Facing the darkness illuminated by a few dim light bulbs, Andy walked to the top of the Hoover Dam. There is a lot of garbage scattered on the ground, and it looks like no one has cleaned it up for a long time, or maybe because the so-called garbage dump is the river next to it, so no one cares about it.

The side of the dam crest near the river on the north side is erected with high barbed wire, and there is even electricity on it, and some signs can be seen everywhere, such as: Danger of electricity, Do not approach, Beware... And so on, so the shacks on the crest of the dam were not built on the side near the barbed wire, and everyone chose to live and operate on the side near the south side.

He observed for a while, and many people entered the shop and did not come out again, but the room must have enough room for very few people, so he looked closer, and found that some of the tin huts had a downward passage.

Andy turned on the beep boy and came to the edge of the dam crest to look down, and with the help of the light, he saw that there was still a frontal dam on the south side of the Hoover Dam

"Hanging" are a number of wasteland-style metal shacks, which seem to have been built with tools that cut small holes in the concrete dam and then used them to fix them, creating structures that look like they are attached to the cliffs.

The buildings are connected to each other by metal plank roads, which can be passed up and down or horizontally, and the bottom building has reached the middle of the dam.

Many of the tin huts had no lighting at all, so they couldn't notice it when they looked at it from a distance. There are also some shacks with lights on, which look like they are either inhabited or operated externally.

But living here is really a stressful thing, Andy looks at those tin houses that seem to roll down to the bottom of the dam in the next second in the wind, but anyone who pokes his head out of the window can directly see the bottom of the river valley at a depth of hundreds of meters, and it is impossible for anything to fall down.

The inhabitants of the wasteland have actively carved out the living space with limited space at the top of the dam, but this development is a bit too thrilling.

He continued to walk east at the top of the dam, and a number of taverns appeared one after another, and people drank in a dull manner, looking depressed and hopeless.

They whispered about topics such as: When will the Brotherhood of Steel launch another attack?

Was the last riot an assassination? Does the fact that Mayor Dodge hasn't shown up for a long time mean the worst outcome?

Has the NcR of New California been completely wiped out by the Brotherhood of Steel? Are they the last NcR?

There is pessimism everywhere. There are some raunchy people roaming around the corner, and looking at their zombie-like movements, I am afraid they are all addicts.

Andy hesitated for a moment, then walked to the tin shack and found the owner and asked for a bottle of home-brewed beer and a side dish.

"25 caps." The lean bar owner handed out a dirty, pre-war beer bottle that looked like it had been picked up somewhere in the wasteland, from under the counter, and contained some slimy liquid.

In addition to that, it is a small dish of beans that look very average, and it seems to be a little moldy.....

"Hmm..... Is this bean bad? The boss rolled his eyes when he heard this.

"What's broken? This thing is the best in this state, and you just don't understand it at first glance, what? If you don't like it, you can have good food, but you'll have to pay me another 50 caps. Andy didn't think the beans were anything to eat, so he gave 50 bottle caps, and although he had a lot of food, he still wanted to taste the local specialties, and eating in such a place might take the opportunity to get some information.

The boss took away the moldy beans and replaced them with a plate of roasted meat. The taste smells sweet.

"It's the meat of the witch snake, and it tastes pretty good." After the boss explained, he stopped talking, just wiped the counter with the broken rag, and didn't know whether he was cleaning or making stains, and it didn't take long for someone to come to buy food, and if he didn't go outside to take a seat, he was afraid that he would have to stand or squat to eat.

The seats inside the shack were already full, and most of them were sitting outside at tables and chairs in the open air, and frankly it was not very comfortable to sit outside and eat outside now that the sun had set, but there were no good options.

Andy walked outside with meat and wine to look for a seat, and after some searching, he saw a place that was not filled.

A bearded man in a cowboy hat and a black trench coat sat at a small table drinking himself, and no one sat next to him.

He leaned over and gestured, the bearded man just smiled and nodded for him to sit on his own. Taking off the mask and goggles, Andy tasted the roasted witch snake meat, and unexpectedly the barbecue sauce on the surface of the meat was very tender and unusual, which fit the taste of the ingredients themselves, and the heat was also just right, and it could be said that the aftertaste was endless.

But the wine is terrible...... The cowboy hat beard seemed to be about to eat, and he was a little curious about Andy, watching Andy eat and drink with a sideways face.

