"Knock knock—"

Andy stood in the hallway and knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

Mayor Dodger's voice came from the room, and Andy pushed the door in to see Mayor Dodge in a blue suit and brown tie sitting behind his desk sorting out the official documents on the desk, a large stack of stuffed file bags on one side of the desk, and the filing cabinet next to it was also stuffed with the same thing.

It is difficult to say whether the printed paper is useful or useless, and in most cases it will accumulate shortly after it is manufactured until it becomes moldy and rotten or suddenly burned one day, and in rare cases it is kept as a treasure, and its purpose can be extremely complex.

At the moment, Mayor Dodge wiped the sweat from his head with a handkerchief, took off his glasses, looked up, and immediately smiled when he saw that it was Andy.

"Here you are, our hero."

Andy was a little embarrassed to be modest, but Mayor Dodge insisted that his words were not wrong at all.

"I read Major Fleming's report, those terrorists are actually preparing to drop biological weapons on our Hoover Dam, thanks to you to stop them in time, otherwise I don't know how many tragedies will be caused, I can't thank you enough. I've also seen the research report shared with us by the Brotherhood of Steel, and it turns out that the kind of fruit you recommended to me earlier has such an amazing effect, and to be honest, I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, and now I need to speed up the progress and focus on it. ”

"As I promised, now you can go to Major Fleming and ask him to arrange for someone to take you to the arsenal, if there is anything you like, I will give you permission to take it, I have also explained to the rangers, and if you call them for help on the radio, they will also rush over to help you if they can... I've had your exploits publicized in the Hoover Dam, and I'm sure you've noticed that everyone is very enthusiastic about you now, right? ”

Andy said that this was the case, no wonder the Pip-Boy told him that the prestige of the Hoover Dam had reached the level of worship, and that there were cheers and applause from the citizens on the way there.

"Yes, everyone is very welcoming to me, it's very different from what it used to be.... Then again, Mayor Dodger, that thing you came to me for..."

The smile on Mayor Dodge's face retracted, and he lowered his head and muttered for a moment, then took out a file bag from the third drawer in the direction of his left leg, and after opening the cover, he took out a few pieces of paper.

"That's right, Andy, I told you before, in view of your outstanding contributions to the city of Hoover Dam, we decided to promote you directly to a sergeant, although this is not a very high rank, but this is already the best I can do in the rules. Maybe you don't know that all the people who have lived in Hoover Dam City for a long time have a file that is convenient for statistics about it.... When recruiting or making appointments or dismissals, this information will be reviewed according to certain standards. You deserve a share of it, and I didn't ask you, but I remember you telling me you were an NcR citizen. ”

The bad feeling in Andy's heart grew worse and worse, and he quietly looked around while talking about the words he had thought of before he came.

"I, I've had an accident before, so I'm a little bit amnesiac, and about what I've been going through before... I don't know much either. ”

Mayor Dodge gave an "oh" look.

"So.... Andy, you've had a rough experience, but now we're facing a small problem. ”

He held up a few pieces of paper in his hand.

"In our archives, there are three people named Andy Arendall, the first of whom is an honest farmer who has been cultivating the land in NcR for 20 years, until a Brahmin baron takes a fancy to his land and.... It was bought at a 'reasonable' price, and soon after his family had an accident, and then he signed up for the Eastward Movement..."

Andy scratched his head, although the beginning of this life was a bit miserable, but it was quite innocent.

"Oh, so I used to be a farmer? Oops, I said how can I have so much strength...."

Mayor Dodge shook his head.

"Unfortunately, if the farmer were still alive, he would be close to sixty by now, and you.... It's not like someone in their fifties. In addition, he had been dead for two years, and the cause of death was that he drank wild water and did not boil it, which caused him to be infected with the larvae of the witch snake, and the body was found like a broken bag wrapped in a large pile of bugs. ”

Andy gasped.

"Well, what about the others?"

Mayor Dodge changed a piece of paper and grabbed it in his hand.

