Chapter 315 Axe! (Seeking guaranteed monthly ticket at the beginning of the month!)

The two cars drove along the Gobi Desert beside the railway towards Aksai. The wheels crushed the gravel and yellow sand, and the vibration of the engine made the sand and dead grass on the ground along the way shake.

At this time, the two cars turned and drove up a hillside, and stopped under a huge wind-eroded stone. Then everyone got out of the car and walked to the cliff of a sandy hill. In the field of vision, a town appeared in the vast wilderness in the distance, sitting alone in the middle of the vast Gobi Desert. This Aksai has a national highway and a northern track passing through it. It is a little larger than the previous Rob Town. The whole town is also covered with sand, the same color as the Gobi.

There are no tall buildings, most of them are old low houses from the west, and some of the more modern roads and streets are now extremely desolate and covered with yellow sand.

Several people took out their electronic telescopes and looked in the direction of Aksai City. The town looked deserted, but there were many convoys stationed in the city. Lin Xian adjusted the direction of the telescope and observed outside Aksai City. Along the national highway, he saw many convoys of fleeing survivors, who were stationed near an abandoned gas station. After observation, he found that this was different from what Lin Xian had expected when he heard the radio before.

"Didn't they say that other convoys and armed personnel were prohibited from entering the city?" Ning Jing held up the electronic telescope and said in a serious tone, "It seems that no one cares."

"Abai?"

Abai shook his head, indicating that he found nothing.

Qian Dele said: "These convoys should be ordinary convoys, but they are all gathered here, maybe it has something to do with the Sand Bandit Alliance."

"You mean fear?" Monica asked.

Qian Dele said calmly, "It's not necessarily fear, some may just find it troublesome. There are zombies everywhere here, and the soul value is not low. There will definitely be strange bodies appearing at night. Beyond Aksai is a no-man's land of thousands of kilometers. It's best to travel quickly during the day. So for people like us, the less trouble we can have, the less trouble we can have. Those bandits are also sure of this thought of the survivors."

Monica put down the binoculars and said calmly, "There are so many large convoys gathered here, and they don't seem to take the sand bandits seriously."

Lin Xian looked at KIKI who was operating on the mobile terminal and said, "How is it?"

"Hehe, you guessed it right. This Iron Alliance Order is really the same as the Phoenix Order. It can receive information packets in close range. There are many similar signal characteristics near Aksai." KIKI tapped his fingers and continued, "There are none inside Aksai. It seems that they don't dare to attack Aksai directly."

Lin Xian nodded: "As for the Sand Bandits, it's ok for them to harass and bully the small convoys. There are dozens of convoys here with at least one or two thousand people stationed. Unless the Sand Bandits have a brain problem, they will attack here."

Ning Jing frowned and asked, "How dare this Fu Lu Shou team collect tolls here?"

"Seeing is believing, hearing is not." Lin Xian fixed his eyes on the town in the distance, and with his backhand, he created a signal antenna several meters high behind him: "But since he dared to say such a thing in front of so many convoys, there must be a reason."

After saying that, Lin Xian pressed the communicator and adjusted the signal communication with the joint train.

"Test, Mr. Chen, can you hear me?"

"Zizizi... Lin Xian, you can hear it now."

"Brother Shi."

"Hey, Brother Lin, go ahead."

After connecting the signal with the joint train through the signal poles he built along the way, Lin Xian made arrangements directly: "Brother Shi, Teacher Chen, the joint train can go another 100 miles, and then organize 10 assault teams as mentioned before. I will give you the coordinates later, and disperse your actions."

"Okay!"

Lin Xian immediately stood up and said to everyone, "Our people are here. Let's go into the city to meet that old friend."

"I heard there is a bar in this desolate place. How interesting." Qian Dele became interested: "It is indeed much freer than staying in the polar night."

Monica walked to the car and was about to get in when she suddenly said to Lin Xian, "Wait for me a moment."

After saying that, she directly turned on her power armor and walked out, took off her lining, changed into a desert sun-proof windbreaker, put on sunglasses and a sand-proof scarf. Lin Xian was stunned. This woman even stored her casual clothes in her power armor...

The two off-road vehicles started up again and sped towards Aksai City in the wind and sand. There were waves of fire above the wilderness and scattered wandering zombies kept rushing towards the vehicles.

