Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 135 Skillful Hands
"Old Cat, I want them all."

Zhuang Fan said in a deep voice, "I'll buy it from you at 70 gold notes per gram. I'll take as much as you have; these things don't take up much space."

"Do you think this is a buffet?"

Mao Shanwang muttered something and stopped fanning himself. "This isn't a small amount. Why are you hoarding so much?"

"We're going to build an underground shelter in the future. The more brilliance crystals the better. Anyway, this stuff is a hard currency, and we don't have to worry about selling it."

Zhuang Fan gave a brief explanation, but he actually had a much longer-term perspective.

Pyroxene is a highly consumable item, and its lifespan is strictly limited after prolonged exposure to electrical energy.

If a fog lamp is used continuously for 12 hours a day, the crystal inside will break after about ten days, losing all its fog-repelling effect.

Zhuang Fan had also observed the large fog-dispelling lighthouses in the city. The brilliance stones embedded inside could weigh several kilograms, which might extend their lifespan a little, but not by much.

It is precisely this terrifying rate of consumption that has confined humanity's living space to isolated islands, restricting the possibility of outward exploration and development.

"Row."

Mao Shanwang agreed readily: "This deal is quite risky, and we need to avoid the eyes and ears of the tycoons, but I'm willing to take the plunge and play along with you."

In the courtyard, Gage was inspecting the power armor, reminding the cat people to be careful when using it, as replacing parts was very troublesome.

The catwomen started building fences and planting flowers and plants again, while the others were drinking, barbecuing, or relaxing in hammocks, which was quite pleasant.

Zhuang Fan stood by the window in silence for a while.

"Old Cat".

"Ok?"

“The Brilliant Crystal Mine is the lifeblood of Linhai City, and all the major financial groups have gotten involved. It’s hard to believe that this deputy director dared to resell strategic materials without the chairman’s authorization.”

Mao Shanwang nodded: "That's natural. The council chairman is a local bigwig, while the administrator of Fein was sent by Zhongdu. The two sides have been fighting each other openly and secretly for many years."

"But I can't figure it out."

Zhuang Fan turned around and looked directly at Mao Shanwang. "Why do this? This is tantamount to uprooting Linhai City."

"To make money."

Zhuang Fan shook his head after hearing this: "The Speaker of the Council has been operating in Linhai City for so many years and has a deep foundation. Does he lack this little bit of money? Moreover, how many forces will he offend by doing this?"
"Leaving aside how the top ten financial groups will react when they find out, Fein and the Central Capital People's Union government will probably have to settle accounts with him."

"Okay, now that you mention it..."

Mao Shanwang lowered his voice, "I just remembered something. Recently, the Speaker of the Council has been quietly selling off several properties in the city."

"He's definitely going to run away," Zhuang Fan concluded directly.

"pretty close."

Mao Shanwang nodded. "He felt that Linhai City was no longer safe, or he had caught wind of something and wanted to make a quick buck at the last minute."

Zhuang Fan didn't say much, but simply shared the intelligence he had compiled:

The city council rejected the trench renovation plan, the central city council rejected the second half-year budget, border guards' salaries were withheld for four months, a zombie horde, a green tide, a mutant riot...

In either case, an ominous feeling pervades the situation.

"Let's do it! This business probably won't last long, let's make as much money as we can."

Mao Shan Wang cursed, "Once the smuggling channels over there are set up, I'll be the first to buy them. You'd better be prepared with your money; one kilogram of Brilliant Crystal is worth seventy thousand gold coins."

“Okay, I’ll have Hua Sheng connect with you on the follow-up.”

After Zhuang Fan finished speaking, he frowned.

He turned his head to look at the dazzling pink power armor, which had been hovering around him more than a dozen times, pacing back and forth.

"..."

Zhuang Fan forced himself to ignore it.

The pink figure swayed back again, this time accompanied by the "click" sound of the armor joints rubbing together.

"Hey, you've shaken it more than a dozen times."

Zhuang Fan's tone was somewhat impatient, "What are you doing going back and forth like this?"

Hua Xin stopped and spun around in place. The heavy armor was handled with unusual agility by her, and she wore a clear air of pride.
"Isn't this color pretty? It's cherry blossom pink! You used to think it was tacky."

"It's just rustic and unsophisticated."

"Not at all tacky!" Hua Xin said contentedly, maneuvering the armor and skipping away.

