Volume 3 Subway II Chapter 6 The Price Under Conditions
No matter who the leader was, no matter how wise he was, what they wanted was simple, a place for them to eat, live and rest for a long time, and the other party offered them a condition that they could never refuse. "We have a condition....... After a long discussion, the middle-aged man named Navi stood up, he swallowed, he cautiously looked at Mr. One, who was dressed in mysterious clothes, "If you are willing to help us fix the train and help us bring back the rest of the people who are still in our hometown, our comrades-in-arms are still fighting there, and our relatives are also struggling there to rescue them, we will join you." ”
"You want too much," Natalia frowned, "how can we help you bring back other people, I don't even know where these people of yours are?" ”
Navi let out an inexplicable sneer, "In Blovinis in the Far East, the town of Harbour House. ”
She didn't quite understand what the Far East was, but Mr. One had already given her a map of the world. The entire surface land of Tomorrow's planet is composed of an extremely large supercontinent, a small island continent, and countless small islands, and the city of a thousand rivers where they are located is located in the central and western part of the continent, close to the junction of three rivers in an inland sea. And in the Far East, Blovinis, the town he called the home of the harbour, struggled to move her gaze back and forth, and finally found it along the Central Railway, in a coastal lowland in the northeast.......
2,100 kilometers, and my mother kindly provided the mileage of the railway between the two places......... She stared at these strangers in exile with wide eyes, and couldn't imagine that they had traveled more than 2,000 kilometers to come here, and there was no other suitable place to settle down on the way!? "You want us to travel 2,000 kilometers to help you rescue a group of strangers with few resources?" This contemptuous and almost mean tone was not from her, but from Anya behind her, "What do you take us for?" Fool? Or an idiot? She at least said what she wanted to say, and for the first time in her heart, Nata agreed with Anya, "We can't do it." She was slightly regretful.
Their refusal turned the faces of the hopeful stranger exiles, and their leader coughed incessantly, as if he had choked on something he couldn't say.
"There are my children there," one mother tried to defend in vain, "she is only five years old and is waiting with her dad for us to find the right place, and we can't give up on them." Another woman hugged her dazed young child tightly, but slightly away from the crowd, clearly intending to stay.
People will always subconsciously divide into groups, choose people who share their own philosophy, and then hide behind them, and this is exactly what these fifty wanderers are doing right now. They were divided into two teams, one followed by the gray-haired middle-aged man, and the other team, in addition to the eight strangers that people had to watch out for, there were also many parents with children, the elderly, and relatives who were wounded lying on the sickbed and unable to move.
Natalia thought they would go their separate ways, but Mr. One gave him a suggestion, "We need their train, Miss Natalia," his voice was so secret and obscure that no one could hear it, "this is an opportunity, in the distance, there is something we want." ”
"More than 2,000 kilometers is too far," Nata complained, "it must be a dangerous journey, and I doubt that anyone who goes there will come back safely." Besides, who should we send? "Mr. Summer took Mr. Five and some of the people with him, and now the base is still running, and the factory is still open, all thanks to the sleepless work of the dozen or so remaining Mr. Number, whose insane and efficient hard work has surprised her, and sent a few Mr. Number to that ...... Blovinis, she didn't think it was worth the risk.
Suddenly, the communicator on her wrist vibrate, and it reminded her that it was Mr. Summer's call, she hurriedly pressed the button, and the miniature hologram projected Mr. Summer's half-body head from the screen on her wrist into the air, and he nodded at her lightly, "Leave the rest to me." "He seemed to know everything.
Natalia nodded obediently, unconsciously happy for the long-lost reconstruction.
Summer looked at the new stranger, "I'm the person in charge here, Summer," his tone was unusually concise, "I've listened to my friends about your opinions, and we've agreed to help you bring your comrades and relatives over, and the Dawning Base welcomes every new member, whether it's from your Blovinis, or the Sunrise Land (island-type continent) in the far east, or the nearby Jade Sea Islands, or the Rexia Islands in the south, and I don't mind if he's a Terbium, Sennard, or Redblood, As long as they are willing to accept us, we are happy to help them solve all their problems. ”
His words were pleasing enough that they obviously didn't expect him to be so talkative, until that "but".
"But.......," Summer said lightly, "the ablest of you, must accompany us to the Harbour House. ”
"That's nature," the middle-aged uncle nodded as a matter of course, and he swore an oath, "without us, you might not have been able to safely pass through the more than 2,000-kilometer railway journey, and we have encountered many terrible things to end up here." ”
"And ......," he said unfinished to them, "you must leave at least two-thirds of your men here to ensure the safe return of my members, and all those who travel to Blovinis must leave behind their relatives." “
The exiles of the Train Gang looked at each other and talked for a while, before Uncle Navi stepped forward and responded, "Sir, we agree to your terms. “
"I hope you don't bother me," Summer glanced at the men with those eyes, "one last condition. ”
"Too much," someone wanted to retort.
