The crowd was shocked by these words.
Shock was written all over Liu Mang’s face. He did wonder why he hadn’t met the Huizhong Mercenaries in so long. Could it be that what he said was….
His shock gradually turned into fear.
“I did hear that the Huizhong Mecenaries offended the wrong force and was wiped out.”
“It seemed to be a force from Qingpu.”
“Oh I remember! An alcoholic from Qingpu did say this.”
Lone travelers on the wasteland naturally had heard some news. For example, Songjiang was suddenly stabilized, and the Huizhong Mercenaries’ raid team had abruptly evaporated into thin air. No one would have guessed that this recognized force had been wiped out by the man standing in front of them.
The woman that continued to piercingly gaze at Jiang Chen was even more shocked. If she was tempted in the beginning, now she didn’t care about the price anymore….
The greedy gazes from the shadows were now wary. They began to question how they would have fared against the Huizhong Mercenaries.
“You, th-that’s impossible.” Liu Mang stared at Jiang Chen as if looking at a ghost. He shivered, unable to properly articulate his words.
Jiang Chen didn’t bother with Liu Mang anymore. Instead, he smiled at the young man who was sipping at his drink.
“I’ve heard that this industrial alcohol is not too good for you.”
“It’s fine. You can have two bottles as well. People with genetic vaccines have a strong digestive system.” The man put down his cup and laughed casually.
“You know who I am?”
“Of course. I came from Jia City for the sole purpose of finding you.” The young man shrugged and extended his right hand. “Lin Chaoen, from Jia City’s Defenders. Pleased to meet you.”
[Defenders? Why don’t you call yourself the Avengers?]
“Jiang Chen.” With an odd expression, Jiang Chen similarly extended his hand for a handshake, but the caution in his eyes remained.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m a nice person,” Lin Chaoen said innocently in response to the look of distrust in his eyes.
Jiang Chen didn’t refute him and looked away. He returned to the seat beside the counter and turned to the frightened Liu Mang.
“You’re lucky. At least you can choose which brand of formalin you want to use.”
When he heard those words, Liu Mang immediately got on his knees.
“Please spare me. I didn’t know any better. I—”
“Enough, I’ve heard too much of the same thing. If you want to live….” Jiang Chen said irritably. He slapped the counter. “These four strange concoctions—you can get the hell out once you finish them.”
Liu Mang’s face turned green instantly.
“psh, an entire bottle of industrial alcohol. Half of his life would be gone by the time he finishes. What a waste. Why don’t you—”
Before Lin Chaoen could finish, a bottle flew in his direction.
He caught the object thrown at him by Jiang Chen and laughed as he poured himself another cup.
“The remaining three bottles, go ahead.” Jiang Chen slowly said as he stared at Liu Mang.
The three drinks did not look normal at all. He didn’t have the intention to drink it himself. But for market research, as well as curiosity, it was not a bad idea to find his own white rat.
Liu Mang thought about Jiang Chen wiping out the Huizhong Mercenaries and lost all courage to fight back. He bit the bullet as he valiantly walked up, picked up the bottle of Nut Coke, and began to guzzle it.
The crowd blew whistles as the lot of them stared at his pants mockingly.
By the time he finished the entire bottle, Jiang Chen was shocked to discover that this guy’s pants had lit up.
That’s right, lit up.
“Nut Coke adds a trace amount of a radioactive strontium isotope that makes the pee fluorescent. Damn, a whole bottle in one sitting. This guy’s di*k could be a light bulb for an entire day,” Lin Chaoen mocked as he took a sip.
“Radioactive element? Is it not harmful to the human body?” Jiang Chen asked as he gave a weird look at the Nut Coke.
“This thing is harmless. They sold it before the war.”
Liu Mang picked up the dark green Kaka Tea. His forehead twisted, but he still raised his head with a look of agony and started to chug.
