 'German cockroaches.' They survived the Great Cataclysm, the meteorite tide, and the spread of the eerie mist. Their size is not much different from what it is now."

Mao Shanwang sighed, "That's why they often say that there are two things that never change in the wasteland: one is human nature, and the other is cockroaches."

"Alas……"

At that moment, a whole "carpet" fell in front of the windshield and then scattered everywhere, making Catwoman feel nauseous.

"You guys are still too young."

Mao Shanwang took out a metal syringe containing a pale blue liquid from the medical kit next to him.

"What is this thing? It's a purification needle. If you get bitten by a zombie, you can use this needle to eliminate the zombie's poison."

He waved the object in his hand: "But do you know what this needle is made of?"

Catwoman paused, as if realizing something.

"Yes, that's them."

Mao Shanwang pointed to the still-wriggling brown carpet outside and said in a learned old tone:
"They extracted a gene-stabilizing substance from cockroaches. If a person is bitten by a zombie, a quick injection can effectively block the mutation."

After putting away the purification needle, he chuckled and fanned himself with a palm leaf fan, saying, "Purification needle, radiation damping pad, and fog light—these are the three treasures of the wasteland, understand, my darlings?"

On the communicator, a catwoman spoke hesitantly:
“But we’re already mutants. Even if we get bitten by a zombie, we won’t mutate into something else… It’s no use to us.”

Mao Shanwang was slightly taken aback, opened his mouth, and found that he could not refute this fact.

"...That's true, but it also reduces the corrosive effects of corpse poison, and it's cheap and durable."

Inside the tunnel, the swarm of cockroaches was endless.

The convoy moved slowly for nearly an hour in this oppressive atmosphere.

The chilling rustling sound gradually thinned out and eventually disappeared behind the convoy.

After driving for another ten minutes or so, a stable artificial light source appeared at the end of the darkness ahead.

"arrive."

Mao Shanwang breathed a long sigh of relief.

On the platform, four armored soldiers were holding machine guns, with the muzzles pointed at the convoy.

"One of our own!"

As agreed, Mao Shanwang flashed his high beams three times.

After recognizing the Maoshanwang caravan, the armored soldiers put down their machine guns and quickly reported to the base.

Mao Shanwang recognized this platform; it used to be the Jetta team's base, less than 200 meters away from the Xin Huo base.

After the truck came to a stop, the cats began unloading the cargo.

Mao Shanwang looked around. The platform was clean and tidy, with boxes piled against the wall, filled with scrap. It seemed that this place had become a temporary warehouse for the Xin Huo base.

At the other end of the platform, fifty rat-men miners were wielding their tools, clanging and digging into the rock face.

Mao Shanwang opened the Wasteland Traveler app and dialed Zhuang Fan's communication: "We have arrived safely."

"Okay, wait a moment."

As soon as Zhuang Fan ended the call, he immediately bent down to the side, and a swift palm strike almost grazed his scalp.

"You're so clumsy, you even resort to sneak attacks now?"

"Hooray! Again!"

Xiong Da let out a hearty roar, and his fan-like paws slapped Zhuang Fan repeatedly.

Zhuang Fan did not choose to withstand the attack head-on, but instead dodged and deflected the force flexibly, searching for the smallest opening.

"boom!"

There was a muffled sound.

Zhuang Fan ultimately failed to dodge. He staggered back three or four steps, his arm going numb, but he wasn't sent flying like before.

Watson, standing on the sidelines, felt his heart pound, but he was mostly stunned.

He clearly remembered that four or five days ago, the eldest brother couldn't last three moves against Xiong Da before being sent flying.

The eldest brother looks disheveled now, but he can withstand beatings again and again, and his progress is frighteningly fast.

"Stop, that's enough for today."

Xiong Da, still wanting more, withdrew his paw and looked at Watson, who quickly shook his head:

"Don't look at me, I'm not fighting you!"

Zhuang Fan wiped the sweat from his forehead, stretched his numb shoulders, and said to Hua Sheng, "Old Cat is here, let's go to the underground platform together."

"it is good."

When Zhuang Fan and Hua Sheng arrived at the underground platform, half of the cargo had already been unloaded.

Upon seeing him, Mao Shanwang couldn't help but complain:
"To be honest, the tunnel is pretty safe, more secure than walking on the surface, but... there are just too many cockroaches." "Anyway, they won't bite you. Shall you guys go back through the tunnel later?"

"Yes."

Mao Shanwang's face was gloomy. "We'll leave from another platform later and won't go back to the original cave. Scarface and his gang are definitely still lurking outside the valley."

After scanning the goods, Zhuang Fan continued, "What's the situation with Morihan Networks?"

Just as you guessed.

Mao Shanwang said in a deep voice, "That group of 'refined scoundrels' have really gotten mixed up with Scarface, but..."

He curled his lip: "Scarface is just a good-for-nothing, nothing to worry about. What I'm worried about is his brother."

"Are you sure about Scarface?"

Mao Shanwang nodded, his tone grave: "Yes, Scarface has become the combat supervisor for the Swift Dragons."

