I, the undead, save the world with the dolls

The postman had heard Joshua's name while chatting with people in the NCR military camp. She had met a sergeant named Hanlon, who explained something else to her.

Missionary Joshua Graham served as a translator between the Followers of Apocalypse and the tribes before he met Caesar, who was also a Follower of Apocalypse at the time.

Like many of his followers, Caesar and his companions ventured into the wilderness to provide aid to all who were in need.

In the years that followed, they encountered a tribe called the Blackfoot Tribe, and this group of Apocalypse Followers and New Canaanites were captured by the Blackfoot Tribe.

When being taken back to the settlement, the team discovered that the Blackfoot tribe was at war with all the tribes in the southwest. During this process, Caesar realized that if he did not educate the Blackfoot tribe, they would be destroyed by other tribes.

Caesar showed them how to use guns and how to make explosives. He taught the Blackfoot tribe some techniques, some, the techniques of war. After easily defeating an enemy that was several times their number, the Blackfoot tribe elected Caesar as their leader. This tribe needed his leadership and rule.

From then on, Caesar no longer needed help from followers, NCR, or other forces. He decided to completely integrate all the tribes in the southwest, whether they liked it or not.

From that moment on, the apocalypse follower became Caesar, and Graham his emissary, his right-hand man.

In this process, the original Blackfoot tribe gradually disappeared over time. Caesar eliminated the tribal ties that once existed within a tribal society. By removing tribal tattoos, suppressing old powers, and forcing intermarriage between tribes, the loyalty that was once limited to one's own tribe gradually eroded.

The only tribe in the Legion now was the Legion itself, and Caesar was their leader, their father, the one who held all the power.

The postman could guess what happened next. Joshua and Caesar used their excellent tactics to defeat other tribes and demanded that they submit to Caesar's legions.

Joshua Graham remained in this position until the Battle of Hoover Dam.

The elite ranger also mentioned that Caesar's tactics were very flexible and he could mix and match legionnaires of different levels when needed and still maintain battle order.

In contrast, Special Envoy Graham was not good at adapting to changing circumstances. During the Battle of Hoover Dam, Graham deployed all his soldiers on the dam, with the new recruits in front and the veterans in the back, just as the military manual said.

The NCR commander then used a tactic of luring the enemy deep into the enemy's territory, causing the envoy to make a mistake in command. The NCR Rangers used .308 rifles and sniper rifles to kill those experienced Legion officers on the high ground.

The envoy ordered the veterans in the back row to charge and storm the high ground where the Rangers were. The Rangers fought and retreated, luring them all the way to the Rock City - where the Rangers had already planted enough explosives.

While the pursuing veterans were running around in the Rock, the Rangers had already retreated from the Rock before the veterans even realized what was happening.

The giant rock city was reduced to ruins by the explosion. Most of the veterans were killed in the city, and the few who survived were unable to organize an effective formation. Some were annihilated on the spot, while others retreated under Joshua's orders.

The Postman was also well aware of the outcome of the Hoover Dam Battle: the NCR won, severely damaging Caesar's Legion and forcing it to retreat to the other side of the Hoover Dam.

After that, the NCR military never saw Special Envoy Joshua Graham again.

It was also at that time that Joshua was covered with pitch by Caesar and thrown into a valley to die.

The postman had no idea how Joshua had made it back alive. Even if the burning flames died, the burns all over his body would have left him vulnerable to infection. And being thrown down the canyon would have left him covered in wounds, perhaps even breaking a dozen bones. His survival was nothing short of a miracle.

But in the end he survived and returned to his tribe.

The shadows of the Dead Horse tribe give descriptions of other directions.

When he first met Joshua, he was still serving under a man named Caesar. Joshua had an army with him, and we were ready to follow him into battle.

He was then defeated by a tribe called Emhyr, the Sunset People. When he returned, Joshua was burned beyond recognition.

That was probably the first Battle of Hoover Dam between the Legion and NCR. After the defeat, Caesar, in order to maintain his reign of terror, covered Joshua, the envoy who had followed him for decades, with asphalt, set him on fire, and threw him into the valley.

After that, Joshua returned to New Canaan and secretly led the Dead Horse Tribe away from Caesar's Legion and into the Zion Valley.

When Shadow first met Joshua, he was very young, and I didn't remember much about him—but he was very different from who he is now. He was arrogant, ruthless, cold, and oppressive. Shadow was very afraid of Joshua back then. But when he returned, he seemed like a completely different person, and Shadow could hardly recognize him.

