Chapter 1163 Pingan Stree
Under the ten-meters monstrous wall at the south gate of Pingan Street, there was only an arch that allowed two cars to pa.s.s and a small gate six people wide. The arch permitted the pa.s.sage of vehicles while the small gate was used to process foot traffic. A team of soldiers stood at the gate as they guarded the entrance into Pingan Street.
On the one hand, the purpose was to ensure contraband items such as small nuclear grenades and infection sources would not be brought into the city, and on the other hand, it was a way to collect tax for those who enter.
Exactly like the Sixth Street four years ago.
The only difference being that the crystals circulating in Shangjing were more than that in w.a.n.ghai at the time, and Pingan Street was also larger. Therefore, the tax was naturally more expensive.
In addition, there was no Inner Circle or Outer Circle for Pingan Street. The concrete giant wall surrounded all the survivor settlements inside, so it was necessary to pay tax when entering the city. At the Sixth Street, only the Inner Circle was protected. Thus, it made sense to only collect tax upon entering the Inner Circle.
At the small gate, the survivors formed a long line.
“City gate tax, four crystal per person.”
A survivor dressed in hunter clothes took a bit longer to process the information before his face turned red and he angrily said.
“Four crystals? Was it not two crystals yesterday? How did the city gate tax become four crystals today?! What the fu*k, why don’t you go rob people instead!?”
As soon as they heard that the city gate tax doubled, the people behind the queue suddenly became rattled.
“Wasn’t it two crystals before? How did it suddenly increase?”
“What’s going on!”
“Fu*k, I’ll go to the east gate and see!”
“…”
The soldiers who were guarding the gate were expressionless. There was a police-type power armor next to them. The soldier who collected the city gate tax lifted his chin impatiently and pointed to the notice at the door.
“It changed last night, and it is the same at all the gates. If you have any questions, go to the city hall and ask. If you don’t have a problem, hurry. People who want to come in, pay. People who don’t have crystals, step aside.”
Although the tax increased by two crystals, everyone was forced to accept the price.
There was no other option. The largest market and industrial area in Shangjing were located here. The hunters could only get rid of their loot there. The scavengers could only exchange their baskets of scavenged goods into crystals there. The mercenaries could only replenish ammunition and find new employers there…
As for the option to force themselves in?
Haha.
Disregarding the police-type power armor at the door, the few heavy machine guns on the giant wall were enough deterrents to let those with ill-intentions to reconsider their choice.
After the initial riot, the queue began to move slowly. Although many people left the queue, most of them stayed.
Jiang Chen touched his nose in embarra.s.sment when he stood at the end of the queue.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the reason for the price increase of the city gate tax was because of him.
The queue moved slowly and quickly reached his position.
“Twenty-one people.” Moving forward, Jiang Chen said.
The tax official looked impatient and was about to speak, but then he saw the twenty people behind Jiang Chen, and his arrogant demeanor immediately disappeared.
Twenty guards stood behind Jiang Chen. Although the clothes they wore were no different from the survivors around them, their vibe was not the same at all. It was as if a group of special forces stood in the middle of a group of new recruits. It was easy to spot the difference.
“84 crystals… Who are you?” The tax official asked.
“Mercenaries.” Jiang Chen threw a dark green crystal on the table, raised his thumb, and pointed to the twenty guards behind him.
The tax official’s mouth twitched, clearly not believing his words. However, he didn’t think more about the situation.
He was only responsible for the collection of tax and not responsible for auditing people.
“Go in.”
Without conversing more, Jiang Chen nodded and gestured to the guards behind him. They followed the procedure and stored their weapons at the weapon storage point behind the city gate and swayed into the bustling Pingan Street.
After Jiang Chen learned about h.e.l.l Courier from Zhou Guoping, he divided his own guards into two groups. One group returned to the military base, and the other group disguised themselves and followed him to the south gate of Pingan Street.
At the moment, he hid a camouflage chain around his neck and under his collar.
This camouflage necklace was very common before the war, and it almost replaced the existence of cosmetics.
Holographic technology modified facial features to a certain extent. Although the facial features remained largely the same, he looked much older. Unless it was people close to him, it would be basically impossible to recognize him.
The reason why he spent so much effort entering Pingan Street was to see the fabled Pan-Asia Cooperation intelligence personnel in person. On the other hand, he wanted to see the city. Although the degree of industrialization was not high and far from the Sixth Street under the ruling of NAC, it also possessed its own uniqueness.
Such as gun control.
It was not an exaggeration to say that Pingan Street in Shangjing should be the only large scale survivor settlement in the Pan-Asia Cooperation region to enforce complete gun control. Even the Sixth Street is unable to do this. On this piece of land that viewed weapons as life, the survivors in Shangjing not only showed no resistance or resentment, but they silently obeyed this rule.
