Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 72 Blackmail
"boom!"

The cockroach suddenly burst open, startling the man.

Zhuang Fan lowered his pistol, and seeing the fearful looks on everyone's faces, he said in a deep voice:

"Come here for a moment, all of you."

His voice wasn't loud, but it made everyone stop what they were doing and obediently come over.

He walked to the warehouse truck and, with a clang, opened the side door of the truck.

Inside the carriage, a brand-new water purifier was operating quietly, with a huge water tank connected to it.

"Drink as much water as you want."

He then pointed to a box about half a person's height next to him, opened it, and found it filled with bread made from dark wheat and a large number of protein bars.

"These are food for you. Eat as much as you like, as long as you don't waste it."

Hua Xin poked her head out from the tree and added, "I made all that bread myself last night."

Zhuang Fan stepped forward and poured out all the bottles of sewage that Cole was holding.

"Don't drink this dirty water anymore."

He pointed to the food in the carriage.

"This is what people should eat. You all eat your fill first, then go back to work."

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, their faces filled with disbelief.

They cautiously approached, picked up a piece of bread with utmost care, as if holding some rare treasure, and then stepped aside to savor it in small bites.

Everyone was quiet, with only the soft sound of chewing.

The only female scavenger in the group, while eating, suddenly covered her face, squatted down, and began to sob softly.

Upon seeing this, Hua Xin immediately jumped down from the tree and gently patted her back, thinking she had choked.

"Thank you, I'm fine."

She wiped away her tears and spoke haltingly.

“My child was beaten to death by slave owners for stealing and eating this kind of bread. Since then, I've never dared to touch it again.”

The woman's sobs were not loud, but they were like needles, piercing the hearts of everyone present.

Hua Xin fell silent, a hint of sadness appearing in her cat-like eyes; she completely empathized with the situation.

Zhuang Fan looked puzzled and subconsciously asked, "Slave owner, was it King Mao who did it?"

"no no!"

Cole quickly waved his hand, "Boss Mao is a very good person. He always pays us in full and never deducts from our wages."

"It seems he's a good person too."

Zhuang Fan thought to himself, "If that cat hadn't been so aggressive in bargaining, it would have been even more conscientious."

After eating bread and drinking clean water, everyone worked even harder.

Hua Xin returned to the tree, a piece of bread dangling from her mouth, and continued her lookout duty.

As the sun moved, she saw a faint reflection in a corner of the distant ruins.

Driven by curiosity, she leaped down from the tree like a cat, landing silently on the ground.

Hua Xin went to that corner, pried open a steel plate with a crowbar, and found a coffin machine buried underneath.

"Brother Ya, come here!"

Zhuang Fan rushed over upon hearing the sound and recognized him at a glance.

It was a virtual reality pod, an old model, exactly the same as the one he had experienced in the criminal camp.

He inspected it and found that the outer shell was severely corroded and a small part of the core components were destroyed, but it should still be usable after some repairs.

“Take it back and let Gage check it out.”

Hua Xin nodded, and the two of them worked together to drag the heavy machine back to the warehouse truck.

Since becoming a catwoman, although she is petite, she has become much stronger and can lift heavy objects with ease.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, her cat ears perked up, and suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Brother Ya, why do you call yourself Wuyai (meaning 'Endless')?"

Zhuang Fan paused for a moment, then said softly, "Life has a limit, but knowledge has no limit."

His voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself.

Hua Xin seemed to understand but not quite: "That sounds very profound."

"It's not complicated, just listen to it."

At the same time, at the recycling station base.

Hua Sheng and several workers were welding thick steel plates onto the wall.

Gage was still studying the Baron in the basement, almost to the point of neglecting to eat or sleep.

Suddenly, a burst of gunfire erupted outside.

On the watchtower, the two androids on guard duty immediately raised their guns to fight back, but in the actual battle, they appeared extremely clumsy.

Within seconds, their heads were precisely hit, and they collapsed to the ground, sparks flying.

Watson and Gage picked up their rifles.

The two exchanged a glance and both realized that something was wrong.

