Now Andy and Gillian are sitting in the assembly workshop where Sid lives, and they have just learned that this is not only a small workshop for making weapons and armor, but also a medical room for the Rusty Hooks, because there is the only "doctor" of the Rusty Hooks, which is Sid.

Yes, he's not just a half-mechanic, he's also a half-doctor, though he was initially forced to do so, as Kyle believes that repairers and repairers are connected.

There was a rag on the floor, and a man with his head covered was lying there.

"Will she still live?"

Gillian looked at the person lying on the ground with a complicated expression, she was the new girlfriend who was thrown directly from the second floor after being hit in the face by the butt of Kyle's gun, fortunately there was a withered mess underneath, if it was a concrete floor, she would definitely die, but even so, this person named Geraline was also hanging by a thread, her face was almost smashed by the butt of the gun, and her back was also broken after falling from the second floor.

"It's a little hard, I don't think it's a problem that I can completely solve with a single needle in that emergency medical box that I dug out of the corner."

Sid rubbed his red eyes.

"She needs a real doctor who can take care of all these messes about her face and back, otherwise... Even if she survives in the end, she will commit suicide, who can accept that she will suddenly become a disabled and disfigured person in the next life? ”

Gillian sighed and covered her face with her hands.

"Why...."

Andy stood not far away with his arms against the wall, he only felt that all this was redundant, it was a mistake for Gillian to be entangled with this group of marauders, if it weren't for the powerful mechanical technology she possessed, what happened to the woman lying on the ground would have happened to Gillian, who was coaxed and intimidated and followed by the marauder boss because of a small mistake and never recovered.

"What did Kyle say to you?"

Sid asked, looking at Gillian.

“... He said that the harvest from the recent looting had been somewhat reduced, and that he hoped that when I returned, I would be able to improve the efficiency of the reactor and restart the garbage trade. ”

Gillian responded with a low voice, as a well-educated Vault dweller in the Vault, her moral values were the same as before the war, and the emotions in her heart that could not be calmed down after witnessing this tragedy.

Sid listened and nodded slowly.

"That's what you can do, no matter how much Kyle pushes me... I don't want to go down to the reactor basement anymore, and every time I see those consoles, I remember the bodies of the two brothers who were shot dead by the automatic turret, and I was really afraid that the same thing would happen again. And then there's the big musket, if you can help me convince Kyle to give me some more time and then gather everyone to witness the power, I really don't know what the effect of this thing will be when it is activated, like you said, it could explode. ”

Gillian listened to Sid's chatter, he was not a character who could withstand pressure, and now he was nervous by Kyle's rough oppression.

"I see, you don't have to say Sid anymore... Anyway, did the big bear come to you? ”

Sid was stunned for a moment, and some strange look appeared in his eyes.

"No... No, why do you ask? ”

Gillian asked because she remembered that the bear seemed to have been hit by a laser when she destroyed the two robots.

"It's just because I see him hurt."

Sid breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's a super mutant, Gillian, he doesn't need anyone to treat him at all, treatment needles and things like that are superfluous to him, Big Bear won't get sick at all, and his injuries will heal quickly."

Gillian knew there was nothing wrong with what she said, so she nodded and said no more.

"Well, by the way, have you ever found an automatic doctor here? It's unrealistic to hope that you can go out and find a doctor, this place is a high-tech facility before the war, so there should be that thing, right? ”

Sid stood up and pulled out a dirty roll of gauze to change it for Geralin, who was lying on the floor, and he crouched there to push the conversation back to square one.

"There's an infirmary here, but the door is too strong to open at all, and there may be an automatic doctor inside, but if the reactor's power supply efficiency is not improved, it will always be closed, and many things here are shut down or closed because of the lack of power, and you may not need so much electricity before you come back, and if you want to start those things after you come back, you can't get around the reactor no matter what."

Gillian sat there silently until Andy walked over and patted her on the shoulder.

"What do you think now?"

He stood at Gillian's side and stared at her.

"If you feel that all this disgusts you, I can take you away, no one can stop you, and then you can say goodbye to all this."

Sid, who was squatting there wrapped in gauze, stiffened his hands and quickly quickened his movements.

Gillian was silent for a moment and shook her head.

"I still have feelings for this group of people, we've been through so much together.... I can't just walk away and never come back, phew- I... At least hopefully I can do something for them. ”

Andy walked up to her, looked into her eyes and asked.