"..."

Mao Shanwang watched the pink steel car disappear into the distance, feeling somewhat speechless, before quickly getting back to the main topic.

“I’ve met my sales target for this month. Scarface is probably upset again and went to his brother to complain.”

"Isn't that good?"

Mao Shanwang's expression turned worried. "But I've heard that Scarface is about to be promoted to combat supervisor of the Swift Dragons. If he really does, my caravan will be in even more trouble."

“Swift Dragon… Scarface.”

Zhuang Fan repeated the two names, "Our plan is still in progress. Let those two brothers, Scarface and his brother, run wild for a while. Be careful with your shipments during this time."

"Don't worry, this cat has nine lives."

……

The next day, at the garbage cemetery in the south of the city.

In order to raise a large sum of money as quickly as possible, Zhuang Fan personally followed the convoy to scavenge for scraps.

Hua Xin didn't scavenge; instead, she changed into lighter gear and, along with Catwoman, kept an eye on the movements of the Apocalypse Cult and kept an eye out for any unusual activity in the surrounding area.

"Brother Ya, the Wild Wolf Gang's camp is deserted and in complete disarray. They fled last night."

"Okay, keep an eye on it."

After the convoy arrived at an abandoned town, forty powered armored vehicles emerged one after another and began their scavenging journey.

Cole led a small team to inspect a corner of ruins formed by the collapse of a parking lot.

He scanned every shadow with his tactical goggles.

"Area D-3 cleared, no threat."

Just as he was about to move to the next area, the heat sensor inside his helmet flashed a faint red light.

Cole immediately raised the rotary machine gun and aimed it at a pile of collapsed concrete slabs in front of him.

"Stop advancing," he commanded in a low voice.

A figure huddled in the gap between a pile of rags and steel bars; it was the Brown Rat Man.

However, something was wrong with it; its body was twisting and trembling violently, and black mucus was seeping from its skin.

Even more bizarrely, a strange mist, several times denser than usual, was emanating from its body and swirling around it.

Cole activated the communication channel, his voice steady: "Aberration detected in area D-4. Everyone stay away."

Aberration?
Zhuang Fan immediately came over.

He understood Cole's meaning at a glance.

The brown rat-man in the shadows curled up in a ball, its life force being drained away bit by bit, its body visibly shriveling up.

Its gaze also lost focus, its pupils became unfocused and turned grayish-white.

Immediately afterwards, a thin, eerie mist emerged from its seven orifices, swirling and twisting in the air.

The mysterious fog was trying to condense and take shape.

Zhuang Fan frowned; his first thought was of a demon general.

But that's not quite right either.

The color of this eerie mist is too light, far from the deep, dark hue of the Demon General.

This must be a demon.

The moment the demon took shape, the rat-man stopped breathing completely, turning into a withered, empty shell.

Cole noticed it too, and looked annoyed: "Another mutant who didn't make it. They've all become petri dishes for these monsters."

The armored soldiers present were on high alert, raising their flamethrowers in preparation for spraying fire to disinfect any enemies.

Flame is the nemesis of evil spirits.

The newly formed demonic creature paused its tumbling motion in the air, clearly sensing the threat.

"Whoosh-"

The eerie mist suddenly sank and went straight back into the seven orifices of the rat-man corpse.

The mummified corpse shuddered violently.

Those already unfocused pupils instantly turned into a lifeless, pure black.

Then, its body stiffened and stood upright in an unnatural posture, like a marionette, before suddenly darting out and disappearing into the depths of the ruins.

Zhuang Fan asked softly, "Cole, have you seen this kind of scene often before?"

Cole lowered his gun and shook his head slightly: "When I was a quartermaster, I rarely saw this either. These monsters are too cunning; they know how to hide their tracks from the moment they are born."

Zhuang Fan's eyes revealed a hint of worry. He suddenly became concerned about the cat people in the team, including Hua Xin and Xiong Er.

After all, as long as someone is a mutant, there is theoretically a certain chance that such a thing will hatch inside their body.

The deeper the infection by the mysterious mist, the more mentally unstable the individual becomes, and the easier it is for them to hatch.

"Cole."

"Boss."

"When you get back, you and Gage will check the base again to make sure that all areas are covered with fog lights and that not a single bit of eerie fog is generated."

“Understood,” Cole replied in a deep voice.

After the day's scavenging work was completed, all armored soldiers returned to base.

