Chapter 197: The Ruins of Lebion

After getting ready, the group set out again. This time, their target was Lebion, one of the only medium-sized cities in the North Second District, a northern city once famous for its heavy industry. After the North Star District was gradually removed, this place also slowly fell into decline. Without capital and income, the pollution brought by heavy industry could not be contained and quickly spread to the surrounding areas. In the originally cold area, there was no vegetation at all. Fortunately,

with the development of technology, basic starch food can now be synthesized industrially. The remaining industrial behemoths in this city continue to emit residual heat and provide simple food for the surrounding residents.

Sitting by the car window, Tilan looked at the scenery in the distance, her black hair flying in the wind, which brought a little coolness, but not cold.

It was already the end of March, and the temperature here was gradually warming up, making people feel a little comfortable.

"This time we went to Lebion, mainly because it is a rare industrial city, and we should be able to buy cheap fuel. In addition, we can try to find opportunities in it to supplement our funds." Allen stood in the car and explained the purpose of this journey to everyone.

"However, this trip to a city with a large number of people also represents a certain risk. It is not like the small groups of people we met on the road. If a big conflict occurs, the situation may exceed our ability to handle." He continued to analyze.

"So we need to be careful along the way. We need to leave a few people in the car halfway and be ready to move at any time."

"After discussion, the people left behind are Iyepel, Dolores, Phyllis, and Ximu."

Dolores doesn't like to show up here. She took the initiative to apply to stay. In addition, Iyepel and Phyllis, as elves, are also reluctant to the bad air and environment in Lebion, so they choose to stay. As for Ximu, since he can drive, he also stays, which is convenient for maneuvering at any time.

"That's the situation. Now it's about 40 minutes before we reach our destination. Everyone can take a proper rest."

On the desert land covered with gravel and coarse sand, a large white truck drove straight to the north. Under the gray-blue sky, it was like a small white dot with a little smoke and dust. At the end of the vision and the horizon, a city like the wreckage of a giant beast stood quietly.

Old and hollow and rusty steel structures, tall but empty mechanical cranes, broken glass and tall domes with only skeletons left, in this gray and rusty steel jungle, a little white steam slowly rises, telling the only remaining warmth and the people struggling to survive under the exposed skeletons.

This is the past of Jade Skirt, the once prosperous area as the capital of the planet.

Although there are still two large residential areas in the North Second District, such as "Burning Sun City" and "Dead Tree Garden", when the North Star District was prosperous, these two places were just inconspicuous small pieces of puzzles in the prosperous scene, and cities like Lebion were one of the stars shining in the North Star District in that era. The

closer you get to Lebion, the more you can feel the prosperity of the past. There are countless residential areas on the roadside that have become ruins. Among them, you can vaguely see the former dome botanical garden, the spiral tower commercial center, and the aquarium that stands on the ground like a giant Ferris wheel. In the past, people could even look up at the fish swimming in the sky from the ground.

However, now there are only various corroded outlines and wreckages left here, and the Ferris wheel aquarium that was once full of marine animals is now only a collapsed skeleton.

After passing through most of the city that has become ruins, when we gradually reach the central area, the surrounding area has regained some people. Some simple clothes hangers are hung beside the houses. Occasionally, some old-fashioned vehicles can be seen passing by on the road. Occasionally, there are relatively complete buildings standing on the roadside. The newly painted protective paint on the exterior walls shows that there are still people maintaining here.

The speed of the car slowly slowed down and finally stopped in a large abandoned parking lot.

Soon, eight people jumped out of the car. After they agreed on a time to meet up, they split into two groups to explore the city.

"It seems that we need a guide." Looking at the streets and shops of all sizes, Allen suggested.

"Let's take a walk first. Maybe we can meet the right person on the way." Tilan suggested.

In their group, there are Tilan, Allen, Avni, and Sherian, and in the other group, there are Valk, Ruby, Jinsenk, and Guro.

After making the decision, the four of them walked forward along the street. Because this was the only remaining downtown area, the shops and stores were still "dense". At least two out of five stores on the street were open.

