Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 40 Leaving the City
Several figures disappeared into the depths of the ruins.

It took Grey Goose and Nan Yiwei working together to drag the semi-conscious Lolo back into the armored vehicle.

Her entire face was swollen, like an over-fermented dough, her eyes were squeezed into slits, and there was a blood trickle from the corner of her mouth.

Lolo's lips moved slightly, her voice muffled.

"Kill him...kill his whole family..."

Nan Yiwei took out an ice pack to apply to her soothing eyes, but her gaze was blank as she stared at the interior wall of the carriage, still in a daze.

The engine roared back to life, and Grey Goose drove the armored vehicle toward Linhai City.

The car hadn't gone far when a cloud of dust rose from the horizon.

The support troops dispatched by the administrator have arrived.

A dozen armored vehicles stopped nearby, and squads of soldiers jumped out in unison, forming a meaningless defensive line in the wilderness.

The leading officer quickly stepped forward and saluted, but his expression changed drastically when he saw Lolo's miserable state inside the car.

Grey Goose gave a brief explanation.

Upon hearing this, the officer immediately reported to his superiors and arranged for the best accompanying doctor to come over.

The administrator of Linhai City also arrived. As soon as he entered the carriage, he was berated.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash! Why don't you all die on the street! Get out of here!"

Lolo's speech was unclear, and it took the administrator quite a while to understand what she was saying.

"A bounty has been placed on that traitor throughout the city! I want him dead!"

The administrator readily agreed and then issued an arrest warrant for the regimental commander who had deserted the army, regardless of his life or death, through an encrypted channel.

The medical probe moved across Lolo's cheek, and as the medication was injected into her skin, the swelling began to subside rapidly.

She regained some of her senses and scanned the carriage, but did not find Hua Xin.

"Where is that bastard?! Where the hell is she?! They're definitely in cahoots, they're definitely having an affair, grab her!"

Grey Goose frowned slightly after hearing this.

The teammate next to him whispered, "Team leader, that girl is very clever. She slipped away as soon as the main force arrived."

Grey Goose nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

If Hua Xin really stays, given Luo Luo's vengeful nature, she will suffer a terrible fate.

"What are you all standing there for? Go find it!"

Nan Yiwei held back for a long time before finally speaking: "Luo Luo, that's enough."

Lolo's eyes widened: "What did you say?"

I said, "That's enough, stop."

She turned to the administrator and said sincerely, "Your Excellency, I am truly sorry. Our arrival these past few days has created quite a mess here."

The administrator was startled, sensing something was wrong: "Ms. Nan, it's our fault for not providing adequate protection."

Nan Yiwei interrupted him:
“We’ll be heading back to Zhongdu soon. I’ll have someone contact you about the compensation arrangements.”

Lolo seemed to be awakened by those words.

"Yes, return to Zhongdu, immediately!"

She lost all face here; every second was torture and humiliation.

Just then, Harry arrived in time.

Upon learning of Grey Goose's outstanding contribution, he became arrogant and was promoted from team leader to deputy team leader. Only a few months later, he is now in a position to become the team leader.

He jumped off the armored vehicle, strode through the crowd, and came to Grey Goose, his face full of concern.

"Team Leader Grey Goose! You remained calm in the face of danger and protected the safety of our two distinguished guests! As expected of an S-rank hunter of the Edge, your performance was truly outstanding!"

He spoke loudly, making sure everyone could hear him.

"It's so noisy, shut up."

Lolo stared at Harry, and the smile on Harry's face instantly froze.

"Your name is Grey Goose, right? Now you're in charge of protecting us on our way back to Zhongdu. Everyone else, get as far away as you can."

Lolo's tone left no room for argument.

Grey Goose had originally planned to return to Zhongdu, and after thinking for a moment, she quietly agreed.

Harry coughed lightly, his eyes burning with passion: "It is my honor to continue serving Ms. Lolo."

"Who are you? Did I ask you to speak?"

Lolo looked at her like she was looking at a buzzing insect: "Who are you to interrupt?"

This contempt only pleased Harry more, and he straightened his back even more.

"Ms. Lolo, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Harry, the vice-captain of the third combat squad of the Sharp Edge Mercenary Group, and my father."

"Your father?"

Lolo chuckled and interrupted him, "Is he a member of the Dome or a resident of the Eco-Park?"

"."

This immediately touched on Harry's blind spot.

"So he's an honorary citizen?"