"Do you have feelings for Rusty Hook Kyle or just for the Rusty Hooks?"

As soon as these words came out, Gillian was directly stunned, and Sid, who was squatting on the ground and wrapping gauze, quickly finished his work and left directly, it seemed that he didn't want to hear something he didn't want to hear.

Andy glanced at him and didn't take it seriously, anyway, Sid is now a marginal person who has been excluded, if he didn't know some mechanical skills and medical skills, I am afraid that he would have been lynched by the gang for inadvertently killing two people.

"That bastard didn't send anyone to look for you after you were kidnapped, just when you died, and found another woman to come back, do you think he cares about you? You heard what the woman said before, right? ”

Gillian clenched her hands and bit her lip, looking nervous.

"He... Actually, I didn't expect anything from him, he was that kind of person, I already understood... Okay, I think I can answer your question, it's this collective that I have feelings for, it doesn't matter if it's called the Rusty Hooks or whatever, we struggle to survive and fight together from the northern wasteland, everyone works together to make it all the way to the south, I have a sense of belonging that I haven't felt before, everyone trusts me and loves me, most of the people here have become real friends with me even... Family, it's not because of Kyle that I think so. ”

Andy found a chair to sit next to her.

"And what do you think of Kyle now?"

Gillian fell silent again.

Andy scratched at his hair a little bored, stood up and walked over to the unconscious Geralin.

"This woman talked to you so before, are you willing to make an effort to save her?"

Gillian looked up at Geralin's gauze-wrapped head.

"She's still a child, at most 16 or 17 years old, and I've also experienced her age, which is completely a period when people can be deceived by a few words, and her heart is sensitive and changeable, even she may not be able to control her thoughts and emotions, and often makes some impulsive actions, she may be afraid that she will be abandoned by Kyle because of my return, and she ignores Kyle's temper for a while."

"I just think she deserves a second chance."

Andy didn't bother to make any more comments, he just felt in his heart that it didn't matter what happened to the Rusty Hooks, if he hadn't met Gillian or Gillian hadn't become a wanted fugitive from Tibbetts Prison, maybe he would have turned one of these marauders into dead people by now, the Bloomfield Space Center was ruined by these guys into half a garbage dump, I don't know how many caravan members died in their hands, such a group of hopeless guys, it can only be said that the dead marauders are the only good marauders.

He turned slowly, making eye contact with Gillian.

"I respect your choice, Gillian, we're friends too, aren't we?"

"Of course, Andy, I don't even think it's just a friend, after all, you've saved my life over and over again... I think you are very capable and have justice in your heart. ”

"You're wrong... I just think I'm a normal person, and I brought you out of the reservation to deal with the errand of Tibbetts Prison, and it was for the same reason that I rescued you from those underground monsters, and frankly, I have killed fugitives who were completely uncooperative, after all, Odysseus, the warden of Tibbetts Prison, told me that it doesn't matter if the fugitives are hunted down for life or death, even if there is only one corpse. ”

"Even so, even if sometimes it's more convenient to kill me and go on an errand, you don't have that choice, do you?"

"I really didn't do that, on the one hand, as you said, I still want to have less blood on my hands while working, and if you don't know, I'll emphasize again, the reason why you were hunted by the robots in Tibbetts Prison before was because they detected that you were infected with a virus called the New Plague, the spread of which would cause a havoc that would sweep through the wasteland, and Tibbetts Prison, which is actually an automated isolation facility, The purpose of sending you fugitives back to the university is to protect the lives of all mankind. ”

At this point, Andy paused and denied himself.

"No... This is the explanation of the past, since I worked with others to make the antidote and distribute it to various forces, the threat of the virus has subsided, and I am just putting the finishing touches on Odysseus and helping Odysseus complete his scheduled programmatic tasks, which is why I am willing to send you back to your friends, rather than sending you directly to Tibbetts Prison, knowing that you are the last fugitive, After you, there will be no living people in this land who have escaped from the previous great escape and have not been sent back. ”

"Remember those two robots from earlier? Everybody was saying they never moved, but as soon as the two of us got here, they woke up, and if I'm not mistaken, it must have been Odysseus's handiwork, which has some control over most of the pre-war facilities in the area, and I think the sudden attack of those two robots is a kind of warning, it's warning me to hurry up, and that the robot head is likely to send a large number of robots to hunt you down again, just like you did when you were first arrested. ”

“...............”