“Kaka Tea has an excessive amount of tea polyphenols as well as other radiation-resistant substances. It doesn’t look the best and tastes bitter to the point of stinking, but the radiation resistance effect is quite superb.” Just as Lin Chaoen finished speaking, Liu Mang’s pants lost all illumination.
After finishing the two bottles, Liu Mang held the last eOrange and looked at Jiang Chen with a troubled expression.
“Why are you looking at me? Drink!” Jiang Chen stared at him.
“Yes, yes!”
Liu Mang grit his teeth as he began drinking from the bottle. As soon as it reached his stomach, however, he fell unconscious to the ground.
“eOrange, concentrated sweetener. The normal way to drink it is to use the cap to pour it into a big bottle of clear water. If he drank this entire bottle, it’d be better to send him to the hospital right away,” Lin Chaoen explained with a smile.
Jiang Chen glanced at him but didn’t say much.
A few enforcers in black combat suits walked in, catching sight of the thugs on the ground as they eyed the bartender questioningly.
“They were the one escalating the conflict. They were taught a lesson.” The bartender neutrally explained the situation. From his calm expression, it didn’t seem to be his first time dealing with this sort of situation.
The enforcer smiled at Jiang Chen. “We apologized for your infringed rights. The people who started the conflict will receive a fifteen-day imprisonment sentence.”
Afterwards, the enforcers walked up with handcuffs and escorted the people from the ground and away.
The enforcers from Sixth Street would always have a courteous attitude, but in times of conflict, they would not hesitate to pull out their gun to shoot.
Seeing the cops take the people away, the crowd began to disperse because there was nothing more to see. The bar returned to its previous busy atmosphere. The gamblers rolled die, and alcoholics nursed their cups.
The woman in heavy makeup was prepared to strike up a conversation with Jiang Chen before she suddenly realized that he was not there anymore.
…
In the alley beside the bar.
There were deserted junks covered by layers of dust that had accumulated over time. The area was dimly lit, and mutated moss covered the walls.
It had been a while since anybody had passed by this area, but two figures now stood there.
“Speak your mind. Why did you travel so far to find me?” Jiang Chen looked at Lin Chaoen with an odd expression.
He didn’t recall going to Jia City before. Could reputation spread through the air?
Regardless, Lin Chaoen’s ability was not to be underestimated. To be able to wander the wasteland freely without a large group to protect him, only those with insane powers could do that. Jiang Chen was also curious to know why he sought him.
Seeing Jiang Chen ask straightforwardly, the grin on Lin Chaoen’s face began to fade into a more serious expression.
“A few days ago, a mutated human began moving towards Wanghai City and destroyed a survivors’ gathering spot.”
“It was a bandit nest,” Jiang Chen shrugged and added.
“Whatever it was, I followed the mutated human’s tracks to Songjiang in Wanghai City, but then I only found proof of it being attacked. I came to Sixth Street shortly after and heard rumors about you in the bar. Based on the information, the real outcome must be that the mutated human destroyed the Huizhong Mercenaries, and they happened to bump into you, after which you wiped them out.”
“You could interpret it that way. And?”
“I’ve been trying to find you, but all I heard was that you were in the Qingpu area but not the exact location. Now we’ve met by coincidence today, boss of Fishbone Base, Jiang Chen.” Lin Chaoen stared into Jiang Chen’s eyes as he spoke in a low undertone.
“So why did you want to find me?” Jiang Chen reiterated the question.
He didn’t want to be involved with a mutated human again. Fighting them was a lost cause.
Lin Chaoen seemed to have expected Jiang Chen’s reaction. After a pause, he continued, “Based on our information, the mutated human’s force has been gathering in the western area of Wanghai City.”
[Western area? That’s Qingpu and Songjia? They’re moving in this direction?]
Jiang Chen’s face suddenly changed color. His Fishbone Base was in the Qingpu area. But then he remembered something and looked suspiciously at Lin Chaoen.
“Wait, if you’re in Jia City, the mutated humans moving towards Wanghai City would be a good thing for you. Why did you come find me?”