Rub!

At this moment, two cold silver blades shot out, whirling like a storm, buzzing along the horizon, and in an instant, all the zombies attacking from both sides of the convoy were cut off.

KIKI, who was sitting in the passenger seat, had a wave of telekinesis in his eyes, and raised his lips slightly: "It's really useful."

Lin Xian frowned and looked at her: "Where did you bring it? Why didn't I find it?"

"The roof of the car." KIKI pointed upwards: "I brought two to try it out."

Lin Xian smiled and said, "This move is good. It is a great way to clear the tide of monsters and corpses."

"I just don't know if I can chop down those strange bodies. I'll try it when the time comes." KIKI responded.

Monica sat in the back seat, listening to the conversation between the two with a smile on her face: "Captain Lin, why are the people following you so powerful? How did you recruit them?"

"Recruit?" Hearing the word recruit, Lin Xian recalled that when he was in Jiang City, he had posted a message to recruit members of the Infinite Train Plan, but he didn't find any. Chen Sixuan and KIKI were both outside the plan to some extent.

He responded while driving: "No, I met them all along the way."

There was a dazzling light ahead. As the two off-road vehicles approached the outskirts of the city, many eyes looking through telescopes fell on them. Looking around, the outside of Aksai was littered with dried zombie corpses. Some convoys had their camps set up at gas stations or motels outside, while more of them drove directly into the city and set up camp on the streets, large and small.

The car rolled over the sand and started on the cracked town road. The sides of the road and some rooftops were full of various survivors with guns on guard, looking at them. These convoys gathered from different places, each with its own camp, and there was no communication between them, but as travelers, they had a tacit understanding that they could roughly know the style of a convoy just by looking at the vehicles. As for Lin Xian's two off-road vehicles, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that these were not their main vehicles for fleeing to the east, but were used to explore the way.

This situation is not uncommon. Many cautious convoys will make inquiries in advance before the main convoy enters. Places like Aksai are crowded with all kinds of people, and they all come here to take a break or to get some information, so it won't be a very lively scene.

Lin Xian followed Ning Jing's car around many turns and finally found the Black Rose Bar next to an old market. There were many cars parked around the street. If it weren't for the bar's old sign that was already covered with yellow sand, the dilapidated surroundings, and the fact that the cars had undergone various doomsday modifications, one would have thought this was a bustling street before the end of the world.

There were many fully armed survivors next to the parked vehicles on the street, all of whom were from various convoys. As soon as Lin Xian and his companions got off the car, they attracted a lot of attention, because this group of people were too young, and their looks and makeup did not seem like they would have been exhausted after fleeing for months in the apocalypse. Strange glances were frequently cast at them.

"Is this a real bar or just a cover? Why do I feel a little uncomfortable..." Qian Dele looked at the people constantly coming in and out of the bar with a strange look on his face.

Monica raised her face and observed the surroundings under her sunglasses: "Indeed, I am curious about what happens here at night."

"You'll know if you go in and take a look." Ning Jing said.

Lin Xian and his companions walked forward. Two burly men in power armor were standing at the door of the bar. They raised their hands to block their way. Then one of them pointed at Xiaoqing in the team.

"Sorry, no weapons allowed."

Several of them were people with special abilities, except Xiaoqing, who was holding a gun blade, so they were stopped.

Xiao Qing looked at Ning Jing and said directly: "I'll guard the car."

After saying that, she turned back to the car.

"Okay." Ning Jing nodded, and then the two big men immediately let her go.

As soon as I walked into the Black Rose Bar, the scene in front of me suddenly became bright. Unlike the door covered with yellow sand and the dilapidated sign, the originally abandoned decoration inside had been cleaned up again. A scent of alcohol mixed with yellow sand from the journey immediately hit me in the face. The bar was dimly lit, and the single tables and the bar were full of people. The bartenders at the bar were two men wearing sunglasses, and the waiters were a few beautiful women.

But judging from their attire, it was obvious that they were all temporary roles, and everyone who came in had a purpose, quietly drinking the few available drinks here.