He began to become humble, and all his actions were motivated by protection rather than destruction.

191 Honesty

"So, now can you tell me why my boss is looking for this Joshua Graham? My intuition tells me that this matter is not simple." After finding out the news, the postman found an excuse to send Shadow away.

She walked around the area twice and found Cass who was resting and fishing by the river, and Ariana who was sitting there in a daze.

"Ariana said she was communicating with the commander." Cass picked up a stone nearby and skipped it into the river.

"Are you still hiding it now? If you keep hiding it and become a riddle teller, I will quit." Postman No. 6 sat down where he was.

She wasn't going to scour the mountains for parts to build a navigation system. Navigation systems were a hassle for the people here, but for the organization that could easily pull out a power suit and use magical technology to heal her brain, it shouldn't be too easy.

If you really can't find it, just let Ariana navigate manually. She's such an advanced robot, she wouldn't be so incompetent.

"I'm not hiding it. I actually just found out what we're going to do." Ariana turned her head. "Commander, tell her yourself. I have a feeling she'll think I'm talking nonsense."

"Oh my god, my dear super robot Ariana has a new trick. Hello, hey, hey, Sun Yang? Are you there? What did you eat today? I almost got my head chopped off today. Are you still playing video games?"

Postman No. 6 said a lot of things to Ariana's face. Ariana pushed the postman's face away with some disgust.

"We have holographic communication! Damn it, I'm not asking you to talk to me! I'm not such a backward robot!"

"But the backward robots can allow people to communicate, so why can't the advanced ones?" Postman No. 6 scratched his head and said.

"Because I don't like people nagging me in the face! You idiot!" Ariana restrained her strength and punched the mailman. Even Cass, who was watching nearby, couldn't stand the mailman's mysterious actions. She also hit the mailman several times.

Ariana, now calm, pulled out a palm-sized plate from her pocket. The plate flickered a few times, revealing a clear holographic image of Sun Yang.

"Oh my Mazu, Amitabha, good, good, this thing is so clear." The postman, who had learned too much messy Eastern culture, shrank his neck.

"Ahem, Postman No. 6, how are you?" Sun Yang said, taking a bite of potato chips on the other side of the video. "I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I've only just decided what to do. So I've decided to explain my thoughts to you. Although you may not agree, I need to explain it clearly first."

"Go ahead." The postman felt that the atmosphere was a bit serious and stopped playing pranks.

"So, Postman, you've been around this place for so long. Do you think there is a force you like best among NCR, House, and Caesar's Legion?" Sun Yang asked bluntly.

"Do I have to choose? I think your place is pretty good. Better than other places." The postman made full use of his limited brain cells and felt that he had avoided a fatal problem.

"Uh... let me be frank. I'm not happy with the environment here. I get annoyed when I see people sending low-ranking soldiers to the front lines to die. So I'm really unhappy with the high-ranking officials and the two-headed bull tycoons in NCR right now. I'm also really unhappy with Caesar, that idiot, and House, that idiot who looks smart but can make big promises."

"So there are quite a lot of people who make you unhappy? Wait a minute, you, you, you mean, you want to drop a nuclear warhead and destroy the world again?" Postman No. 6 asked cautiously.

"No, I won't. I don't even have a nuclear silo. Mailman, I just want to ask, if I want to kill all the top leaders of NCR and let the new ones take care of the interests of the grassroots people so that the soldiers can go home. If I can do this, are you willing to work with me?"

"Is our topic a bit off topic? Wait a minute, so you asked me to contact the people from NCR, the Followers of Apocalypse, and the people from Liberty City for this purpose?" The postman felt a little overwhelmed.

"Yes, Postman. I think you are the one who can turn the whole world upside down. You have won the support of many people. As far as I know, many camps in NCR know you and like you. They all survived because of your activeness. Those middle-level and grassroots officers also like you. Although you did not join the NCR army, you are an NCR person and have solved a lot of thorny and difficult problems. If it is you, the losses caused by the coup process can be minimized." Sun Yang explained his point of view to the Postman.

"You have to convince me with reasons, not sweet words. Tell me what you envision the future of NCR will look like." The postman stared at Sun Yang across the image.

"Postman, I'm sure you know who the real leadership of NCR is right now—the Big Two-Headed Bull Ranchers. These ranchers reached an agreement with the Mojave Raiders to assassinate 38 NCR citizens. And because of this Mojave Massacre, the Vice President who was originally scheduled to succeed her, Joanna Dibbett, was impeached, and the other one, Wendell Peterson, was promoted to power."