Even the strongest lone traveler could not be vigilant at all times.
At least on Pingan Street, people could really have a good night’s sleep without worrying about being awakened by gunshots at night or scared if an enemy would intrude and end their life.
Of course, people could still sneak weapons in.
But on the bright side, everyone seemed to obey this iron law.
As they pa.s.sed through the slums, Jiang Chen examined the streets before heading into the market at the south gate of Pingan Street. Compared with the Sixth Street, the lives of the people here were visibly worse. Disregarding the magnetic levitation road, many people here didn’t even have proper winter clothing, and some people even wore exotic clothes made out of mutant furs.
However, from their calm expressions, it seemed that this was the normal state for survivors on the wasteland.
The survivors well fed and well protected in w.a.n.ghai were the abnormal ones.
“Lu Fan.”
“Roger.”
“Don’t be so uptight, don’t forget that you’re a mercenary,” Jiang Chen whispered.
Since Li w.a.n.g was promoted to captain of AS Order, the new guard captain was Lu Fan. The 30-year-old bodyguard was superb in every aspect. He was also as loyal as Li w.a.n.g but he was not as clever as him. This sometimes would keep him too uptight.
Lu Fan hesitated for a moment and nodded.
“Roger.”
Jiang Chen shook his head and gave up the idea of correcting his respectful appearance.
Anyway, the probability of encountering Ding Liwei and Wan Peng was almost zero. He was not worried about being questioned after revealing some abnormalities. Pingan Street was more complex than he imagined. There were some neutral survivors as powerful as the Shangjing Survivor Alliance.
Jiang Chen also paid attention when he entered the city.
Along the way, he already encountered three groups of bodyguards following a person that looked wealthy.
“h.e.l.l Courier” was located in the commercial street near the north gate. However, Jiang Chen did not go north but walked around the market before heading to the industrial area behind the slum.
Similar to the situation he saw on AS Order, the industrial capability of Pingan Street was quite weak. But with wasteland standards, Pingan Street’s capability was considered to be top-notch. Compared to the Sixth Street four years ago, its size more than doubled the Sixth Street’s industrial strength.
Of course, the Sixth Street’s growth far outpaced this place.
The surrounding buildings began to become lower, and the pedestrians on the street were mostly slaves or workers that looked malnourished.
Lu Fan thought that Jiang Chen had gone the wrong way. He hesitated and whispered.
“h.e.l.l Courier is on the commercial street near the north gate.”
“I know.” Jiang Chen smiled.
Lu Fan then paused after processing the information.
“Then why are we here…”
“Do you see anyone going to the bar in the morning?” Jiang Chen smiled and raised his chin in the direction of the industrial zone, and then said, “Not to mention, going to h.e.l.l Courier to learn about Eden Technology is just a side quest. Our main purpose is to just take a stroll around Pingan Street. If I want to get some intelligence, I can just send anyone. Why would I come here?”
“I just want to ask… Is there any purpose in this action?” Lu Fan said hesitantly. “My suggestion is to give us the task. This place is very unsafe. We may also encounter an unexpected situation, we—”
“That’s enough,” Jiang Chen dismissed his suggestion. “I care more about my own safety than anything else. You don’t have to worry, just follow me.”
After he paused for a moment, Jiang Chen went on.
“I’m answering your previous question now. How is there no purpose?”
He then looked up and gazed at the towering Pan-Asia Cooperation building in the center of Pingan Street, then he grinned. “This place will be ours soon.”
“You mean,” Lu Fan’s expression suddenly changed and excitement began to grow in his pupils, “After getting rid of CCCP, we’ll…”
Jiang Chen shook his head and sighed.
“There are many ways to solve the problem. I hope that you can think about it from another perspective. If you can’t think about the same problem from multiple perspectives, you may miss a lot of better options. In that case, how can I trust you with more responsibilities?”
Lu Fan immediately bowed his head and said sincerely.
“I don’t have any intention to be a high-ranking official. I just hope to serve the general to the best of my ability.”
“If you have this thought, it will be enough.” Jiang Chen smiled. “NAC needs talents and needs loyal and reliable talents. Even if you want to stay in this position for a lifetime, you have to ask for my permission first, right?”
“I’ll follow the general’s order,” Lu Fan diligently said.
Jiang Chen smiled and did not respond. He stood at the entrance of the industrial zone.
“I just told you, let’s think about the problem from another angle. In addition to the option of armed occupation, we have a lot of more gentle and effective options, which can allow us to take over this place without a drop of blood.”
Lu Fan did not interject. He stood respectfully on Jiang Chen’s side, waiting for his order.
“For example, we can buy this place.”
Jiang Chen smiled, his eye narrowing as he gazed at the towering chimney in the steel mill.
“Using their own money.”