"This madman."

Major Fleming was walking back and forth in circles, his face full of anxiety.

A group of soldiers had been sent to the potholes to search for the C4 bombs that had been placed east of Hoover Dam, but since McClavday said she couldn't find them in an hour, she must have the confidence to say so.

Andy plays with the grenade launcher in his hand.

Pip-Boy told him that the name of the weapon was the M79 Grenade Launcher, and it looked almost like a shotgun in appearance, and the structure seemed to be simple, just a black and thick barrel and a brown wooden butt, with a metal connection structure between the two, which could be bent upwards to open the muzzle and manually fill a single 40mm grenade as ammunition.

"This madman!"

Major Fleming spun around like a repeating robot, muttering exactly the same words.

"It's useless to be anxious at this time.....

Andy slides the clip to unlock and opens the firing tube forward, and sees six spiral rifling lines on the inner wall, and the trigger retainer below can be turned left and right to one side, which seems to be convenient for the user to maintain normal use when the finger part is inconvenient.

The design of this thing is really ingenious, the overall structure is simple and means that the fault tolerance rate is high and the maintenance is convenient, its weight is about the same as a rifle, it can be carried by a single soldier, but it is a launcher that can shoot explosives, such as Alice McClofdy's two bodyguards blocked outside the roof room at that time, in the narrow corridor of the building, the grenade was not far away under the suppression of fire, and other heavy explosive weapons would kill a thousand enemies and lose eight hundred, this M79 filled the gap between the two, The firing distance and ammunition power are just right.

Major Fleming walked up to Andy with his hands behind his back and glanced at the grenade launcher in his hand.

"Isn't this a thump gun?"

Andy looked up and lifted the launcher in his hand.

"Is that what you call this thing?"

Major Fleming took it and played with it skillfully for a while, and seemed to have a lot of experience with the weapon.

"One of the most equipped equipment in the army, in addition to the old rifle, this thing is easy to use, its range is farther than a grenade and lighter than a mortar, that is, the ammunition is still too heavy for the soldier's load, if you bring too much, people will not be able to walk, if you bring too little, you will not shoot two rounds will become a burning stick, and then only pistols and daggers will be left to defend yourself."

"But when fighting those cans of the Brotherhood of Steel, this thing is really useful, they may have all kinds of heavy weapons with great firepower, but we can also assemble and form a makeshift artillery platoon, this thing can shoot a lot of ammunition, flares, incendiary bombs, dart bullets... It adapts to a variety of needs in various environments, but it can only be done single-shot after all, which is a pity. ”

While the two were chatting, Mayor Dodge in the room was engaged in a tense negotiation that he had never experienced.

At this time, the Dodge mayor frowned and sweated on his forehead, and it was no wonder that he was so nervous, if he had started the last gamble with Alice McClavdie in front of him, then this time the bet was the Hoover Dam City that he had built bit by bit, and even the entire NcR Eastern District Political Plan, the final result of the Eastward Movement, and the lives of a large number of soldiers and civilians living inside and outside the Hoover Dam.

McClofty sat in handcuffs in the chair across from him, with the transmitter on the table.

"How can you put that bomb off?"

Hearing that the explosion could happen in less than an hour, Mayor Dodge didn't want to talk nonsense, and said straight to the point, the Hoover Dam must not be destroyed, it would be a huge disaster, even if he managed to escape from the Hoover Dam with some remnants to make sure that he was not flooded, but that survival was only the survival of biological life. In other respects, he was undoubtedly "dead" even if he was alive, and as such, he could not let this happen in any way.

McClofty spread his hands and motioned for his handcuffs.

"I would like to make it clear at the outset that since this is the case, I am willing to gamble and lose, and I will not set foot in politics from now on, and I will not compete with you for the position of Speaker of the Hoover Dam City Council, and I have no objection to your continued role as Mayor of Hoover Dam. I hope you'll accept that the two of us take a step back, I know what you want to do with me, the treatment of those prisoners in Black Canyon Prison is really... It's a bit ugly. I can be investigated in any way, and I am willing to go to trial, but I want it all to be above board, and I hope that it is my lawyer who stands by my side and not a.... Jailers preparing to be sentenced. ”

Mayor Dodge's face softened slightly.

"So you don't really want to die with me? But you're now threatening me with the whole city of Hoover Dam! All the lives in this city have become bargaining chips in your hands, and what is the difference between your behavior and that of a terrorist? ”

McClofdie's two white hands shook together.

