After regrouping, the group set off again, this time aiming for one of the only medium-sized cities in the North 2nd District, Lebiang, a northern city once famous for its heavy industry. After the gradual removal of the North Star District, it also slowly declined, there was no capital, no income, the pollution caused by heavy industry could not be contained, and it quickly spread to the surrounding areas, and there was no vegetation in the already cold area.

Fortunately, thanks to the development of science and technology, it is now possible to industrially synthesize basic starch foods, and the remaining industrial behemoths in the city continue to exude residual heat, providing rudimentary food for the surrounding residents.

Leaning against the car window, Ti Lan looked at the distant scenery, her black hair fluttering in the wind, which was a little cool, but not cold.

It's the end of March, and the temperature here is gradually warming up, making it a little more comfortable.

"This time I went to Lebiang, mainly because it is a rare industrial city, so we should be able to buy cheap fuel, and we can also try to find opportunities in it to supplement the funds." Yalian stood in the car and explained the purpose of this trip.

"However, going to a city where people gather this time also represents a certain risk, unlike the small group of people we met on the road, if there is a big conflict, the situation may exceed our ability to deal with it." He continued to analyze.

"So you need to be careful along the way, and leave a few people in the car halfway, ready to transfer at any time."

"The remaining ones are Illepel, Delores, Phyllis, and Simu."

Deloris doesn't like to show up here, she took the initiative to apply to stay, and Ijepel and Phyllis, as elves, also rejected Lebiang's bad air and environment, so they chose to stay, as for Simu, because he can drive, so he also stayed, so that he could maneuver at any time.

"That's pretty much the case, and now there's about 40 minutes left before you reach your destination, so you can take a break."

On the desert land of gravel and coarse sand, a large white truck drove straight north, and under the gray-blue sky, like a small white dot with a little smoke and dust, and at the end of the horizon, a city like the remains of a giant beast stood silently.

The dilapidated and hollow steel structure, the empty mechanical boom, the shattered glass and the tall dome of the skeleton, in this gray and rusty steel jungle, a little white steam slowly rises, telling the only residual warmth and the people struggling to survive under the bare skeleton.

This is the past of the Emerald Skirt, the bustling area that was once the capital of the planet.

Although there are still two large residential areas in the North 2nd District, such as 'Burning Sun City' and 'Dead Tree Garden', these two places were just inconspicuous pieces of the puzzle in the prosperous scene when the North Star District was prosperous, and a city like Lebiang was one of the stars that once shined in the North Star District in that era.

The closer you get to Lebian, the more you can feel the prosperity of the past, the countless residential areas that have been reduced to ruins along the road, among which you can vaguely see the former dome botanical garden, the spiraling tower commercial center, the aquarium where the earth is like a giant Ferris wheel, and people in the past can even look up at the scene of fish swimming in the sky on the ground.

However, now all that remains is the outline and wreckage of the prototype that has been corroded to the point that it is difficult to see, and the Ferris wheel aquarium, which was once full of marine animals, is now only a collapsed skeleton.

After walking through most of the city that has become ruins, the surrounding area is only slightly more populated when you gradually reach the central area, some rudimentary drying racks hang next to the houses, you can occasionally see some old-fashioned vehicles passing by on the road, and occasionally there are relatively intact buildings standing on the roadside, and the newly painted protective paint on the exterior walls shows that there are still people maintaining it.

The speed of the car slowly slowed down, and finally stopped in a large abandoned parking lot.

Soon after, eight people jumped out of the car, and after making an appointment with each other to meet, they split into two groups to explore the city.

"Looks like we need a guide." Looking at the streets and shops, Aaron proposed.

"Let's take a walk first, you might find the right person on the way." Tilan suggested.

They had Tilan, Aaron, Avne, and Shellion, and Valker, Ruby, Kinsonke, and Grou.

After deciding, the four of them walked along the street, because this is the only remaining area of the city center, and the shops and shops are still 'dense', at least two out of an average of five storefronts on the street are open.

