CHAPTER 60: CHAPTER 60: UNABLE TO LET GO

Qu Jianlei first disarmed the mechanism hidden under the Mecha, which could trigger a series of fire explosions.

Then he entered the Mecha, drove it slightly, and felt it was almost the same as last time he used it.

He even felt it was a bit more flexible, after all, he had done maintenance and servicing last time.

A lot of in-depth maintenance, infiltration takes a process.

Simply put, the state of the Mecha slightly exceeded his expectations, it was worth the risk of coming back.

Many relatively intense operations were inconvenient to test at the moment, so Qu Jianlei opened the Mecha cockpit and came out.

Looking at this Mecha, he couldn’t help but think of the crevice brokering Mecha trades.

That crevice guy...how to say it? His actions were indeed a bit arbitrary, but he’s really a good person!

Unfortunately, the person is already dead, and Xiao Jing now... is probably done for too?

Thinking of this, Qu Jianlei couldn’t suppress the anger in his heart, and his eyes involuntarily turned to the Electromagnetic Cannon beside him.

The Electromagnetic Cannon was something he purchased at the Hongwu Settlement, it wasn’t built into the Mecha—all the Mecha’s weapons had been dismantled.

When Qu Jianlei was doing a big purchase at Hongwu, it was because he didn’t have powerful enough weapons that he thought of getting one.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t spend more than six thousand silver coins at the Settlement, it was really because he bought so many things.

However, after purchasing the Electromagnetic Cannon, he never used it.

Mounting it on the open-top light truck was not only too ostentatious, but also easy to attract unwanted attention.

Luckily, he got the Mecha, and came up with the idea to equip the Mecha with such a weapon.

It’s not a personal weapon, but there’s no problem using it on a Mecha.

As for why the Electromagnetic Cannon isn’t placed in the courtyard, but here, it’s still for the same reason... his sense of security is too poor!

In the Chaotic Stone Camp, Qu Jianlei couldn’t even get enough to eat, yet he dug three wild shelters and left some supplies.

Those "supplies" seem laughable now, but they were squeezed out from between his teeth back then!

And this time the courtyard was attacked, his supplies suffered heavy losses, but not much of the core assets were lost.

All the Mutant Crystals, he carried with him, and he also carried Silver Notes with him.

Those important materials, such as gold, energy blocks, ammunition, shredded pork... he brought out quite a bit.

Taking the opportunity to hunt Mutant Beasts in the mountains, he brought those supplies into the mountains and buried them in some places.

With his mindset, doing these things is really very normal... just in case.

So recently when Flower Scorpion thought he had no adequate supplies on hand... it really wasn’t the case!

In simple terms, what he lost in the courtyard was just three kilograms of gold, three large energy blocks, and a truck.

The other losses were trivial, some weapons, some ammunition, a little shredded pork...

As for generators and stuff... before getting the Mecha, he originally planned to sell them.

Bringing the Electromagnetic Cannon here was based on a similar philosophy—the Electromagnetic Cannon can only be used by Mecha!

As for the issue of safety here... if even the Mecha was lost, then also losing a cannon wouldn’t matter much, right?

Witnessing the Electromagnetic Cannon, the random thoughts in Qu Jianlei’s mind emerged like chaotic grass.

Am I just going to leave silently like this? Without letting the other side taste a bit of pain?

He knew very well that leaving at this moment was the most sensible choice.

The other side is strong, while he lies low and develops secretly for a decade or so, it is sensible to return for revenge when he becomes stronger.

He has already escaped the initial weakness traps, and with the Nameless Qi Refining Technique to cultivate, becoming powerful is just a matter of time.

However, he just couldn’t suppress that surge of Fire Qi in his heart, and at this moment, his body was acting before his mind.

"Calm down..." he took a deep breath, slowly telling himself, "you must stay calm and control your anger."

However, the next moment, his eyes brightened, "But, trying to move the Mecha into the mountains seems quite difficult too."

He finally found a reason to make a move.

The Mecha weighs only twenty tons, supposedly not taking up much space, with a length and width of around two meters each, and height less than three meters.

However, the Mecha always makes some noise when starting and operating.

When working at full capacity, the noise is even louder than that of a heavy truck.

Moreover, this is a transport Mecha, and various transport pods, when fully extended, increase its length and width.

Trying to move such a Mecha into the mountains silently is challenging.

After finding this reason, Qu Jianlei got a good night’s sleep and left the warehouse before dawn.

He no longer carried a Gauss Rifle, just a Laser Rifle and a Long Blade, roaming around the area.

In the morning, he finally encountered a person.

That person was riding a motorcycle, and upon seeing him, directly stopped to raise a hand, reaching for the Gauss Rifle on the vehicle.