Cole immediately carried out the order, leading a group of people to inspect every corner of the base, especially the newly added cat-people living area, to ensure that nothing went wrong.

Hua Xin also completed his reconnaissance mission and gave Zhuang Fan a brief report: "Brother Ya, the Apocalypse Sect stronghold closest to us has made some moves again."

"Tell me about it." Zhuang Fan took a bottle of water and unscrewed it.

"They are holding some kind of ceremony, and five hundred mutants are joining today to become new believers."

Zhuang Fan frowned slightly: "Five hundred?"

"Yes."

She paused, then added the most crucial information, "We also discovered some Apocalypse Cult spies infiltrating towards the base."

"It's like a persistent ghost..."

Zhuang Fan looked at the markings on the screen with a slightly cold gaze.

It's estimated that the number of mutants at this base will soon exceed a thousand; they've forgotten the pain of past wounds.

"It seems we have to take the initiative."

Zhuang Fan said slowly, "It's always better to move the battlefield to someone else's territory than to fight on our own doorstep."

He didn't like passive defense, so he worked hard to make money, continued to buy weapons, and fought a major battle with the Apocalypse Cult.

For the next five days, Zhuang Fan did not handle any internal affairs at the base, leaving everything to Hua Sheng.

Every day, he wears power armor and leads a scavenging team to collect high-value waste from the ruins.

With the terrifying efficiency of forty power armored vehicles, the scavenging progress was astonishingly fast. In addition, with the six junk trucks that Mao Shanwang brought every day, Zhuang Fan had to deal with a large amount of decaying fog every day.

After dealing with the decaying fog, he still had to fight Xiong Da before finally dragging his exhausted body to sleep.

Five days later, the funds in the base's account surged by three million gold coins. Combined with the gold bars seized from the Wild Wolf Gang, the total funds reached five million gold coins.

Before he could even enjoy the money, Zhuang Fan immediately contacted Mao Shanwang and placed a huge order.

It has heavy weapons, high-explosive bombs, and landmines and incendiary bombs.

Mao Shanwang personally delivered the weapons and asked curiously, "What are you doing? Didn't you say you were saving money to buy Brilliant Crystals? Why are you purchasing so much weaponry?"

"We need to have a good fight with the Apocalypse Church, so let's prepare for it in advance."

"Okay, I brought them all."

Mao Shanwang ordered his men to unload four enormous objects wrapped in canvas. Once the canvas was removed, they revealed four steel structures.

"A clever mobile gun turret! Install it in the four corners of the base, and its defense will be absolutely top-notch."

Mao Shanwang patted the machine gun turret, admiring it. "This thing is a military-grade treasure. It's in high demand on the black market. I'll sell it to you for 600,000." "600,000? Old Cat, let me make this clear, I don't want any useless junk."

"Hehe, we're practically family, don't worry!"

Seeing Zhuang Fan's face darken, Mao Shanwang pulled him aside and said, "How about we install it first and see how it works?"

Xiong Er had just returned from his shift when he saw the machine gun turrets. He nodded, a rare occurrence for him: "These things are alright."

Zhuang Fan swallowed the words "return" back.

"...Then let's give it a try."

Mao Shanwang patted the carriage: "Old Badger!"

"coming."

Defense expert Old Badger also came over, and together with Gage, they placed machine gun turrets in the four corners of the base, each facing one of the two main passages.

The heavy base was welded to the roof shelter, and cables were connected from the tower to the base's power supply system.

The "skillful hand" has a rate of fire of 800 rounds per minute, but it cannot compare to the machine gun turrets in the border area with a rate of fire of 5,000 rounds per minute.

Zhuang Fan thought it was a bit of a waste; 600,000 gold coins could buy twenty heavy machine guns.

Gage opened the machine gun turret base, revealing the core ammunition box, which finally solved the mystery that had puzzled him for many years.

"Boss, so this thing is a dual-belt feeder, and it can hold 10,000 rounds, including hollow-point bullets and armor-piercing bullets."

Zhuang Fan asked curiously, "Hollow-point bullets are good for ordinary targets, but what about armor-piercing bullets? Can they deal with metal cans?"

Old Badger nodded: "Sure, but it requires special armor-piercing rounds, which aren't cheap."

"Then let's put them on. At least we'll have another way to counter power armor."

