Chapter 22: Veronica
Three days later, under a sheltered cliff, Boone pointed to a simple map outlined with wooden sticks on the ground and suggested to Ling Qi:
"If we want to get to New Vegas in the fastest way, we don't go up to Boulder and go straight to Route 188 from here. Pen %Fun %Pavilion www.biquge.info"
As he spoke, he pointed to an intersection on the map, drawing a straight line and cutting into another unrelated road.
"Although I don't understand why every time you leave the team and walk around, you can bring back a lot of supplies, maybe you have hidden resource points in the wasteland, maybe... At least that shows that supply isn't our biggest problem, is it?"
"So Boulder City, where most people have to go, actually doesn't mean anything to us. β
Boone said, not shying away from Ling Qi's occasional "weirdness".
After a few days of contact, both sides have a certain degree of understanding of each other. Ling Qi saw that Boone was a man who was not good at words, and he would never do such a thing as chewing the root of his tongue, so he didn't "hide" many things.
As for Ling Qi in Boone's eyes, it is probably as mysterious as the legend.
He even suspected that Ling Qi had some kind of "space compression prop" on his body, and this technical concept also existed before the war, but unfortunately the experiment was never successful.
Of course, if Ling Qi did master this technique, it meant that the rumors from the outside world were not reliable.
But what does this have to do with Boone itself?
He is no longer part of the NRC and has no interest in stealing other people's secrets.
Ling Qi didn't explain much about Boone's doubts, and sometimes it was better to keep a little mystery to people who didn't know well.
He looked at Tang Xiao, who was also squatting on the side, and saw that the newcomer nodded, and then said:
"If that's the case, we'll probably be able to get to New Vegas a few days earlier than the original route. Also, the scavenger we met yesterday didn't say that the NRC in Boulder City was confronting a group of Great Khans, so you weren't interested in learning more?"
Ling Qi had already discussed the "plot" with Tang Xiao before, and knew that Boulder City was one of the places that must be passed through according to the normal process, because only from there could he get the next clue of Benny's forward route.
Of course, Tang Xiao also said that as an open-ended game, you can completely ignore the bullshit process and go straight to the casino from the beginning of the plot, and you can also find Benny, so you can also not go to Boulder City.
However, the "degree of freedom" in reality is only higher than in the game, so there are actually more ways to find Benny, and to get the platinum chip, you don't even have to find Benny, you can use other means.
On the other hand, if you want to find Benny, the game must be feasible?
Maybe Benny is in Boulder? Maybe he's been killed? Who knows for sure!
The only thing they can be sure of at the moment is that the mission has not failed, so the platinum chip has not been destroyed and has a meaning to exist!
Boone didn't know how complicated the minds of the reincarnators were, he listened to Ling Qi's words, and was silent for a moment, and then replied:
"I'm no longer part of the 1st Recon Battalion, and I'm sure the madmen of the Great Khans won't be a match for the NRC. Of course, if you insist on checking it out, I'm okay with that. β
said lightly, and at the same time said that what he put forward was only a suggestion, not a request. Boone doesn't like to talk, but he's not stupid, at least he's well aware of who he is and where he is.
He glanced at Kara, who was chatting happily with Liu Yun, and hesitated for a moment, and finally said more:
"I just want to settle Carla as soon as possible, and take her to the New Vegas Medical Center for a check-up sooner, where the medical conditions are not comparable to Novak's. β
Boone, who couldn't hide his words and didn't feel the need to hide it, directly stated the real purpose of his proposal.
Perhaps when he heard rumors that the NRC was fighting the Great Khans in Boulder, he still had some thoughts of checking it out, if it weren't for Kara.
Ling Qi was thinking about the matter of Giant Rock City when he heard the 'New Vegas Medical Center', and he was stunned for a moment.
"You're talking about it, but the place with the implant technology?"
The monster they had killed a few days earlier had left a deep impression on the newcomers, and even Ling Qi was amazed by Leo's description afterwards.
What kind of defense should this be?