Just as Lin Xian was inwardly amazed at Hu Lushou's incomprehensible operation, a waitress with a tattoo on her face came over, her eyes full of an expression that killing zombies was easier than doing this job, and she said to the few people impatiently

"Everyone, please come this way."

Having said that, she led Lin Xian and the others inside.

Lin Xian followed the waitress, looking around, and noticed that many eyes were on them. At this moment, he noticed an unusual gaze, and immediately looked sideways, and found a young man wearing a sand mask sitting alone in a corner, looking at him motionlessly. His eyes were as narrow as lightning, giving people a sharp and indifferent feeling.

Lin Xian paid special attention to this young man. He was dressed like a traveler, with a bag beside him and nothing else.

In addition, Lin Xian also noticed several rather unfriendly gazes at the same time, but when he looked over, those people withdrew their gazes.

The waitress led Lin Xian and his companions to a booth near the back and sat them down. She then took out a card and threw it on the table, on which were written three types of drinks.

Whiskey, rum, brandy.

"We're not here to drink." Lin Xian said bluntly: "I'm looking for your boss."

The waitress glanced across the bar and said to Lin Xian, "They're not here to drink."

"Then what's the meaning of giving us this?" KIKI asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, these three kinds of wine represent three different meanings." Monica picked up the card and calmly said to the waitress: "Buy supplies, buy information, toll?"

The waitress glanced at her and said, "Yes."

Ning Jing looked puzzled: "You guys really collect tolls?"

"It doesn't matter. It's up to you whether to pay or not." The waitress said bluntly: "If you are strong, you don't have to consider it."

Qian Dele smiled when he heard this, looked at the others and said in a low voice, "Sure enough, the radio station is just exaggerating."

Lin Xian understood and pointed directly at the whiskey.

Pop.

The waitress threw down a pen and motioned for Lin Xian to write on it himself.

Lin Xian thought about it and wrote down his needs on the card. The waitress picked it up and looked at it. She frowned and looked at Lin Xian with a very strange look: "Are you sure?"

"I am sure."

"Okay... okay."

It was the first time that the waitress saw such a strange demand for supplies. Her eyes kept scanning the few people, then she walked to the bar, said a few words, and then walked into a small door.

Not long after, another waiter came up with six glasses of iced whiskey. Monica smiled and picked up a glass and looked at it: "Not bad, it looks quite good."

KIKI picked it up and took a sip: "Hmm, not bad, it seems this guy got a lot of supplies, even so many kinds of drinks."

Ning Jing looked around: "There are quite a few people..."

"Everyone who comes here has some understanding of the sand bandits. Beyond Aksai is a large uninhabited area. It will take our train at least a day and a night to reach Quancheng without stopping. So most people who come here will be more cautious and try to find out some information or join a group, which is better than going into the uninhabited area blindly." Qian Dele analyzed calmly with his arms folded across his chest.

"Abai." Lin Xian looked at Abai who was silent at the side and said, "Dark Mark, do you feel it?"

Ah Bai put down the cup with both hands and nodded to Lin Xian: "Yes, a lot."

Ning Jing heard this and said, "Now that we have a method to detect the Dark Mark, it's not easy to form a group. Others will check if the people in your team have the Dark Mark. Otherwise, you will get yourself into trouble."

Qian Dele nodded: "Without the protection of a large caravan, you can only find a way to deal with it yourself if you carry the dark mark."

“Not every team can find it.”

Lin Xian looked at Monica, the wine geek who was tasting the wine nearby. She had already finished the whole thing in one gulp before others had even started to drink.

"Monica, can you keep an eye on a few people for me?"

"Oh~" Monica looked at him with interest: "Tell me about it and see if it's different from what I guessed."

Lin Xian lowered his voice and told her something. Monica's eyes lit up when she heard it: "Bingo!"

"Captain Lin, what did you notice?" Ning Jing asked at this time.

Lin Xian looked at her and spoke softly

"Sand bandits."

Ning Jing frowned immediately.

…

In a secret basement of the bar, the lights were on, the floor was covered with thick carpets, and the corners were filled with all kinds of supplies. An old-fashioned fan was humming, and Hu Lushou, who was wearing shorts and a shirt, was putting strange blood essence into a metal box with a serious face.

“98, 99, 100…”

"Oh shit."