"The second is an ordinary NcR immigrant, he sold a little of his property and changed the bottle cap to the east to look for opportunities, he later formed a small caravan to go out to trade, I heard that he has been involved in many incidents, and even did some corrupt and perverse things."

At the end of the sentence, Mayor Dodge gave Andy a meaningful look.

Andy pretended not to notice.

"Is this man still alive?"

Mayor Dodge pouted, then tossed the file on the table.

"He's alive .... It is said that he is now in Phoenix, a marauder, he.... Of course it won't be you. ”

Andy quickly nodded in agreement.

"yes, yes, so the last file is mine, huh? Can you show me? I'm really curious about my past. ”

Mayor Dodge handed Andy the file in his hand, and he took it to see that there was a photo on the file, and the face was angular and square, which was really nostalgic.

The dossier is densely written, recording some drunken brawls and casino shootings, but they were eventually acquitted due to lack of evidence, and this person later joined the bounty hunter and became a registered mercenary, no wonder there were sometimes some strange guys who said they knew themselves in the past, but since the plastic surgery in the big dome, this is unlikely to happen again.

In some records, there are also records of heads who have successfully achieved high bounty targets.

But the end of the file is more embarrassing.

"On April 13, 2253, Bounty hunter Andy Arendall was shot and killed in a drunken brawl that resulted in the shooting and death of Corporal Kurlow, and the evidence was conclusive, and he was sentenced to 50 years in prison and deprived of political rights for life in Black Canyon Prison."

Turning another page, the file ends with the words: The convict disappeared in an unidentified prison attack.

A large red seal trail remains on it, indicating that the person is defined as missing.

"Forehead ....."

Andy pretended to return the file in his hand.

"This doesn't seem right, this.... Ahem, did you miss it? Or maybe I've lost my files? ”

Mayor Dodge looked at him with a subtle expression.

"My subordinates are pretty sure that there are only three files of the same name that can be found in the archives of the entire Hoover Dam City, do you have any previous names? .... I don't think so, or even if there is, you can't figure it out now with amnesia, right? That's a little more troublesome, after all, a person whose identity is blank often means a stowaway or... Some other special case. Do you remember if you spent some time in Black Canyon Prison? Haha, just kidding, don't look at me like that. ”

Andy's heart is very weak, he can't figure out what happened when he was imprisoned in Black Canyon Prison, his memory is almost from being captured by NcR soldiers and taken to Black Canyon Prison for surprise interrogation and forced to confess his fingerprints, as for his previous life, although he occasionally got some hints from some dreams and individual people who knew him, but in general it can be called a mess.

The tavern brawl was supposed to exist, he had drunk at the time, talked nonsense on a whim, and inadvertently annoyed an NcR soldier, but in his recollection, because he had drunk too much strong alcohol, he was sluggish and fluffy, and after being attacked by the soldier, he was just pressed to the ground and hammered, and the soldier left the bar on his own.

But what's going on with the rest of the development? .....

"I think my file must have been lost, although I don't remember it very clearly, but these three people are obviously not me."

Andy coughed twice and secretly decided to deny it.

"This No. 1 Andy is dead, I won't say much, No. 2 Andy.... How could I possibly be a marauder, haha. As for this... This No. 3, although it is said that he is the only one who is missing, but do you see that this face looks different from me at all? ”

Mayor Dodge was noncommittal.

"In that case... Things are a bit difficult to do, you must know that this situation is not conducive to personnel transfers, and the propaganda about you has been spread, sooner or later someone will notice your problems in this regard, rather than waiting for it to become a big news, let's quickly plug this hole, I have an idea, you can listen to it first, if you also agree, we will do it according to this method. ”

So, Mayor Dodge began to speak his plan.

"It's always not good to make something out of nothing, the wall has ears, and people's hearts are unpredictable... We can approach the problem in a more subtle way. Number 1... It can be used as a family file to corroborate, for example.... An uncle? He used to run a small farm, but after some unpleasant things, he had to take one of his young and unwilling juniors to sell his property to make up for the passage money, leave the NcR homeland to participate in the vigorous eastward movement at that time, and eventually became a new immigrant who settled in Hoover Dam City and struggled to live. Sounds ordinary, reasonable, and sympathetic, right? ”

Andy was slightly surprised, and then quickly praised again and again.