Some locals come and go to these shops to buy basic groceries or to eat a barely unpalatable lunch in a restaurant.

After entering one of the shops, the girl's eyes swept over the goods, most of which were crude and rudimentary, such as laundry detergent, which was packaged in a simple white bag with a few lines of simple black description, and nothing else.

There is no brand, no specific manufacturer, and even the ingredient list is very simple, as if it is a three-no product produced by a small workshop, and this is indeed an industrial product produced by a local factory, if it is taken to other places, no one will take a look, but it is really useful and necessary here.

In addition, there are many other simple and crude daily necessities, such as cleaning utensils, common simple appliances, kitchen utensils, generators, heaters, etc. Its rudimentary shapes and rough workmanship are reminiscent of the difficult days of the early Sixth Age.

"Boss, do you know where to sell fuel here, our car has to travel a long distance." After entering a store, Aaron stepped forward to ask, while Tiran lowered the brim of her hat slightly and looked around.

Today, she wears a black casual jacket with a baseball cap on her head, a white T-shirt with lettering on the inside, and trousers and sneakers for easy movement. In addition to Tilan, the other girl in the group, Avne, was dressed similarly, but without a hat, with wide blond hair and a single ponytail, and a white coat.

"Fuel, I think." The slightly blessed boss sat at the bar in the store and pondered.

"You can go to the northeast side of the street, I think there seems to be a gas station, but it's not very safe there, you need to be careful."

"Thank you, boss, I'll give this to you." With that, Aryan placed a portable prismatic battery on the table, and then led the person out.

In the North 2nd District, the circulation of federal coins is not so convenient, there are often places where there is no credit card machine, and there are some transfer difficulties because of identity problems, so portable batteries have become a hard currency in circulation, after all, this kind of thing is needed everywhere, and some electrical appliances, as long as a prismatic battery is plugged in, it can be used for several weeks.

"Let's go, let's continue east, we should find what we're looking for there." Ariam led the way.

On the other side, Kinsenke, Ruby's team is much more high-profile.

The smoky ruins of the bars are almost deafening, but the people here still love it, as if they can forget the scarcity and despair of life only by venting to the manic music.

Pushing through the crowd, Valker opened the way and led a few of his companions to the bar inside the bar.

Kinsenke pulled a drunken man aside, sat himself in the high chair, spun it around, and finally stopped in front of the bartender.

"Hey, I'm here to make some money, I heard that you're in some trouble, and I happen to have the ability to help you solve your trouble." With baggy sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, Kim Senk propped his arms on the bar.

The bartender inside saw these strange people, his eyes swept over, and he seemed a little alert, "Who are you?" ”

"We? A group of passing travelers, by the way, looking for something to do to supplement the fare. Jinsenke said, then picked up the bottle on the bar, filled the glass in front of him, tasted it in small sips, and then put it down in disgust.

"We do provide some tasks, but no one knows where you come from, and who dares to trust you to do it." He frowned, his fingers under the bar resting on the alarm button, ready to call at any time.

"Don't be in a hurry to refuse, there are always some public tasks, don't keep them secret, anyone can do them." Kinsink shook his glass, as if trying to see the reflection of the liquid in the light.

"Such a task...... It's not that it's not without ......" Hearing this, the other party hesitated, but still spoke.

"The underground waterways breed some scavenging beasts, the situation inside is complicated, no one wants to deal with it, but I'm afraid something will happen if you leave it for a long time, if you can solve it, this side will give you a sum of money."

"Alas, no, do you want a beautiful girl like me to drill into a stinky ditch?" Ruby after Kinsenke heard this, and opened her mouth, her fingers lightly covering her cheeks, revealing only the little star stickers from the corners of her eyes.

"It's really cheap, and the pay is low." Jinsenke shook his head when he heard that the return was only 200,000 federal coins.

"Then I can't help it." The bartender shook his head.

Thinking that he couldn't go home empty-handed, Jinsenke asked and inquired in various ways, but the other party didn't open his mouth, which made Jinsenke a little angry, and his tone became fierce.

