Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 73 Come to the door
The morale within the base remains relatively stable.

Under Hua Sheng's leadership, several new employees were racing against time to repair the wall.

Gage was working alone on the metal structure of the wall panels, the sparks from the welding casting flickering light on his face.

"Strange, that old dealer is a slave trader, when did he start collecting protection money?"

Watson's bruises were very noticeable. His tone was slightly somber as he continued his analysis:

"When he came to return the goods last time, he was clearly intimidated after he found out that this was Mao Shanwang's territory. How dare he bring people to cause trouble this time? He's too arrogant."

Zhuang Fan nodded, having already figured out the general truth.

"With the downfall of the one-armed Johnson, this area will definitely be divided up. Given his cowardly nature, he must have switched allegiance to a new master, otherwise he wouldn't dare to do this."

"It's understandable that a new leader would want to make an example of someone, but to come and disrupt things without any regard for the facts doesn't seem like someone genuinely looking to collect protection money."

Hua Xin quickly obtained the information.

“Brother Ya, I’ve visited more than twenty recycling stations in the vicinity, and they all pay 10,000 yuan in protection fees every month.”

Watson was even angrier: "This is outrageous! Why should we ask for 50,000? This is outrageous!"

Zhuang Fan looked at Hua Sheng, a hint of coldness flashing across his face:
"No matter who's behind this, since they've given us a taste of our power, we'll definitely retaliate twofold."

"Brother Ya, I'll go with you!"

Hua Xin was the first to jump out, her cat ears perked up, "They smashed my silver vines and catnip, that's really too much!"

Watson also stated, "Let's go together. I've been wanting to test the power of this iron arm for a long time."

Hearing the noise, Gage also poked his head out from behind the wall and said in a muffled voice, "Boss, count me in."

Zhuang Fan shook his head: "Gage, your task is the most important. Stay and continue repairing the defenses."

Gage was a little puzzled: "Boss, that weapons processing station..."

"I promise you, I will definitely bring it back."

He turned to Watson: "You and Hua Xin come with me."

The three of them did not linger and drove the warehouse truck directly to Mao Shanwang's stronghold.

Mao Shanwang lay on a huge, specially made rocking chair, leisurely fanning himself with a palm leaf fan.

When he saw Zhuang Fan and his group approaching menacingly, a knowing look appeared on his round face.

"Oh, going to war?"

"Old Cat, give me ten smoke grenades, six fragmentation grenades, and a sniper rifle with a silencer."

Zhuang Fan got straight to the point.

"Easy to say."

Mao Shanwang took out a heavy metal box from the crab shell, opened it, and inside were neatly arranged various kinds of weapons.

"A smoke grenade costs 400, a hand grenade costs 500, and the sniper rifle, this one is of good quality, only costs 40,000."

Zhuang Fan interrupted him directly: "If the price of a sniper rifle is more than three thousand, I won't buy it."

"."

Mao Shanwang had figured out his temper, so he took out a dusty sniper rifle from the corner and handed it to him: "Here, three thousand gold coins."

Zhuang Fan almost mistook it for a Mauser 98K at first glance, a famous rifle from World War II.

He weighed the gun in his hand; it was quite heavy, and the barrel and scope were slightly worn, but still in good condition.

Zhuang Fan counted the money and found it totaled ten thousand gold coins.

He remembered something: "Oh right, give me another universal launcher."

"Yes, I have!"

Upon hearing this, Mao Shanwang perked up:

"I have the best, top-of-the-line stuff here! It can launch not only bombs, but also any grenade, even rocks, iron blocks, and trash. You can stuff anything in, and it will fire with the power of a cannonball!"

"But the price... starts at 30,000 gold coins, absolutely great value for money!"

"No money."

Zhuang Fan answered decisively: "My budget is only three thousand. Do you have any stock?"

Mao Shanwang's face fell, and he lost all strength in his hand that was waving the palm-leaf fan.

"Three thousand... are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

He muttered a few words, then pulled out a pair of old-looking secondhand items from the corner and threw them over.