He shouted, "In the Hongyi Residence Area, nobody is allowed to cover their face... Who are you?"

"No face covering?" Qu Jianlei muttered softly, raising a hand to shoot the opponent dead, "Is this really targeting me?"

Not allowing face covering... doesn’t actually align with the interests of the Hongyi Residence Area!

Their current bustling state was mainly due to emphasizing district order, not delving into outsiders’ identities.

If you think strong checks on outsiders’ identities are the only way to ensure order, you’re gravely mistaken.

There are two types of people who can’t pass the identity verification: one is utterly evil, and the other is someone who’s been targeted.

Hongyi genuinely didn’t care much for this in the past, which is why it has flourished ever since.

Now, banning masks is clearly due to pressure from the General Settlement, even Hongyi can’t withstand it.

Qu Jianlei pondered over this while stepping forward, casually dug a pit in the ground, and buried that fellow.

With his cultivation level deepening, such tasks as digging pits don’t consume much time for him.

Then he mounted the motorcycle, glanced at the dashboard, and muttered, "Poor guy, not even half a tank of fuel."

Following this, he roamed about wearing a face covering, and if questioned, he would retort, "You first, report your origin!"

Many followed the trend of checking masked individuals, hoping to catch a big fish, though their own abilities weren’t noteworthy.

But among the masked people, the mix was much more varied.

If one dared to announce their name, what if the other side remembers it?

Thus, most people merely smiled awkwardly, "No offense intended, the atmosphere at Hongyi is quite tense recently!"

After wandering all day, only two groups dared to announce names before him.

But he dealt with them swiftly!

He didn’t even care to find out the backgrounds of these two groups.

Did the people from the General Settlement ask about backgrounds when killing in fissures and Xiaojing?

If you don’t ask, neither will I; in the affairs of the world, fairness must be considered.

Those who shrink back don’t find his reaction odd — there are too many headstrong individuals at Hongyi.

During this period, quite a few conflicts occurred between the masked and unmasked camps.

Initially, people from the General Settlement tried to enforce rules, but the adventurers from afar weren’t used to it.

So be it — fight and leave — if you die, it’s over, if not, just leave.

When people aren’t afraid of death, how can the threat of death deter them? The General Settlement’s people found this troublesome.

Thus, most people in this area don’t wear masks anymore, but those determined to wear them are headstrong.

Anyone adamant on checking must prepare for the possibility of being beaten to death.

Qu Jianlei’s thoughts weren’t that clear; he was never good at gauging people’s hearts.

But he could roughly conceive that if he acted strong, the followers might be afraid.

Indeed, as he expected, after roaming all day, killing two groups, others asked once and kept their distance.

Eventually, a team approached him, "Brother, you’re fierce, shall we collaborate?"

Qu Jianlei glanced at them, calmly asking, "Collaborate on what?"

"Catch Black Heaven," they replied seriously, "We’ve basically locked down his active area."

Locked down my active area? Qu Jianlei found this quite amusing, "How much money can be made?"

Their expression instantly turned wary, "You don’t even know about this?"

Qu Jianlei pointed to his own face covering, "First day here, someone tried to take my mask off."

"Ah, I see," the other side laughed mysteriously, "Killing this person offers a thousand silver coins."

A thousand silver coins, to kill myself? Qu Jianlei shook his head, "I won’t go, you play on your own."

The other side looked at him with an unusually pitying gaze, "You truly don’t know what you’re missing."

Qu Jianlei rolled his eyes, "But I know who I am..."

By day’s end, he’s finally learned the General Settlement’s people haven’t left.

The person in charge sometimes stays at the settlement, but the true operational hub is outside the city.

This logically makes sense; if the command center were placed within the city, it would affect Hongyi’s internal order.

Such arrangements would only be made if someone of absolute importance from the General Settlement came down.

No matter how it is, he learned that the General Settlement’s camp is right along the road leading to the mountain base.

Then, along with several groups, he went to observe from afar.

During this process, some still mentioned his face covering.

But Qu Jianlei didn’t bother to respond, he secretly noted down the location of the General Settlement’s operational hub.

In the vicinity of the operation center, he saw an armored vehicle he’d never forget.

To most people, an armored vehicle is just an armored vehicle; similar types are generally alike.

Yet this is not the case; most armored vehicles in the Wasteland have been repaired and modified, with considerable differences.

Qu Jianlei’s eye is sharp, instantly recognizing, "This is... Mr. Sai’s armored vehicle."

With mixed feelings, he rode away silently on his motorcycle.

At night, Qu Jianlei sneaked back, gazing at the command center from three kilometers away.

"Is Mr. Sai now inside the settlement, in a tent, or inside the armored vehicle?"

(Updates until now, seeking all sorts of support during the new book period.)