It was a tall, middle-aged man with slender limbs, his face looked weather-beaten, he must have been an old waster who had been crawling in the wasteland for many years, his facial features looked angular and very deep, and his eyes were firm and full of emotion.

When such a person stares at him, Andy inevitably feels a little inexplicable and uncomfortable, and he can't help but breed a lot of speculation in his heart....

"Ahem, what's wrong?" Andy put down the unpalatable homebrew and looked at the cowboy hat next to him.

"I'm sure you're new to Hoover Dam City recently, and most likely for the first time.... But you don't look like a native, and if you're an NcR, there's no reason why I shouldn't be impressed by you, could it be that you're from Mojave's side from another direction? If you've ever been to Hoover Dam, I'll recognize you... Well, anyway you make me feel funny. He lifted his black cowboy hat, and the confidence in his words made Andy laugh dumbly.

"Dude, there is a sea of people coming and going at the Hoover Dam, how can you possibly have an impression of everyone?" Andy said, a stone suddenly fell to his heart, he had forgotten that he had undergone plastic surgery at the Great Dome at the beginning, and his face was already a little different from the beginning, and he didn't have to worry about people here recognizing his identity.

The cowboy hat shook his head.

"You.... Do you know who I am? I'm guessing you don't know. Andy looked at him curiously, as if he was going to introduce himself.

Sure enough, he touched his beard and slowly explained his situation.

"My name is Lady Ralph, don't get me wrong, my last name is human, so you can just call me Ralph. You see what I'm wearing, what do you think I'm doing? Andy then noticed the other party's attire, and when he looked closely, it actually looked like a sheriff common in most small settlements in the wasteland.

The sheriff is a special position, which is generally found in most settlements that have been survived by pre-war survivors, and is not only responsible for managing the law and order of the settlements and enacting and maintaining the laws of the settlements, but also actually holds positions such as town chiefs and village heads.

This is related to the inheritance of the cultural habits of the SA people before the war. The sheriff is often self-referred, because criminals, looters, liars, addicts, drug dealers, etc., inside and outside the settlement, will inevitably see the sheriff as a thorn in the flesh, and the years of life-and-death duels and never-ending vigilance are terrible things.

This requires not only that the sheriff have combat skills that surpass the level of ordinary wastelanders, but also that he has a heart of fire that never seems to be extinguished, and that he will always maintain tenacity and enthusiasm no matter what the situation and fatigue.

A standard sheriff wears a dark trench coat and a cowboy hat, and is always armed with his hand.

The man in front of him fits perfectly, no matter how you look at it.

"You're a sheriff.... Is the sheriff of Hoover Dam right? I thought there was no position left under the jurisdiction of the NcR. Andy suddenly realized, which also explains why there is no one sitting here, the sheriff is always feared and wary, and they are happy to be treated like this, after all, if the sheriff loses his majesty, nothing will happen.

Ralph smiled and explained why there was still a sheriff in Hoover Dam City.

"That's what I thought at first, with Mayor Dodge and the brave NcR soldiers, there was no need for a sheriff here, but Mayor Dodge said that the locals had to be used to govern the place. It just so happened that I was chosen. Andy reacted immediately to Ralph's words.

"So you say, was the Hoover Dam inhabited before NcR came here?" Ralph had a rightful look on his face.

"That's nature, where do you go to find such a good place to live? The buildings that remain here are sturdy, with water and electricity, so how can people turn a blind eye to them? But as you can see, the top of the dam is easy to attack and difficult to defend, and the villains from the west and east often come here to plunder, so the people who live here can't stay for a long time. ”

"I've been wandering in many places for a long time, I've done everything, mercenaries, bounty hunters, merchants..... But I've never been in one place for too long, I'm that kind of person, and I don't think any of those places can touch my soul and keep me. I've seen too many towns and cities survive in the wasteland, with no hope of continuing their existence...... But then I finally found my destined home. ”

"I arrived here at a time when the people here were miserable, and everything here touched me, so I stayed here to help them defend themselves against predators from all sides, and frankly it was difficult, and I could only do my best to protect everyone. Thankfully, just when I was about to lose my bearing, Mayor Dodge came with the soldiers, and they were warmly welcomed, and they did not fail us, and quickly dismissed the marauders who were operating around. ”