Start with liberation

In the Sierra Nevada.

It was already the evening of the second day after the steam soldiers joined the expedition and seized the sovereignty strongly.

At sunrise on this day, dark clouds fell, and the rain pulled black tendrils from the thunderclouds.

Because of the rain and fog, the surrounding hard rocky mountains seem to be uprooted from the ground, like the backs of some huge sea beasts.

The frightened birds on the rolling hills were climbed by the expedition team, chirping in the wind, and the larger vultures spread their wings and flew up from the bones of unknown beasts. A sack in the wind.

The expedition team walking on the path of the vast mountains wore oily leather raincoats made of greasy semi-tanned leather and covered with primitive leather. In the gray rainstorm, it seemed like a looming steep line.

And their footsteps and shouts were drowned in the sound of rain all over the sky.

Wu Qing was in the middle of the team. He was wearing a raincoat, which he bought from a bounty hunter who brought two raincoats.It cost three dollars.

At this time, he raised his head and looked forward. Through the rain curtain, his eyes reflected the Union soldiers with Spencer rifles on their backs, and the steam soldiers with metal prosthetic limbs exposed under their leather raincoats.

Among the four steam soldiers, apart from the three warrant officers Wu Qing met at the beginning, there was also a steam soldier who joined the team later. It should be the sniper (sharp shooter) who gave the original expedition team a blow the day before yesterday.

He was carrying a huge gun wrapped in oilcloth, hanging obliquely on his back, the top kept knocking off the branches and leaves, and the bottom almost smashed into the ground, just like the visual effect of a mechanical camel carrying a big gun.

Wu Qing took a look at it with relief. This steam soldier's shooting specialization was as high as 86%, and there was a "red eye" skill in the information bar, which should not be underestimated.Although the threat level is still red, compared with Big Bill in Moxin Town, Big Bill is the lower limit of red threat level, and this sniper-type steam soldier is about the upper limit of red threat level.

And Wu Qing looked back, and behind him were the bounty hunters of the original expedition team, and they didn't have any special expressions.

At the end of the team were four mules, struggling to hoof between the slippery rocks.

The rain was too heavy, everyone lowered their heads and carefully paid attention to the rocks under their feet, and they were all silent.

According to the former clerk Sean, this expedition is not a remote expedition deep into a deserted place.

It takes five days to go back and forth, that is, two and a half days for a one-way trip. Considering that the mountain roads are difficult to travel at night, the expedition team does not move forward, and it is almost evening today.

In other words, more than half of the two-and-a-half-day single journey has passed, and the destination Donner Lake should not be far away.

The past two days have been easier than Wu Qing imagined.

The main reason is because of the joining of steam soldiers.

For reasons unknown, Strobl hadn't hired more Revenants to join the expedition.

On the other hand, for the sake of secrecy, the expedition did not allow steam soldiers to join.

So there is no doubt that the purpose of Wu Qing being hired by Strobl into the expedition is undoubtedly to ensure the safety of the expedition in the mysterious and evil domain to a certain extent.

But who would have expected that the Land Flyer would step in and become the leader of the expedition.

Four steam soldiers were stuffed into the expedition team. The four steam soldiers didn't like Wu Qing's force, and Wu Qing didn't have the familiarity of other bounty hunters with this mountain range.

In other words, Wu Qing is useless in this expedition...at least the steam soldiers think so.

When Wu Qing dealt with Qu Dezhi in the Sierra Ridge Chinese labor camp before, Warrant Officer Philip, who was not pleasing to his eyes, did not stage the extremely old-fashioned finding fault after he obtained the sovereignty of the expedition team.

It's useless, and it doesn't find fault.In the past two days, Warrant Officer Philip and the steam soldiers ignored Wu Qing.

Wu Qing is also happy and relaxed, with money to get and nothing to do, the mentality of a fisherman is undoubtedly revealed.

The mountains in front of the expedition team were overcast and cloudy, and the sun was not visible. The expedition team passed through the long twilight. After sunset, the moon did not rise, and the rain hissed down on this dark land.

They passed pines and bare rocks, junipers, spruces, and rare large aloes, whose yucca leaves rose and pale blossoms were still among the evergreens.

It was already night, and the expedition team was exhausted after a day's trek. They entered a desolate small canyon along the Yuba River. The small canyon was covered with mossy rocks, and the rock wall curved toward the middle of the sky just provided a temporary shelter for the expedition team. The place, the canyon below the rock wall is fairly dry.

