Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 34 Redemption
Silence spread between the two.

Watson sorted out his chaotic thoughts and forcefully wrote a few words.

What is the success rate?

Zhuang Fan was silent for a moment, then held up one finger.

"One-tenth?" Watson's voice was dry.

Zhuang Fan nodded again, writing very quickly:

This is based on the premise that the collar won't blow our brains to mush the moment it's removed.

This is worse than a near-death experience.

It's like risking your life to gamble on the tiny bit of "mercy" the engineer left in the design.

Zhuang Fan, on the other hand, was more open-minded: "You have to take a gamble; if you don't, you die."

Watson forcefully wiped away the words on the ground, so forcefully that his fingernails turned white.

He then wrote another line: [How much money do you have left?]

Zhuang Fan wrote a number on the ground.

【2200】

Watson also wrote his own.

【1000】

It costs 3000 credits to redeem oneself, and their combined money is just enough for one person to leave.

Watson breathed a sigh of relief and wrote faster:
[Brother Guangtu, you're leaving.]

I'm transferring all 1000 points to you.

You're more capable than me; once you get out, you'll be able to make money incredibly quickly.

He paused for a moment, as if gathering his last bit of strength.

Find my sister, give her 1000 points, tell her to find a place to live, and never come back.

He wrote the last sentence very slowly.

If she's gone, then so be it.

Zhuang Fan was deeply moved as he looked at the few lines of crooked writing on the ground.

This is not simple trust; it is betting one's own virtually non-existent future on the life and death of another.

He reached out and erased all the writing, then looked at Watson.

“Go and tell her these things yourself.” His voice was calm, but firm.

Watson froze, then suddenly understood.

Zhuang Fan continued writing on the ground: "After I get out, I will earn money as soon as possible to redeem you. You stay here, keep a low profile, and don't cause trouble."

Watson nodded vigorously and handed over the hemp rope with the pendant.

[This was made by my sister; she can recognize it.]

Zhuang Fan took the rope and carefully put it into his pocket.

Afterwards, the two went to find the foreman.

The skinny old man was lying in a rocking chair enjoying the cool air. He was usually taciturn and very old-fashioned.

"transfer?"

The foreman opened his eyes and scrutinized Watson. "1000 credits? Are you sure?"

"determine."

"You seem a little reluctant to me?"

His cloudy eyes sharpened as he stared at Zhuang Fan. "Kid, threatening others to steal their money won't work here."

Watson quickly shook his head: "Boss, I did it voluntarily. I owed him money before, and now I'm paying it back."

“I’ve been here for thirty years and have seen too many volunteers. Brother Bao has only been dead for a short time and you’ve already become the new troublemaker. You’re quite capable.”

The foreman's gaze returned to Watson.

"You need to think this through. If it's not voluntary, you can speak up, and no one will dare to do anything to you."

Zhuang Fan thought to himself, "This is a good foreman."

"Boss, it's not what you think. We have a very good relationship."

The foreman was somewhat disappointed, and clicked his tongue as if shooing away two annoying flies.

"Alright, since it's your own decision."

He made a few movements on the terminal, and a light screen was projected in front of the two of them.

Watson reached out his hand, pressed his fingerprint on it, and the transfer was completed.

In Zhuang Fan's account, the number became 3200.

"Thank you."

"Get out of here," the foreman said impatiently.

The two turned and left without saying another word.

That night, the incineration plant worked overtime.

As always, Watson was responsible for providing cover, while Zhuang Fan appeared like a ghost in every corner of the incinerator.

Beneath the load-bearing columns supporting the factory, he accelerated the corrosive effect of the eerie mist.

Beside a hidden valve on the main fuel delivery pipeline, he used a piece of metal to turn an inconspicuous screw, stopping it just at the edge of the safety threshold.
Next to the water pressure sensor of the fire protection system, he left a precisely severed piece of copper wire, which could only cause a fatal short circuit under certain circumstances.

His movements were stealthy, precise, and efficient; even Watson was unaware of what he was doing.

Without creating any waves, it subtly changed the direction of the water flow.

……

The next day at noon, the sun was scorching.

Zhuang Fan walked into Xie Ke'en's office alone.

"battalion commander."

Shercohn was holding a steaming cup of tea when he saw him, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Is something wrong?"

“Deep in the garbage dump, I found a decommissioned medical pod.”

What kind of medical pod?

"It's the ninth generation model. The outer casing is badly damaged, but I've checked it, and the core components should still be intact."

Zhuang Fan answered truthfully, "If it can be repaired, its value... you should know better than I do."

Xie Ke'en paused in mid-air for half a second, slightly surprised, and asked, "It still works?"

Large items that are thrown into the trash have already been thoroughly inspected inside and out, making it virtually impossible to find any that are not there.

"It should be possible, but we need to have someone take a look."

"Row."

The market price of a single nanomedical capsule exceeds 800 million credits, and he is well aware of the enormous recycling value it contains.

