Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland

hub station.

A paradise for refugees, bandits, scavengers and smugglers.

Today is the day for waste recycling in Fangshi. There have been long lines of waste pickers outside the tents since early morning.

They were wrapped in rags, with yellow faces and thin bodies. After working in the ruins for a week, they finally waited until this time to get paid.

Then he also spent all his money in the market to buy some water and cactus chewing sticks that he needed to survive.

But it wasn’t until the scorching sun cracked people’s lips like the ground that the city manager arrived belatedly at noon and sat in the shadow of the canvas tent.

Facing the expectant eyes of the scavengers, this obese and somewhat bloated man showed a lack of interest.

"What kind of junk are they?"

As he flipped through it, he cursed unceremoniously.

Although he also knew that most of the things that scavengers could recycle were scraps found in rubbles, he shouldn't have had high expectations.

But recently a new person came to the hub, and he always brought something new.

After eating a batch of his goods, the price difference is enough to go to the town's bars for weeks.

After the threshold is raised, another comparison shows that the goods on the counter are indeed no different from garbage.

It's just that the new guy hasn't been here for a while. What's his name?

By the way, "Road Dream".

In order to prevent his businessmen from being blind to good things and misvaluing them, he personally sat in the market today just to wait for this dream.

The Scavenger's face changes so quickly that most people can't remember it.

Unfortunately, no one has come.

Could he be dead?

As for the scavengers, Huo Buyang, who had just turned 15 this year, looked timidly at the fat supervisor in front of him and waited carefully.

A casual quote from the supervisor:

"A wooden bowl is 6 karat coins, and a ceramic bowl is 9 karat coins. The size of your opening can be considered a 5 karat coin cup at most. The electrical components are okay, but after so many years, who knows if they are broken or not. According to the market price, one I’ll give you 10 points for each pound..."

As he was speaking, he suddenly saw an old book covered under a rag. His eyes lit up, and he obviously recognized something, but his tone remained unchanged:

"What's this? Haha, it's not parchment. It's too hard to use as toilet paper, so I won't accept it.

"A total of 50 coins will be counted on you, that's all."

Kai coins are the common currency on the mainland. In a hub city where supplies are scarce, 50 Kai coins are enough to buy a piece of bread or two jugs of water.

Of course, if you replace it with dried cactus and make it into chewing sticks, you can buy several kilograms of it.

It’s also enough to fill a family’s stomach.

As for the taste, it is like a piece of dry old tire, neither crispy nor soft. It needs to be ground hard with your teeth before it can be swallowed.

In comparison, it is not easy to digest, which is an advantage.

Because you feel full, you won’t get hungry easily. This might have been a popular weight loss meal replacement in ancient civilizations with overnutrition.

Now it has become the worst food that scavengers have to accept in order to maintain their lives.

Huo Buyang couldn't help but licked his cracked lips first, then spoke with difficulty, his voice seemed a little dry:

"Can't we really add more? We could still sell 90 a few days ago..."

"You also said it was a few days ago." The supervisor interrupted him nonchalantly, with a hint of slyness flashing in his eyes, "That's all, because you are young, your garbage will not be counted as defective, even the rags Together, the total price is 55.”

"Oh, by the way, leave that broken booklet to me to place on the corner of the table. Don't say I won't take care of you in the future."

He stretched out his stubby fingers to hold down the book, and was about to pull it towards him.

"But I still have to save medical expenses for my mother..." Huo Buyang felt unwilling.

"Kid, if you want to sell, hurry up!" Seeing that he was still hesitating, the people behind him started shouting.

"That's right."

"Stop chirping!"

"Sir," someone said flatteringly to the supervisor at the counter, "Hey, can I sell these things at this price?"

"Okay, it's okay. Who can tell me that I'm kind-hearted." The supervisor smiled and said, "Look, if you don't sell, others will."

When this man smiles, wrinkles appear on his face, like the legendary Maitreya.

But combined with the indifferent words and the noise behind him, Huo Buyang only felt dizzy.

He forgot that he couldn't expose his vulnerability in the wasteland.

No one will sympathize with you. Your weaknesses are like fresh wounds, exuding sweet blood.

It will only attract insects, flies and surrounding wolves.

Huo Buyang's energy and blood surged up for some reason, he rolled up all his belongings and murmured:

"No more, no more... I'll come back next time."

"Ha," the supervisor sneered.

"Next time? You know that there's a new guy here recently who always gets good stuff and the asking price is still low. I'm afraid you won't even be able to sell your junk for 40 next time."

Huo Buyang lowered his head and turned around to leave. He was not in the mood to listen to the roar of laughter behind him. He didn't even notice an electrical component falling out of his bag.

