93: Chapter 93 The Righteous Army

Flash, whose good time had been interrupted, was absolutely furious.

Terrifying neural reflexes instantly erupted from his Level 14 body.

Flash was like an enraged cheetah, pouncing from the bed to seize the initiative!

Amidst the terrified screams of the girl on the bed,

the five gang thugs who had burst in didn't even see a shadow, let alone pull their triggers.

"Crack! Crack!"

The crisp sounds of breaking bones followed one after another!

In less than five seconds, Flash had ruthlessly dislocated both arms of all five burly men. They collapsed to the floor like dead dogs, letting out agonizing screams.

"Creeeeak—"

Just then, the door to the adjacent room was pushed open.

Miracle Walker walked out calmly, holding a silenced pistol that was emitting a faint wisp of gunpowder smoke in both hands.

Flash glanced at Miracle Walker's combat suit—buttoned up tight without a single wrinkle—and instantly realized he had been set up.

"Fine, fine, fine!"

Flash laughed out of sheer anger.

"You honest-looking brat, you've got such a wicked heart! You damn well knew this was a setup and used me as bait on purpose?"

Miracle Walker holstered his pistol, his lips twitching slightly as he tried his best to stifle a laugh.

"Stop talking nonsense and get dressed. The main party will be here any second."

No sooner had he spoken,

"Thud, thud, thud—"

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the stairwells at both ends of the corridor.

Moments later, twenty to thirty gang elites wearing matching black leather jackets, armed with double-barreled shotguns and machetes, flanked them from both sides, trapping the two in the middle of the hallway.

The crowd parted to the sides.

A man with a buzz cut, sharp eyes, and a deep scar on his left cheek strode out.

He glanced at his subordinates screaming on the floor.

Though their arms were dislocated, it was clear the opponent had held back and hadn't dealt a killing blow.

"Friends,"

the scarred man looked up, his gaze cold as he stared at Miracle Walker.

"Injuring my men on my turf... that's not how business is done."

Miracle Walker didn't panic; instead, he leaned against the wall relaxed.

From the moment they entered the town during the day with a convoy full of gunpowder weapons, he had sensed countless malicious eyes watching them in the shadows.

Especially when those black market merchants intentionally drove down prices or even refused to buy their weapons, the monitoring gazes had multiplied several times over.

To break the deadlock, Miracle Walker had intentionally asked a seemingly ordinary scout for directions, tracing the lead to this red-light district. He then pretended to bring the lust-blinded Flash here for entertainment, all to draw out these local snakes.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're the leader of the group that's been following us, right?"

Miracle Walker expressed himself clearly in low gothic, albeit with a slightly strange accent.

"I know your background. And I know what you want. Let's talk about a big deal."

Hearing this, the scarred man's eyes narrowed slightly as he re-evaluated the two outsiders before him.

"Talk?" The scarred man sneered. "Talk how?"

Miracle Walker pointed outside.

"You're desperate for weapons, aren't you? As long as you can provide a reasonable price, I can make the call to sell you that batch of weapons on the truck. And besides those, we have a huge stockpile back at our camp in the north!"

At the mention of a 'huge stockpile' of weapons, the scarred man's breathing noticeably quickened; he seemed tempted.

He pondered for a moment, then raised his hand to signal his men to lower their weapons.

"You two, follow me to the third floor."

Stepping onto the creaking wooden stairs, Miracle Walker and Flash followed the scarred man to the third floor.

Compared to the chaotic clamor and garish neon lights of the first floor, the third floor's decor was exceptionally plain, even somewhat shabby.

The spacious room had no messy decorations, only a few heavily worn old leather sofas and a wooden coffee table covered in scratches.

The scarred man waved his hand, signaling his men to wait outside, and closed the door behind them.

Miracle Walker sat down on the sofa without ceremony.

He pulled out the two silenced pistols, still warm from his touch, and tossed them onto the wooden coffee table with a clatter.

Miracle Walker tilted his chin. "So, how should I address you?"

The scarred man pulled over a chair and sat down. His gaze lingered on the finely crafted pistols for a moment before he spoke in a low voice.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Governor Jia Mei, the leader of the Shahe Town People's Armed Forces."

He paused, a self-deprecating bitter smile appearing on his face.

"Of course, in the mouths of those merchant nobles and the Governor, we are called a gang."

"People's Armed Forces?" Miracle Walker raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a rebel army."

"Exactly." Governor Jia Mei nodded, his expression becoming serious.

"I apologize for the crude actions of my men. But we are truly at our wit's end. We need funds, and more importantly, we need weapons."

Miracle Walker crossed his hands over his knees and voiced his doubt.

"From what I know, the nobles of Shahe Town only have about two to three thousand men under them. Since you dare call yourselves a rebel army, you can't even handle that many people?"

Governor Jia Mei sighed and shook his head.

"That's only their public strength. Those two or three thousand are just for show to satisfy Coastal City's conscription quotas. The nobles' real trump cards are the other large gangs they pay to keep."

Governor Jia Mei said through gritted teeth,

"For instance, the Sand Snake Gang that controls the northern and eastern districts—they are the nobles' most loyal curs. They have ten thousand members and occupy the town's wealthiest neighborhoods and water sources. We only have scrap metal for weapons; we can't break through at all."

"I see."

Miracle Walker now had a better understanding of the situation.

It seemed the power distribution in Shahe Town was far more complex than imagined.

This was a powder keg where the contradictions between the oppressed and the ruling class had reached a breaking point.