"Then there's nothing to talk about," his words were light and thin, but they made people feel only a slight chill, and no one dared to answer him for a while.
"We're going to the Aral Sea Mountains, and after picking up your people, we're going to borrow your train to do something there, don't worry, it's only an hour at most." The Aral Sea Mountains are more than 700 kilometers east of Blovinis, in the middle of which is the Aral Sea wasteland, and it only takes three to four days for the "Dawn" train to go back and forth, but it is really a desolate place, the Aral Sea itself is a depleted Dead Sea, and a military base built here has been bombarded by nuclear bombs, and the Aral Sea has long been turned into a world of dry bones and highly toxic radiation, lifeless. They had never heard of living people in the land of the Aral Sea in Brovinis, so why did these people go!? Despite their doubts, they could not refuse the conditions of the summer.
Another noisy discussion, and it was sharper, more intense, and even almost fought.
"We also have the conditions to ......."
"I won't say no if it's reasonable," Summer looked at him with those black and white eyes, "but don't expect me to do charity." ”
Finally, the middle-aged man who unified the opinions of the other exiles, the guy named Navi, stepped forward and stared at him, "We need hostages too, that girl, the deal should be equal, isn't it!?" We and your soldiers will keep her safe," the direction his finger was pointing at Nata, why did they want me? Nata looked up at Summer, she opened her mouth.
"Is it okay to change someone?" Summer looked at Nata in confusion, "Or something?" Bullet? Drugs? More food? ”
"Is there something that is more important than your life? "Sir," the middle-aged man did not seem to intend to back down, "you leave my most important son, my beloved wife, my comrades-in-arms, and their relatives, and I love them more than myself, and in return I will naturally take away those you trust, I think, this is not entirely unreasonable condition, is it?" ”
"You made it difficult for me," Mr. Summer scratched his chin, "Nata, it's up to you," and then he disappeared, and that's it....... Missing.
Natalia looked at the communicator like a lightning strike, and didn't know what to do for a while?
"Miss Natalia, according to the safety management regulations," Mr. One's soft voice suddenly appeared in her head, "Any terrorists who have the intent to harm and restrain the top and acting heads of the base, we should be put on trial," his voice was brisk and gentle, "give the order, Mother will remove these people on the spot, and there will be no one left." ”
Purge....... When Nata first heard the words, she almost thought she had just misheard, "We're going to kill them all?" Her heart seemed to stop suddenly, "Why?" ”
"We need their train," One explained, after a moment of silence, "and that's about the safety of our Dawning base, and it's about Mr. Summer's career." ”
He mentions Mr. Summer, which makes Natalia even more confused, but can this train really have anything to do with his career!? Or is there something in the Aral Mountains that affects the Dawn base? Is that thing important!?
"Do you have to kill them?" She questioned in a low voice, her mind wandering.
One nodded, "We took their train, which means they won't be able to return home, and it means that we indirectly murdered their relatives who are still in their homeland, Miss Natalia, do you expect them to be gentle and loyal because of the mercy of our men?" Of course, for the sake of your mercy, we can let the men go into the mines as miners and the women as prostitutes, and I think that's a good idea. ”
Prostitution, hard labor, and death? This is really a good idea, Mr. One's words made her creeps, no wonder Mr. Summer was reluctant to let him act as an agent for the base....... She squirmed her lips as she thought of Mr. Summer's words, "Nata, it's up to you," and he let me decide, not One. Is it testing me? Or do you have other intentions. Why did Mr. Summer say that?
The other side was already on the move, and they gradually saw her silence as a breakdown in the negotiations.
Some people have begun to pack their things restlessly, and many more are reluctant to do so, wanting to stay here, but unable to abandon the middle-aged man who has been leading them. This probably means that he is likely to be respected, and most of such a person will have no other agendas, not to mention that there are other gentlemen with me by his side, what am I worried about?
She swallowed hard, "I agree to your terms," she said.
"Thank you," the middle-aged man stepped forward to give her a hug, but was unfortunately stopped by Mr. One, "We will arrange a suitable place for you," Mr. One said gently, "You also choose a few people you think are suitable to travel, and No. 4 will accompany you." ”
His words surprised Natalia even more, Number Four is the gatepost guarding the base, his inhuman strength is impressive, if he is dispatched, "the safety of the base ......."
"It's not as important as your safety........," Mr. One whispered, "Not to mention, we still have a mother." ”
"Mother......." she finally remembered, "Mother" can handle everything in the base, she has always been omnipotent, and now, there are only those eight people left to deal with.