"I've heard about this massacre and impeachment news. Go on, I'm listening." The Postman was listening.

"With the NCR president and Congress in their lap, they submitted a petition to abolish the two-headed cattle farmer rule. Large cattle farmers were invited to join the cattle farmers' association and work with other powerful and wealthy two-headed cattle farmers to achieve their goals. They then 'encouraged' politicians to prioritize protecting farmers' trade routes over small towns."

"There are demands, yes. I know about the livestock association, too. There are policies to protect trade routes, yes. Okay, go on." These were all things the postman had heard on the radio before. But back then, she was just a courier, so she didn't pay much attention to these things.

"NCR once had a gold reserve as the principal for its exchangeable currency. But now that gold has been destroyed, farmers have begun hoarding assets and bottle caps, and are paying farm workers with NCR banknotes. From what I've heard, the exchange rate between NCR currency and bottle caps isn't very good. These farmers are getting bigger and bigger, and their influence is growing. They collect a lot of bottle caps, but pay them out in NCR banknotes. Often, one person has to use a lot of banknotes to buy enough food."

Sun Yang spoke to Postman No. 6 and Cass. Both Postman No. 6 and Cass were well-informed people, but their education level was not that high, so they had not realized there was any problem before. After Sun Yang's straightforward explanation, they realized that something was wrong.

The Postman and Cass chatted with each other, quickly discussing the various past news they had learned in NCR. They soon discovered that what Sun Yang had summarized was basically true.

192 The Postman's Concerns

"These two-headed cattle farmers have expanded their territories and bought more and more land. As the land available for purchase has decreased, they have begun to intimidate small farmers and demand that they sell their land at lower prices. Look at how many small farmers are left now? Only a large number of large livestock owners are left to control the market."

"I remember that farmers have income tax. Do you know why so many caravans transport a lot of things to New Vegas? It is a free economic zone and completely avoids NCR's tax regulations. This is why there are so many people there and House is so rich." After Sun Yang said a lot, he drank a sip of water to moisten his throat.

"So the Van Graff family and the Crimson Caravan Company both have branches there. Now they can all be connected. You are right, Sun Yang, that place is indeed tax-free, so many people hire large caravans to go there to trade." Cass said, patting his head.

"If all this doesn't make you understand the significance of my actions, then please think about this: is it the current President Kimball who is trying to overturn the original two-headed cattle restrictions? Is the economic lifeline of the entire NCR entirely in the hands of these two-headed cattle tycoons?"

"Let me ask you, NCR has transport trucks, Vertibird helicopters, and a lot of heavily armed guards, so why aren't they showing up on the front lines? Is it just a matter of supplying the tribes? You're wrong. If you go and see the guards at the Ettin Farm in the rear, you'll know where the money is going."

"That's true, but that's all..." the postman said hesitantly. She was still thinking and considering it carefully.

"Postman, why don't the towns here want to join the NCR? Isn't it because their taxes are so strict that joining their faction requires heavy taxes? Why are civilians with only a few bottle caps on them taxed so heavily, while the two-headed bull tycoons can cleverly transport their goods to New Vegas to evade taxes? You've also been taxed a lot of bottle caps, right?"

“…” The postman just remained silent.

"Do you want to help change all this, postman?" Sun Yang asked finally.

"Huh, you've led me by the nose without me realizing it, haven't you? No wonder you were so generous when you supported me. I've known for a long time that there's no such thing as a free lunch. But what you said is indeed very interesting. Go on, Sun Yang. Tell me how you will rebuild after you kill these people. Those who only destroy and don't rebuild are just terrorists. I won't assist bastards who only do destruction." The postman waited calmly for Sun Yang to finish his words.

"It's truly remarkable that you could have imagined this, Mailman. So now I've been thinking about how to find a way to save NCR, which is in a power vacuum and has fallen into chaos. I thought of the Followers of the Apocalypse. They are natural educators, scientists, and doctors. If they were to become active again in NCR, many people would be happy to see them. In terms of the military, I believe the current lower-level soldiers and rangers in NCR are fully capable of doing this. Mailman, have you talked to the officers and soldiers of those armies?"

"From what I see, it's still the same. The top management doesn't know what they are doing, the middle management is dizzy, and the poorly trained soldiers at the bottom don't know what they are doing at all. They were all inspired by patriotic slogans, rushed here with passion, and then were thrown casually into the Mojave Desert." The postman summarized simply.