Maybe the monster's defense is not as strong as expected, Andy, the unlucky ghost, not to mention, Leo's homemade armor-piercing arrows and Boone's armor-piercing bullets can do a good job.
Therefore, it is not difficult to break its defense, the difficult thing is how to cause effective damage to it, and its vitality is really strong!
Afterwards, Boone also mentioned to Ling Qi that the monster was probably implanted with the genes of some kind of creature to obtain that ability.
At the time, he had briefly explained to Ling Qi the principles of the implantation technology, as well as the few places in the wasteland where such means might be available, and Boone seemed to know more about this than the Rangers.
After hearing that, Ling Qi's first thought was to implant himself with the genes of mutated creatures.
He didn't care if he would become half-human and become like the Hulk.
As long as you are strong enough, what does it matter if you become ugly, let alone you can change back.
It's a pity that from a practical point of view, it is basically impossible to become a pervert like the Hulk by implantation.
This technology is not mature enough at the moment, so the mutants encountered before are definitely not in a stable state, and they may be able to obtain super strength in a short period of time, and the hidden danger is really not small.
As for the current limited number of implants that have passed clinical trials, the price is even higher and scary. For example, the two most dazzling achievements at this stage are "Animan subcutaneous colonization" and "Son of the Ocean cell division and regeneration gene"!
As you can tell from the name, one of these two is used to increase defense, and the other is to increase recovery. Their current official prices are 12,000 caps and 18,000 caps, respectively, and there is no market for them!
You can afford it, and you can't find anyone to implant you. When you find a place where you can have surgery, you probably won't have enough money!
18,000 bottle caps, this price is enough to arm two kinetic armored warriors, or equip 4~5 rangers.
And using this money to buy a colonization suit, the effect obtained is only to increase the natural recovery speed of your body by 2~5 times, which means that the injury that was supposed to be recuperated for a month may now only need to recuperate for a week. And the injuries that would have been fatal... If you don't handle it well, you'll still die.
From this, it can be seen that the monster's colonization suit is definitely not subcutaneous armor, at least it is impossible for you to resist bullets.
The indigenous people are not satisfied with the biomodification technology, because the requirements for the basic quality of the recipient itself, especially the physique, are too high, and the effect is not ideal, so all kinds of human experiments have basically not stopped, and they are looking forward to the prospect.
What Ling Qi needs is now, from hard qigong to biochemical transformation technology, he already knows how to reap the benefits in this reincarnation!
After receiving Boone's affirmative reply, Ling Qi decided to abandon the original route and take a shortcut instead!
After resting for the night, everyone deviated slightly from the original direction and hit the road again.
After passing through a plain where Boone said he would encounter a little "little trouble", after a fat man was accidentally bitten by a spider the size of a basin that came out of the ground, the group finally arrived at Route 188!
As one of the original national highways, this road is quite wide, more than 30 meters. Although the road surface has cracked, and even faults have appeared in some places, and weeds and plants are overgrown, it can still bring people a certain sense of security, at least there is no need to worry about a big rat coming out of the cement...
Boone looked at the gloomy sky and frowned and jumped onto Godzilla's shoulder to look at it.
"What's wrong?"
Sitting in the "baby basket", Kara saw her husband's concern and couldn't help but ask.
Boone shook his head, clearly unwilling to share his troubles with his wife.
He jumped down from the beast, his deep voice a little anxious.
"We have to hurry, if I'm not mistaken, there seems to be a small rest stop ahead, not much to replenish, but there is a place for people to fix it. β
"On this day, it's going to rain~~"
Hearing that he was going to hurry again, the fat man with sweat rolled his eyes, and almost wanted to scold his mother!
A fist-sized piece of fat had just fallen from his thigh, and although the wound had healed completely with the help of the needles, it still felt a dull pain when he walked.
"It's raining, it's raining!"
Seeing that Ling Qi was a little puzzled, Tang Xiao reluctantly gave up his IQ advantage and played the role of a curious child.