Both of them knew what this meant.

Xunlong is inherently stronger than Fengmang. Scarface can now command a team of at least six hundred people, all of whom are elites.

As long as Scarface remains, Mao Shan Wang's trade routes will continue to be blocked. Moreover, the backers behind Harpenson are Scarface and his associates. This problem needs to be resolved as soon as possible.

Zhuang Fan was well aware of the stakes involved, but did not express his opinion first.

Mao Shanwang glanced at the other end of the tunnel, at the rat-men miners who were still busy digging, and his fat face twitched.

"Hey, we can't let the mice deal with Scarface, they're all squishy, ​​one burst of bullets and they'll take down a whole bunch of them."

"Let me think about it."

For Zhuang Fan, the Swift Dragon was a long-term concern, but the biggest problem at present was the Apocalypse Cult, which had already set its sights on the base.

He didn't explain much to Mao Shanwang, then went into the cubicle and slammed the door shut.

More than an hour later, the cubicle door reopened, and Zhuang Fan came out, saying, "It's all taken care of."

The waste inside the compartment had its surface layer of decaying mist removed, revealing its original metallic texture.

Mao Shanwang directed his men to count and pack the goods, muttering to himself, "This batch of goods is of good quality and has been well repaired. The total price... tsk tsk... 700,000 gold coins."

He handed the data panel to Zhuang Fan:

"However, it's still a long way from your target of 26 million. I went to inquire today, and the people there are sticking to their prices and won't budge."

“I guessed that would be the case.” Zhuang Fan did not place his hopes on this shelter.

While dealing with the decaying fog, Zhuang Fan once again dug into Xu Renyi's memories, trying to find some possibility of breaking the deadlock.

The old man had experienced countless schemes, betrayals, and wars in his life. Although most of his memories were fragmented, they still gave Zhuang Fan a lot of experience.

His gaze passed over Mao Shanwang and landed on the fifteen elite catmen not far away.

These cat-man warriors are seasoned veterans who have served King Maoshan for a long time. They are more skilled and experienced in battle than the cat-men from the mountains who come from the base.

Now, these fifteen people, fully covered in power armor, stand solemnly to the side, appearing even more imposing.

“Old Cat,” Zhuang Fan suddenly spoke.

"Ok?"

"You can stay here a little longer tonight."

Mao Shanwang was taken aback: "What's going on?"

"I'll borrow these fifteen armored soldiers of yours for a while; I'm going to do something big tonight."

Mao Shanwang's eyes lit up: "Are we going to beat up Scarface?"

Zhuang Fan coughed lightly: "Attack the Apocalypse Sect."

Mao Shanwang's beard twitched violently, and his fat face scrunched up like a bitter gourd: "Fight the Apocalypse Cult? Fine... but you're not going to wait until 2 a.m. again, are you?"

Zhuang Fan was completely stunned: "Holy crap, how did you know? I haven't even announced it yet!"

"how could I know?"

Mao Shanwang chuckled strangely, with an expression that said, "I saw right through you."

"I'm a businessman, you know, I'm good at accounting! You attacked those idiots in Qiushan at four in the morning, and you attacked those lunatics in the Blue Blade Gang at three in the morning."

"Following your decreasing pattern, wouldn't it be 2 AM tonight?"

"...You stumbled upon this by accident."

Then, King Maoshan let out a sigh, his face full of sorrow:

"It's not that I can't help, but if I lend out my men, I'll have to pay for their time, right? And if I stay to direct, I'll have to pay for that too, right? Fighting at 2 AM might even delay tomorrow morning's transaction, so I'll have to pay for that too! I..."

"Help me fight the Apocalypse Cult tonight."

Zhuang Fan stared at Mao Shanwang and made a promise: "And I will help you get rid of Scarface."

Mao Shanwang's complaints stopped abruptly, and he stared at Zhuang Fan.

"How do you plan to solve this?"

"I sneak up on the velociraptor, wait until I get close to the target, then fire a cloud of black mist, and I'm done."

Mao Shanwang suddenly realized that the man in front of him had many strange methods and should not be underestimated.

"Good brother, it's a deal!"

After Mao Shanwang's smile faded, Zhuang Fan continued, "But for safety reasons, starting tomorrow, your shipments will be suspended."

Mao Shanwang thought for a moment and nodded with difficulty: "This is the only way. Let's lay low for now and deal with the Scarface brothers and the investigation team before resuming things with Old Cui."

Zhuang Fan offered a solution: "I'll increase the amount of recyclables I collect, and you can continue as before, visiting all our old customers, going door-to-door to each recycling station and trading point."

He looked at Mao Shanwang and said, "You were too high-profile before. You should have collected some normal goods as a cover to mislead them."

Mao Shanwang wholeheartedly agreed: "That's right. I was too impatient before, thinking about maximizing profits, which is why the other party saw through my scheme."

"Old Cat, you've done a good job reflecting on your actions."

"Hehe, see you tonight."

After the transaction was completed, the Maoshanwang convoy set off again and entered the deep tunnel once more.