Some local residents went in and out of these stores, buying some basic daily necessities, or eating a barely unpalatable lunch in a restaurant.

After entering one of the stores, the girl's eyes swept over the goods. Most of these things were rough and simple. For example, the laundry detergent was packaged in a simple white bag with a few lines of black words on it. There was nothing else.

There was no brand, no specific manufacturer, and even the ingredient list was written very simply, as if it was a three-no product produced by a small workshop. This was indeed an industrial product produced by a local factory. If it was taken to other places, no one would probably take a look at it, but it was indeed useful and necessary here.

In addition, there were many other simple and rough daily necessities, such as cleaning utensils, common simple electrical appliances, kitchen utensils, generators, heaters, etc. Its simple shape and rough workmanship reminded people of the difficult days in the early Sixth Era.

"Boss, do you know where to buy fuel here? Our car has to travel a long distance." After entering a store, Allen asked, while Tilan lowered the brim of her hat slightly and looked around.

Today, she was wearing a black casual jacket, a baseball cap on her head, a white T-shirt with words on it, and long pants and sneakers for easy movement. In addition to Tilan, another girl in the team, Avni, was dressed similarly, but she didn't wear a hat, revealing a wide blonde ponytail, and her jacket was also white.

"Fuel, let me think." The slightly fat boss sat at the bar in the store and pondered.

"You can go to the northeast street to have a look. I remember there seems to be a gas station there, but it's not very safe there, so you need to be careful."

"Thank you, boss, I'll give this to you." Allen put a portable square battery on the table and then led the people out.

In the North Second District, the circulation of federal currency is not so convenient. There are often places without card machines, and there are also some difficulties in transferring money due to identity issues. Therefore, portable batteries have become the hard currency in circulation. After all, such things are needed everywhere. Some electrical appliances can be used for several weeks in a row by plugging in a square battery.

"Let's go, we continue to go east, we should be able to find what we want there." Allen led the way.

On the other side, Jinsenke and Ruby's team were much more high-profile.

The bustling bar was filled with smoke, and the ruins rock was so loud that it almost deafened the ears, but the people here still liked it, as if only by venting in this manic music could they forget the scarcity and despair of life.

Pushing through the crowded crowd, Valk led the way in front and brought several companions behind him to the bar in the bar.

Jin Senke pushed a drunk man aside, sat on the high stool, turned around, and finally stopped in front of the bartender.

"Hey, I came here to think about getting some money. I heard that you are in some trouble, and I happen to have the ability to help you solve the trouble." With loose sunglasses on his nose, Jin Senke leaned on the bar.

The bartender inside saw these strangers, glanced at them, and seemed a little alert, "Who are you?"

"We? A group of travelers passing by, looking for something to do and supplementing the toll." Jin Senke said, then picked up the bottle on the bar, filled the cup in front of him, tasted it in a small sip, and then put it down with disgust.

"We do offer some tasks, but no one knows your origins, so who would dare to trust you to do it?" He frowned, his finger on the alarm button under the bar, ready to call someone at any time.

"Don't be in a hurry to refuse. There are always some public tasks. Don't keep it secret. Anyone can do it." Jin Senke shook the glass, as if he wanted to see the reflection of the liquid in it under the light.

"Such tasks... are not uncommon..." Hearing this, the other party hesitated, but still spoke.

"Some scavenging beasts have bred in the underground sewers. The situation is complicated. No one is willing to deal with it, but if it is left for a long time, it may cause trouble. If you can solve it, we will give you a sum of money."

"Oh, no, do you want a beautiful girl like me to go into the stinky ditch?" Ruby, who was behind Jin Senke, spoke after hearing it, covering her cheek with her fingers, revealing only the small star stickers at the corners of her eyes.

"It's really too cheap, and the reward is also very low." Jin Senke shook his head when he heard that the reward was only 200,000 federal coins.

"Then I can't do anything." In response, the bartender shook his head.

Thinking that he couldn't return empty-handed, Jinsenk asked and inquired in various ways, but the other party didn't say anything. This made Jinsenk a little angry and his tone became fierce.