In fact, in front of Boone these days, he has always behaved very stupid and naΓ―ve, and his level of ignorance is the same as that of Kara. Not to mention, this little white appearance made him gain more trust from Boone.
The cold-faced man smiled at him rarely, though bitterly.
"I'm now more sure you've never lived in the wasteland. You are in a high-rise building looking at the rain outside, and there are probably still the feelings of people in peacetime hundreds of years ago. But in the wild, every rainstorm means the death of a large number of plants and animals, including even those mutated creatures!"
"So far, the only creatures that can walk in the rain areβ"
Boone said, looking at the monster that seemed to be a few feet taller next to him.
"Radiation rain!" "Nuclear contamination!"
Ling Qi and Tang Xiao changed color at the same time, they both thought of it together!
Ling Qi lowered his head and pondered, he still underestimated the severity of the various environments on the wasteland.
If only Deathclaw could ignore this level of radiation rain, he was not guaranteed to be able to withstand it with his own physique.
Seeing Tang Xiao's face change, Boone thought that his words made him unhappy, so he immediately patted him on the shoulder and said seriously:
"I don't mean to be sarcastic, not knowing this doesn't mean ignorance, it just means that your elders think you don't need to understand at all. In fact, I envy the kind of life you live, and I hope that my future children will be just as carefree as you, and have been working hard for it, even if it costs my life!"
Boone revealed his true feelings, speaking to the hearts of most fathers. All parents want to leave the best for the next generation, with rare exceptions.
"So, let's go quickly, if it really doesn't work, I still have a lot of anti-radiation agents and raditenins on my side. β
Ling Qi didn't have time to sigh anything, he directly took out a large box of tubular potions and a few plates of solid capsules from his arms as if by magic.
Boone nodded, and took the lead and began to hurry. Seeing that the atmosphere of the team was depressed, the fat man didn't dare to complain.
"Lynch, do you still have injection-X and strong treatment needles over there?"
Walking on the road, Boone suddenly asked.
"There are still a few, but not much. β
Ling Qi replied casually, not lying.
Injection-X is an analgesic, similar to morphine and cocaine before the war, which are drugs. It's even more addictive than "Jett" and "Crazy Drugs".
Therefore, there have never been many injections-X in the outstream. Regular medical institutions don't want this to go out and harm people, and supplies such as analgesics will never be enough in such a world. As for some people with ulterior motives, they want to hoard Juqi, and they are even more reluctant to flow these scarce goods into the market in large quantities.
The powerful treatment needle is the so-called super treatment needle, this thing is more of a strategic material, the market price is eight to ten times that of ordinary treatment needles, Ling Qi has searched so many places, and there are only six in his hands.
"That's good. β
Boone muttered, and it looked as if he could make something great out of them.
Ling Qi thought for a moment, and secretly said that he had picked up a treasure this time.
This scout not only has terrifying marksmanship, but also has a good repair and production ability, but he also knows some medical skills.
If you can get all of this...
In the afternoon, when the sky was a little overcast, even the reincarnators could feel the oppressive smell of the mountain rain coming, and everyone finally saw seven or eight shacks made of iron sheets in front of a broken viaduct.
"This is the rest stop?"
Ling Qi looked at the low shack in amazement, and secretly said that Kara's expression at this time must be very exciting.
Boone didn't feel that it was shabby, but showed a hint of joy.
As the group approached, Ling Qi was stunned to find that the people here were even more "enthusiastic" than the ignorant townspeople of Novak.
Six or seven poorly dressed people who looked like wasteland scavengers, all of them shivering at them with "burning sticks" in their hands...
Boom! Boom!
Godzilla's footsteps made several people suddenly understand what these guys were wary of and fearing.
It turned out that it was their "little buddy" who scared people.
The condescending Kara pursed her lips with some disdain, and was a little nervous and excited. She felt like a queen patrolling her territory, when she was suddenly confronted by a rioting group of peasants, some of which were like the fragments of an epic story.
After a few days of getting along with this hideous-looking monster with a very "gentle" personality, even Kara is not afraid of it, but has some trust and affection.
