"So, interested in finding out?" Pierre stood there with his hands behind his back, his face slightly raised and a slight smile.

The three people standing across from him looked at each other a few times, and finally Andy sighed and chose to accept.

"Well, I want your explanation to be as detailed as possible, or we'll be suspicious." Pierre nodded seriously, and then beckoned Andy and the others to follow him, they turned left and right under the leadership of Pierre, and finally came to a room inside the engineering department, as soon as they entered this room, the thriving plants in it attracted the attention of Andy and the others.

These plants are not placed in the soil, they are actually hydroponic crops, and the roots are soaked in some liquid filled with a special color.

"These are the projects I am working on recently, and all the crops have been improved and selected by me, and it is quite difficult to achieve the results that I have today." Pierre proudly explained the uniqueness of these plants to several people.

"Have you ever imagined where the food that the residents of Hoover Dam City eat every day comes from? Do you rely only on the cheap food that the Crimson caravans brought back through trade with the natives of the east? That would certainly be far from satisfying everyone's needs, and if it weren't for me and a skilled farmer in the heart of the city to produce self-sustaining food for the Hoover Dam, the people here might have fled or even eaten people. Andy looked at Mark as he heard this.

"I also thought it was strange before, the food brought back by the Crimson caravan and other scavengers should not be enough for everyone, so Hoover Dam City actually has its own fields? But the area was full of unsuitable valleys, and there was no case of tenant farmers going out to farm. Mark pushed his glasses.

"You didn't ask about it before, did you? As far as I know, the city of Hoover Dam is produced somewhere in the Heartland, and the person in charge is known as Dave, the farmer. Pierre, holding a strange plant with golden ears in one hand, continued his story.

"Yes, yes, Dave, farmer. There are a lot of people here who don't even know that there is such a person in Hoover Dam City, and even if they do, they don't think he's an important person. But it's a foolish idea, and without this man who loves farming and is dedicated to farming, the inhabitants of Hoover Dam would be forced to choose between risking their way out into the wasteland to forage for food and buying the Crimson caravan at a high price, and the drinks that are in short supply won't exist. ”

"Maybe this man a few years younger than me is otherwise mediocre, but when it comes to talking about growing things, he talks about it and seems to be very experienced, and I can say that I am ashamed of it. I had a long conversation with him about the food security of the Hoover Dam, and if the Hoover Dam is to remain stable for a long time, it must be able to produce a steady output of basic goods, in short, food and water. ”

"It was Otto who found Otto, because at that time he had a certain reputation for helping people repair things in the central area, and I went to see him myself and believed that although he didn't look great on the outside, he was a very skilled and versatile mechanical maintenance person on the inside. I told him that the city of Hoover Dam needed a worker who could maintain the water purification facilities all year round, and he happily agreed, not even asking for wages. Andy knew why, and Otto had previously explained that it was to repay Mayor Dodger for saving his life.

Pierre put down the plant in his hand and walked back to Andy and the others.

"After the water problem was solved for a while, I had to start thinking seriously about food. As you know, there is no good land around here, except for the desert in the west and the valley, and the east is basically the same.... Maybe one day the NcR will be able to build a pipeline from the Hoover Dam to the outside to help them keep the fields farther afield for harvesting, but it definitely won't work now, and I have to think about how to make enough food in the Hoover Dam in this square inch of land. ”

"I couldn't even find the right soil to cultivate, so I tried grinding the rocks of the Black Canyon to make sand, but even the tough Blade Valley couldn't grow well in something so barren and extremely hard. To solve this problem, I am constantly trying to optimize a stronger crop variety that I hope will take root and produce as much food as possible in thin and nutrient-deprived soil and not-so-clean water. ”

"I succeeded, and what you see before your eyes is my fruit - magic wheat." He stretched out his hands to his sides, the crops around him were alive, and heavy ears of wheat hung low.

Andy couldn't help but applaud, and Mark also praised, what Pierre did was indeed a great thing, it turned out that the bread and mush that the poor could afford came from here.... Pierre pressed his hands down to indicate that it was okay, coughed slightly, and continued to describe his needs.

"Okay okay, all in all, I found Farmer Dave later and he came up with an idea, at the top of the central area... The flat concrete platform on which the Hoover Dam engine house was roofed to build a farm. This was a good choice for the geographical security of our farmland, and it did not occupy too much of the already crowded space, but over time, the farm's output gradually failed to keep up with the demand for the Hoover Dam. ”

"The population of Hoover Dam City has been increasing, and the subsequent bad effects caused by the bankruptcy of the NcR Eastward Movement have intensified, and the soldiers stationed everywhere and the immigrants who used to live in certain settlements in the east have returned to Hoover Dam City, and every terrible thing that has happened has made them more afraid of the East, and everyone is piling up at Hoover Dam, not wanting to go to the East and not going back to the West."