"Your assumptions are very reasonable, and I think my past is probably true."

Mayor Dodge touched his chin and walked around his desk with his other hand behind his back.

Uncle Arendall couldn't afford even the cheap water from the Hoover Dam because of his poverty, and one day he drank a bottle of ultra-low-priced water sold by a black market merchant, but the water in the bottle was just dirty water from the wild, which was simply filtered by unscrupulous traders and contained deadly parasites. When he died, his relatives who had come with him to the Hoover Dam learned from the pain that not only made him hate the black marketeers, but also determined to hone his fighting skills and courage for dangerous but lucrative work. He finally succeeded, and he completed his metamorphosis. ”

"He became a skilled hunter and mercenary, who spent many years in the wasteland and developed excellent skills. He had been lost, had been brought off as a marauder by friends with ulterior motives, and had misunderstood the soldiers stationed at Hoover Dam because of inappropriate remarks, but he eventually returned to the right path with his sincere devotion to the Republic and participated in the great cause of making Hoover Dam City a better place. ”

"Now.... He is a hero to be remembered by the people of Hoover Dam City, who, despite danger and hardship, obtained a panacea against the plague, ended the protracted war between Hoover Dam and Fort Maxson with his coordination and charisma, and not only cleared up our misunderstandings with each other, but also reunited with us, who were supposed to be close to each other, and deservedly received a series of awards and special promotions. ”

"He's literally a beacon of humanity on top of the Hoover Dam, and everyone should be lined up to shake his hand."

Andy's face blushed when he heard this, not that he had never been praised, but it was the first time that he had been praised to this extent.

"You're too polite, Mayor Dodge, it's too exaggerated to write like that, wouldn't that be the case..."

Mayor Dodge gestured.

"I understand, I understand... You're afraid that if someone sees it, they'll think it's fake, right? Rest assured, if all your actions are known, they will only feel that what is written in the file is not enough. Your military registration was completed yesterday, and you can choose to participate in the military work in Hoover Dam City on a full-time basis at any time, I can guarantee that you will be further reused and promoted quickly, and if you don't want to be tied down, you can also simply take a temporary position, and every month you can go to Hoover Dam City to receive your salary and eat in the city hall... However, you need to understand that only NcR will be paid in the form of a salary and not a bottle cap. ”

Andy thanked Mayor Dodge, saying that he really couldn't stay in Hoover Dam City for a long time to work, and he didn't have the face to just take a temporary job and receive a salary and eat and drink, and then he still had something to go out of, and he shouldn't stay long, but if Mayor Dodge had something urgent and needed to ask him for help, he would definitely come back to help as long as he was free.

After he leaves, Sheriff Ralph walks in.

"Any progress?"

Mayor Dodge asked, putting his glasses back on.

"It's a strange case, and it's been a long time, but I've found some suspicions, and it's likely to involve factional strife in the military, Kollezinji's influence hasn't dissipated with his disappearance, and his people... If you want to completely eliminate the possibility of similar incidents in the future, you may need to make some big moves. ”

After a moment's hesitation, Sergeant Ralph added a word.

"Fleming's stupid way of handling cases is unbearable, his so-called military court, if someone draws an arrow on the wall, he, the 'judge', will obediently follow, this kind of guy..."

"Alright, Ralph, thank you, this is the end of the matter."

The Dodge Mayor lowered his head and said this, and Sheriff Ralph immediately shut up and walked to the door in silence, and as he was leaving, he seemed to suddenly remember something, and raised a piece of paper in his hand.

"The results of the comparison of the handprints are out, and the branch president personally went into battle to operate, as expected."

Mayor Dodge beckoned him to come over.

When Sheriff Ralph left, Mayor Dodge stood up from the desk, picked up the three files and the handprints, and put them into the shredder.