Chapter 163: Chapter 147: Show of Strength
“Hm?”
Even though Tao Yu’s side had encountered uncontrollable demonization on the road and had already lost nearly half of their number,
they were still a large force of more than thirty people.
This was quite conspicuous at the temporary gathering place, as teams that usually entered the Rainforest didn’t have as many members—around ten was the most common size.
Having too many or too few usually stemmed from other reasons.
Watching a group of people deliberately hang ropes on the edge of the cliff that was over a dozen meters high and slowly climb down,
one could tell that the strength of this group seemed quite average.
Most of them were fully armed members who seemed well-trained, but their overall actions were only on par with the standard of Outsider Pioneers.
A few who were closest and having a smoke on the edge of the campsite brightened up at the sight.
By the looks of it, this seemed to be a mechanized Inner City person leading four or five Outsider Pioneer underlings, immediately taking advantage of the distance to approach them.
He walked over while smiling and said,
“There’s quite a crowd here, need some help? Where are you brothers from?”
His mechanical electronic eye kept locking onto the expressions of the people in front of him.
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When he saw that they all had a look of confusion, obviously unable to understand the common language, his eyes lit up even more with ecstasy.
Natives!
And so many of them!
Had they just encountered a new world? Could these be escapees from there?
Judging by their attire, were they combatants from that world?
It’s my lucky day to run into such good fortune!
“Everyone…”
Roar~
A roar came from above, causing the Inner City Pioneer to pause briefly, then he looked up to see the Alien Queen standing on the cliff edge, staring at him coldly.
The cruel look in the Alien Queen’s eyes seemed as if she wanted to split him open.
Yet, for an Inner City Pioneer, the threat of a single Alien Queen, in terms of combat power, was mostly not something to fear.
Especially for those who were mechanically augmented; direct firepower could easily eliminate the target.
But the presence of the person riding atop the Alien Queen, whose face showed a lazy expression and a carefree manner as he looked down upon him, gave the Inner City Pioneer a slight pause in his heart.
Then he greeted with a smile,
“Brother, you’ve caught an Alien Queen, eh? Nice luck. Are these people from the new world?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to help? Didn’t you see someone’s about to fall down? Why don’t you lend a hand?”
Tao Yu did not answer but just urged them to work.
This made the Inner City Pioneer halt mid-sentence and instead looked back at his few Outsider underlings, signaling them to go up and help catch the people.
Afterward, he kept glancing around Tao Yu, seeming to flicker with uncertainty, wanting to see if there were any other people nearby.
“Stop looking, I am the only Pioneer here,”
Tao Yu, as if knowing what the other man was thinking, spoke indifferently. He remained on Da Hei’s back at the edge of the cliff, seemingly looking around at something and not really giving the Inner City Pioneer a proper glance.
I’ve killed too many, no desire to kill again. These self-destructive crazies don’t even offer much loot; their hard bodies blunting blades when chopped.
“Brother, I did lend a hand, so I should share in the spoils…”
Whoosh~
Tao Yu leaped from Da Hei’s back and landed directly in front of the Inner City Pioneer from the cliff that was over a dozen meters high.
“Share what?”
Tao Yu’s assertive manner left the Inner City Pioneer speechless, suppressing the words in his mouth and forcing a smile to change the topic,
“Nothing, brother, you seem somewhat unfamiliar.”
“I am just an Outsider commoner, not very good with manners, please forgive me,”
As Tao Yu spoke, his hand was already resting on the hilt of the blade he conveniently took from Da Hei’s back.
This made the Inner City Pioneer’s heart chill.
He truly lacked manners!
At the same time, this caused some irritation in his heart; how dare an Outsider…
“Brother Tao?”
At that moment, a voice traveled over, and he turned to see Panda’s towering 2.3-meter stature, approaching like a brown bear.
Qimen, Han Lin, Huang Jian, and Nuosen were also with him.
“Big Brother Tao, we meet again! When I went back to submit the mission, I ran into Panda, and as we talked, we realized we all knew each other.”
Huang Jian also smiled as he spoke.
“Big Brother Tao, hello.”
Qimen, who had been somewhat defiant towards Tao Yu, had been humbled ever since witnessing Taff being killed in front of him, now respectfully lowering his eyes.
“Brother Tao is back, seems like a good harvest. Huang Jian said you guys discovered a new world together. Is this stuff from the new world?”
Han Lin and Tao Yu were the least acquainted since their only interaction was a previous confrontation with Taff. Yet because of having witnessed Tao Yu’s capability and decisive action, he now spoke with a teasing tone.
“Suppose so.”
Tao Yu nodded his head. Now that Han Lin had also invested in the company, without having divided any benefits for himself but was able to bring in profit, it was surely worth acknowledging him.
“It’s just like Brother Tao. I’ll be heading back for a trip in the next two days. If you need anything, you can come to me.”
“Alright.”
Having five Inner City people calling him “Brother Tao” in unison made the Pioneer across from Tao Yu utterly dumbfounded.
Damn!
He’s just a bumpkin from the Outsider, where’s your Inner City pride?!