Two modified automatic machine guns at the entrance began spitting fire, briefly suppressing the commotion on the perimeter.

But it didn't take long.

"boom--!"

A heavily modified truck, like a steel behemoth, smashed through the front door wall, crushing two automatic machine guns into scrap metal. Dust filled the air.

Watson and his companion took cover and fought back, but the bullets only left craters and a few sparks on the car.

The car door opened, and more than a dozen thugs jumped out.

They were all armed with heavy weapons, their faces radiating undisguised arrogance.

The one leading the group was that bald old peddler.

"Get the person in charge out here!"

Watson and Gage exchanged a glance, then, carrying their rifles, slowly emerged from behind cover.

The two sides confronted each other amidst the ruins.

But the old vendor was not afraid at all; he had more people on his side, and his firepower was fiercer.

Watson, forcing himself to remain calm, asked, "What are you going to do?"

The old dealer ignored him and recognized Gage at a glance. When he noticed that the collar around Gage's neck, a symbol of his slave status, was gone, he revealed a mocking smile.

"Hey, haven't seen you for a few days, and you've become a landlord now?"

He glanced around and said dismissively, "Looks like this recycling center is loaded."

"Enough with the nonsense, what exactly do you want?" Watson asked coldly.

The old vendor grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth:

“From today onwards, this land is under my control, understand? Every month, you will have to pay a protection fee of 50,000 gold coins, or goods of equivalent value.”

Watson frowned: "I can't make the decision; we have to wait for our boss to come back."

No sooner had he finished speaking than one of the old peddler's henchmen rushed forward and kicked Watson to the ground.

"Damn it, you can't make decisions but you still dare to act high and mighty!"

"Get your manager back here right now! Otherwise, we'll smash this whole place up!"

Watson got up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes still resolute.

"I told you, everything depends on our boss coming back. Can't you understand human language?"

The old peddler stopped his men.

He could see that there was no fear in Watson's eyes, which meant he was confident.

"Okay, that's pretty bold."

The old vendor nodded. "We'll come back at eight o'clock tonight and have your manager prepare the money."

After he finished speaking, he gave his subordinate a wink.

Several thugs immediately rushed in, dismantled the brand-new weapons processing table, and then loaded it onto a truck.

They also took away the two broken automatic machine guns at the entrance.

Gage blocked the entrance to the basement with his body.

He watched helplessly as the weapons processing table was moved away, and the rifle in his hand was almost too much to handle.

Watson stopped him with a look.

We are outnumbered and outgunned, and we must not escalate the conflict.

However, the two female workers who were hiding in the dormitory area were also dragged out by them and were about to be forcibly put into the car.

"boom!"

Watson raised his gun and fired a shot into the air, the sound echoing through the empty recycling station.

"Don't push yourself too far!"

His voice was icy: "Otherwise, there's really no way out."

The old vendor frowned, but ultimately waved his hand to stop him.

"They have no manners. Let them go."

He cursed and then turned and left.

The thugs reluctantly let go and followed the old dealer onto the truck.

With a roar of its engine, the truck kicked up a cloud of dust and disappeared into the distance beyond the ruins.

……

As evening fell, Zhuang Fan and his group returned home laden with their loot.

But when they returned to the base, they found it in complete disarray.

Collapsed walls, paralyzed androids, a scene of utter devastation, and the vanished weapons processing station.

Watson had injuries on his face and blood still lingering at the corner of his mouth as they raced against time to repair the wall.

"Brother, you're bleeding!"

Hua Xin exclaimed in surprise and immediately ran over.

Zhuang Fan's eyes turned cold. He suppressed his anger, walked up to Watson, and said slowly:
"what's going on?"

Hua Sheng truthfully recounted what had happened: "It was that old peddler from last time who brought people to collect protection money."

When Zhuang Fan heard about the protection fee of 50,000 gold coins per month, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, I got it. Leave it to me."

He gazed at the distant wilderness bathed in the red glow of the setting sun, his voice remarkably calm.

"I will prepare the gold coins and deliver them to your door in person."

(End of this chapter)