The campfire was burning, and some pieces of meat were grilled next to it to give a nice smell of barbecue.

Andy picked up a skewer made of dead wood and turned the meat skewer over, the meat side was already slightly burnt, and the constant sweet smell was mouth-watering, but right next to it, Gillian turned her head to look at it.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat it?"

Andy asked again.

"I... I don't eat it. ”

Gillian chewed the fruit in her hand, showing some insincerity.

The reason why she didn't eat the meat was straightforward, because it was the meat of the witch snake, the meat of the witch snake queen to be exact, its fat body was not completely broken, and there was a lot of delicious white meat under the viscous mucus-covered skin, and this meat product was a delicious delicacy at a good price among the vendors in Hoover Dam City, and of course, you had to avoid thinking about what these witch snakes ate when they were alive.

Andy sighed, picked up a skewer and ate it, it tasted great.

For the wasteland people, the mouth is eating the flesh of man-eating monsters, this matter is unremarkable, how many of those wasteland creatures are harmless, even if it is a group of cockroaches, flies or even praying mantises, their hands are likely to be stained with human life, not to mention those coyotes, witch snakes, scorpions and other famous fierce beasts, people may even occupy a major position in their recipes, if you care about this kind of thing, hunters and many poor wastelanders only starve to death, rare farmed meat and animal meat, For example, the price of mole and double-headed beef is not cheap.

Gillian has this psychological barrier entirely because of her background as a shelter resident, so she is actually very lucky, as a person who knows very little about the survival of the wasteland, she happened to join a gang that did not embarrass her when she was walking on the road, and after being abducted to the reservation, she was not sent to be used as consumables for breeding agreements or sent to work as coolies in the processing plant, and finally waited for Andy to fish her out.

If there is a problem in any link, she will die, but she has not had a problem.

Teeth tear off a piece of white meat, Andy eats it very vigorously, this taste is unforgettable, no wonder the price is so high, but hunters only dare to catch those smaller witch snakes, that is, use some homemade snake traps and bait to catch them from the water and then sell, like these two-meter-long or even four-meter-long monsters are already sideways on the wasteland, and a careless hunter becomes the prey sent to the door.

"Is there anything else you can tell me about your gang?"

Andy tossed aside the wooden skewers he had eaten and took out a bottle of beer he had purchased in Hoover Dam City to quench his thirst.

Gillian then said a few more things about the Rusty Hooks.

"I remember the last time we talked about Kyle... Do you remember when I told you about one of the things Kyle did in Phoenix? Although I joined long after that incident, I heard rumors from some of the old members that the gang was still very weak in Phoenix at that time, and many people didn't even have guns in their hands, most of them only had some knives, spears, and homemade iron guns, and the boss of the gang had the only serious iron in his hand at that time, so he became the boss. ”

"And what about Kyle? At that time he only had a spear except his hookman... It sounds hilarious, but I think it should be the fact that he... It's not the slightest bit special, being a gangster is either a mid-level guy with great strength or a boss with great intelligence and charisma, you know, that's the case in almost every organization, and Kyle is a both-not-all person. Everyone knows that people who can become bosses are generally natural leaders, with energetic personalities, who can influence others only by words and deeds, build their own careers beyond mediocre ordinary people, and pave the way for those who come after them. But this idea doesn't work for gangs, at least the small ones. ”

Andy nodded in agreement, Gillian was worthy of being a Vault resident.

"So, since Kyle doesn't have the charisma of a leader, he doesn't have a lot of force, and he only has a spear and a hook in his hand, how did he make a name for himself and leave Phoenix with the gang as the new boss?"

Gillian raised an eyebrow.

"Sometimes things just go ridiculous... It may have been a joke by the god of fate, but one day Kyle decided to carry out a plan, an impromptu plan, and that day the gang ransacked a group of merchants and got a lot of goods and bottle caps, and the boss at the time ordered everyone to drink and have fun as soon as he was happy, and the result was that most of the people drank openly until they got drunk, including the boss. ”

Kyle, on the other hand, sat calmly in the corner and didn't take a few sips, and no one cared why he didn't drink, and when the whole camp was drunk, he quietly ran into the boss's tent and stole his matching gun, which was a .44 caliber revolver, and his actions were noticed by the sleeping boss, and the two began to fight, and he used his hook to cut the drunken boss until his feet were weak, and then shot the boss in the head with the gun in the middle of the camp, and all this was soon known to everyone.

Andy couldn't help but scratch his head after hearing this story, and he just felt very funny.

"What? Was his usurpation so simple and successful? Was his so-called plan to steal guns and kill people while everyone was drunk? Didn't anyone think that this could happen? ”

Gillian shrugged.