Through internal communications, Shekorn ordered a team of soldiers to be sent to protect the scene and for technicians to come and verify the information.

Twenty minutes later, news came that Zhuang Fan's statement was confirmed.

"Reporting to the battalion commander! Preliminary assessment indicates that the core unit of this medical module is intact and has significant repair value!"

Xie Ke'en's face lit up with barely suppressed joy; this was a great achievement.

Once the medical pod is repaired, it can be sold for millions of credits on the black market.

"Good job."

Xie Ke'en looked at Zhuang Fan as if he were looking at a thriving money tree, and waved his hand.

The secretary stepped forward and poured Zhuang Fan a glass of water.

"Commander, there's one more thing. I'd like to initiate the redemption process."

Zhuang Fan then made his request.

"Redemption?"

The smile on Xie Ke'en's face faded. How could he possibly let go of a goose that lays golden eggs?

"As agreed before, after I redeem myself, I will work as a day laborer at the incinerator."

"Oh, I see. That's fine."

Shercohn, employing a feigned retreat, eventually agreed: "However, after you redeem yourself, you will need to sign a long-term labor contract with me."

"How long will it take?"

“For life,” Shay Cohen said casually.

Zhuang Fan shook his head: "At most ten years."

Are you trying to bargain with me?

Shekorn's expression turned completely cold, carrying an undisguised threat.

"You need to understand, here, I can let you rot in the incinerator for the rest of your life at any time."

"ten years."

Zhuang Fan did not back down and repeated himself.

He calmly approached Shekorn, without fear or anger.

The two stared at each other for a long while.

Finally, Shekorn smiled.

"Okay, ten years."

He doesn't care.

Anyway, ten years from now, he'll have plenty of ways to extend the contract indefinitely.

He signed Zhuang Fan's transfer application on the spot, changing his status from a convict to an external employee.

"You need to redeem yourself first before you can complete the job transfer process."

"Thank you, Battalion Commander."

"Yes, there is more."

As Zhuang Fan was about to leave, Xie Ke'en suddenly remembered something and casually said:

"The border defense zone has announced a new policy: to ensure fairness, each battalion's redemption quota must be obtained through bidding for credit points."

"One spot per day, starting bid 3,000 points, highest bidder wins." Zhuang Fan stopped at the door, his head buzzing.

"And one more thing."

Xie Ke'en's voice carried a hint of amusement: "Yesterday's transaction price was 5200 points, your account is still quite a bit short."

"Okay, Battalion Commander, I'll think of another way."

Zhuang Fan stepped out of the office and found the sunlight outside painfully bright, making him feel particularly heavy-hearted.

In the afternoon, he returned to the incineration plant.

From a distance, he saw several fully armed soldiers who had set up a cordon, preventing anyone from approaching.

The dilapidated medical pod was carefully cleaned out, and several maintenance workers stood around it, discussing it in hushed tones.

"The core structure is over 60% intact, yet it was thrown here like garbage."

"Never mind that, this is the tricky part."

Another maintenance worker pointed to the red warning on the instrument, "There is a trace leak in the nanobot chamber. Although the dose is very small, the activity is extremely high. It cannot be moved forcibly."

"What did the boss say?"

"What else can we say? It's already been reported. It's sealed on the spot. We'll wait for a specialist from above to come over."

"It can only be the."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Fan understood; everything was still within his plan.

He needed to ensure that the value of the medical pod was recognized by Shekorn, but that it wouldn't be easily moved or repaired by the mediocre people in the camp.

When Watson discovered that he had returned, he immediately pulled him into a secluded corner where no one was watching, and began writing frantically on the ground.

[Breaking news: It's the 86th Battalion's turn for screening tonight.]

House seemingly endless rain.

The screening was brought forward by a whole day, leaving Zhuang Fan with the absolute most of his time.

Zhuang Fan felt extremely troubled, and he wrote:
There's something fishy going on here. There's only one redemption slot available each day, and it's auctioned off. 3000 points simply aren't enough.

Watson wasn't too surprised and continued writing on the ground:

I also saw the announcement at noon; the transaction price might rise to 5000 points.

Zhuang Fan's voice was soft but clear: "Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to force it."

Hua Sheng shook his head: "Brother Guangtu, I've already taken care of the money issue."

Zhuang Fan looked at him, puzzled.

For the first time, a smug look of "strategic planning" appeared on Watson's face.

"During my lunch break, I found a few trustworthy coworkers and collected 2200 points from them."

"Interest?"

"Three percent interest per month."

Zhuang Fan frowned: "Borrowed money cannot be used to redeem oneself. Every credit point will be traced back to its source, and the system will determine it as invalid funds."

"Of course I know."

Watson smiled. “But I can ‘gift’ you the money for free. You can use it to redeem yourself, and then you won’t be subject to this restriction.”

Zhuang Fan looked at him again.

"Brother Guangtu".

Watson patted him on the shoulder with a strong thud: "This time, it's my turn to protect you."

Zhuang Fan nodded, everything understood without a word.