"Our batch of weapons has no proper channel for sale on the market; those merchants have been colluding to drive down the price." Miracle Walker looked at Governor Jia Mei.

"Do you have the means to take this shipment?"

Governor Jia Mei's eyes instantly lit up. "Of course! Sir, we need these weapons desperately!"

"We have exactly three hundred high-quality automatic rifles with plenty of matching ammunition. Additionally, there are twenty heavy explosive anti-armor weapons called RPGs."

Miracle Walker dangled the bait, then shifted the topic. "But the question is, what are you willing to trade for them?"

Hearing the quantity of this luxurious arsenal, Governor Jia Mei was so excited he almost stood up.

But immediately after, he slumped back down, his face full of difficulty.

As a rebel army struggling to survive in the slums, they had no surplus resources.

Their main source of income was the vice industry in these few streets.

It was impossible to trade women for weapons, wasn't it?

The only thing they didn't lack was people.

The rebel army strictly opposed abortion and took in a large number of abandoned orphans. This led to severe overpopulation in the districts they controlled, and food consumption was a massive bottomless pit.

Governor Jia Mei scratched his hair, thinking for a long time, but couldn't come up with anything of equal value to trade.

"What... do you need?" Governor Jia Mei asked tentatively.

"Ore, high-energy fuel, or..." Miracle Walker paused. "People. Anything works."

Governor Jia Mei gave a bitter smile. "Ore and fuel are controlled by the Sand Snake Gang. We only have people."

Miracle Walker keenly sensed the organization's predicament.

These people were sitting on a vice industry yet were dirt poor.

Faced with a delivery of powerful arms, this leader actually refused to simply offer his people in exchange.

This showed that they still had some moral bottom line.

Combined with Governor Jia Mei's protective attitude toward his injured subordinates earlier, Miracle Walker nodded inwardly.

A faction with a bottom line like this was exactly the kind of partner Shelter needed.

"We need people."

Miracle Walker sat up straight, looking Governor Jia Mei in the eye.

"But please note, we aren't buying people to be slaves, let alone as emergency rations."

"Everyone who comes with us will be properly settled. As long as they are willing to work, they get three full meals a day and a private room to rest. They only need to work eight hours a day; the rest of the time is their own. If they do well, they even get daily wages."

Governor Jia Mei was stunned.

He subconsciously shook his head in rebuttal.

"Impossible! On this wasteland, such a place absolutely cannot exist! Even in the high-end factories of Coastal City, bottom-tier laborers have to work eighteen hours a day and eat moldy synthetic paste!"

"Believe it or not."

Miracle Walker shrugged. "If you don't believe me, you can send someone to follow us back to our camp and see for yourself."

Governor Jia Mei stood up abruptly, determination flashing in his eyes. "No need to send anyone else, I'll go with you myself!"

If such a place where one didn't have to starve or freeze truly existed in this world, he would risk his life to send all the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled from the slums there!

Miracle Walker turned to look at Flash.

"Flash, take him for a trip on your custom electric motorcycle."

Flash patted his rear and stood up, jerking his chin at Governor Jia Mei. "Let's go, buddy. I'll show you what true 'Light of Civilization' looks like."

...

Meanwhile,

on the internet of the real Earth, the official forum for "warhammer 40k ol" was bustling with activity.

Most players who logged off would habitually hang out on the forum to chat and share game tips.

At this moment, a post that was rapidly being upvoted to the top caught everyone's attention.

Title: [Population Trade in Warhammer! Newbie Guide to Quickly Earning Points via Bounty Missions!]

Poster: [Legend of Lu Shi]

The content of the post was simple and blunt:

"I'm sure everyone has seen the new bounty missions from the camp—you earn 50 points just for bringing back one NPC! Many stupid newbies are actually running into the wilderness to find hobos; that's the most idiotic way to do it. Not only are people hard to find, but the natives are also very wary and will shoot at you at the drop of a hat."

"But my method is a guaranteed win! You just need to team up with a few veteran players who have vehicles and bring a batch of Shelter's specialties down south to Shahe Town. Don't go to the regular markets! Those merchants are just mouthpieces for the nobles, specialized in scamming outsiders. And whatever you do, don't drink the local beverages, or you'll end up like Brother Mudslide!"

"Go to the southern slums! Find the local low-level gangs! Those people are starving; as long as you provide enough supplies, they'll trade anything. Exchange a truck of jerky for dozens of paupers, and you'll be swimming in points!"

As soon as this utilitarian teaching post was released, a massive thread immediately formed beneath it.

Floor 2 [Shu Shu Failed the Exam]: Damn! I'm full of regret after reading this! We got scammed at the North City market. A bunch of top-tier specialties only got us a few barrels of crappy fuel. We didn't even make back the gas money!

Floor 5 [Why Panic When I Have Flash]: Holy crap, great minds think alike! We didn't just trade weapons for a few trucks of people; we even made contact with a local rebel army. Their leader is currently touring our base.

Floor 12 [Chishi Technology]: 66666! You guys have turned this game into a human trafficking simulator. Anyone teaming up to head south tomorrow? I can provide some hand-carved artworks as bargaining chips.

Floor 15 [Industrial Buzzcut]: Count me in! I have a pickup truck driver's license!

Floor 18 [Mudslide of the Merchant World]: Why can I still see nothing? I can't die, and I can't live, TVT

Floor 19 [Miracle Walker]: Shelter will remember your contribution!