Lolo added, "I'm referring to honorary citizens of Zhongdu, not people from your wretched place."

"He's not yet." "Is he a senator or a minister?"

"Uh, neither of those, it's him."

"Are they direct descendants of the top ten conglomerates?"

Harry looked slightly embarrassed and shook his head again.

"Which line of defense is he commanding, or is he the chief of staff?"

Seeing Harry's face turn slightly red, Lolo sighed, "It's impossible that you don't even have assets worth 1000 million."

Harry fell completely silent.

"So, your father is a toad, and you are the son of a toad. Am I right?"

She looked Harry up and down, as if examining a piece of merchandise:
"I've seen plenty of dogs that want to climb up the social ladder, but you're the first one that barks so rudely and has no sense of propriety. Now get out of my sight and don't come here to sully my eyes."

"Okay, okay, he won't do it again."

The administrator glared at Harry, who left, his face flushed.

Lolo, whose self-esteem had been completely shattered by Harry, regained it all and became arrogant again.

She gave the administrator an ultimatum: "I want that man's head delivered to Zhongdu within a month, no, within a week."

The administrator nodded solemnly: "I will."

He stood there, watching the convoy leave, utterly exhausted.

Nan Yiwei sat beside her, remaining silent the entire time.

Lolo's curses, the administrator's flattery, the swaying of the carriage... everything became distant and blurry to her.

After the commotion subsided, the battlefield returned to deathly silence.

Tataji, with his army of ratmen, returned to the scene silently.

It set its sights on the two "Baron" mechs.

Although the mechanical body was riddled with bullet holes and cracks, and several mechanical arms were torn off and scattered on the ground.

But in the eyes of the ratmen, this was the most precious trophy.

Before the Apocalypse Cult's reinforcements arrived, the ratmen took out ropes and pulleys and quickly tied up the wreckage of the mech.

Finally, it was slowly dragged deeper into the nest.

At the edge of the landfill, several armored vehicles bearing the logo of the Nuclear Corporation were parked in the distance.

A group of soldiers were inspecting the hideout of a local tyrant; the atmosphere was tense.

Zhuang Fan watched this scene from a distance through the gaps between a pile of abandoned shipping containers, then turned and disappeared into the shadows.

He hid here for five days.

By reselling the high-value repaired parts, he had already collected 25,000 gold coins.

In the underground black market, in the shop selling electronic mice, there was still that familiar smell of metal solder.

"Twenty-five thousand gold coins, not a single penny less." The electronic mouse's voice had a metallic quality.

Zhuang Fan looked at him and knew that this guy had raised the price again.

"Friend, the nuclear people have been very arrogant lately, the risk is high, please understand."

"You'll keep the buyer's information confidential, right?" Zhuang Fan used a declarative sentence.

"Of course, it's all included in the transaction price."

Zhuang Fan sensed that the electronic mouse was neither lying nor trying to cheat, which put him at ease.

He placed a small cloth bag on the counter containing a small amount of broken gold, weighing exactly 25 grams.

The electronic mouse took out an instrument to scan the purity, and Zhuang Fan teased it: "They were all swapped from you, and you still want to check?"

"Hey, I'm used to it."

The electronic mouse pushed a sealed bag over. "Here's what you wanted."

Inside was a human skin mask, two fingerprint sleeves, a smart ring, and two iris stickers.

"His name was Sain, a third-class citizen. He had just died not long ago, and his body was still warm in the morgue; it was very fresh."

"I need to see the video of him before he died," Zhuang Fan made his specific request.

"no problem."

A blurry holographic image is projected into the air.

In the video, a thin man is walking down a dimly lit street.

He walked with a slightly sluggish gait, seemingly distracted, and failed to notice an out-of-control freight truck hurtling towards him from the side.

There were no screams, and the scene ended there.

Zhuang Fan watched the video more than a dozen times, engraving every subtle movement of Sain, from the slight swaying of his shoulders when he walked to the unconscious twitching of his fingers, into his mind.

"There's no need to be so cautious. As long as someone is a citizen, they can basically be ruled out as a wanted criminal."

The electronic mouse chuckled and reminded you, "However, starting today, you'll have to pay a 3000 credit point 'third-class citizen tax' every month. If you fall behind, you'll be downgraded to a vagrant."

Zhuang Fan nodded, picked up his things, and left, walking into the shadows where there were no surveillance cameras.

When he came out again, he was already a third-class citizen named Sain.

(End of this chapter)