"How are they doing their job? Are they like the soldiers?" Sun Yang was quite worried about this.

"Divide the people and the troops. I have a good impression of most of the NCR troops who have set up camps outside. They will try their best to deal with various troubles and protect civilians. If there are enough troops, I believe they will protect the town and establish patrol routes, and if the Legion is gone, the NCR Rangers can also free up their hands to deal with other things. Okay, Sun Yang, if your arrangement can allow them to return to their hometown, or simply improve the supplies on the front line, I am confident that I can convince them and make these big-headed soldiers listen to me." The postman moved her shoulders. She was still very confident in her ability to deceive.

"Are you sure? There are quite a few camps there." Sun Yang scratched his head.

"Don't worry, I've dealt with almost all the NCR officers and soldiers stationed there, and I know exactly what factions they belong to. I will help you, of course, on the premise that you don't do anything rash against NCR. Boss Sun Yang, my vision may not be broad enough, but I still noticed the problem." The postman changed her posture, touched her chin, and raised her concerns.

"Tell me about it?" Sun Yang waited quietly for the postman's answer.

"Sun Yang, if you can rush into NCR and engage in large-scale battles under the banner of eliminating the top leaders and fighting for equality and protecting the people, then others can do the same in the future. Although every group with strong violence can do this, what will the locals think? They will only think that it is a group of powerful lunatics who came in and killed a lot of rich people, and then lured a bunch of weird people to sit in high-level positions. This will have an impact on subsequent rule." The postman explained his views.

"Yes, you are right. So I am asking you to make friends with forces everywhere and win over those powerful characters."

"Huh? What the hell are you planning? Tell me now."

"To put it simply, we are going to act out a play. My people will go into the country under a banner with a bad reputation and kill those who I think should be killed. After all, people have already fled into the country, so we will definitely target the richest and most powerful people. Then, when the fight is so fierce that no one is spared--" Sun Yang pointed his finger at the postman on the other side of the image.

"You, Courier No. 6, will bring the NCR troops willing to follow you, as well as other random people who support you and those powerful guys you found. You will lead the troops from the Mojave and fight back to the NCR mainland to wipe out those of us who are causing trouble in NCR. Courier, you will become a hero of NCR. You can reinstate those who were originally impeached, or you can find ways to establish a new set of rules. The hero of NCR should be played by NCR's own people, right?"

"So this is your real plan? A grand show? Just to make me a hero in people's eyes? But why? You can easily rule the entire NCR. You can kill so many people and take over the entire West Coast." The postman covered his head, feeling a little headache because of Sun Yang's bizarre plan.

"I'm too lazy to rule 70 people. All I care about is the scattered and lost technology here. I'm not good at leading a group of people in the wasteland into the future. Postman, for me, it's much more satisfying to eliminate the fools and idiots riding on the heads of 70 people than to rule them. Instead of letting me manage the people living here, I might as well let some people who are good enough and can treat the citizens under them better sit in these positions." Sun Yang shrugged.

"Don't you care about your reputation? I mean these robots, Ariana, they also care about the reputation of their organization, right? Although it feels weird that robots have beliefs and honor, the robots here are also quite weird." The postman poked Ariana next to him.

"No, there's no need. I don't care." Ariana is a pure workaholic. After all, she is a humanoid developed by the Third War, and there are no messy thoughts piled up in her mind.

"Just like Ariana said. I don't need fame. What's the use of fame? Even if I win the gratitude of NCR, it won't help me with the current situation that NCR's industrial capacity relies on arms dealers and gangs and its scientific research capacity is extremely weak. Instead of those empty ones, it is better to flexibly use the banner you have raised and use you, a good guy. As for us? We will leave after the task is completed, hiding our identities and names." Sun Yang explained.

"Tsk. I don't really want to believe what you said, but, well, since you've boasted that you can do it, I can only believe it for now. Tell me, boss, what are your next arrangements?" The postman continued to listen with his arms folded.

"Now, let me get to the point—how do you rule a country of 70 people? I've been thinking about it, and I want to find some talented people to rebuild the leadership team. Joshua and the remnants of the New Canaanites he belongs to seem like a good fit."

"Are you sure? Even though he was the legion's special envoy before?" The postman frowned.

"You'll need to inquire about the postman in detail. If you agree with my idea of ​​replacing NCR's top management, then we must consider who can better lead NCR in that position. Whether he's a suitable assistant or helper, or what position he should occupy, all require your observation, conversation, and analysis. I think I need you to think about this."