The two of them sped up relentlessly throughout the afternoon.

Watson worked tirelessly, going back and forth, creating one fleeting opportunity after another for him.

Zhuang Fan even used the last bit of black mist reserve just to correct time and accelerate the decay of the rotten mist.

He must finish all the arrangements by tonight.

At the end of the workday, the foreman settled the accounts as usual, but Hua Sheng didn't want any payment and gave all 200 credits to Zhuang Fan.

In addition, he transferred all 2000 credits he had scraped together from his account to Zhuang Fan.

The foreman looked at the numbers displayed on the terminal, then at the two men, and said nothing.

However, in the transfer service fee section, he charged an extra 5% handling fee, in accordance with industry practice.

Ultimately, Zhuang Fan's account balance reached 5100 points, while Hua Sheng's account balance was 200 points.

Watson did a quick calculation: "200 points, plus my salary, if I spend them sparingly, can last me two months."

Zhuang Fan looked at him and wrote a line on the ground:

It won't be that long, wait for me to come back.

Before leaving the incinerator, Zhuang Fan checked the plan one last time and had Hua Sheng write it down himself.

At 7:25 PM tonight, I stood in section F, as close as possible to the abandoned starch reactor; I absolutely could not stray from it.

After confirming that everything was correct, Zhuang Fan continued writing: "From now on, whatever happens is none of your business. Just act like a normal person."

Also, forget all the conversations you had today.

Watson nodded vigorously.

The two had been going in and out of the incinerator together for a long time and had a very strong relationship. If Watson were to return to the hideout alone first, it would be difficult for him to clear his name.

Therefore, Watson must remain at the accident scene.

Just then, those old criminals who had been entrenched in the incinerator blocked Zhuang Fan's way once again.

The man in the lead had a greedy smile on his face.

"Kid, I heard you found a medical pod today. The reward should be pretty good, right?"

On the contrary, Zhuang Fan received very little reward today.

"We brothers don't have big appetites, so four protein bars a day for each of us isn't too much, is it?"

Are you sure you want to take more?

"We're absolutely certain you'll give it to us today." They had figured out Zhuang Fan's concessions and pressed him relentlessly.

He looked at the group of criminals and remained silent for a moment.

"Okay, I'll bring it to you while I work overtime tonight."

"Kid, you're smart to know what's good for you."

Zhuang Fan rushed to the management office and found that the auction had already begun.

Five criminals stood in front of the stage, looking nervous.

Each of them had a red button, which added 100 points each time, and the numbers on the screen were jumping wildly.

【4900】

When Zhuang Fan saw someone press the button without hesitation and the number instantly jump to [5000], his heart sank.

All he had left was 5100 credits.

He strode forward, stood in the sixth empty seat, and pressed the button forcefully.

"drop."

The number on the screen changed to [5100].

The burly man who had previously offered 5000 showed a fierce glint in his eyes and raised his hand again.

But his finger stopped less than a centimeter from the button, and his eyes became blank.

Another criminal tried to raise the price, but the situation also stalled.

As they came to their senses, a shrill announcement rang out, signaling the end of the auction.

The number on the light screen is [5100].

Zhuang Fan won by cheating.

Next, he was led into the room by two guards.

The administrator took out a metal device, put it around his neck, and with a "click," the collar came off.

"Even after you've been redeemed, you can't leave the camp yet. You have to undergo inspection by the nuclear side. Hmm, wait a minute."

The administrator then discovered that Zhuang Fan's information had been updated; it was a transfer agreement signed by Xie Ke'en.

After confirming the authenticity of the application, he nodded to Zhuang Fan: "Congratulations, your application has been approved. I will have a soldier take you to the incinerator."

"Thank you," Zhuang Fan replied politely.

At the same time, at Camp 86.

Several nuclear personnel, led by their foreman, entered the hideout where Zhuang Fan was located.

"100 people were registered, but 92 people actually showed up. 8 people are not here. What happened?"

The staff member glanced at the terminal data and frowned: "The notification has already been issued, why are you still dragging your feet like this?"

"I'm so sorry, six are in the mining area and two are in the incinerator," the foreman explained in a low voice.

"There's no time. Send someone to bring them back. Not one of them can be missing."

"Yes!"

In a corner of the garbage mountain, Watson stared intently at the old pocket watch in his hand.

【19: 23】

Two minutes left.

Just then, a group of soldiers entered through the gate of the incinerator, accompanied by several commissioners.

Watson sensed something was wrong and glanced at the time again.

[1 minutes 30 seconds]

The specialist looked the medical pod over and nodded: "This is the one. It's leaking, so move it carefully."

[1 minutes 10 seconds]

Four flatbed engineering vehicles slowly drove in; they needed to hold the bottom base of the medical pod in place.

The medical module must not be moved!

Watson suddenly looked down; there was still one minute left.

His blood had gone cold.

At the same time, the foreman of the hideout also led his team over, frowning and shouting.

"Guangtu, Huasheng, you two come out here right now!"

(End of this chapter)