Fortunately, Valker stopped him, and after the burly companion put his hand on Kinsenk's shoulder, the man reluctantly turned away.

The group walked out of the store across the crowded and smoky dance floor again.

Just as everyone was trying to look elsewhere, a small man squeezed out, and he walked quickly in front of several people.

"Hey, you guys, are you looking for a job?" Although he looks like he is in his 20s, he is probably not even 1.6 meters tall, which looks a little funny.

"Yes." Kinsonck and the others turned, and outside, the man couldn't help but whistle when he saw Ruby's appearance.

"It's so beautiful, if you go on stage, it will definitely sell out."

"It's a pity that she is our person and can't go on stage casually." To this, Kinsenke waved his finger.

"Well, although it's a pity not to perform on stage, as long as you can make money, it's not bad." He shrugged, then talked about his plans.

"I just heard about your quarrel with the bartender." He said that he was aware of the demands and thoughts of several people.

"You want money, don't you, it just so happens that I also have a lot of vision, unlike those stupid boys in it."

"I can introduce you to a job that is guaranteed to make a lot of money, enough to be chic for five years, no, ten years." He gestured with both hands to describe the beauty of the plan.

"Tell me first, we haven't decided yet." Several people were not impressed by this, and during this time, they had seen more liars and bragging rights in the North Second District than in their previous lives.

"That's right......" he leaned over, looked around, and whispered.

After some explanation and inquiry, several people slowly learned about his so-called plan, probably the two gangs in the city have been fighting each other recently, and now they are both short of combat power, so they offered a high price to hire someone.

"I can see at a glance that you are not ordinary, and you will be powerful assistants to change the tide of the war." He patted his chest to show that he had vision.

"Are you trying to help one of the sides and then profit from the victory?" Guro analysis.

"No, no, no, help one side? How is it possible, if he is really allowed to unify the underground gangs of Lebian, then how can a retail investor like me live, wouldn't there be no room for movement. He shook his head.

"They're going to fight, even badly, and all we have to do is make the final harvest and be the biggest winner."

"Oh, that's a bold plan, but you dare to say it, tell us all about it." Gu Luo shook his head at this, feeling unreliable.

"Well, there must be risks, there is no such thing as non-risk, but you are different, I have never seen a few of you before, especially this beauty, if you have appeared in Lebion before, I can't be impressed."

"You are passers-by, no one knows the trump card, and you don't know the situation in the city, and you can't find anyone if you want to tell the truth, if you talk nonsense, it will make people think that the opponent sent to make trouble, so I don't worry about telling you about it." In this regard, this dwarf-like man is self-satisfied, as he introduced himself, he is always smart and good at seizing opportunities.

"It's kind of interesting, but you haven't said the specific strength of the two gangs, and what we can get in the end." Although he may not necessarily agree, Kinsenke is still curious about the distribution of power in the city today.

"Well, it's a long story, or let's find a place to eat first." The other party touched his stomach and said that it was time for lunch.

"Okay, I'll hear you first." Jinsenke said that he didn't care about this, and as he spoke, he looked on the street, found a store with a good sign, and walked over with a few people.

"Oh, by the way, I haven't asked your name yet." Kinsenke turned back.

"Name, oh yes, you can call me Red Hat." He groped out a crumpled dark red hat from his trouser pocket and put it on his head, such an outfit is also common in the North 2nd District today, after all, the weather is cold, and there are many people wearing hats, all kinds of colors.

"What about you? I see you guys still seem to be young, are you out looking for excitement? He asked, too.

"We, well, yes, we're just looking for excitement, hehe." Jinsenke smiled very naturally, and Ruby on the other side also rotated the keychain in his hand, indicating that he was in a good mood.

"You can call me Boss Kim, this tall man is the Tile Knight, that one is the Ancient Warrior, and as for this cute beautiful girl, I think about it, you can call her the magical girl Lulu-chan."

"Ah, what a shameful name~" Ruby covered her mouth and chuckled, but she didn't seem to mean to refuse, anyway, it's funny, isn't it?

(End of chapter)