Zhuang Fan knew how powerful the powered armor in the wasteland was; his side had a spear, but it also needed a shield.

"But it's only 600,000 per unit, which brings the total price to over 2 million. Can you make it a little cheaper?"

"Oh, big boss!"

Mao Shanwang almost jumped up, "This isn't some roadside stall piece of metal! This thing has a built-in advanced fire control computer and an enemy-or-foe identification system! It's much better than your android bumps."

Seeing his hesitation, Mao Shanwang gritted his teeth and said, "Talk is cheap, just wait a minute!"

Without offering any further explanation, he grabbed a helmet and hopped onto a modified motorcycle parked nearby.

"This cat is giving you a trial report."

"boom--"

The motorcycle engine roared, kicking up a cloud of dust, and Mao Shanwang sped out of the gate and disappeared into the ruins.

"..."

Zhuang Fan didn't understand what the fat cat was up to.

A dozen minutes later, Xiong Er's alarm sounded on the communication channel.

Boss, there's a horde of zombies attacking from the east, about two hundred of them. Hmm... Old Cat lured them all."

"...Really in actual combat?"

Zhuang Fan raised his hand to stop Cole and the others, "You guys wait and see what Old Cat is up to."

As soon as he finished speaking, the roar of motorcycles came from the distant ruins. Behind Mao Shanwang, two hundred zombies were lured over.

Mao Shanwang's facial features and physical characteristics were included in the "whitelist," allowing him to successfully enter the machine gun turret's detection range.

But as the horde of corpses entered the warning area, a "skilled" machine gun turret suddenly started up.

A high-intensity searchlight pierced the darkness, locking onto the surging horde of corpses.

A synthesized voice rang out within the base: "Warning! Horde detected. No armor or protective gear. Switch ammunition type: hollow-point bullets."

"Fight!"

Gunfire erupted suddenly, and flames shot out.

"Da da da—da da da—!"

The machine gun turret uses a three-round short burst firing mode.

The zombie at the front had its head explode, its brains and bone fragments scattering everywhere. Its body took two steps due to inertia before crashing to the ground.

The machine gun turret slightly turned its muzzle, immediately locking onto the next target and blowing the zombies' heads off one by one.

"Da da da--!"

Every burst of fire accurately hits the head, without wasting a single bullet.

Zhuang Fan finally recognized the value of these "skilled hands" and nodded slowly.

More than two hundred zombies were like hitting an invisible wall; they couldn't even get within two hundred meters of the base before being precisely targeted and killed.

The gunfire stopped abruptly in less than a minute.

The ruins returned to deathly silence.

Cole and the others opened the gate, took flamethrowers, and carefully burned each zombie to ensure that these guys would not regenerate using the eerie mist.

Mao Shanwang walked over with a grin, "Now you know why it's called 'Skillful Hand,' right? It doesn't waste a single bullet! It's not shooting zombies, it's about efficiency and a sense of security!"

Zhuang Fan looked at the fat cat that was willing to risk its life to promote the product and felt a sense of emotion.

"You're really going all out to sell your products."

"That is!"

Mao Shanwang patted his chest proudly, "That's how I make my business. How can customers know if something works if I don't personally test it?"

“…That makes sense.”

Zhuang Fan had secretly learned that the cost of "Qiaoshou" was over 500,000, the market price was 900,000, and Lao Mao sold it for 600,000, so he didn't make much money and the price was reasonable.

"If you like, there are many other models in the bionic intelligence 'Skillful Hands Series', such as the home version of Mr. Skillful Hands, which is very popular."

"I don't have any money, so I won't bother."

"Okay, lie down."

Subsequently, Hua Sheng paid the full amount of four million gold coins to Mao Shanwang, and all the truckloads of weapons were unloaded.

"Doing business with you is so straightforward!" Mao Shanwang's cat-like face beamed with joy.

This huge sum of money means that his performance at Black Gold Trading Company this month not only exceeded the target, but also crushed all competitors, making his position as high as a rock.

"Oh, right, I have another good news for you."

"Oh? Tell me."

Mao Shanwang put away his palm-leaf fan and leaned closer mysteriously. "I recently found a geomantically auspicious place, a long-abandoned refuge."

"Are you sure?" Zhuang Fan became interested.

"It's not too far from Linhai City, but it's hidden in a valley. It's very secluded. I've seen it myself. The interior space is huge; it can easily fit two or three thousand people inside."