Hu Lushou grinned his big golden teeth, spat secretly, and then put away the metal box. Faced with so many first-level blood essences, he did not seem happy, but instead had a worried look on his face.

There are several such metal boxes placed in the basement at this time.

Hu Lushou paced back and forth anxiously, staring at a special communicator on a low table from time to time, but the light on it was always glowing red.

Bang! The heavy alloy door was opened. This basement was originally a small nuclear explosion shelter. After all, Aksai was once a nuclear explosion town, and many atomic weapons testing sites were located in a secret base somewhere here.

The person who walked in at this time was none other than his deputy Sun Chang.

The mechanical arm on Sun Chang's body seemed to have undergone a systematic upgrade, and its entire body was replaced with red armor components, making it look much stronger.

"boss."

"Don't look for me. I'm already feeling annoyed." Hu Lushou sat down on the messy sofa with a defiant look on his face.

"An acquaintance came to my door." Sun Chang walked over with a cold face and handed a card to Hu Lushou with a robotic arm.

Hu Lushou was a little puzzled when he heard this. He looked at the card, paused, and then directly took it and looked at it in front of his eyes.

"Order 1,000 Spark 26 fully automatic tactical rifles? Who is stupid..."

Before the word "比" came out of his mouth, Hu Lushou's eyes immediately fixed. He looked up at Sun Chang and then at the card in his hand.

"Who gave it to you??"

"They are outside, three men and four women. The fluctuation of their spiritual value is very high. Although it is not the peak value, but... these seven people alone are enough to overturn our bar." Sun Chang said calmly.

The expression in Hu Lushou's eyes kept changing, and he quickly shouted to Sun Chang: "Quick, quick, invite them all in!!"

Sun Chang glanced at him, said nothing, and turned away.

Hu Lushou was so anxious that he ran around the room. He was going to hide the boxes of blood and sperm, but after thinking about it, he gave up the idea. Instead, he tidied his clothes, swept away the messy sofa, then found a bottle of fine wine from his private wine cabinet and quickly took out a few glasses.

Soon, footsteps were heard coming from the stairs. Hu Lushou looked back and saw Sun Chang and Lin Xian and others walking into the basement.

"Wow, there's such a big space down there." KIKI looked around curiously as soon as she came in.

When Hu Lushou heard the voice, he immediately confirmed the other party's identity: "Captain Lin?"

Lin Xian took off his windproof mask and looked at Hu Lushou, who was wearing shorts and a shirt. He couldn't help but say, "Boss Hu, you are worthy of being like this. You have even done business as high as the bandits."

Sizzle!

The alloy explosion-proof door slowly closed. In the spacious basement, Lin Xian, KIKI, Qian Dele, Monica, Ning Jing, and Abai were invited by Hu Lushou to sit in the reception area. He immediately poured drinks for them and said with a smile on his face, "Captain Lin, oh, that's great. Why are you here?"

"We wanted to ask you something." KIKI got straight to the point and slammed the table, "Tell me, what's the matter with collecting tolls from the sand bandits?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked at Hu Lushou.

Sun Chang stood aside, still with a poker face.

Hu Lushou paused while pouring the wine, and smiled awkwardly: "You all know each other, I won't hide it from you, this is what's going on..."

He cleared his throat, sat down on the sofa nearby, and said, "Bandits are rampant in this area. They recently formed an alliance that is notorious and has caused a lot of trouble. I don't know how many convoys have been robbed, robbed, killed, raped, and done anything else by them. As for me, I will stand up decisively from the perspective of maintaining justice and swear to..."

"to be honest."

Sun Chang on the side suddenly spoke up, not giving his boss any face at all.

Lin Xian looked at Hu Lushou and smiled. He checked the time on his watch and said, "It's almost dark. Don't waste time. I just want to know what the toll is. If possible, it would be good to know a little about the movements of the bandits."

Hu Lushou's eyes changed slightly. "It's not that complicated actually. I encountered the bandits as soon as I got here. But I negotiated with them and said I could help them collect tolls. As long as the convoy paid the tolls, it would be given a special signal device. Then when we go to Quancheng, the bandits along the way will turn a blind eye. That's what I mean."

"So you cooperated with the bandits in order to save your life?" Ning Jing said with a cold look on her face.

