Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 382 - 18 Power Distribution

Chapter 382: Chapter 18 Power Distribution

The wild flare of an LED flashlight, the dim grey concrete wall, splashes of bright red blood, plump radiation rats scurrying everywhere and corpses, all painted a chilling portrait of the apocalypse.

These radiation rats had unbelievably grown to the size of fully-grown hunting dogs and were extremely agile as well. Like a flood, they surged forward. Their evolution had given them sharp fangs and claws, with which they could pounce and rip into their prey like hunting dogs, and their sheer numbers gave them the audacity to attack any beast.

The survivors instinctively backed away, their steps chaotic. The dense gunfire, echoing through the sewer pipe as if it were right beside them, almost tore their eardrums amidst its thunderous roar.

"So many?" Lu Fan was alarmed and hastily unpinned and threw a hand grenade.

Boom. Because the radiation rats were too clustered, the bodies of about seven or eight rats were instantly blown to bits, splattering onto the wall.

Smelling the blood, the pack of radiation rats became even crazier.

"Run, it’s a radiation rat horde of over a thousand, we can’t win." Old Pavel, in seeing these creatures, immediately turned and ran, shouting, "We’ll be eaten."

But aside from the panicking newbies, none of the Conquerors retreated, because Tang Zheng hadn’t retreated.

Thud, thud, thud. The Howling Reaper in Qin Yan’s hands unleashed a stream of bullets. In the cascade of ejected shell casings, bullets trailed a dark red tail, striking the surge of radiation rats and instantly clearing a bloody passage.

"Shang Wu, Meiqin, cover the rat horde while Qin Yan changes the bullet chain. Lu Fan, keep throwing hand grenades behind us." Tang Zheng calmly shot down those radiation rats that had managed to evade the hail of bullets, all the while issuing orders, "Old Gao, Little Du, get behind me and shoot. I’ll cover the ammo you use."

The rounded passage had enough room for two people, shoulder to shoulder.

"Thanks." Old Gao wasn’t modest and rushed over with his Type 81 rifle. He glanced at the AK74M in Tang Zheng’s hand and smiled, "The black AK looks cool, but I’m more comfortable with domestic goods."

Old Gao’s ordinary looking Type 81 miraculously danced in his hands. He only fired single shots, perhaps due to the scarcity of supplies and his accustomed frugality, but every bullet hit its mark.

"Let me play too." Seeing Tang Zheng and his group repelling the horde of radiation rats, Gao Yu felt an itch, raised his M200 sniper rifle, looked through the optical sight, and began searching for targets. But his reactions were too slow; by the time he’d lined up a shot, somebody else would have already blasted the target away.

"Watch this." Liu Heng held up his Type 03 rifle and posed in what he thought was a very cool way, right in front of the female model, and began shooting.

"Be careful not to shoot us." Pang Meiqin glanced back at the two men, clearly skeptical of their shooting skills.

"You guys..." Old Pavel, frozen in the act of running, stared as the radiation rat horde that once devoured many wasteland residents now got viciously massacred. As gratified as he felt, he also winced at the thought of the precious bullets and grenades that the wanderers had wasted.

"What a waste," sighed Sholokhov, green with envy, as he nearly choked on his own saliva and tongue.

Tang Zheng pressed the magazine release button, and as the clip fell to the ground with a clink, he had already reloaded, and the muzzle flame continued to flicker in everyone’s eyes.

Given that the situation was under control, the newbies calmed down. They all plugged their ears and watched the battlefield. The smell of blood and gunpowder stung their noses and throats, inducing a nauseating sensation.

Three minutes later, the radiation rat horde had left over four hundred corpses and, like a receding tide, retreated.

"That’s it?" Liu Heng blew on the hot barrel of his rifle, slightly regretful, "Such good targets, wish there were more of them."

"Simple? Even an adventure team of twenty would flee at the sight of such a vast swarm of radiation rats. Leaving aside their numbers and combat power, who normally has so many bullets to waste? You guys just destroyed enough ammo to trade for half a year’s worth of food," Little Pavel retorted, displeased with Liu Heng’s attitude. His father instantly slapped him.

"Rat meat is cheap; it’s not worth using up ammo." Sholokhov glanced at the bodies and said, "And there’s too much of it, you won’t be able to sell it."

"Why? I was planning to exterminate the rat horde. At twenty pounds of meat per bottle cap, these bodies could easily be exchanged for hundreds, right?" Lu Fan wasn’t concerned about the hand grenades; she still had plenty.

"Only the poor eat rat meat, and they can catch it themselves. Plus, a bottle cap is a considerable wealth to them; they would certainly spend it on more useful supplies," Old Pavel sighed. "Twenty pounds of meat per bottle cap was the price over a decade ago. That’s why I told you guys to run. This is a losing proposition."

"So, it’s not that the market can’t digest it, but that there is no market." Lu Fan complained, "Why didn’t you explain that earlier?"

"Let’s move on. You still need to rent a place to stay. Once it gets dark, the first two levels of the settlement will be pitch black, and you won’t be able to do anything." Old Pavel rubbed his hands, drew a dagger, and knelt beside a radiation rat. He deftly slit its belly and cut from it the area with the least radiation and the most delicious meat.