"This thing is passable. It can automatically launch smoke grenades and hand grenades, but don't expect anything else."

Zhuang Fan took the transmitter, inspected its structure, and was fairly satisfied.

"By the way, could I borrow your raccoon sniper, Xiong Er, for a while?"

"No way!" Mao Shanwang refused without even thinking. "Trying to poach my men again?"

“Just borrow it for a month. I’ll pay its salary and give you an extra four thousand gold coins as a loan fee, making it twelve thousand in total.”

"Look at you, why didn't you say so earlier!"

The displeasure on Mao Shanwang's face vanished instantly, replaced by a憨厚 (honest and simple) smile.

“Xiong Er is off work today and went to find his mother raccoon. I promise he’ll report to you first thing tomorrow morning.”

He rubbed his fat paws together. "If I hadn't just recruited two new snipers, I definitely wouldn't have lent Xiong Er out."

"Two more? Where?"

"If you found out, would you still call yourself a sniper?"

After thinking it over, Zhuang Fan realized that Xiong Er wouldn't be of any use in tonight's surprise attack.

But there's also Hua Xin.

After paying all the money, he only had 55,000 gold coins left.

However, after tonight, this money will be recovered with interest.

The three drove to a secluded ruin.

Zhuang Fan handed the sniper rifle with a silencer to Hua Xin, pointing to a Coca-Cola bottle cap hanging on a rope a hundred meters away.

"Let's test the feel of it."

Hua Xin nodded, half-squatted on the ground, and rested the butt of the gun on his shoulder, his movements standard and steady.

During her breaks from guard duty these past few days, she has been practicing this posture diligently and is now very familiar with it.

Thanks to the cat-like cat's enhanced vision and neural reflexes, her aim quickly locked onto the target.

"boom."

The first shot missed, and the bullet kicked up a cloud of dust on the ground.

She adjusted her breathing and posture.

"boom."

The second shot, again, missed by a hair's breadth.

After firing seven or eight times in succession and calibrating the trajectory, the ninth bullet accurately penetrated the bottle cap.

Then came Coke bottles, can lids, and bricks; Hua Xin's shooting skills improved more and more.

"I want to try a farther distance." There was a hint of excitement in Hua Xin's eyes.

"There will be plenty of time later."

Zhuang Fan said calmly, "One hundred meters is enough tonight. Your task is simple: guard the gate and don't let any fish escape."

"give it to me!"

As for locating the old peddler's hideout, Zhuang Fan didn't even need to track the eerie mist.

The heavily modified truck left clear tire tracks on the dry ground.

The three followed the markings and silently approached a dilapidated abandoned warehouse.

Two large trucks were parked outside the warehouse, and several thugs were drinking around a campfire, their guns casually leaning against the wall, showing extremely low vigilance.

"Go to the clock tower."

Hua Xin nodded, and with the agility of a cat, silently climbed to the top of an abandoned clock tower opposite.

Zhuang Fan and Hua Sheng went around to the back of the warehouse, followed the fire escape ladder, and quietly climbed to the roof.

There were also two bandits on the rooftop, leaning against the railing smoking.

A wisp of barely visible dark mist flicked from Zhuang Fan's fingertip and entered the minds of the two men.

Their bodies stiffened, their eyes vacant, still in the posture of exhaling smoke.

Zhuang Fan moved with lightning speed, grabbing the patrolman by the neck from behind. Two crisp "cracks" were heard, and the patrolman's body went limp and fell to the ground.

Simple and tranquil.

Zhuang Fan approached an exhaust fan at a ventilation opening and peered into the warehouse through the gaps in the fan blades.

The interior was dimly lit and cluttered.

A few worn-out sofas surround a stove made from a tin bucket. Tires, iron cages, and spare parts are piled in the corner, and a few blurry posters hang on the wall.

The old peddler was whipping one of his men hard with a leather whip, cursing under his breath.

There were more than twenty bandits around, who ignored the scene before them and burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)