Chapter 72: Xisuo’s Concern
Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Xisuo’s Concern
Based on what little they knew about the Academy, its main base was at least 2,000 kilometers from October Town.
They found it hard to imagine how an exploration team could have traveled two to three thousand kilometers to reach October Town.
This wasn’t the peaceful era before the Great Cataclysm, after all.
The wasteland was teeming with all sorts of dangers: mutated creatures, Corpse Ghosts, parasitic beasts, raiders, sandstorms, magnetic storms, and radiation zones.
Any of these could become an obstacle on the road.
Even if the Academy possessed the rumored flying vehicles, they would likely be useless in such a hostile environment.
Sometimes, a thirty-kilometer journey could take several days on foot.
Two or three hundred kilometers would take at least two or three months.
As for two or three thousand kilometers... the two of them simply couldn’t fathom it.
What they also couldn’t understand was what kind of shelter could possibly be worth the Academy sending an exploration team thousands of kilometers to find.
At the same time, however, they began to understand why an exploration team from the Academy would need to recruit outside help.
The Academy was indeed powerful, but its influence couldn’t possibly radiate two to three thousand kilometers away to October Town.
Therefore, the team they sent was likely small, maybe a dozen people, or perhaps even just a few.
Xisuo quickly asked,
"So, are they still looking for people?"
The bartender didn’t say a word, a smirk playing on his lips.
Xisuo had to chuckle at the man’s antics. ’This guy is truly greedy.’
He couldn’t be bothered to argue. He reached into his coat and slapped a Silver Coin onto the wooden bar.
Seeing the reward, the bartender immediately spilled everything he knew.
"You’ve come at the right time. I hear they’re taking anyone who’s willing. There’s no limit on numbers."
"They’re setting out at noon today."
The bartender glanced at the clock on the wall.
"You’ve got about half an hour. Any later and you’ll probably miss out on this golden opportunity."
Having gotten the information they wanted, the two didn’t linger at the bar any longer.
After all, the bar was the most conspicuous spot in the tavern.
In the short time they had been talking, quite a few eyes had already landed on them.
The two scanned the room and saw that it was packed. There was nowhere in the tavern to have a quiet conversation.
The brothers exchanged a look and, with some time still to spare, immediately left the tavern.
They found a deserted corner before stopping.
Having lived together all these years, the two brothers could often guess what the other was thinking with just a look or an expression.
Simon looked at his older brother.
"You’re not actually thinking of joining this so-called shelter exploration, are you?"
Xisuo hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"If anyone else were organizing it, I definitely wouldn’t join."
"But this is the Academy. If we can get a clue from them, we might be able to solve the problem we’re facing."
Simon, of course, knew what his brother was thinking. His tone grew serious.
"If this were before, I might have supported you."
"But haven’t we already made a deal with Ye Yun?"
"With his help, even if we use our abilities frequently, we can use Rad-Away to clear the radiation from our bodies."
Xisuo shook his head.
"Don’t be fooled by our good relationship now; it’s only temporary."
"He’s willing to give us enough benefits only because we have something he needs."
"But... what if he doesn’t need us anymore?"
Xisuo let out a soft sigh.
"As the number of members in their shelter grows, how many more of these simple commissioned tasks do you think we’ll be able to get?"
"We don’t know the exact location of their shelter, but it must be close to that abandoned gas station."
"Now that Zhou Mei has joined them, even without transportation, it would only take them four days at most to get from their shelter to October Town."
"What are we supposed to do if, one day, he decides our commission fee is too high and just sends his own people over here instead?"
Simon’s face stiffened upon hearing his brother’s analysis.
Simon fell silent for a moment. He knew his brother’s concerns were not unfounded.
Relying on others was indeed not a long-term solution.
"Then what should we do?" Simon asked.
Xisuo thought for a moment before speaking.
"Let’s go check it out first. If there’s a chance, we can try to join the exploration team."
"If we can establish a connection with the Academy, it can only help us, not hurt us."
"Of course, all of this is on the condition that we can guarantee our own safety."
"If things look bad, we pull out immediately."
Simon nodded. "Okay, let’s do as you say."
With their plan settled, the two immediately walked toward the open area outside the tavern.
At that moment, there were less than twenty minutes until the exploration team was scheduled to depart.
As the time drew closer to twelve o’clock, some of the people who had been inside the tavern began to trickle out.
A large crowd had gathered in the open space outside the tavern.
Among them were lone-wolf Mercenaries, caravan guards, and some freelancers of unknown origin.
There were men and women, old and young, but without exception, a hunger for wealth glittered in their eyes.
Xisuo and Simon stood inconspicuously in the crowd, quietly observing the people around them.
Since this job had no limit on the number of hires,
it meant that there wasn’t much of a competitive atmosphere among the crowd.
How the money would be divided after finding the shelter was a problem for later, so the mood on-site wasn’t too tense.
Even those who had previous conflicts with each other chose to bury the hatchet in the face of immense profit.
What caught Xisuo’s attention was that, besides the scattered Mercenaries and freelancers like themselves, there was an entire, organized squad present.
Xisuo had seen these people before. They were the guards of October Town.
To be precise, they were the town mayor’s personal guard, responsible for maintaining order and security in October Town.
He hadn’t expected them to join this job as well.
However, Xisuo quickly realized why. The employer was the renowned Academy.
Even if it was just a very small exploration team, the Academy’s reputation preceded them. Who wouldn’t want to get on the good side of a major power like that?
Besides, even if they couldn’t latch onto a powerful connection,
with the projected payout for this mission being so high, who wouldn’t want a piece of the pie?
As the crowd waited, five billowing plumes of dust rose in the distance, heading their way.
In an instant, the previously idle crowd snapped to attention, their gazes fixed on the approaching dust clouds.