"Ha, unknowingly, the future of NCR has been transferred to my hands? Now, as long as I submit enough explanations to you, I can decide the life and death of many people... Maybe you should tell me your plan earlier so that I can be mentally prepared. Well, subverting the top management of NCR may be equivalent to saving a large number of people. Okay, I'll do this job. I'm just an actor on the stage. I say one thing to one person and another to another. I often do this." The postman agreed.

"Don't worry, I will provide support to your side during the preparation stage. Strong T-dolls like Ariana will come out to support you. By the way, you can ask Joshua what the specific dilemma is. On my side, we can send heavy helicopters like the Vertibird to provide support, and we can also bring T-dolls over, and they will arrive in a day or two. You can tell him all these conditions. Finally, if you think Joshua is reliable, then tell him the plan. With his experience, he will consider it." Sun Yang said.

"Okay, I understand. One last question, boss. Whose banner are you planning to fly? There aren't many famous and vile banners in this wasteland. If you fly a stranger, no one will know."

"I plan to operate under the banner of the remnants of the Enclave." Sun Yang took out another bag of food from his side and chewed it.

"Enclave? Well, that's indeed fitting... Wait, you're not really a remnant of the Enclave, are you? Your technology, your humanoids, your firepower..." The Postman's face was bitter. The story of the Enclave was a household name among NCR citizens.

"I'm definitely not. I'm probably much stronger than the real Enclave remnants in Mojave. There are also serious divisions within the Enclave. Ever since Qiu Shengwang defeated the Enclave, the remaining remnants have either died or gone into hiding. I think the ones who are still alive probably don't like people using their name to do bad things - it's hard to say, maybe they can only curse."

"You say no, yet you know so much about the Enclave? You're also well aware of the situation with Qiu Shengwang—the Chosen One."

"I'm not the Enclave, nor am I a descendant of the Expeditionary Force. I possess technology they don't have. You've certainly never seen a robot more powerful than my humanoid. Okay, Postman, we've almost finished talking about everything. Whether you decide to help me, or don't want to participate in this plan, or you intend to tear my conspiracy apart—in any case, when you make up your mind, tell Ariana, or just let me know."

Sun Yang hung up the phone after he finished speaking, and the holographic projection shrank back. Aliana handed the small plate to the postman.

"Here's to you. The commander said he can trust you now, so he's entrusting the communication facilities to you. You can use this terminal to contact the commander if you need anything." After delivering the terminal, Ariana looked at the distressed Postman No. 6.

The postman sat down in the wet mud beside him and stared blankly at the river in front of him.

She stared at the river for a long time, and only after watching a fish swim from downstream to upstream did she slowly exhale.

"Ha... This really gives me a dilemma. A complete shakeup of the top management, and then asking me to be a hero, and using the Enclave's name... I don't even know if he's really the Enclave, or a descendant of the Asian Expeditionary Force. How terrifying are these surviving creatures from before the war... This is a fucking crazy idea. This is far more arrogant than winning the Battle of Hoover Dam. And I'm supposed to be the one managing the entire NCR? What a joke! I can't govern a country, I can only talk a little, and I'm supposed to be able to judge people? I can't do anything."

Postman No. 6 muttered to herself, and she fell into a rare depressed mood.

"Don't say that, postman. You've actually been talking to people in person, and you've taken us to actually solve problems. Many lazy generals simply read texts and reports to speculate on the battle situation, and then pull a group of people over to solve the problem. They are often overwhelmed by wrong intelligence and sudden incidents of the support team. Just by actually talking to people, you can judge things more accurately than many people." Cass patted the postman on the back and comforted him.

The postman shook his head. She took several deep breaths, as if she was sorting out her thoughts or making up her mind.

"Well, you're right, Cass. I've thought about it, and it's more appropriate for me to get involved than to let that Sun Yang do it alone. Besides, the boss has given me so much, so I should be grateful and repay the favor. For the sake of NCR and the boss, I'll do my part for my country! No matter who he is, as long as this thing can be done, we will all be heroes, the kind that will be written into history textbooks!"

Postman No. 6 asked Cass for a bottle of moonshine and drank it all in one breath.

"Huha! I can see it! Cass! I can see the legend waving to us, and now we are standing at the turning point of history! Welcome my arrival! The brand new NCR!" It took the postman less than a minute to cheer up again.

193 Conversation with Joshua

"So, postman, what help do you need?" Joshua looked at the postman who had just gone out and came back, and said with concern.