"That's wrong!"

Hu Lushou immediately stood up and retorted: "You don't know, since I reached this deal with the Sand Bandit Alliance, the number of attacks in the entire Western Gobi Desert has decreased by at least 70%. 70%, everyone, even if I can't be enshrined in the imperial temple, I should at least be grateful."

Lin Xian chuckled when he heard this, and then stood up: "I don't know about the Imperial Temple, but the group of sand bandits around Aksai should have prepared an Iron Temple for you to go in and feel comfortable."

After saying this, he made a gesture to leave.

"Captain Lin, save me!"

Unexpectedly, before Lin Xian finished speaking, Hu Lushou's smug expression suddenly changed. He knelt on the ground and immediately said with a pleading expression: "Don't go, don't go. I will explain everything to you. Can I tell you everything?"

"Wow, you kneeled down so quickly." KIKI said in surprise.

The other people were also a little stunned at this time.

On the contrary, Hu Lushou's deputy Sun Chang had an expression of disgust, as if she had seen her boss kneel down many times.

After Lin Xian sat down again, Hu Lushou hurriedly stood up and said with a complicated expression.

"To be honest, Captain Lin, you may not believe it, but I do this for a reason other than making money and saving my life, and to help those small teams find a way to survive."

Lin Xian looked at him: "Do you believe this?"

"Those are bandits in the sand. Can they be honest?" Qian Dele said sarcastically, "Even if they are, five people have one blood essence. You are making money from banditry."

Hu Lushou sighed and said, "Of course I know that the sand bandits are unreliable."

"Then you still..."

Hu Lushou raised his hand, motioning for him to finish.

He pushed the cup on the low table away. Below it was a map of Aksai. He pointed at the map and said,

"Because of Star Abyss No. 5, Haiqu can no longer go, so Aksai is the main transportation route to Quancheng. Of course, I know that one blood essence for five people is very expensive, and I also know that even if the blood essence is paid, those sand bandits will not be too restrained. It's nothing more than a few large bandit groups nearby. Because we paid tolls to them, they behaved a little more steadily, but other places are not like that. They say they are an alliance, ugh, how can a group of doomsday thugs have morality?"

“But the key is that as long as these survivors gather in Aksai, whether to pay tolls or to rest, with so many convoys here, the sand bandits won’t dare to harass or rob. After all…” He glanced at Lin Xian and said with a guilty conscience, “There are still quite a few people who paid the toll…”

After he finished speaking, his expression immediately turned serious again: "So the fleet here, whether they pay the toll or not, can do one thing."

"What's the matter?" KIKI asked.

"Form an alliance!" Hu Lushou slammed the table and said seriously, "Because those sand bandits will only target small and medium-sized convoys. They dare not mess with any larger convoys. So if small and medium-sized convoys can unite here, it will be much safer."

"Oh~" KIKI looked at him with interest: "So what you mean is that you provide such a platform, ostensibly to collect tolls, but in fact to remind passing convoys that there are bandit problems here, so that they can come together to keep each other warm and tide over the difficulties together?"

"That's right!" Hu Lushou clapped his hands, looking touched that his good intentions were finally seen through.

Lin Xian looked at him and said, "We have encountered those bandits before. They were doing kidnapping and looting. The weapons they had were not ordinary ones. There must be a big organization behind them to support them. If that's the case, why would they agree to cooperate with you?"

Hu Lushou smiled when he heard this: "Actually, the Sand Bandit is not stupid. No matter who he cooperates with, it's all for profit. Kidnapping and looting require the use of knives and guns to kill people. On my side, he can get the benefits without firing a shot. If I were the Sand Bandit, I would agree to it too."

"There is more." Hu Lushou suddenly came up and said seriously

"The people in those large convoys outside don't actually take the sand bandits seriously, because the biggest danger in this place is not the sand bandits at all."

"You mean the night?"

Hu Lushou nodded: "There is a big problem in the Western Gobi Desert, sandstorms. Even in the daytime, strange creatures will appear in the sandstorms. The most common of them are things called sand ants. They are inexhaustible. Even if the interstellar army is here, they have to hide obediently. Moreover, strange creatures are very likely to appear in any open wilderness. It is very difficult to avoid the dark mark. Someone who escaped from the no-man's land by chance found the right direction and saw some terrifying atmospheric creatures there. They swallowed people and cars into the air..."

