After a few words with Elder Billings, Andy found that the old elder was very talkative and knowledgeable, and that the things that others did not know or dared to say came out of him in just a few words.

"We're actually running out of it."

Elder Billings opened the conversation bluntly.

"You said you came to seek peace, and I really can't ask for it, and I'm sure most of us are too, and you wonder why we suddenly stopped attacking for more than a year."

Andy hesitated for a moment, but still said what happened not long ago.

"In fact, just a few days ago, a group of militants with similar equipment to your use attacked the Hoover Dam, and there have been rumors of caravans being attacked by you from now until a year ago..."

Elder Billings' face froze.

"How.... How is that possible? Elder Blixley had already given the order a year ago to cease all offensive activity, because of what was happening one after another, and so on..."

Something suddenly occurred to him.

"Well, I'm not being strict about what I'm saying, because now our branch is essentially divided, and a group of people have left here, and we don't know what they've done since then."

Andy nodded, which was understandable, as Pierre's previous speculation had also mentioned that there was a serious problem within the Brotherhood of Steel, which was most likely accompanied by a loss of command and a split in the group.

"Can you tell me more about that... Is this part divisive? ”

Elder Billings scratched his head in a headache.

"Ah, I can tell you what you want to hear, why is there any need to keep this kind of thing hidden? Then listen well to the child: a little over a year ago, an argument broke out between our chief scribe and a good-tempered paladin. The root cause of the quarrel was the logistical pressure caused by the long-standing blockade of the Hoover Dam by expatriate troops, and the chief scribe felt that the scribes were overwhelmed. ”

"They need to repair all their equipment and replenish ammunition as quickly as possible after each knight returns, the replacement parts in Fort Maxson are becoming more and more scarce, and it is becoming more and more difficult to maintain those equipment after long-term use and repeated damage, but the knights don't care at all, they only know that complaining about the efficiency of the scribes interferes with their offensive plans, and even later the scribes will be scolded by the knights for the slightest problem they do, day after day, day after day, This kind of anger that has accumulated over a long period of time is by no means easy to quell. ”

"Behind this conflict is the emotional dry wood accumulated by the two sides in years of hard fighting, so the quarrel quickly got out of control, the paladin arrogantly believed that they were the core of the Iron Brotherhood who mastered the force, and the scribes didn't really matter at all, they were destined to be the knight's henchmen, or even just a moving pre-war technology."

"Of course, this kind of statement trampled on all the efforts and hearts of the scribes for a long time, but Elder Blixley failed to mediate the two sides at the first time, and she still hoped that the scribes would be more patient, and this favoritism led to the knights, who had become extremely rude because of the disadvantage of fighting again, chose to directly use invincing and violence to forcibly suppress the dissatisfaction of the scribes, and the wrong choice certainly yielded bad results."

When Andy heard this, he thought of Pierre, who had walked far away to the Hoover Dam, and immediately understood the next progress.

"I guess the scribes left?"

Elder Billings nodded, then added with a mischievous expression.

"If it were me, I also ran, working like a two-headed cow every day, and the treatment in exchange may not be as good as the two-headed cow, and the bastards will scold when they open their mouths, and if they can't scold, they will raise their guns, you can talk about it.... Does that sound like a word? If it's a big deal, don't you do it! ”

He recounted what happened next with pompous expressions and movements.

"All the complicated facilities here are as simple as children's toys to the scribes, and the chief scribe must have gathered all the scribes, and then secretly opened the door that night, and swished.... All the scribes ran into the wasteland and disappeared, which even caused a chain reaction, and many of the weak-willed recruits followed. ”

By the time the knights found out, it was too late, and they had intercepted the scattered deserters, and it was proposed that they should be shot, but what was the point? Not a single one of the scribes was left. Oh.... It would be inaccurate to say that, there is only one left, poor Davis. And then what? Everyone was dumbfounded, there were no more maintainers for the various facilities at Fort Maxson, and the knights were staring at the power armor of the power servo with broken laser rifles, only to realize that they were nothing without the help of the scribes. ”

Elder Billings stuck out his tongue.

"It's a pity that you can't see the stupid looks of those fools with your own eyes, just two words, you deserve it, hahaha."

Andy laughed too, but he also had some doubts in his heart.

"But isn't this collective escape also damaging the Brotherhood's strategic plans and weakening its power? Why are you so happy? ”

Elder Billings smiled.

"What strategic plan? Oh, what do you mean by our strategic plan to blockade the Hoover Dam, use the siege strategy to collapse the NcRs stationed there, and then take the Hoover Dam for ourselves? I don't like that strategy, not at all, so I'd rather it be destroyed, I'd rather see our power weakened, I'd rather see the bitter scribes who have been oppressed all day long rise up and resist, even in this negative way, they don't deserve to be treated like this. They must convince the arrogant knights that the Brotherhood is a united whole, and that whoever breaks the unity of this unity will be punished. ”

"Everyone is equal in this group, whether it is a knight or a scribe, they are all indispensable, and without whomever there will be no brotherhood."

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something, and his expression darkened slightly.

"As I get old, my heart has become sentimental, when I was young, I could say that I killed people without blinking, even if I slaughtered a settlement in order to seize an important pre-war technology, I would not close my eyes, just read the code of law and recite the prayers in it, and my heart would be at peace, because at that time I was sincerely willing to fight to the death for the Brotherhood, this belief is very simple."

