Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland.

Izumi stood up alertly and backed away quickly.

Who were they? Was it the same wild folks out foraging for food as she was? Or were they the shield guards who had discovered something strange? Or in the worst case scenario... were they the new soldiers?

The first two are still residents of Ai Mine Town, so perhaps I can use my father’s identity to make them feel a little cautious.

But if it is the latter.

Izumi, who was able to locate the location by following the sound, sensed the baguettes scattered all over the ground. In an instant, he had outlined a route in his mind to quickly pick them all up, but he did not dare to move at all.

The other party spoke.

It was a gentle male voice.

The next words made Izumi feel cold.

"This is our military rations," the man's voice was somewhere between youthful and mature, but with a dignity that didn't match his age. "According to the laws of the empire and General Tianxin's military orders, stealing military rations is a serious crime... punishable by death."

Even though Izumi was precocious and had already planned more than a dozen countermeasures in her mind, at this moment she couldn't help but feel her heart stop beating because of the consequences implied by the man's words.

And, the girl realized.

Even if she could come up with a solution, that would only be under ideal circumstances. The other party was able to discover the missing bread so quickly (she even specially scattered it and only took out one loaf from each place), and shuttle through the ruins to keep up with her footsteps. With Izumi's current strength, there was no way she could get rid of her.

This is desperate.

But to her own surprise, Izumi did not feel any fear, regret or remorse in her heart at this moment, as if she was just preparing for the ending that had already been destined.

Just like she had never seen her grandparents or even her mother, anyone who could survive past 40 in the Mine Town was already lucky and had to be an extremely cruel and cunning character.

Most people ended up like they are now.

Therefore, Izumi never tried to find companions, because they probably wouldn't be able to persist until the next cooperation with him, and he would also need to guard against possible betrayal and competition during that time.

The price-performance ratio is far inferior to that of traveling alone.

Now it's just my turn.

"Snapped."

There was a crisp sound of footsteps, and the other party took a step forward, and Izumi's body trembled.

But there was no retreat.

"The only exception is when the samurai gives it as a gift themselves," the visitor unexpectedly continued, "In the words of General Tianxin, this is 'serving the people as a friend, and how to use the power they have obtained is their own choice', provided that whatever consequences will come from it, they will have to bear them themselves."

"--are you hungry?"

Even though he still couldn't see the other person's face clearly, Izumi couldn't help but open his eyes wide. At the same time, his stomach began to churn again, making an inappropriate sound, as if in response.

Although due to long-term fasting, her stomach seemed to be rotten and only moved occasionally to alert its owner of its existence. The sound was extremely small, but Izumi had already realized that the other party was following this leaked sound.

But at this moment, Izumi was not in a position to blame her own weak body. The first thing she realized was the implicit meaning of the visitor's words.

"However, our food reserves are not much. If we lose a little, one of our brothers may go hungry for one more day..." The young man was already smiling. He wanted to approach the girl who was cowering in the corner of the ruins, but seeing her reacting like a frightened animal, he stopped and spoke in a calmer tone, "However, my portion is still too much."

"you……"

It happened in a flash. Just as the young man was trying to persuade her to tell him his purpose, Izumi, who had seemed to have given up resistance, suddenly fell down and flipped backwards. The inside of the wall, which looked solid, had actually been broken into pieces, revealing a half-dried well inside.

The girl just fell straight in.

Before the young man could catch up, he heard several scraping sounds and sudden stops, as well as footsteps that continued to move away at a very fast speed, gradually disappearing into the depths of the earth.

The young man was stunned for a moment, then he noticed something and looked at his feet.

It was a pool of lime powder.

They must have been dropped by the girl before she ran away. Izumi had been secretly holding them in his hands since some time ago.

"It seems like he's a repeat offender." He laughed, then thought again, "Also, does this count as a failed abduction?"

It's true that I accepted my fate.

But until the last moment, Izumi did not just sit there and wait for death, nor did she directly believe the conditions put forward by the other party - for her, this opportunity was actually an opportunity to escape.