But they did not return to the entrance they came from.

After traveling through the tunnel for half an hour, the convoy turned off at another intermediate station.

A few minutes later, the convoy broke through the black fog, drove out of the underground, and arrived at a low-lying, collapsed ruin.

This place is far from the valley, and only a few hundred scattered zombies wander the wilderness, with tumbleweeds whistling past.

On the other side, outside the valley, a scorching wind howled.

Scarface and his gang had been staking out the place for several hours, grumbling and munching on dry, hard strips of meat.

No unusual activity was detected in the valley until sunset.

"Is that fat cat dead inside? Come out now!"

Scarface was filled with anxiety and was about to force his way into the valley when the communicator on his wrist rang.

"Boss... Boss!"

A surprised voice came from his subordinate, "That fat cat, he... he just showed up at the trading company!"

The strip of meat in Scarface's hand fell to the ground.

"What?" he shouted.

"And another thing! All his goods are sold out, the carriages are completely empty!"

Scarface jumped to his feet: "Impossible! My men have been watching outside the whole time! Not even a mouse has slipped out!"

Mao Shanwang's caravan was so large that it was impossible for them to sneak out right under their noses.

The deputy cautiously spoke up: "Boss, that might only prove..."

"Prove what? Spit it out!"

"This proves that there is more than one exit from this valley."

The deputy swallowed hard. "Even... this valley isn't his lair, but just a section of road he's passing through."

A hot wind blew past, and Scarface stood frozen in place.

"Yes, that makes some sense."

He finally realized that he had been tricked by that fat cat from beginning to end.

Linhai City, Morisaka Cyber ​​Intelligence Department.

Vincent had just finished processing the last document.

He raised his wrist, checked the time, and saw an encrypted communication request pop up.

Scarface's dejected face appeared on the screen. "Mr. Vincent, we've lost them."

After listening patiently, Vincent put his coffee cup back on the table, his voice devoid of any emotion: "Mr. Scarface, weren't you very confident before?"

This casual sarcasm ignited Scarface's fury: "That's a fucking rat hole! It's teeming with thousands of rats! Who the hell would dare go in there!"

"go on."

After Scarface finished yelling, his momentum weakened again: "Don't worry, this is just... a tactical adjustment! That fat cat definitely can't escape, just give me a little more time."

Vincent waited until Scarface's voice grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared before slowly speaking:
“I’m waiting for your good news, Mr. Scarface.”

Twelve o'clock in the morning.

Night was shrouded in eerie fog, and the moonlight was nowhere to be seen.

An airship broke through the eerie fog, with fog-expelling devices on both sides of its hull continuously operating.

Flying at high altitudes at night, without navigational markers, relies entirely on the pilot's experience to control the flight, making the possibility of being tracked extremely low.

Thirty minutes later, the airship passed through the clouds and slowly landed on the open ground outside the Torch Base, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The "skilled" machine gun turret recognized the airship as being on the whitelist and stopped locking on.

The hatch opened with a "whoosh," and twenty armored soldiers jumped out swiftly.

Finally, an enlarged and thickened powered armored vehicle slowly squeezed out of the hatch.

This was a custom-made piece for Mao Shanwang, but he didn't like these metal lumps; they were just uncomfortable to wear.

As they entered the Torch Base, just as they were about to greet everyone, they found the entire base already bustling with activity.

The base was brightly lit, yet a somber atmosphere prevailed.

Cole led a dozen armored soldiers, running back and forth between the warehouse and several heavy trucks.

"Quickly! Secure all the ammunition boxes! Remember to place the shock grenades separately!" Cole's voice was steady and powerful.

The metal boxes clanged loudly, making Mao Shanwang's eyelids twitch.

"Holy crap... what's going on? Weren't we supposed to start at 2 a.m.? Why are we starting the meal so early?"

Hua Sheng stood aside checking the supplies list and said to Mao Shanwang in a deep voice, "The plan has changed."

He succinctly stated: "The few rat spies Jetta planted in the Apocalypse Cult just risked their lives to deliver intelligence, saying that there was unusual activity at the stronghold, and they are beginning to assemble."

"Everyone assemble?"

Mao Shanwang's heart sank slightly. "How many people?"

Hua Sheng's expression was grim: "Preliminary estimates suggest that this wave involves more than two thousand people."

Hua Xin, who was standing next to him, had already put on his power armor and took over the conversation: "The pre-battle mobilization has already begun. The grassroots commanders and priests are distributing white jars to the believers in each camp."

Mao Shanwang certainly knew about these white jars.

A small amount sprayed into the mouth will cause the person to become extremely agitated and insensitive to pain. The side effect is that it can easily lead to nerve poisoning, which can cause disability or even death.

Zhuang Fan had been examining the nearby topographical map. He looked up and said slowly:

"It's pretty much confirmed. Their target tonight is this place; they want to launch a surprise attack under the cover of night."

Mao Shanwang's cat-like face fell.

"Holy crap! These lunatics... they predicted our prediction?"

(End of this chapter)