“Brother Tao turns out to be an Outsider hero. No wonder I haven’t seen you before, haha, it turns out I’m the one who’s out of the loop.”
Even though his mind cursed, he still had a smile plastered on his face.
Who cares who it is, just follow along and call him that.
The weakest among these five guys was already on par with himself, and Panda was a somewhat famous skilled worker. His recent Dada Transportation Company endeavor was thriving.
Seeing that the opponent was admitting defeat straightforwardly, Tao Yu wasn’t some kind of homicidal maniac. In broad daylight like this, it wasn’t possible to really do anything. He simply gave a glance and didn’t pay any more attention to it.
Instead, he turned back to Panda first.
“How’s it going? The company hasn’t had any issues lately, has it?”
Panda had previously advanced him the dividends for the second month. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have obtained Innate Time Control so quickly.
Although he hadn’t encountered any emergencies that required using it, this favor still needed to be acknowledged. He still had a share in the company, and if there was a situation where he could lend a hand, he definitely would.
“Hey, what issues could there be? It’s just that the following income has decreased somewhat. Counting the advance from before, the second month can at most make up ten thousand Yuan Force for you…”
Panda briefed Tao Yu succinctly.
Now, the number of Pioneers arriving at the base was also increasing.
Many Pioneers would first traverse mountains and rivers to report to the base and then take advantage of the early benefits to claim a dormitory where they could live. Afterwards, they all began to operate with the base as the center.
This low-threshold moving activity was undoubtedly the most comfortable income for the ordinary Outsiders.
A swarm surged into the city, starting to transport all sorts of trash.
Even if they couldn’t sell it, they could take it back home to make ends meet.
Chairs, broken glass, cloth hangers, and such — Tao Yu’s own home windows were still pasted with cardboard.
It was perfectly normal to take a bag of trash back with him when he was ready to head back.
Moreover, as the more valuable goods had been mostly swept up, the income now was like a cliff falling off.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s already good enough to get a taste of the first soup. What are your plans for the future?”
Tao Yu had some plans in his mind. With good relationships with the original residents like Jack, Tommy, and Judy, and now having brought back a group, combined with Panda and the others, they were sufficient to form a makeshift team.
He hadn’t thought of keeping it all to himself, and didn’t even consider taking the lion’s share, but Tao Yu was looking to earn dividends from the shared stock.
“Yeah, I have some plans. Since the income has decreased, we have mainly left the Outsiders to oversee the transportation. There will still be a trickle of income each month. Then, coincidentally, I met with Huang Jian and the others, and we plan to set up two ammunition production lines…”
Panda’s words made Tao Yu’s eyes light up slightly. Trust a big brother from the Inner City to have quite a few ideas.
By today’s standards, the caliber of firearms and bullets were inconsistent. Although ammunition was still available at the moment, they were just sitting and depleting resources.
But if they could obtain bullet production lines or other types of machining equipment, that would also count as setting up a factory in the new Development Zone.
A bullet’s consumption was a very tangible and inevitable expenditure. Both the Monster World’s Nan Bang and the Zombie World’s beauties were places where such production lines could be found.
It was just that assembling, calibrating, and transporting these required a lot of effort and energy.
“If there is anything I can help with, just let me know.”
Tao Yu’s face was full of a pleasant smile, quite approachable.
“Of course! This time we’ll set up a new company separately, with the transportation company also under the new company’s wing. Then for production, we’ll create another subsidiary. With your relationship with the young master Sun and your strength, Brother Tao, we definitely need to form a strong partnership.”
It’s a win-win situation. Panda was also quite aware of the current situation.
If it was in the old Development Zone, indeed they wouldn’t need the other party. They could simply rely on their family’s influence.
In the new Development Zone, he himself was the strongest representative of his family!
Thinking of Taff who had been killed before, and young master Sun who had come over as a witness, Panda also had his own choices to make.
It didn’t matter that he was involved or not, this grandee wasn’t greedy for a huge share, and the dividends were currently very fair, with profits for everyone.
As long as he could stand out at critical moments and have the final say with a single hammer-strike, that would be enough!
Panda was confident about maintaining things on a day-to-day basis and had also won over a few other decent guys from the Inner City. They were enough to prop up the operation.
“This time we’re preparing to get goods in the new Development Zone, while Han Lin will head back to arrange some Inner City resources. Brother Tao doesn’t need to do anything extra; if you’re free, just greet young master Sun and give us the green light for starting the company.”
“Sure.”
Tao Yu certainly wouldn’t object, then something else came to his mind, so he gestured An Zhijie over.
“Come over here for a sec.”
Once An Zhijie came over, Tao Yu then said to Panda,
“He’s a combat pilot who can fly helicopters. For this trip you’re taking to get things, you can bring him along. See if you can fly a helicopter back directly.”
“Haha, Brother Tao, you really are our lucky star. We had just been worrying about the trouble of transporting goods through the Rainforest.”
Panda’s eyes brightened, and he felt somewhat envious, always feeling like Brother Tao could encounter any good fortune…