Zhuang Fan stared at him: "Who is the seller?"

"The seller is heavily armed, and the goods are from a large conglomerate, so the source is relatively clean and reliable."

Zhuang Fan was taken aback: "Heavy Hammer Armed Forces? If I remember correctly, aren't they fighting a civil war?"

"Hey, that's all ancient history."

Zhuang Fan suddenly interrupted him: "Do you know what the old almanac is?"

"I don't know, what did it come from?"

"……never mind."

Mao Shanwang waved his palm-leaf fan and said, "Anyway, the faction in charge of the heavy hammer won, and this refuge was the property of the opposition, so it was disposed of and sold off."

The reason given for the sale is barely plausible.

How much will it cost?

"Twenty-six million."

Mao Shanwang took out a panel and showed Zhuang Fan the external structure diagram and internal space of the shelter.

With its concealed entrance, complete fortifications, and well-preserved internal facilities, it is indeed suitable as the next relocation point for the Torch Base.

But his doubts were not dispelled.

"I don't understand. Heavy Hammer Armed Forces is a large conglomerate. Why would they sell it? They can't be short of money, can they?"

"Hey, we didn't lack it before, but now we really do, and we're really short of big money."

Mao Shanwang's smile faded, and his expression turned serious.

"You know those three cities in the north that have been taken over by demons, right? Arctic City, England, and Arctic Bay."

"know."

"These damned things have come south again after a hundred years, to attack the human defenses."

Zhuang Fan looked at the World Island map while listening to Mao Shanwang's analysis.

"When the demon army marches south, the first to be hit will be the heavy hammer-wielding soldiers and the chocobos; they will definitely be the most anxious."

"That's why Heavy Hammer rushed to end the civil war, because it needed to defend against foreign enemies as soon as possible. That's why the shortage of supplies there is terrifying."

Zhuang Fan's fingers traced the layout of World Island.

Chocobo's headquarters are located on Mount Siberia, a relatively safe place with rugged terrain and natural barriers.

However, the Steel City, where the Heavy Hammer Army is located, is the only passage to the south, and the defense line is under extremely severe pressure.

Mao Shanwang patted Zhuang Fan on the shoulder: "This is also a good thing for us. The arms orders will only increase, and you will make money faster."

Zhuang Fan, however, was pondering something else: "Will the demon army march south and reach Linhai City?"

"That's not the case."

Mao Shanwang waved his hand, "It's far from here. Besides, even if the sky falls, there's always someone taller to hold it up. Let's go wreak havoc on Zhongdu first."

Zhuang Fan suddenly realized something was wrong.

He glanced at the four imposing machine gun turrets, his brow furrowed: "Then why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" King Mao was taken aback.

"If I had known about this shelter, I would have definitely saved up more money. Why would I have bought this crappy machine gun turret?"

Two million four hundred thousand is enough to cover one-tenth of the shelter costs!
Mao Shanwang's cat face was full of innocence, and it confidently spread its paws:

"If I had just mentioned this 26 million behemoth right from the start, would you still have bought my four appetizers without batting an eye?"

"Holy shit, you..."

Zhuang Fan was so angry that he was speechless for a moment, and shouted at the burly figure in the warehouse.

"Big Bear! Come here!"

"Why--!"

A response like a muffled thunderclap.

The 2.7-meter-tall Xiong Da walked over, stuffing something into his mouth, and stared at Zhuang Fan with a simple and honest expression.

“Teach this fat cat a lesson, give him an appetizer, don’t hold back.”

Upon hearing this, King Maoshan remained unmoved, puffed out his belly, and even tried to pat Xiong Da's arm to reminisce:

"Haha, I rescued Xiong Da from the restaurant, how could he possibly..."

"Bang—!"

A lump of clay was slapped away on the spot, arcing through the air before crashing into a nearby pile of scrap.

"..."

Watson and the group of cat-people were startled once again.

Surprisingly, Xiong Da could easily swat away the 300-pound old cat, as if he were just dusting it off.

Big Bear withdrew his furry giant paw, scratched his head in confusion, and realized that his strength had increased again.

"Boss, should we continue filming?"

"Let's take a few more shots."

Mao Shanwang immediately crawled out of the pile of tin sheets, begging for mercy with both hands, "I was wrong! Please don't hit me, Master Xiong!"

　The world map has been updated, and the operations manager has already posted it in the book review section.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)