“As expected of the savages living in the Sorrowful Mine Town,” the young man sighed. “Even though they were well-mannered residents of the imperial capital a few generations ago, after experiencing the bloody rebellion and the blockade, those who survived have become like the people in the wilderness.”

I have to say, this is also adaptability.

To understand the already devastated and complex local environment, one cannot do without the guidance of local people; but gaining the trust of the people in Ai Mine Town is more difficult than killing them.

"Even if we have established the Shield Guard and the Blood Hunter, it seems that it will be difficult for Tian Xinlizheng to gain a foothold... Is this idea correct?" He looked around. The bread that Izumi had scattered after being knocked away was still there. "It's like the person who ignites a spark, but may not be able to control the fire all the time."

No wonder their first priority was not to control the Mine Town themselves, but to hand it over to the Depression Lagoon and the Technology Hunters.

It's like a half-roasted sweet potato in the fire.

It is indeed nutritious.

But it's hot and poisonous.

After a rough count of the breadsticks on the ground, there were still a few missing. It seemed that some of them were still stuck around Izumi's waist and taken away.

The [Hunger Level] prompt came.

He grabbed the ration in his hand and took a bite.

(Chew chew)
"...Uh, cough cough." In the room, Lu Dai choked and almost vomited, "Is this all we can eat here?"

"Miss Lu Dai, you have never been on a mission, right?" The tech hunter who received us smiled and opened the ration bag. He took out the dry bread and belt-like meat strips inside and tore them into small pieces. His hands were covered with calluses and wrinkles, and his skin was a little loose, but his fingers were still quite strong.

The hunter put the torn food into his mouth and chewed it slowly. "This is just the most common situation. Compared to the people in Ai Mine Town, our conditions are much better."

"You don't want to eat their food, so even if some barbarians come, we won't trade with them." He took another sip of wine, "That's good, it's filling and satisfying."

This is the Tech Hunter's base in the Sorrowful Mine Town. The Depression Lagoon has garrisons in the Sorrowful Mine Town, and like the warriors of Kaiton City, they are also qualified to pass through the defense line of the city wall shield.

Outside, there were tall and solid walls that had not yet completely collapsed, and inside, there were the remains of past imperial cities. As the moon rose higher, people, whether still alive or not, kept wandering among the ruins.

This time, when Lin Ji was tidying up the depression lagoon, he actually sent the Black Claw to the Sorrowful Mine Town at the same time. He was worried that the hunters who stayed here would still be loyal to the former watcher. After all, Qin must also attach great importance to such an important position.

However, to their surprise, the guards of Aikuang Town did not express any opinions on the fact of the change of leadership, just like they received a notice and collectively replied "received". Such calm acceptance made Black Claw realize that the people who could stay in Aikuang Town were probably not ordinary people who could do the work, so even if Qin wanted to place his own people, he could not do it.

As for this team, Lin Ji decided to keep it intact.

This time, they were also responsible for receiving Lu Meng and his group.

"Oh oh..." Lu Dai realized that he had said something wrong, and hurriedly imitated the old hunter to process their food in a methodical manner.

She was just complaining out of habit, but if it really involved the other person's daily life, she didn't want to be misunderstood as being condescending.

As a mechanic's apprentice, she has great respect and good feelings for these technology hunters who are truly fighting on the front line.

However, while eating, Lu Dai couldn't help thinking: How can this not satisfy my craving? After chewing for a long time, it's still the same in my mouth. My teeth are sore but I still can't taste it. Even the most greedy people can be cured by experiencing this...

The old hunter on the side looked at the little girl's puffy cheeks and couldn't help laughing. He looked so generous that Lu Dai was full of questions.

"Strange..." Lu Dai muttered, "Speaking of which, where did the Nameless One go?
They had set out as a group, but were secretly divided into three factions. The first was Shi Cha's noble caravan; the second was the Red King and his friends and subordinates; the rest were some technological hunters they hired and the local reception and garrison... The composition was also quite complicated, and sometimes some internal affairs would not be told to everyone, but discussed privately.

For example, since Ludai was born a mechanic, he always stayed close to the technology hunters of the same department, and came here when he felt hungry.