Some scavengers saw it, secretly picked it up and stuffed it in their pockets, and then competed with others to exchange more coins with the city manager.

…

By the time Huo Buyang calmed down, the noisy and busy market had been left far behind.

Hub Station, once a giant town in the Holy Kingdom, now only has ruins and ruins, and long stretches of yellow sand are its normal state.

He circled around to make sure no one was following him.

Then he sat slumped on the ground.

Merchants in the market have been lowering prices for more than a day or two. They can always accurately control the income of scavengers.

It's like hanging a corn in front of a hamster on a power wheel, giving them a little hope of living a good life, but in fact, even if they work hard, they can only just feed themselves.

However, for the vast majority of people in the wasteland, if they can survive, there is nothing to complain about.

"But if this continues, how long will it take to save up for mom's medical expenses?"

Huo Buyang's heart was filled with gloom.

He began to regret his impulse just now. What's the use of not accepting it? Having angered the merchants in the city, they would only suppress him even more next time, as a young and outstanding person.

What is the alternative but to surrender?

As a scavenger living in the wasteland, all he can do is to work a hundred times a thousand times, go deep into various dangerous ruins, and steal food from other scavengers.

Then I hope that after the exploitation, the merchants can still leak out a few more coins from their fingers.

Then save mom's life.

It’s just that the last words of the city manager still seemed to echo in his ears, making the hope aroused in his heart less:

"next time?"

"You also know that a new guy has come in recently and he can always get good stuff at a lower price."

"I'm afraid you won't even be able to sell your junk for 40 next time..."

Huo Buyang sighed, because he did know the "newcomer" mentioned by the merchants in Fangshi.

About three months ago, a young scavenger named "Lu Meng" suddenly appeared in the hub. No one knew his origin.

Originally, people in the hub station were coming and going, and no one was interested in listening to the story of a scavenger.

Maybe it's a wanted criminal, a bandit who has been dispersed, or maybe it's just an ordinary person who has nowhere to go.

Just as they appeared without warning, their departure was equally silent. Every morning there would be several bodies lying in the corner and never stood up again.

This kind of thing is all too common in hub stations.

But this young man is different. There are endless rumors about him, which are incompatible with his status as a scavenger. This makes Huo Buyang have to remember:

It is said that he controls his own water source in this desert, and no one has ever seen him buy water in the market.

It is said that he knows the terrain of the wild so well that even local snakes and old scavengers cannot match him.

It is said that he knows the secrets of everyone in Hub City, and even the bedside conversations of couples cannot escape his ears.

It is said that although he looks very young, he is actually an ancient man who has undergone genetic modification. He is now hundreds of years old, as evidenced by his white hair.

It is said that he also eats children...

It is said that his name is "Lu Meng".

Unlike most scavengers, Huo Buyang is literate and has read several ancient books left over from ancient civilizations.

In his opinion, most of these rumors were false.

Even if it is true, it is not as mysterious as the rumors.

The less you know, the more strange things happen.

But one thing is true: Lu Meng always finds something good.

He had seen from afar the fat face of a businessman who wanted to pretend to be in pain but couldn't hold back his smile when he was trading with Lu Meng in Fangshi.

In the past, businessmen in the city would laugh when collecting scraps, but it was a smile of disgust and ridicule.

Once is luck, twice, three times, again and again. If you can always find something good...that means you have something to rely on that others don't know.

Huo Buyang always avoided such people to avoid getting into trouble.

However, it was precisely because he knew that such a character existed in the hub station that he was unknowingly inspired.

——It turns out that there is hope in the life of a scavenger.

But it is true that the scrap recycling price in the market has dropped a lot in the past three months, which makes Huo Buyang's life even more difficult.

But he knew it wasn't Lu Meng's fault.

It seems that the market is just taking the opportunity to suppress the purchase price and at the same time transfer conflicts and hatred.

"We must save up all the money to treat my mother's injuries." Huo Buyang regained his energy and prepared to hide the harvest of these days in his secret base. Anyway, even if he sells them all now, it will not be enough.

No matter what the merchants say, prices will always fluctuate, and it is not too late to wait until a reasonable price before selling.

"If I can be like Lu Meng, who can always find all kinds of good things, money must not be a problem."

"It's just that he is so high-profile that he can easily be in danger."

As soon as such a thought emerged, Huo Buyang forced himself to ignore it.

How could a person like him have the right to worry about the safety of a stranger.

It is enough to be able to take good care of my mother and myself.

Two hours later.

Huo Buyang, who thought he had taken care of everything, stood in front of a shack made of iron sheets, wooden boards and plastic sheets.

The thin young man wiped his face vigorously and carefully dusted himself off to make himself appear more energetic.

Finally, he moved the stiff muscles at the corners of his mouth and practiced his smiling expression before lifting the curtain of the shack.