Warrant Officer Philip at the front of the line stopped and ordered to set up camp to rest. The whole team behind him let out a sigh of relief, followed by shouts complaining about the terrible weather.

Whether it was a bounty hunter or a federal soldier, they all pulled off their raincoats at the same time, revealing the wet felt hats and linen shirts under them, and shook off the clean raincoats.

Those who set up the mule set up the mule, and those who start the fire start the fire.

After a while, the bottom of the dark canyon was illuminated by four piles of bonfires. Federation soldiers surrounded two piles, and bounty hunters surrounded the other two piles. There was a faint suspicion between the two parties.The four bonfires cast high and low shadows on the rock wall in rows.The twisted and dancing shadows are like murals.

They first set up their wet clothes around the bonfire to dry, then boiled water, made coffee and tea to warm their bodies, and at the same time cooked soybeans and green beans, and barbecued meat for dinner.

About half an hour later, the aroma began to permeate the humid air of the canyon.

The mountain road was hard to walk, and the expedition team members who were tired all day had dinner and tidied up hastily. Warrant Officer Philip set up a sentry post, and the rest of them wrapped themselves in blankets and closed their eyes to sleep.

There are also a few bounty hunters who can't sleep for a while, chatting around the fire.

Wu Qing slept on a flat rock not far away, and the bounty hunters chatted in his ears from time to time, and even after a while, he heard the bounty hunters breathing heavily...

Words such as "gold mine, gold" can be heard faintly.

Wu Qing, who was observing the body, didn't listen carefully, narrowed his eyes when he heard these words. In the flickering firelight, no one noticed, but the one who spoke the most enthusiastically among the group of bounty hunters was precisely Karl, the former captain of the expedition.

He lowered his voice, mysteriously.

Wu Qing frowned. He remembered that Cal was the one who was most stimulated by the steam soldier's shot yesterday, and as the former captain, Karl obviously knew more about it than the other bounty hunters who had signed confidentiality contracts. insider...

Wu Qing closed her eyes without turning over, as if she was in a deep sleep.

After completing the Shenbing Ritual, his physical fitness has improved in all aspects, including hearing.

Although the former captain Karl lowered his voice, but the distance is only a few meters, Wu Qing went to listen this time, so naturally he could hear clearly.

Captain Karl is an immigrant from Kentucky, with a strong Kentucky accent, which is a bit vague to Wu Qing, but after listening carefully, Wu Qing probably knows the meaning.

The content of Karl’s mysterious and mysterious speech is indeed the reason why the expedition team was secretly formed in the first place, and why the land flyers would strongly intervene.

Nine days ago, a railroad company prospector named Old Joe found a small piece of gold the size of a fingernail on the banks of Donner Lake in the upper reaches of the Yuba River and reported it to Strobl...

You know this is California, it's the Sierra Nevada, and it's the destination of the gold rush.In the wild land that has not been developed by civilized society, there are countless undiscovered gold mines, and most of them are energetic gold diggers who find large-scale gold mines along the "Golden Sand River" and get rich overnight.

Therefore, Strobl, the person in charge of the construction site, suspected that there was a gold mine in Donner Lake in the upper reaches of the Yuba River, so he secretly formed an expedition team...

The damp firewood made a crackling sound, and the words of the former captain Carl were as mysterious as the smoke of sparks that exploded, inciting the breath of the bounty hunters who were only looking for profit.

At this time, a shrewd bounty hunter hesitated in a low voice, "There should be a confidentiality clause in your contract, right?"

"Yes, of course there is a confidentiality clause, but there is another clause in the contract: If there is a gold mine and I successfully find the gold mine, I will own one percent of the gold produced in the first year." Carl looked gloomy, "But today In the morning, Warrant Officer Phillip approached me to amend the contract."

After hearing this, the bounty hunters all understood that they were trying to cause trouble for the federal soldiers...

Before the gold, the king has to take off his hat, not to mention the bounty hunter who is addicted to money and only seeks profit?

But even so, the corners of the bounty hunters' eyes could not help twitching. They all glanced at the elite federal soldiers not far away, as well as the four steam soldiers.

The copper-colored gun barrel and the red mist came into view. For a moment, I don’t know how many people secretly gnashed their teeth, and I don’t know how many people sighed...

