Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 70 Surrender
The next day, the scorched earth didn't arrive, and the weather remained muggy.

Mao Shanwang arrived at the recycling station right on time, driving his enormous crab-shaped vehicle.

"This awful weather is unbearably hot!"

He poked his round head out of the crab shell, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan while complaining.

After an hour of tallying, the total payment for this transaction amounted to 120,000 gold coins, and both parties were very satisfied.

After thinking it over, Zhuang Fan decided to order a batch of high-temperature protective suits, otherwise he was always worried that scorched earth would come.

"You've come to the right person."

Upon hearing this, Mao Shanwang perked up: "I have the best stuff here, a triple-protection structure!"

He began to describe the functions, such as flame-retardant composite materials, aerogel insulation layers, and metal reflective layers.
"It has a humidity buffer and evaporative cooling system, as well as a thermoelectric semiconductor system for power. Wearing it will keep you cool and comfortable even in scorching conditions."

Zhuang Fan's head was throbbing from listening. He had figured out the cat's temperament all along. "Stop wasting your breath, just give me a price."

"One set costs 20,000 gold coins, two sets cost 30,000."

"Get out, I don't want it anymore."

"No, I brought them all."

He was clearly prepared; there were four sets of stock in the huge warehouse truck.

"Don't you have anything cheaper?"

"Yes, there are some, but their battery life is short, only lasting about thirty minutes."

Zhuang Fan estimated: "Give me two of the most expensive sets, and six more of the cheaper ones, for a total of 30,000 gold coins."

"Brother, what are you doing with that chop?"

"Fine, if you don't want to sell, then forget it."

"Alright, consider it a clearance sale."

Mao Shanwang snapped his fingers, and Xiong Da took out two huge metal boxes from the warehouse cart.

Make way!

The ground trembled slightly after the box was placed down.

Upon opening, a series of high-temperature protective suits appeared before our eyes, resembling large spacesuits.

Zhuang Fan observed carefully. Although it looked somewhat clumsy and not very agile, in the scorched earth environment, survival was the most important thing.

Next, he ordered a large quantity of bullets, various processing materials and precision parts, and also ordered two second-hand industrial androids.

"Now that you have androids, you need to allocate some computing power, and you also need to set up a local area network."

After Mao Shanwang's enthusiastic recommendation, Zhuang Fan purchased another server, costing a total of 50,000 gold coins.

After the transaction was completed, Mao Shanwang brought ten more refugees out of the car, seven men and three women. They were all emaciated and had a hint of trepidation in their eyes.

“These people have a clean record. They used to be casual transport workers and helped me run trade routes a few times. They are quite reliable.”

"Okay, I'm short-staffed."

Mao Shanwang stretched out his cat paw: "Thank you for the referral fee you mentioned last time, ten thousand gold coins."

"What's the rush? You haven't even passed the interview yet."

"Trust me, they'll definitely make it through."

Zhuang Fan didn't say anything more and handed over ten thousand gold coins.

Mao Shanwang quietly leaned close to his ear and whispered, "2500 for men, 2000 for women, normal wasteland prices."

Zhuang Fan nodded.

After settling all expenses, and reserving 20,000 for the Jetta team's payment, Zhuang Fan still had 80,000 gold coins left.

He then handed all the gold coins to Watson.

"From now on, you will be in charge of the management and training of money, supplies, and base personnel. You will be the steward."

Zhuang Fan looked at Hua Sheng solemnly: "In the early stages, we are short-handed and the tasks are quite heavy, but I believe in you."

Watson paused for a moment, then nodded emphatically: "I will try my best to do well."

Next, Zhuang Fan interviewed the refugees one by one.

At first, Hua Sheng prepared some interview questions, but Zhuang Fan frowned as soon as he saw them, so he simply asked them himself.

Hua Xin stood behind, listening intently with her cat ears perked up.

He didn't ask about those trivial matters, but only designed three core lie detection questions.

"first question."

He looked at the first man in front of him: "Have you ever spilled the blood of innocent people on your hands in order to survive?"

The man hesitated for a moment before confessing that he had killed people in order to steal food, but the group he killed were thugs and there were no innocent victims.

"The second question is, if your teammate is seriously injured and drags the whole team down, what would you do?"

The man answered truthfully: "I will... it depends on the situation. If I can save him, I will definitely save him. If it will kill everyone, I may abandon him."

"The third question."

Zhuang Fan's gaze swept over the man; the first two questions were just screening, the third question was what he really wanted to hear.

"Besides weapons and food, what is the most cherished thing on your person or in your memory? Why?"