"We... Gangs can't be measured by ordinary people's standards, those people are crazy and have never read any books, many of them are still senior addicts, and the brain circuits are completely different from ordinary people, maybe the boss thought that no one would dare to do this, and the best way for gang members to establish prestige within themselves is to torture and execute members who offend them, this kind of behavior can deter some people, but not all of them, and it will not always have an effect, and Kyle... It can only be said that he was lucky to seize this rare opportunity. ”

Andy thinks back for a moment, there aren't many Marauder Gangs he's encountered so far, but they're really crazy, such as the Scorpion Bites Gang he met in Mesa Verde, the Jackals Gang he met in Boulder City, and the 215 Gang in New Canaan.

"And after that? Kyle declares himself the new boss after killing the previous boss, and everyone else won't all support him, right? ”

Gillian nodded.

"It's natural, his success is a complete miracle, a guy who pops out of nowhere... Even this behavior is considered to be in line with the unspoken rules of the gang, that is, the one who survives the fight becomes the new boss. However, instead of winning in an open-minded duel, Kyle resorts to dastardly steals and sneak attacks, plus no one is optimistic about his leadership skills, and more than half of them disapprove of him. ”

Everyone was drunk that night, and no one even reacted when Kyle stood next to the boss's headless corpse and loudly announced that he was the new boss... So he re-announced it the next day after he had found enough ammunition, and this time he raised the gun, well, at the time it was actually the only thing in the camp that could really be called a gun, and he told all the members of the gang that his succession was a fait accompli, and those who didn't want to obey him had to leave. ”

"So half of them jumped ship and went to other gangs, which is actually terrible, the gangs in Phoenix always maintain a fragile balance between each other, and the weakness of either side will lead to a group fight, Kyle understands this even though he is not very smart, those gang members who jump ship and leave will spread the news of Kyle's usurper members leaving the whole of Phoenix, followed by the attack of other gangs, since the territory is destined to be undefendable, Kyle decided to leave Phoenix with people who are willing to follow him, The name of the gang was changed to Rusty Hooks. ”

Andy tilted his head and took a sip of his beer, still thinking that there was something he hadn't heard.

"Gillian... You also said that he didn't have any leadership qualities, and if he did something nonsense, the gang should fall apart quickly, and since he didn't, Kyle did something right, right? ”

"Yes."

Gillian sighed as she roasted the fire, seeing that Andy was feeding the rest of the meat to Blackie, and although she was tormented by the aroma back and forth, she was sincerely disgusted by the meat.

"Kyle. . . He was reckless and not smart, but he did have some courage, and many gang members in Phoenix didn't have the guts to go out and plunder alone, but Kyle dared to go out alone, even if he only had a spear in his hand. In addition, he is very fair, and everything he has robbed since he became the boss has been divided as evenly as possible among everyone, except for the deterrent power that he has with that gun, which is one of the reasons why everyone can tolerate him as the boss later.... yes, I think he's fair to speak. ”

The two were silent for a moment, and Andy handed Gillian a bottle of beer.

"Thank you.. Scold.. I've really said thank you so many times along the way. ”

Gillian sighed as she took a sip of her wine.

Andy changed the subject unconcernedly.

"Do you think... Or what do you think of the Rusty Hooks in your heart? ”

In the midst of the burning crackling, Gillian lowered her head and could not answer the question for a moment, and after a long time she hesitated to say her answer.

"I am. . . I really have a subordinate affection for the gang, and what happened in the vault broke my heart, when friends, loved ones, and our custodians were... They have all betrayed me; I was wandering and wanted to die, and after joining the gang I lived a life I had never had before, and I had a series of social connections that I had never had before; Everyone thinks I'm a smart person, a rare genius... This kind of encouragement and recognition for me is something I haven't had before... They see me as a close partner, and I see them as well. ”

Andy fed the last bit of snake meat to Blackie, then patted him on the back and motioned for him to move on his own.

"I'm a bit of a disappointment, have you ever seen them go out to plunder and rob caravans?"

The corners of Gillian's mouth twitched.

"No... But I can also guess what the situation will be, those goods are their net worth, not everyone will be easily scared away, so there is always a need to raise the knife and raise the muzzle, which... This is certainly not good. ”

Andy was straight to the point.

"Not good? It's not all, is it? Even in the chaotic wasteland, it is believed that the marauders committed heinous crimes, that killing the marauders is considered the same merit as the removal of the beasts that kill people, that the marauders are not even recognized as human beings in some places, that the families of the victims will never forgive their enemies, and that the leaders of the settlements are eager to be killed by bloodsucking worms that will continue to harm their interests. ”

The words made Gillian lower her head again and dare not squeak, Andy didn't bother to take care of her feelings, and the ugly words had to be said in front.