“You don’t know the conflicts between us and the mutated human, so obviously you would suspect my intentions. The Defenders’ job is to defend against the mutated humans.”
Lin Chaoen paused and said, “In the past few years, they’ve been using Area Seven as their base to capture, raid, and enslave people from Jia City. Any resistance was met with death. People of the right age were submerged into vials to receive new life—and become di*kless like them. Their existence is anti-human to begin with, and so you and I fight against a common enemy.”
Jiang Chen quietly gazed at Lin Chaoen, and after a while, said, “Why are the mutated humans coming to Wanghai City? Since you’ve found me, you must have some clues about their intentions.”
“Precisely.” Lin Chaoen nodded, then took out the computer and expanded the full-sensory map.
His finger placed on a spot in the city center, he continued, “Carmen Pharmaceutical… they were researching genetic medications and production businesses. It was rumored that they had a partnership with the military.”
“So?” Jiang Chen didn’t seem to care.
“Under the partnership, their project was based on the scenario that should the world erupt into a full-scale nuclear war, what would allow PAC citizens to gain radiation resistance in a short time, making them become the sole adapters in the new world. The result of this project was precisely the FEV virus.”
Jiang Chen was stunned, and he looked at Lin Chaoen in disbelief. He recalled that mutated humans were the product of merging with the FEV virus.
“FEV virus? Used on us?” Jiang Chen still couldn’t fathom the truth.
He always thought that the FEV virus was a biological weapon created in a laboratory to be used against citizens on the enemy’s side. He didn’t dare to imagine that the virus had been designed with its own citizens in mind.
“Nothing would spread faster than a virus; it was the most efficient means of transmission. But the FEV virus was incomplete. The half-finished product was effective only in special nutrients, and it would create misshapen humans who were unable to reproduce. Let’s not discuss whether the authorities were humane or not. What’s critical now is that these deformed, di*kless things seem to have obtained some information that led them to believe that within the Carmen Pharmaceutical building, there is an improved version of the FEV virus that could lead them to a state of higher evolution. It would also allow them to gain the reproductive ability that they had always dreamed of.”
Jiang Chen’s face completed changed when he heard those words.
“Why don’t you go to the pharmaceutical company before them? And destroy the improved version of the FEV virus?”
Lin Chaoen immediately rejected the proposal while shaking his head. “Impossible. First, the company is located within a high-radiation area. Unless you have power armor or radiation-resistant suits, the iodine in the EP would not be enough to approach the area. Also, even if we did arrive at Carmen Pharmaceutical, we wouldn’t be able to enter the building without the passcode. The security robot would eliminate any unidentified target attempting to break in.”
“Then blow the entire building up!” Jiang Chen said viciously.
Lin Chaoen gave Jiang Chen an odd look. “A building that could survive the nuclear missile, what kind of explosives do you think could blow it up?”
Jiang Chen was completely listless.
“Fu*k, why don’t you go to the Sixth Street officials to talk about this?”
Lin Chaoen smiled bitterly. “The council wouldn’t believe me, and I don’t have the confidence to persuade the minimum requirement of five council members. To be fair, it’s a problem for our Jia City. Even if the mutated human obtained the improved virus, they would return to Jia City to take a bath and devastate the survivors there. Do you think Sixth Street would leave their golden age of development and fight a war of lost causes?”
“Then why bother finding me?”
“Because the mutated humans will pass by your front door. They have no reason not to bite into the juicy meat beside their mouths,” Lin Chaoen shrugged and said honestly.
“You’re saying my Fishbone Base is a piece of juicy meat?” Jiang Chen disagreed.
“In terms of defense, power armors aren’t able to utilize their advantage in mobility, especially since you don’t have many to begin with, according to the marks left behind on the battlefield. On the other side, there are more than forty mutated humans.”
With narrowed eyes, Jiang Chen locked gazes with Lin Chaoen.
Lin Chaoen fearlessly met Jiang Chen’s stare, retracted the computer pen, and extended his right hand again.
“We can partner up, against the common enemy.”