Gillian rubbed her temples.

"I know what you mean, Andy, so when I increase the reactor's power, let's get out of here and go back to Tibbetts Prison, okay?" I'm really not going to make excuses to trouble you to delay your time this time. ”

"No, that's not what I meant, Gillian."

Gillian, who was rubbing her temples with her eyes closed, unexpectedly looked up at Andy.

"Then you are..."

Andy slowly approached and spoke his thoughts.

"You've said before that in the past, the Rust Hooks relied on nothing more than plundering was to trade junk under your leadership, and you've also said that if the trade goes well, the profits will be big enough for the Rusty Hooks to give up looting, and the key to stopping this from happening is Kyle, so I'm right?"

Gillian nodded, still not understanding what Andy was trying to say, but she was willing to listen.

"In other words, the Rusty Hooks can be better and stop going out and causing trouble, and Mayor Dodge can let down his guard against you or even have a normal relationship with you, the problem is only Kyle?"

Gillian seemed to understand a little, she opened her mouth a little melancholy, and finally only said "yes".

"In my opinion, Kyle is almost nothing, and the people here are not very loyal to Kyle, and he can stay in the position of boss because Big Bear obeys him, and you mentioned this before, the real leader of the Rusty Hook Gang is not so much Kyle as Big Bear, because he does have that ability, and he must know more than Kyle, right?"

Gillian stood up and walked around in circles for a moment, seeming a little hesitant.

Andy walked over and grabbed her, and the two looked at each other up close, even feeling each other's breathing.

"What are you thinking? Isn't that just a sight to be? As long as Kyle disappears, everything will be normal, that guy won't agree to get down from the throne, and he won't spontaneously change his temper, what are you waiting for? Waiting for him to miraculously correct himself one day or... A bunch of NcR soldiers who came from Hoover Dam and killed everyone here? ”

Gillian looked at Andy, shook her head slightly and covered her mouth as if choked up a little, then gently pushed him away.

After giving her some time, she seemed to really let go.

"Well, you don't have to say Andy, I get it all... Now the key is how to convince Big Bear that if he remains loyal to Kyle, then there is no need to mention anything, I will follow you back to Tibbetts Prison after the reactor is repaired, no matter what, this time it is time to complete our agreement, I already owe you too much. ”

Andy nodded in satisfaction, as he pondered the question.

"So what exactly is Big Bear's purpose for being loyal to Kyle? I can't think of any good reason unless he's a weird homosexual, is that possible? ”

Gillian burst out laughing.

"What are you talking about? ... That's the only thing I can confirm, because Big Bear once told me in private... He admired me and appreciated my abilities and character. I think although he didn't say it explicitly, his meaning has been expressed, his sexual orientation is normal, of course... I still can't accept that it's not human, whether it's him or Hank. ”

A few coughs came from the side, Sid's eyes trembled and rolled to the side, and he looked very frightened and tormented, and he looked at the hesitant expressions on their faces, and after a while he came over and spoke in a very low tone.

"Actually... I know. ”

Andy immediately looked at him, and Sid was now sweating profusely, as if he had been fished out of the water.

But his eyes were bright, and he looked very excited.

Gillian hurried over to him.

"What do you know? Sid, calm down and tell me what you know..."

Sid nodded, his lips twisted, and finally his eyes blinked and some tears flowed.

"You don't know... You don't know it, I'm really... I've always felt guilty about the big bear... I didn't even dare to look at him, and Kyle kept threatening me to kill me if he found out that the two of us were together in private, so Big Bear never came to me for treatment, and I couldn't take care of his wounds, I knew Kyle was not good to him, and he hated Kyle in his heart, and he endured it all the time... Actually, it's all because I did bad things to him. ”

Gillian frowned, knowing that the stakes were high, she reached out to wipe the tears from Sid's face and whispered to him.

"Don't cry, don't cry Sid, tell me, tell me everything, you don't have to hold it in your heart anymore."

Sid choked up and told a story.

Andy and Gillian listened to Sid's story, and they looked at each other.

No wonder Big Bear has been weirdly loyal to Kyle, it turns out that this is the reason, since that's the case....