Fortunately, Valk stopped him. After the burly companion put his hand on Jinsenk's shoulder, the other party reluctantly turned around and left.

The group walked through the crowded and smoky dance floor again and walked out of the store.

Just as everyone was thinking about going to other places to have a look, a short man squeezed out and walked quickly to the front of several people.

"Hey, you guys, are you looking for a job?" Although he looked like he was in his 20s, he was probably less than 1.6 meters tall, which looked a bit funny.

"Yes." Jinsenk and his group turned around, and outside, when the man saw Ruby's appearance clearly, he couldn't help but whistled.

"She's so beautiful. If you go on stage, you will definitely sell out."

"It's a pity that she is ours and can't go on stage casually." Jinsenk waved his finger at this.

"Well, although it's a pity not to perform on stage, it doesn't matter as long as I can make money." He shrugged and talked about his plan.

"I just heard you quarreling with the bartender." He said that he knew the demands and ideas of several people.

"You want money, right? It happens that I have a vision, unlike those stupid guys in there who are short-sighted."

"I can introduce you to a job, guaranteed to make a lot of money, enough to live a carefree life for five years, no, ten years." He gestured with both hands to describe the beauty of this plan.

"Tell us first, we haven't decided yet." Several people were not interested in this. During this period, they saw more liars and braggarts in North District 2 than in their previous lives.

"It's like this..." He leaned over, looked around, and said in a low voice.

After some explanations and inquiries, several people gradually learned about his so-called plan, which was probably that the two gangs in the city were fighting each other recently, and now they were both short of fighting power, so they offered a high price to hire someone.

"I can tell at a glance that you guys are extraordinary and will be powerful assistants to change the situation." He patted his chest to show that he had good vision.

"Do you want to help one of the parties and then profit from the victory?" Gu Luo analyzed.

"No, no, no, help one party? How is that possible? What if he really unifies the underground mafia of Lebion, then how can a retail investor like me survive? Wouldn't there be no room for maneuver?" He shook his head.

"They will definitely fight, and they may even fight badly. What we have to do is to reap the final harvest and become the biggest winner."

"Oh, what a bold plan, but you are really brave to tell us all this." Gu Luo shook his head, feeling that it was unreliable.

"Well, there are definitely risks. There is no such thing as not having risks. But you are different. I have never seen you guys before, especially this beautiful lady. If you have appeared in Lebion before, I can't have no impression of you."

"You are just passers-by, the ace that no one knows, and you don't know the situation in the city. You can't find anyone to tell the secret. If you talk nonsense, people will think that you are sent by the opponent to make trouble, so I am not worried about telling you about it." In response, the dwarf-like man explained complacently. Just like he introduced himself, he is always smart and good at seizing opportunities.

"It's interesting, but you haven't told us the specific strength of the two gangs, and what we can get in the end." Although he may not agree, Jin Senke is still very curious about the current distribution of forces in the city.

"This is a long story. Why don't we find a place to eat first." The other party touched his stomach, indicating that it was time for lunch.

"Okay, let's listen to you first." Jin Senke said he didn't care about this. As he said, he looked on the street and found a store with a good sign. He walked over with a few people.

"Oh, by the way, I haven't asked your name yet." Jin Senke turned around.

"Name, oh, yes, you can call me Red Hat." He fumbled out a wrinkled dark red hat from his trouser pocket and put it on his head. Such attire is quite common in North District 2 nowadays. After all, the weather is cold, and there are many people wearing hats of various colors.

"What about you? I see you seem to be still very young, are you out here looking for excitement?" He also asked at this time.

"We, um, yes, are looking for excitement, hehe." Jin Senke smiled very naturally, and Ruby on the other side also spun the keychain in her hand, indicating that she was in a good mood.

"You can call me Boss Jin, the tall one is the Wa Knight, and that one is the Ancient Warrior. As for this lovely beautiful girl, let me think, you can call her Magical Girl Lulu."

"Ah, what an embarrassing name~" Ruby smiled softly with her hands covering her mouth, but she didn't seem to refuse. Anyway, it's interesting, isn't it?

(End of this chapter)