"Threatening you...? No, in fact I'm not just threatening you, did Fleming tell you? When he tried to arrest me, someone wanted to kill me directly, and you could guess who was behind the order. That kind of person is so despicable and ruthless, yesterday he could drink and talk about joy and today he will fall into the ground, and even want to seal his mouth in the most barbaric way, there is only one way to make him stop, and that is to make him feel a threat that can cover his head, and only then will he be afraid. ”

"The reason why things are as unseemly as they are now is because of you, respected Mayor Dodger, where did you hide those Rangers before? They weren't in my plan at all, I would have told everyone about the bomb in a safe place, and then I would have saved Hoover Dam with the push of a button once we had all agreed, but those rude Rangers nearly tore my clothes apart, and if their hands shook and broke the machine I managed to get from Dog City, the two of us should be able to spend the last of our days writing last words. ”

Mayor Dodge's eyes twitched from side to side a few times, and his heart flashed with the "he" in McCloftdie's mouth.

"The return of the Rangers who hunted down the remnants of the enclave at this time is indeed a gift from fate to me... But more importantly, who are you talking about? ”

McClofty smiled and shook his head in refusal.

"Can't you guess? Then I'll give you a hint, after the fall of Arashdburg, the mysteriously disappeared General Kolezinji took not a lot of personal soldiers, or even very few. There are still many soldiers in the two infantry battalions he brought from home that have not been transferred back home to suppress the riots, and they are still in the garrison at Hoover Dam today, aren't they? They don't seem to be of the same mind as you, do they? As for Major Fleming .... Oh, all I can say is that he doesn't like the soldiers very much, but you like that, don't you? ”

"This is the man who gave me access to that pit, he only thinks that the person I sent is raising evidence to bring you down, but my man is there to do more than he thinks, and it must be so that I can be sure that I will not be attacked by him at this moment."

Mayor Dodge lowered his head and pondered for a moment, instead of continuing to indulge in the thought of fighting, he changed his expression, this face was very calm, and it was almost like two people just now.

"I see, but you're really treacherous, you keep saying that you want to reach an agreement with me and quit the fight, but you obviously still want to make a fuss about that mining pit east of the Hoover Dam, right? As soon as this becomes known to the public, I will become the target of public criticism, and they will oppose me out of fear that the Hoover Dam may burst at any time, and you have a way to push public opinion to clear your reputation, such as claiming that you intend to make this matter public, but I persecuted you, and you are forced to make this decision to reveal the secret..."

McClofty looked at the Dodge Mayor with a smile and a little sigh after a moment.

"I now think that President Tandi may have really mistaken you, that you shouldn't have been assigned to the waste team and sent here as cannon fodder, and that you could keep saying that you love this Hoover Dam city and all its inhabitants, and at the same time ordering the soldiers to dig a hole in this vital dam, even if you know that one mistake will lead to a huge disaster that will destroy everything. Later, you were afraid that this matter would be exposed, so you asked the army to strictly guard against anyone and not allow anyone to approach, so you did not hesitate to close the east-west passage of the Hoover Dam and let everyone go to and from the broken bridge, from this point of view, you are indeed a qualified dirty politician, aren't you? ”

Mayor Dodge snorted emotionlessly, and the muscles on his face didn't move.

"Thank you for your stingy and clumsy compliment, but I have self-knowledge, I know what I used to be like, and I also know how I am now changing step by step, maybe there is no personal thought or dislike of everything in the world, only can and can't. The pit was formed to save the crumbling finances of Hoover Dam at the time, and I had no choice at the time, and it was hard to choose, but if I didn't make a choice because I was cringe, it would have led to the worst possible outcome... Having said that, if you were willing to be generous at that time, I wouldn't have to make such a decision, but it's a pity that you didn't have the heart to be a hero who silently saved the crisis at that time, did you? ”

McClofty sneered.

"What? Did I hear me right? Hero? It's hard to be a hero, we all know that classic example, right? In the native capital of Shady State, a stone statue stands in the center of the famous Plaza Tanti. That's definitely a big hero, but what about how he ended? What people need is a hero who has a sense of distance in time and space, and it is better for him to hang on the wall or just appear on TV, if he is tired of being with people after he has done great things, what can everyone do? How respectful should we be to him? How far do you have to learn from him to be noble? No one can figure out if he suddenly finds out that he is not so perfect, will this make everyone less nervous? Look, how terrible! ”

"I don't have any heroic dreams, what I want is very simple, that is, to control everything step by step in my hands."

