Wasteland Hideout: Upgrading from the Sewers

Chapter 31: Commander Lawless, Burning Fortress

Whoa...

Yu Yuan's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

He just realized that the generator's power settings could actually be adjusted, divided into three modes: High Power, Standard, and Leisure.

He immediately twisted the adjustment knob.

Click...

The generator setting switched to High Power mode.

"Holy crap..." Yu Yuan's eyes immediately bulged out, the veins on his arms bulging as he gripped the handles.

His butt lifted off the seat as he stood up completely to pedal.

Damn, this resistance was as intense as cycling up a 35° slope - trying to sit down and pedal was absolutely impossible.

But the power generation efficiency also greatly improved, with the full charging time reduced to 30 minutes, cut directly in half.However, after pedaling for less than a minute, Yu Yuan gave up.

Without gear shifting mechanisms, generating power in High Power mode wasn't practical. Perhaps he would only use this setting in emergency situations.

Leisure mode was extremely relaxed, basically requiring no effort at all, but the full charging time correspondingly doubled.

Overall, Yu Yuan was quite satisfied with the pedal generator.

And as the level 1 [Generator] construction was completed, other facilities requiring electricity were successively unlocked.

However, he only had all the upgrade materials for [Lighting Level 2 - Energy-saving Light].

He immediately chose to upgrade. As the wires, switches, sockets, and energy-saving lights disappeared, the shelter's ceiling was covered with a green light curtain.

While generating power, Yu Yuan checked the trading information on Taotao Hole.

All the melee weapons he had listed earlier were completely exchanged, only one pair of tactical gloves remained, while there were still two pairs of military boots left.

Probably still a sizing issue, but Yu Yuan didn't really mind about that. With ten thousand players and only those few boot sizes, someone would eventually need them.

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Eastern City District 1, Eastern City Police Station.

"Hurry up, move the obstacles away, the enforcement team is returning!" A tall, sturdy thug looked at the armored vehicles approaching in the distance and immediately ordered his subordinates to make way.

Screech...

Over a dozen armored vehicles that had just returned from Waterside Street stopped in front of the Police Station.

Three Enforcers got out first, looking toward the figure standing at the entrance of the Police Station. Behind them, two people were carrying a body bag.

"Commander Loris!"

Carmen, Gro, and Soda saluted the approaching Loris.

Loris was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties, not particularly tall in stature, instead somewhat small and thin.

But the moment the three saw Loris, they all tensed up, as if even their breathing slowed down.

Loris ignored the three and went straight to the body bag.

Rip...

The body bag was unzipped. Looking at the blood-covered face inside, Loris's eyes were chillingly cold, devoid of any warmth, like a bottomless black well.

Then his gaze turned to the three men, all of whom had beads of cold sweat forming on their foreheads.

Soda felt his throat tighten and couldn't help but swallow. He felt like he was being watched by a venomous snake, his blood practically freezing.

Carmen and Gro also didn't dare to breathe heavily, standing at attention with their eyes fixed straight ahead.

Finally, Loris's gaze fell on Soda.

"You're nervous?"

"N-no, not at all!" Soda immediately showed a slightly stiff smile.

"Then tell me, how did Fries die?" His voice was like a venomous snake waiting to strike, cold and slippery.

Soda immediately bowed his head, his body slightly bent: "Commander Loris, ba...based on analysis of the scene, Fries fell into the sewer when Thug Prison launched their attack, and was then ambushed by enemies hiding in the sewer. He had his right hand, left hand, and ankles se...separately severed. The fatal injury was to the carotid artery..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Commander Loris's calm eyes.

"Do you think... I can't see that? I'm asking you, how did Fries die?"

"This..." Soda swallowed, feeling like the air was about to solidify.

Just as he was about to suffocate, Loris's gaze turned to Carmen.

"You tell me!"

Snap...

Carmen stood at attention, chest out and head up: "Reporting to Commander Loris, Enforcer Fries was ambushed and killed by enemies who had hidden in the sewer in advance. Based on the scene, we also found several bodies of enforcement team members. Currently, we suspect that the murderer who attacked Enforcer Fries might be people from Thug Prison who were lying in ambush in the sewer."

"How so?"

"Based on examination of Enforcer Fries's wounds at the scene, the weapon used by the murderer should be a Kukri short sword, very suitable for slashing. The wounds on Enforcer Fries's wrists and ankles were all caused by slashes from this weapon. And as far as I know, the Kukri short sword is a self-made weapon of Thug Prison, currently only equipped on their Raiders. Additionally, I suspect Burning Fortress was also involved in this attack."

"Burning Fortress? What's your basis?" Loris frowned.

"Reporting, no concrete basis, but I've heard that 'Black Lung' Victor urgently needs a pair of healthy lungs, and Thug Prison controls Green Forest City's largest slave resources. Also, we found many traces of Molotov cocktail explosions at the scene, and Burning Fortress controls exactly the fuel resources..."

Carmen didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present understood his meaning.

Loris showed a thoughtful expression, patted Carmen on the shoulder, and turned to leave.

"I heard you captured someone from Thug Prison. Send them to me!"

"Yes!"

Only when Commander Loris's figure completely disappeared did Carmen and the other two finally let out long sighs of relief.

Especially Soda, who looked like he had just been fished out of water. He glared fiercely at Carmen, shoved past him, and left directly.

Gro could only smile helplessly and also left.

A thug approached, took out a lighter, and lit the cigarette at Carmen's lips.

"Boss, we've already sent that prisoner to the commander. But Thug Prison members are all crazy - can we really make them talk?"

"Pfft..." Carmen glanced at his subordinate.

"Just do your job properly. How dare you question Commander Loris? Tired of living?"

"I wouldn't dare..." The thug looked around and asked in a low voice: "Boss, was the person who attacked Enforcer Fries really from Thug Prison? Yesterday at the Water Service Center..."

Before he could finish, Carmen glared him into silence.

"Shut up! Don't mention a single word about yesterday's events. If you don't want to die, don't cause trouble. If you want to die, I'll help you!"

"Understood, boss!" the thug said hurriedly.

"Alright, Old Ghost, you watch things here. I'm going inside to check things out!" Carmen said, handing the remaining half of the cigarette to the other man, then headed toward the Police Station.

But halfway there, a raindrop fell on his face, bringing a chill as the wind blew past.

He looked up.

Patter patter...

The raindrops became increasingly dense, and the wind could be felt noticeably strengthening. This rain wouldn't be light.

Listening to the chaotic noises of the thugs behind him, Carmen quickened his pace forward, a slight curve forming at the corner of his mouth as he thought to himself:

"Never expected that guy would actually take out Fries - what a pleasant surprise! Maybe I can make use of him later, like dealing with that fool Soda...."

"But is he really from Thug Prison? The weapon was indeed a Kukri short sword...."