He became more and more excited, and said to Lin Xian in a serious tone: "Also, I have information that a forbidden object has appeared in the no-man's land!"

"Forbidden item?!"

When these words were spoken, Lin Xian, KIKI and others all exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes." Hu Lushou said in a mysterious tone: "Because of this matter, the Federation's Angel Project sent people here. There is also an organization that specializes in studying taboos, called... Holy Revelation, which also appeared in Aksai and its whereabouts are mysterious!"

"Divine Revelation? I've heard of this name." Monica crossed her arms and said, "It was also separated from the Angel Project and belongs to the Advent Sect. However, this organization is quite mysterious and I haven't heard of it very often."

Lin Xian nodded: "I've heard of it too."

Hu Lushou said at this time: "That's why I said that the sand bandits are not the most troublesome problem. Now at night, no matter if you have a dark mark on your body or not, you must not move. Even the most notorious sand bandits have to hide in their dugouts."

Lin Xian looked at Ning Jing, and their eyes met. In their opinion, this information was more important than the sand bandits.

"It seems that this uninhabited area from Aksai to Quancheng is the biggest trouble for us," said Ning Jing.

"Boss Hu, what are the specific characteristics of this sand ant?" Lin Xian asked Hu Lushou.

"this……"

"Eat people." At this time, Sun Chang, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up: "Sand ants pass through the area, and the wind eats away at them. We can only hide in the car, and we must protect ourselves tightly. Once they get in, there will be no trace of our bodies left."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Hu Lushou nodded vigorously: "This is not the scariest thing. Deep in the no-man's land, there are many strange bodies that you can't imagine. They are one hundred and twenty times scarier than what we encountered in Hengshan Pass!!!"

Lin Xian heaved a sigh of relief and looked at Hu Lushou: "Thank you for the news, Boss Hu. Tell me, how do you want me to help you?"

Seeing that Lin Xian was satisfied, Hu Lushou immediately put on an embarrassment and said, "Now I receive a lot of blood essence every day. Every three days, people from the Sand Scorpion Gang and the Red Vulture Group will come to collect their share of the tolls. If I leave, then these small caravans will..."

Lin Xian raised his hand to stop him: "It's useless to talk about that. You need to save your own life now."

Hu Lushou, who was about to make some sentimental remarks, smiled awkwardly: "Nothing else, Captain Lin. I am in a dilemma now. Although I only received 20% of the benefits, those bandits will never let me go once I leave. They will definitely kill me and eat up my entire group. So I have contacted several convoys and want to..."

"Want to form a big group with them and then retreat?" KIKI said with a smile.

Hu Lushou nodded.

"Oh, that's unfortunate." Monica said politely at this time: "We have just found out that your plan has been exposed. Now there are at least three spies from the Sand Bandit Team watching you in the bar outside. Even if the whole city runs away, they will not let you escape."

"Who made you so fat?" Qian Dele looked at the room full of rare materials and boxes of blood essence, and couldn't help but sighed: "You are a talented person. You are allowed to take on such a dangerous job."

"Captain Lin, save me!"

Before everyone could react, Hu Lushou fell to his knees again. Even Sun Chang couldn't stand it anymore and closed her eyes and said:

"Captain Lin and his men want information about the Sand Bandits."

Hu Lushou stopped crying halfway and looked up at Lin Xian: "Lin... Captain Lin, these gangs of sand bandits have at least 500 to 600 people in total, and they have a lot of weapons. You can't be their opponent."

Based on Hu Lushou's understanding of Lin Xian, although an Infinity tank has heavy artillery and masters with special powers, the entire group has only thirty people. How can they fight against those sand bandits?

"So."

Lin Xian said seriously: "With your caution, you must have investigated the base information of those bandits who came to collect tolls."

"What...what are you going to do? Aren't you afraid that these bandits will unite..." Hu Lushou said with a puzzled look on his face.

Lin Xian shook his head, looked at Hu Lushou earnestly and said:

"I'm afraid they'll run away."

Asking for the guaranteed monthly ticket at the beginning of the month!

(End of this chapter)