Her hands with slender nails were clenched tightly together.

"President Tandi has been in power for more than 50 years by mercy, under her leadership, the speed of NcR expansion is still beyond the reach of today's idiot politicians, those settlements and city-states were really hard to bite, but she is willing to tirelessly use all kinds of means to overcome these problems one by one, which is why N-c-R, my dream is to be a strong man like her, and to do better than her."

Mayor Dodge looked at the young and arrogant woman, and as the minutes ticked by, the two of them were not in a hurry, as if the bombs that were counting down did not exist.

"I see, that's the difference in the landscape, and that's why I, Joseph Dodge, sit on the winner's throne, and you, Alice McClofdie, become a— loser."

McClofty slammed her handcuffed fists against the table, and she jerked up from her chair and glared at the Dodge Mayor with cold eyes that wanted to be eaten alive.

"Don't be too arrogant, Joseph Dodge, maybe I'll lose you for the time being, but your luck won't last forever, and fate won't always favor you."

Mayor Dodge looked at her for a moment, only to reveal it in a tone of pity.

"What's the use of you being angry now because of what I said the truth? You've made too many big mistakes, the room you want to enter has closed its doors to you, and it doesn't make sense for you to do anything more. President Tanti... She is a great person, she can always unite the majority of people, even if they are misunderstood for a while, people will eventually understand her later. And you, you misinterpret her, the interests of politics are the interests of domination, not the interests of control, and the difference between the two is a thousand miles away..."

"If you want to lead a country, of course, it is not enough to rely on kindness, and the leader of a country must not be a hero. People love her not because of her political achievements, on the contrary, because she has entered people's hearts, she knows what people yearn for, and she also knows what people hate, and she looks deeper, earlier and farther than people see, and she is still willing to stand on the position of the broadest group after seeing everything. So the realization of her political ideals is nothing more than a small gift back to her, even the uncivilized natives who are far away from the border are willing to bow down to her, as they say, she is not the empress who controls the NcR as some say, but a great mother who belongs to everyone, and what about you? You give up your roots. ”

"You are willing to cooperate with the enemy outside in order to bring me down, you are willing to collude with the tiger and those dangerous elements hiding in the shadows in order to bring me down, you are willing to threaten me with everything in order to bring me down, your courage is really big, big and boundless. So if you were to sit in my seat, would you be willing to explain to those fools over and over again something you already understood? Are you willing to put down your body and negotiate with a group of inconsequential 'inferior people' to seek coexistence? Are you willing to bear the burden of infamy and humiliation to pave the way for the future? ”

Mayor Dodge slowly stood up with his arms on the table.

"I don't think you will, because you definitely don't think it's worth doing at all, so you'd better stop dreaming of becoming a second Tandi president, you're at all.... Too naïve, too naïve, always thinking that any problem can be solved only by playing some tricks, never willing to bend down and be down-to-earth, in this arrogance that flows from the bones, how are you different from those brahmin tycoons? You're all the same! Therefore, you are not destined to succeed, not because fate does not favor you, but because your mind determines your fate! ”

McClofty trembled with anger, and his eyes were bloodshot.

“..... Do you really think you won? Do you think everything you're doing in this little place is meaningful? Hum.... It's ridiculous, it's always the farmers who grow the fruit, but it's always the businessmen who pick the fruit! It won't wait any longer, the mainland will definitely not give up the east, and the eastward movement will definitely not stop... Like gathers like, and Joanna Tibett's kind of tepid waste certainly likes her kind. But you, Joseph Dodge, you can wait and see, and don't take a moment for long, and see who can have the last laugh, because... You're on the wrong side. ”

The two stared at each other until the sound of Major Fleming slamming the door was heard outside the door.

Five minutes before the 40-minute alarm clock on the table was about to go off, the transmitter finally fired a kill signal, and two hours later, the sappers who were rushing to the mining pit at the eastern end of the Hoover Dam in the military blockade at the top of the dam to find all the bombs and complete the removal operation.

Unbeknownst to the citizens of Hoover Dam, on this ordinary day, they had quietly escaped from death while they were still relishing what they had seen and heard at the top of the dam during the day, eating melons that had suddenly been seized by the Crimson Caravan.