"I sent you to meet your friends this time for two purposes, one is to fulfill our previous agreement, after which you must go back to Tibbetts Prison with me, and the second is the instructions given to me by Mayor Dodge, the looting of the Rust Hook Gang has seriously damaged the stability of the trade routes south of Hoover Dam City, resulting in a lot of losses, I also said that Rust Hook Kyle and the entire Rust Hook Gang are already on the bounty board of the Bounty Hunter Guild, even if I turn a blind eye to them, what about next time? Maybe it's a group of mercenaries and bounty hunters, or maybe ... Army? ”

Gillian sat there feeling speechless about the accusations and the facts, but she tried her best to refute them.

"I've done my best to help them fix it, I've taught them how to recycle and repair the old world garbage, and then rely on selling it to scavengers and merchants to change bottle caps, if we can develop this business with all our might, we can live without hurting anyone, even better than before, and I dream that one day we will build our own settlement and start our own company..."

Andy listened silently, and then answered when Gillian fell silent suddenly.

"So, who made your idea impossible to come true?"

Gillian covered her face and shook her head.

"Kyle.... He's too stubborn, but he's actually an approachable guy, as long as he doesn't poke his minefield, like making him expose the fact that he's a fool. He had always thought that it was too slow to do business with bottle caps, and the south of the Hoover Dam happened to be a good place to loot, so the old craftsmanship brought from Phoenix could not be completely lost, especially since he felt that we still had the Great Bear to rely on. ”

Andy felt that the name Big Bear was very familiar, and after some searching, he found a relevant description in the Pip-Boy, which was the description of the publisher when he received the bounty hunter bounty list in the center of the Hoover Dam, the former caravan captain of the Three Brothers Caravan, 'Big Bear', was believed to have died in a robbery initiated by the Rusty Hooks, which is why the Three Brothers Caravan offered a high price for Kyle's head.

"I've heard the name of Big Bear, he should have been a caravan company guard, and the Hoover Dam thought he died at the hands of the Rusty Hook Gang, so he didn't die, and he joined the Rusty Hook Gang?"

Gillian stood up and looked at the darkness to the south, as if there was some indescribable melancholy.

"Yes, he's not dead... Kyle and the others attacked Big Bear's caravan that day, and the caravan guards were about to be scared away when they saw the gang appear, but Big Bear persuaded them to stay, and Kyle had just left Phoenix with the gang for a month, and the group was almost starving to death, so they immediately decided to kill all the resistants. ”

"Big Bear fought back desperately with two guards and two merchants in this desperate siege, and after his companions were killed, he was finally knocked to the ground, by that time he had single-handedly killed six people, all with knife wounds and several shots in the chest, but he still didn't die, and in the end, even Kyle was shocked by Big Bear's fighting power and prevented the other gang members from killing him."

Andy also thinks that this man is simply a god of war, but then he realizes that something strange, the marauders should not have mastered any healing skills, even if the Rusty Hook Gang may have injected him with healing needles later, the probability of the big bear being shot in the chest several times after killing several people in one fight and having a knife wound full of stab wounds should be very low... He thought he could do that, but that was with the help of Hull and V-Mode, and Big Bear wouldn't have that.

"Are you sure there is no exaggeration in these deeds?"

Gillian seemed to know Andy was going to ask.

"Of course, if you know the situation, you will feel that this is normal, because the big bear he... He is not an ordinary person, he is a super mutant, and his thick skin, strong muscles, and strong self-healing ability and immunity are the key to his survival. ”

Andy is now clear, when he was in the valley of Mesa Verde, he was chased by Alexandra to the end of the mountain, and Blackjack, who had been shot countless times with a shotgun, was still alive and kicking until Andy found him, and planned to use a stick as a fake gun as a deterrent to fight with the other party for a long time, the physique of super mutants is so perverted, if you want to kill them quickly, you can only use large-caliber weapons to directly smash your head or use some targeted biological and chemical weapons.

"I see, Big Bear is a super mutant.... But why did he agree to join the Rusty Hooks? You killed all his companions and made him lose his job, and even almost killed him, so it stands to reason that it is too late for him to hate you. ”

Gillian seemed puzzled by this, and she turned to look at Andy, the expression on her face so clear.

"It's... I don't understand it either.,I don't know what Kyle did or said after that.,Anyway, he swore allegiance to Kyle after the bear was cured.,Since then, he's been the second-in-command of the Rusty Hook Gang.,It's also because of his allegiance.,No one in the Rusty Hook Gang wants to replicate the kind of thing Kyle did to his boss in the first place.,When I joined later.,Everything was already a foregone conclusion.,I don't know much about the specific process.。 ”