There is an insurmountable gap between ordinary gunners and wilderness, not to mention steam soldiers.

Carl's face was anxious, and after a while he looked at Wu Qing, who was dozing off, and he got up and only took two steps.

Wu Qing turned over, looked at the bonfire, tugged at the collar, tightened the gun belt, and fell asleep without looking at Karl.

Carlton stopped moving forward, his face was cloudy for a few minutes, until a few drops of cold raindrops from the top of the canyon fell on his face, and he sniffed the rusty rainwater for a long time before he felt unwilling Sit back again.

Wu Qing, who closed his eyes and meditated, had no expression on his face.

Just now when I first heard about the gold mine, Wu Qing was quite excited, but when I think about it, if one ton of gold mine can extract ten grams of gold, it can be regarded as a rich gold mine, that is to say, even if there is a gold mine in Tangner Lake, and the The mine is still rich in gold, but even so, mining a ton is only one-fifth of a tael of gold... and Wu Qing's mission goal is 5000 taels.

5000 taels... just need to extract [-] tons of gold mines, recruit people to mine, and wait for time... Not to mention that Wu Qing's task time limit is less than one month, even if Wu Qing has enough time Time is not as convenient as going directly to rob other large gold mines or banks.

For example, Imperial Gold Mine, such as Wells Fargo Bank, Wu Qing had inquired with Xiong Hua a long time ago, Wells Fargo Bank provides comprehensive precious metal exchange services throughout the west, that is to say, even if it is just a construction site office, there will be gold reserves... cough cough , thinking diverged again...

Speaking of business, even if there is a gold mine in Tangner Lake, it would be too troublesome and time-consuming. Wu Qing is not interested, let alone have the idea of ​​conflicting with his new employer.

After switching the contract, he still takes the money, and he is not Carl and has a sharing contract... There are three days left, don't make any more mistakes... Besides, the voices of Carl's group's conversation may not be as quiet as they imagined.

A few fires away, a federal soldier stood up in the flickering flames, unobtrusively pulled the trumpet-shaped copper tube in his cuff back into his clothes, and walked slowly to the exit on the other side of the canyon.

Warrant Officer Philip was leaning on a dry rock wall with a pipe in his mouth, looking at the dark mountains with deep eyes.

The federal soldier walked up to him and reported a few words in a low voice.

Warrant Officer Philip was carving a pipe, his voice was indistinct, he could only be heard laughing in disbelief,
"It doesn't matter, a group of country bounty hunters can't make a difference. When we arrive at Donner Lake tomorrow, we will send them to dig wild vegetables."

The federal soldier laughed in agreement.

Then Philip seemed to think of something,
"Where's the oriental guy?"

The soldier curled his lips, "How dare that oriental guy make any noise? He is still looking for trouble as a qigong master? I'm afraid he is looking for death! He is much more honest than Carl's gang."

Warrant Officer Philip nodded without saying a word. He thought so too, but he just took care of everything.

He exhaled a mouthful of smoke, the gray smoke mixed with the steam escaping from the joint valve, and slowly disappeared into the darkness, before he took off the pipe, and walked into the canyon amidst the sound of the knuckles turning.

The white-brown face is high and protruding, and the eyes are light blue with a different color from the skin. When looking at things, they always look up slightly, giving people an impression of being arrogant...

However, the federal soldiers who were left by him felt no discomfort at all, only envious, envious of the "steam heart" of the warrant officer.

There is no doubt that the west is a zone where individual heroism runs rampant, and everyone wants to be strong, even federal soldiers.

…………

The next day, the drizzle still enveloped the expedition team like a rising fog.

Compared with the previous two days, the atmosphere in the expedition team seemed a bit weird, with bounty hunters exchanging glances after landing from time to time.

In addition, Wu Qing watched coldly, and the federal soldiers didn't take it seriously.

Because the road was slippery in rainy days, the progress of the journey was slower than expected. It was not until sunset that the expedition team climbed over an unnamed mountain and reached the destination.

Even though it was raining and foggy, Wu Qing standing on the top of the mountain could still see for several miles.

The sun was setting below the jagged rim to the west, and the flames flickered behind the mountains.

There is a huge lake at the foot, and the distant gray mountains stand on the rippling water, and there are goshawks gliding, and the trees shake in the wind and rain.

Donner Lake.