Especially when Godzilla changes towards the image of the deathclaw, the fishy face on its body tends to be almost nothing, and there is a natural smell of loess mixed with grass on the surface of the body.
Ling Qi only felt that this change was very good, of course he wouldn't know that this was the housekeeping skill of the death claw, and the aura was hidden!
As a hunter who is really at the top of the food chain, if you can't even hide your body odor, it's called incompetence.
Even some mutant deathclaws, obviously two or three stories tall, run silently, they are ghost assassins in the night!
"Ahem..."
Seeing that a misunderstanding is about to erupt, Boone is in time to show that they have no ill intentions.
Of course, he didn't feel the need for them to back down, and he wouldn't let the pet leave in order to appease people.
At this moment, in his heart, this mutant deathclaw that had carried Kara for three or four days was definitely much more reliable than those wasteland scavengers who didn't know the roots. At least he's sure it has some wisdom to distinguish between its own and its enemies, and the scavengers...
He wished he could keep it by his side and let it follow Kara, that would be reassuring.
"Boone!! you're the !!"
Before Boone could speak, the curtain of a shack behind a few stragglers was suddenly lifted, revealing an uncle-level man with a gun behind him.
"Huh~Samuel! It's you!"
Boone, it seems, was even more surprised than the uncle.
"Okay~Okay~ It's all friends! A misunderstanding! It's all gone~ Boone has been in the NRC's reconnaissance camp, and with your rotten guns, you can deal with that big~ big guy!"
The middle-aged man began to play a round game, and it could be seen that he trusted Boone very much, and of course it was not ruled out that he was talking about people. With a few high hats, even if you were going to rob it, you might be embarrassed.
He still looked scared of Godzilla, and didn't dare to approach the monster ten meters at all, but waited for Boone to walk over before he hugged him warmly.
Those people did not disperse as he said, it seems that they were not his men, most of them were scavengers who gathered from the surrounding area when they saw that it was going to rain.
Some of these people stared at Kara and Liu Yun on Godzilla's shoulders, their eyes were filled with fear and greed.
There were also people who swept over Ling Qi thoughtfully and quietly put away their weapons!
Seeing that those people didn't give themselves face at all, Samuel, who was the owner of this place, just wanted to ask his old friend about the situation, his face suddenly sank.
"Bump!"
"Bump!"
Two voices sounded almost at the same time, followed by two screams of pain, and there were already two scavengers who were staring directly at Kara and the two, and their saliva was almost dripping, clutching their stomachs and falling!
"So fast!"
Ling Qi's movements made the eyelids of those around him who were hostile to him and tried to test him jump.
"Beautiful!"
It was another young girl who did it, a young girl who had come out of Samuel's tent, and flashed away!
"Veronica!"
The curtain behind her was lifted again, and out came another blonde girl, who looked older than her, but only eighteen or nineteen years old.
As soon as the girl appeared, she called out to her friend and stared straight at Boone.
"Brother Boone!!Is it really you?!"
"Millie?!"
Boone replied as if uncertain, and the girl had already sped past the crowd and ran to Boone's side, enthusiastically throwing herself into his arms.
Suddenly, the two men who were about to recount their old feelings became extremely embarrassed, and the condescending Kara's expression also changed, cloudy and overcast, like an iron-blooded officer who was thinking about how to punish the errant soldier.
Ling Qi didn't care about the gossip, Xiao looked at the girl who did it with interest, he saw the epitome of Antoreel from her, the same pure.
It's just that she's sunnier, simpler, and more violent!
Syllable!
The silver power boots stomped on the head of one of the scavengers, and the others turned back one after another when they saw this, but they didn't see it, and they scattered faster than they gathered!
"Don't you know that it's rude to stare at a lady like that?"
The scavenger who had been punched in the stomach and had been stamped on his head again, and had almost fainted in pain, had not yet answered.
Ling Qi had already slowly walked to his side, kicking the other scavenger a few meters away.
"I think so too, it's nice to meet you, beautiful girl. My name is Lynch, and some people call me Deathclaw Knight!"