Huo Buyang looked at the haggard woman lying on the bed.

The so-called "bed" is just a few pieces of linen. It looks simple, but it has been carefully padded.

Facing her kind gaze, a rare smile appeared on the young man's face.

"Mom, I'm back."

——

late at night.

After tossing and turning, Huo Buyang finally found it difficult to fall asleep.

He stood up quietly, noticed that his mother on the side had not been awakened by him, and walked out of the shack.

Their shacks were built in the wilderness.

Huo Buyang took a deep breath. There was not so much wind and sand in the hub station at night, and the air was cooler.

He secretly checked his mother's leg injury and found that the situation was not optimistic.

Even in a dry environment like Hub City, after such a long delay, the wound has begun to rot, and if it continues any longer, the only option is amputation.

Not to mention whether there is money to install a prosthetic limb after the amputation, the possible infection and heavy bleeding from the operation can kill the mother at any time.

What's more, he didn't have the money to hire a doctor in the town to do the surgery.

He thought of the pain hidden under his mother's calm smile during the day.

He thought that the most likely possibility was that his only relative died due to the deterioration and torture of the wound.

The pressure made my head feel dizzy again, and my eyeballs felt like they were going to explode.

In this case, Huo Buyang couldn't sleep at all, so he might as well go out and watch the wind and relax.

The two full moons, one large and one small, occupied half of the night sky, and the pale light filled almost all of Huo Buyang's vision, making him feel depressed.

According to ancient books, there is only one moon in the sky. The moon shines brightly for thousands of miles, making it quiet and beautiful.

I guess it was just the romantic imagination of the ancients.

"That's wrong!" Huo Buyang's pupils shrank.

Against the moonlight, a figure stood quietly ten meters away from his shack, making no sound.

I stayed up all night, but I didn't realize when this man came to the door, and I didn't know how long he stood here silently.

In this man's hand, a long knife hung diagonally, and a trace of dried blood reflected the dark red light!

Those who come are not good, and those who are good will not come.

Even among the scavengers, their little den is considered to be a poor one, and no one will covet it at all.

Could it be a thug from Fangshi? Just because I didn't obey their orders during the day and refuted their face!

"They can do it..."

The young man's ferocity surged out of his bones, and Huo Buyang touched the iron rod at his waist.

It never leaves the body even when sleeping.

Unexpectedly, the man was stunned for a moment when he saw his actions, and his reaction was as if he was startled when he was petting a frightened little animal.

Next, Huo Buyang saw the person taking off the turban that was used to protect his head from wind and sand, revealing his true appearance.

This is a gesture of goodwill from the wasteland.

I saw that he was a handsome young man, with a sense of heroism between his firm and clear edges. The hard work in the wasteland seemed to have left no trace on his smooth face, but his eyes clearly showed the look of an old scavenger. Unique cunning.

What is even more eye-catching is his pure white hair.

Completely different from the old man's silver hair, it was spotless and pure color, glowing faintly in the moonlight.

"Lu, Lu Meng?"

With white hair, Huo Buyang thought of the legend and tentatively spoke.

"Oh, you know me? Then I'll get straight to the point." Lu Meng seemed to be relieved and threw something out casually.

Huo Buyang caught it easily and found that it was the electrical component he had lost during the day.

This electrical component was the most complete of the scraps he picked up, but he later discovered it was missing when he checked it.

I was sad for a while about this.

Now it was lost and found again because of this uninvited guest.

"Meeting gift," Lu Meng took a few steps forward. "Let's get down to business."

"I know your situation well, and now I'll give you a chance."

"I will save your mother."

"Of course there are conditions." Lu Meng pointed out two fingers, "First, you have to do something for me."

"Second, wait until your mother recovers from her injury..."

There was confidence in his words: "If you are willing, just follow me from now on."

Lu Meng's words hit Huo Buyang like a heavy hammer, and too many questions flooded into his mind in an instant.

Why did he want to find me? What is his purpose? Is this a conspiracy?

But he said, he said...can he save mother?

This alone made Huo Buyang unable to refuse.

Too much information left him stunned for a moment, and he didn't even realize that he had nodded subconsciously.

However, what the young man didn't know was that at this moment.

In Lu Meng's mind, there was a mechanical sound that only he could hear.

[“A lone wolf can walk alone, but he can also walk together.”]

[Achievement: Find the first companion (1/1) - Completed]

[Reward: 2000 open coins]

[The current authority has been upgraded to D, unlocking the module installation slot]

"really."

Lu Meng's smile was imperceptible, "We found the right NPC."

"And judging from Huo Buyang's age, the time I traveled through was at least ten years before the game started!"

Newbie, new book, please support me! (bang bang bang bang)