That’s how the scene just happened.

However, everyone's purpose may be simple or complex, some want to make money and some want to cause trouble...but the overall boss is still the unknown man Lu Beiyou, and all arrangements are subject to his instructions, with only differences in execution routes and methods.

With such a large group of people, we have to solve the problem of food... Lu Dai thought, when Lu Beiyou comes later, he must let him try some bread crumbs mixed with belts.

And myself at that time.

You are already a senior who does not work hard.

Could you please give me some advice on this?
The girl with pigtails couldn't help but reveal the most evil smile -

"What's that smell?" The old hunter suddenly twitched his nostrils, like an alert hound. He put down the ration bag in his hand, stood up and looked outside the door.

"Haha, you're the stationmaster again." With a burst of noise, several stationed Mine Hunters pushed the door open and walked in. "I haven't even heard the sound, but I can already smell it!"

I saw that they each held an old bowl in their hands.

Late autumn into winter.

There was still gurgling white steam coming out of it.

"Stop talking nonsense and bring it here!" The old hunter smiled and swept away the clutter on the table, asking his colleagues to set it up. Lu Dai then saw that it was a bowl of milky white soup, with bluish-white spices floating in the water, and slices of meat could be vaguely seen. Just one look at it made people salivate, "Where did this come from?"

"Cheese and ghee from Shandi... Don't you know that Mr. Lu is making a big splash there?" The tech hunter recalled with amazement, "I don't know how this smoked wolf meat was processed. It doesn't have any fishy smell at all. It's completely different from what you made last time, Station Master. Is that something people eat? Why are you hitting me? You can try it yourself and you'll know if it's true!"

There was no need for him to remind him. The old hunter had already picked up a bowl of soup and started drinking it. He didn't care that the milky soup was stained on his beard and collar. The originally scalding temperature brought a sense of warmth to the gradually chilly mining town.

——Say something.

Lu Dai was stunned.

Uncle Hunter, where did your generosity and reserve just now turn out to be? It turns out that it’s just because you haven’t eaten good food!
In fact, there was no need for others to say anything. When the hunters entered the house and Lu Dai smelled the rich aroma, she already understood. The delicious smell emanating from it made the girl shudder.

Of course, this may not be a perfect food like a drug. In the discussion among the hunters, it was said that Mr. Lu regretted not being able to use fresh ingredients. For example, goat milk could only be replaced with pre-made and easy-to-store milk powder... But compared to their original two meals a day, this was undoubtedly an incredible delicacy.

One, two, three, four... Lu Dai counted silently.

Then react:

Wait, where's my portion?
“Ah, Miss Lu Dai, you are here too.” A hunter was so happy that he noticed that there was another girl sitting at the table, holding a half-bitten dried meat strip in her hand, with a dull look on her face. “Mr. Lu said before that he had something to discuss after the meal, so he asked someone to find you, so he only left one bowl. We didn’t know you were here, so we didn’t bring it here…”

"I'm going right now!"

The girl ran out.

Only a few local technology hunters were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Stationmaster, is he... really that person?" Amid the excitement, one of them approached the old hunter and whispered, "He looks nothing like the Qin of the past..."

Easy to approach and not to say.

This is used to make soup for them.

If it were the former watcher, he would have only been to Ai Mine Town once or twice, and was quite perfunctory when he came to comfort them. Although it was covered up well, everyone knew that he could not have any sincerity in his heart towards people like them who were not his confidants but had to rely on.

The Mine Hunters are not surprised.

Some people even think that it is correct for the strong people in the world to have such an attitude, otherwise how could they be the best heroes among men?

On the contrary, this Lu Beiyou...

"Stop talking nonsense!" The old hunter glared at him and stopped talking, "Isn't food enough to shut you up?"

But, he said so himself.

Those eyes, which looked a little cloudy on the outside, but contained a gleam of brilliance as he looked at the remaining soup in the bowl thoughtfully.

Finally, he shook his head.

Said softly:

"The town of Sorrowful Mine... it is impossible to change it with the power of one person alone."

(End of this chapter)