"But then what? I'm learning more and more things, and the world is complicated.... It was far from being as simple as I thought when I was younger, and my faith was shaken by it... In order to find out, I signed up to be part of the expedition. I've seen countless things and countless people along the way, and I just noticed a lot of things that I hadn't noticed in the Lost Mountains, and it was true that pre-war technology could cause great damage to the world when it got out of control, but would it be better to lock them all up? No... That is a fear of resisting the progress of civilization, and it is foolish. ”

"And if we think that there is no one in the world other than us that can be trusted to use pre-war technology, it is not just stupidity, but arrogance that is more terrible than stupidity."

Andy looked at Elder Billings in surprise, and the people passing by around him didn't react to what he said.

"Elder Billings.... Isn't there anyone here who strongly disagrees with what you say? ”

Elder Billings laughed.

"In the past, there were, they always took words out of context from the well-cooked laws they memorized, and then used them to attack me, oh? It's scary, but this is not the Lost Mountain, Elder Blixley and I are close friends, we have both saved each other's lives several times on the way here, how can those young people who were sent here by the Lost Mountain later understand how deep this sincere affection is? They don't understand, so they can't understand others, and they will never be able to reconcile with others. ”

Andy listened with some fascination, but the four words reminded him of something he hadn't said before.

"So, have you ever heard of the Ring of Steel?"

Elder Billings was stunned for a moment, and after a long pause, he asked where Andy had learned the word.

"From a... In the mouth of the Assassin. ”

This answer made Elder Billings look complicated.

"The Ring of Steel.... Ring of Steel.... We used to think that this group of people was a legend, but then we learned that they did exist. After the Scribes fled en masse, Elder Blixley was exhausted and ordered the Brotherhood of Steel to halt all attacks on Hoover Dam and the surrounding traveling caravans indefinitely, a decision that was strongly opposed by a group of radicals, who even left Fort Maxson with a shipment of equipment. Before they left, they pulled out some documents with the seal of the Council of Elders of the Lost Mountain in an attempt to seize command, but they failed, and those documents confirmed their true identity as the Ring of Steel. ”

"These people are a bunch of nasty ghosts, and now that it's certain that they exist, some of the rumors that have been circulating in the past may be true. It is said that the members of the Circle of Steel conceal their identities and lurk among the various groups of the Brotherhood of Steel, collecting and listening to various information day and night, actively reporting any possible instability to the Council of Elders, and will also be responsible for carrying out the assassination of traitors. This kind of assassination is endless, and once it is targeted by a Ring of Steel Assassin, it is useless to run far. ”

"Now it seems that there is such a proportion of Iron Ring members in the reinforcements sent by the Lost Mountain Headquarters in the later stage, and the Council of Elders does not seem to be as relieved as they are about our small branch in the far east."

Andy now understands what is going on with those small Brotherhood of Steel that has been moving for a long time.

"So... What does Fort McSson think of the Ring of Steel? ”

Elder Billings spat out a brief assessment.

"Traitor."

His face turned serious.

"We spit on them, and in the event that we have cut off our connection with the Lost Mountain Headquarters, Elder Blixley is the supreme head of the branch by the Council of Elders' final official appointment. In addition, according to the relevant provisions of the Code, disobeying the orders of superiors and overstepping commands are felonies punishable by deprivation of position. The documents they took out were of no use, and nothing they said could hide that their flagrant disobedience to Elder Blixley's orders and leaving Fort Maxson with weapons and equipment without permission was a defection! ”

Elder Billings looked at Andy earnestly and made a gesture.

"We're sorry they're still attacking, but they're out of our control...."

A heavy footstep came from the side, and Elder Disson, who was wearing power armor, stood beside Andy a little helplessly.

"Elder Billings, you shouldn't tell an outsider about these things."

He ignored the other man's laughter and turned to beckon Andy to cheer up.

"You can really run, and you almost have to walk around Fort Maxson without looking at you for a while, huh? Come with me, and I'll show you the room I've prepared for you, it's one of the few people in our place who can live in a luxury suite, and you're going to love it, and you're going to have to stay there for a while. ”

The two of them then walked one after the other to a single suite on this level, and then Elder Dyson pointed to the small narrow room in front of him and motioned for Andy to enter.

"This is the room that has been assigned to you for the time being, and the elders need to discuss you further, besides, didn't you say that you had a letter from Joseph Dodge on you?" Leave it to me, this might help you. ”

Andy took out the letter and handed it to him, Elder Dison put it away, and as soon as he raised his hand, two Brotherhood of Steel knights in power armor came over and rudely pushed Andy into the cramped room, then pulled an iron fence door over and locked it, and the two turned around and began to stand guard in silence after everything was done.

“................”

Pushed into the room without resistance by the terrifying power of the power armor, Andy looked at the iron fence in front of him, and suddenly realized that he was imprisoned, where is this the "luxury suite" assigned to him, this is clearly a prison...

"Hey! What are you doing here? ”

Andy stretched his arm out of the crack in the fence and shouted hello, and the Brotherhood of Steel knights on guard sneered back.

"Civilians, be silent! What are you afraid of? At least we haven't emptied you of everything you shouldn't have, and it's not surprising that the elders seem to have some disagreements about what to do with you. You're locked up here now and you can only blame yourself for running around, do you think this is your home? Now you have plenty of time to think about life to your heart's content, haha. ”

Andy's face twitched, he didn't expect him to be a prisoner again.