"Little Pavel, you just said the corpses belong to us, and now you’re trying to cheat us?" Pang Meiqin glared at him, regretting the wasted Thunderstorm bullets.

"Not at all, don’t you guys eat?" Deflecting the blame was no difficulty for Little Pavel. Lying is a basic skill for the wasteland residents.

"Everyone, help gather the corpses. Fanfan, pack them up." After Tang Zheng finished speaking, he pulled along Old Pavel and others to wait around the corner. He didn’t want to reveal the secret of his spatial utilities. Otherwise, the wasteland dwellers would risk their lives to snatch them.

"We can help too." Old Pavel tried to ingratiate himself, adding, "It’s not far."

"If you hadn’t taken the long way around, we would have arrived earlier."

The three wasteland dwellers’ faces reddened, and as they were about to explain, Tang Zheng waved his hand to stop them, asking, "Will our Steel Council soldier coats cause trouble?"

"You’re overthinking it, soldier coats are common spoils." Old Pavel wiped away some cold sweat, figuring it’s best to be honest. This guy isn’t easy to fool.

"Our clothes and weapons are relatively new, will that be an issue?" If it weren’t for their concern over radiation, Tang Zheng would have had his group smear their faces with dirt.

"No problem. The third layer of the gathering place is where the upper-class people live. Not only is the environment good, but there are also street lights, bars, and various facilities." Old Pavel sounded envious, warning, "But without assets worth a thousand bottle caps, you can’t get in."

"It seems a single robbery could get it done." Tang Zheng wouldn’t mind playing a bandit for the Russians, he felt no pressure. However, he quickly dismissed the idea, asking, "No one’s keeping their bottle caps, right? They should have all been exchanged for supplies and recruits, right?"

"Of course, guns, subordinates, food and water, these are the most important things. Those bottle caps will inevitably get robbed if they aren’t spent quickly."

Wasteland dwellers aren’t fools, so gathering bottle caps for Tang Zheng and his group turned into a big problem. Those things are always changing hands and are scattered among ninety percent of the people in the gathering place.

"How many people are there in total in the three gathering places you’ve been to?"

"Over 400,000, I think?" Old Pavel was not sure. "The population has increased a lot in the past few years, but so has the death rate."

"What kind of people live on the other levels?" Yin Shangwu kept up with the group, and Tang Zheng signaled for them to keep moving.

"The first level is full of the poor who can’t even afford food, the sickly, and abandoned elderly and children. Simply put, it’s where people who are just waiting to die live, so it’s the most chaotic. The second level is where ordinary residents live, accounting for about seventy percent of the population of the gathering place. There is a police force from the Steel Council to maintain order, but it’s not much better. By the way, casual killing isn’t an issue, but if you get caught by the police, you have to prepare to pay a hefty fine." Mopping his brow due to the familiar environment and no longer fearing attacks, Old Pavel’s voice grew louder.

"The third level serves as the base for various armed groups. Most men want to join, but all the leaders aren’t fools, they only pick the best. " Old Pavel took off his gas mask and spit, adding, "But their jobs are also very dangerous, they have to go out and explore the outside world for supplies every once in a while. After all, the leaders don’t feed them for nothing."

"Do you want to join them? As outsiders, seeking shelter is the best way to keep safe. Otherwise, you’ll definitely be bullied by the local people." Little Pavel actually tried to consider the situation from their perspective.

"Idiot, the LEADER would never attach himself to others." After reprimanding his son and flattering Tang Zheng in passing, Old Pavel continued his introduction, "The fourth level is where the Steel Council has its base, and the fifth level is where they stockpile supplies. It’s all under martial law. Any unauthorized access and you’ll be shot on sight."

"As the surface has become unlivable, the underground of Moscow has been extensively excavated. Some people still live in individual caves, trying to keep themselves safe." Sholokhov pointed upwards, "For all we know, someone could be listening to our conversation from there."

"What’s the most profitable business in the gathering place?" Pang Meiqin really couldn’t get used to this filthy environment and wanted to complete the mission and leave the game as soon as possible.

"If you live here for two years, you’ll undoubtedly go crazy." Xu Biyun kept feeling around every part of her gun, wanting to get familiar with it as quickly as possible.

"Let’s try to survive a week first." Zhang Bingcheng joined the conversation, exceedingly worried. He felt he should have a talk with Tang Zheng and take the opportunity to draw a few allies to his side.

"If you want to get rich, you can scavenge, but that has the highest mortality rate. As for business, don’t even think about it. You guys don’t have any supplies, and you can’t be a dealer here. The most valuable things are the same as always: drugs, alcohol, high-end food, beautiful women." Old Pavel reminded kindly, "Since you’re new here, it’s best to team up with someone. But be careful not to get shot in the back."

After walking down a 200-meter slope at a 30-degree angle and turning a corner, Old Pavel pointed to a hole and said, "From here, climb up ten meters and you’ll reach the gathering place."

"Hey, Old Pavel, nice business you got there. Are you going to introduce us?"

Upon hearing these words, the three wasteland dwellers’ faces turned ashen, they quickly reached for their weapons.(To be continued. If you like this work, please come to qidian.com to vote and recommend it. Your support is my greatest motivation.)