"The farm is not big enough, we need to expand it." Andy scratched his head, feeling a little overwhelmed.

"How can I help?" Pierre sighed.

"Oh, I'm sure I made that clear, okay? Since the NcR was unable to build a water pipe system to carry irrigation water or protect important targets far from the city of Hoover Dam, I had to work inside the Hoover Dam. If you want to scale, you have to find the right space, and you know the problem is that there isn't that much right space inside the Hoover Dam right now. Andy objected.

"When I was wandering around the center of the city, I saw a place at the end of the east side where there was no one at all, and couldn't we expand a new farm there?" Pierre shrugged, his words revealing a hint of contempt.

"Yes, yes.... But you have to think clearly, if there is no separation between the farm and the central area, there will be a lot of people who are trying to get something for nothing. I also know that there is a vacant lot in the eastern part of the central area, but there is too much garbage and ... I don't want to say filth, I don't want the food that supplies the entire Hoover Dam to be produced in that kind of place. Andy thinks back to what he had seen and heard when he caught the toads, and it wouldn't be nice if the hydroponic farm was set up there to keep the food from the smell of excrement or swill.

"So, you've got the right place to choose a new farm, right? Just need someone to do some cleaning? Pierre snapped his fingers.

"That's right! Now that you've got that, I might as well say it straight, do you know how many layers the Hoover Dam is into? ”

"I only know about the crest area outside and the central area below, and I heard that there is still room further down, but I don't know much about it."

In this way, in fact, most people are like you, thinking that Hoover Dam City is only divided into inner and outer cities or upper and lower cities, and that the upper and lower people, such as politicians, soldiers, scientists, and wealthy businessmen, live on the top of the dam, while the poor people such as laborers, small traders, and the unemployed live in the central area, but in fact, this is not the case.... There are other spaces deeper below the central area. Pierre held out a finger and pointed downward.

"Under the feet of the two of us, deeper than the center, the Hoover Dam is already below the water, and there is still a space at the bottom of the building, according to pre-war standards, we should call it the Hoover Dam Utility Corridor Area, and you should be able to understand what is in there... Now, we call it the baseline zone. ”

"Below the baseline zone, deeper down, there's still a piece of space.... It is not known why there are so many pollutants there, so it is called a slag pit. I consulted with Farmer Dave and came up with the most suitable place to open up a new hydroponic farm is this area, my improved magic wheat can easily adapt to the harsh environment there, and we can clean the deepest part of the Hoover Dam to clean up the dirt and dirt, and the location of this untouched place will not affect anyone, don't you think it's the perfect choice? Andy nodded in agreement, but at the same time he was skeptical.

"If it's the perfect choice, why wait for me to help you do it? You also said that there are a lot of pollutants in the slag pit, could it be that you are hiring someone to help you clean up the waste? Pierre waved his hand.

"No, no, no... Isn't that overkill? I know what you're best at is solving problems in the most direct way, and cleaning up waste is a small task that robots or workers can do, but first and foremost make sure that the environment is safe and the conditions are right, right? Andy listened, and his doubts were even heavier.

"The entire Hoover Dam is NcR soldiers, isn't that what they specialize in? Why not go to them? Pierre smiled bitterly.

"I've thought of everything you can think of, before you, there were already two groups of NcR soldiers who entered the slag pit to carry out reconnaissance work, and it's a pity that they are all gone.... The reason for the accident is therefore not clear. You have to know that the slag pit is under the baseline area, and if you want to go down, you have to go through the baseline area first, but according to the Dodge mayor and those caves at the time.... The Albinos signed a treaty in which the baseline zone is their territory, so their consent is required to go down to the slag pit through there. ”

"But those guys are very rude, and if there are too many people, they will think that we are trying to take advantage of it, so the number of both groups is not very large, and this is the root of the tragic end that followed. I also have a suggestion to simply use force to coerce those guys to agree that we send more soldiers to the scum pit to complete the mission, after all, those albinos seem to have drunk too much dirty water, their minds are full of concrete, and they can't listen to the slightest word. ”

"But in order to prevent the internal problems from detonating in the face of the serious situation outside, and not wanting to lose scarce manpower, Mayor Dodge ignored my proposal after that.... I'll have to figure it out on my own, maybe hire some good people to go down and see how troublesome it is. Could it be that the scum pit is a hellish scene? Andy thought about it, and then thought of a key.

"You also said that if you want to go down to the slag pit, you have to go through the baseline zone first, but the baseline zone is the territory of those rude albino people, will they let us through?" Pierre tilted his head, his eyes wandering.

"Oh.... Well, what you're talking about is really an important thing. I heard that the first two groups of people had a bad time passing through the territory of those barbarians, and the NcR soldiers and the albinos were on the verge of fighting at one point, and now they are probably even worse than then, but.... That's the beauty of the problem, isn't it? How to solve this problem is something you need to think about. ”