The man fell silent; this was the question he had been pondering for the longest time that day.

He didn't reach into his pocket, nor did he get lost in distant memories; he simply looked down at his calloused hands.

"It's a list."

He finally spoke: "It contains the names of everyone in the teams I used to be in, as well as all our belongings."

"My job is to keep an eye on this list."

"Who will keep watch, who will scout, how many bullets are left, how many pieces of rations... I have to make sure everyone is alive and has food. "Later, the team broke up, and I was the only one left."

"I keep it not to remember anyone."

"Just to remember that it's not enough for a team to survive by working hard."

"It relies on order."

He raised his head and met Zhuang Fan's gaze.

"What's your name?"

"Cole."

Zhuang Fan nodded: "Welcome in."

After the interviewee left, Hua Xin, who was standing next to him, said softly:

"Brother Ya, I thought your third question would get them to talk about their personal experiences,"

"Because it's too broad, family members died, homes were destroyed, struggling alone, etc., it sounds tragic, but it lacks personal characteristics and becomes a series of wasteland survival resumes."

Zhuang Fan patiently explained:

"The question I designed is different. It is not offensive at all, but it can break down the other person's defenses and hit the heart. The interviewee needs to explain why he cherishes this thing, so he will tell a specific memory, which is also more informative."

Hua Xin understood and silently wrote it down.

Experienced interviewers can tell whether someone is lying simply by observing their facial expressions, language, and body language.

Zhuang Fan used a deceptive fog to detect lies, which was even simpler.

For him, concealment and lying are bottom lines that must never be crossed.

In the end, all ten people passed the interview, proving that Mao Shanwang was quite good at judging people.

“My location is special, and there will be a two-month lockdown period. Mao Shanwang has already mentioned this to you.”

Zhuang Fan looked at everyone and his tone softened considerably: "The salary standard is the same for everyone, 2,500 gold coins, including food and lodging. Five people will be sent out to scavenge every day, regardless of gender. If they perform well, they will be rewarded with 500 gold coins at the end of the month."

According to the initial plan, five people would go out with him to scavenge every day, while the rest would stay at the base to coordinate with Watson and Gage's work arrangements.

Upon hearing this, a hint of joy appeared on everyone's faces; these conditions were already quite good in the wasteland.

"Thank you, boss!"

After giving his instructions, Zhuang Fan showed a hint of fatigue.

Seeing this, Watson told him to go and rest first: "Leave the rest to me."

"Row."

Watson turned to the crowd, his tone gentle but with a hint of seriousness.

"I am Wu Hui. Here are a few rules I need to emphasize. First, the basement contains important supplies, and no one is allowed to enter without permission; second..."

To make management easier, Watson renumbered the ten new workers from number 1 to number 10.

After everything was settled, Watson compiled a neat list of bases:

Boss: Boundless

Management: No Regrets

Scavenging: Flawless

Repair: Gage

Schedule: 1st-5th (odd-numbered days), 6th-10th (even-numbered days)

Total personnel: 14 people + 4 androids
Funds: 8 gold coins

Payment: 2 gold coins (Jetta Team)

Existing material registration, weapons and equipment list, and daily consumption records: already archived.

Zhuang Fan lay in bed, but couldn't fall asleep. He felt like something was on his mind.

He then picked up his communication terminal and found that Chu Ningyan still hadn't replied.

He thought for a moment and sent a question mark.

This time, they quickly replied with two words.

【Busy】

At the same time, at the headquarters of the Sharp Edge Mercenary Group.

Qiu Shan and Chu Ningyan sat facing each other, with an invisible wall between them.

"That old bastard Harbenson, all he did was lose his son and he's going around yelling that he's looking for a scapegoat."

Qiu Shan's voice was full of frustration: "He's holding me tight now, and I'm in a very passive position."

"Without evidence, he can't do anything to you." Chu Ningyan's voice was as cold as water.

"He's not asking for evidence, he's deliberately trying to cause trouble!"

Qiu Shan's voice suddenly rose: "He just wants to bring me down, seize the captain's position, and make sure his people can take it! If I fall, I'm afraid you won't be able to escape unscathed either."

"I'm ready to quit."

"Resign?"

Qiu Shan shook his head and smiled bitterly: "You've been targeted too, you can't escape, it's no use."

A hint of wariness flashed in Chu Ningyan's eyes: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Qiu Shan remained silent for a moment before finally speaking, his voice carrying a barely perceptible chill.

"You should turn yourself in and admit it first."

"That way, I can still protect you."

(End of this chapter)