Chapter 124: Out of the City! Out of the City! Out of the City!
Chapter 124: Out of the City! Out of the City! Out of the City!
The preparations of the Special Contaminant Cleanup Division were always done quickly and well.
After the “business trip” applications of Lu Xin and Gecko were approved, a tall modified vehicle was soon driven downstairs to the Guard Bureau. Simultaneously, a member of the Support Team went upstairs and handed an inventory list to Lu Xin and Gecko.
“The items should be almost ready, right…”
Gecko opened the list weakly and calculated it item by item.
Upon seeing the lengthy list, Lu Xin’s face showed some surprise: “You prepared so many things?”
“They’re all necessary…”
Gecko glanced at Lu Xin and explained helplessly: “Fifty boxes of military canned food, one hundred sets of compressed biscuits; thirty jin of purified water, one water filtering device, two replacement filter cartridges; two emergency medicine kits, one surgical equipment set; two simple tents, two sets of sleeping bags; two powerful flashlights, four batteries, one simple solar charger; one copy of the latest military map, two compasses;”
“Ten thousand Alliance Currency that could circulate throughout the Northern region; two gold bars; four sets of specially made Ability User restraints, three for those Ability Users, one spare; also my weapon equipment, one service Handgun, four magazines, one specially made 14.9mm ultra-long-range Sniper Rifle, fifty rounds of ordinary bullets, twenty Special Bullets. Plus three matching Daggers.”
“Two signal guns, six Signal Flares.”
“Two specially made wilderness Satellite Phones, one simple signal receiver.”
“One radio equipment set, two Walkie-Talkies…”
“Also, one set of replacement clothes for each, two sets of simple tableware, three proper magazines for amusement and boredom relief.”
“…”
Lu Xin listened by the side, somewhat stunned: “Why prepare so much? We’re only going out for ten days…”
“Sigh, I was even worried it might not be enough—who knows what we’d encounter in the wilderness?”
Gecko sighed helplessly and said: “For example, that water filtering device—in the wilderness, food and water sources were critical. People accustomed to wilderness life could drink from clean sources they found, maybe just boiling it first, but those from Highwall Cities like us might get diarrhea from it. In the wilderness, diarrhea could lead to big problems.”
“Then these canned food, money, gold…”
He spoke slowly, his voice full of resignation: “Once you were outside the Highwall City, you inevitably had to deal with people on the wilderness. And when dealing with wilderness folk, the two things least dispensable were weapons and currency.”
“The key was currency.”
“Alliance Currency was accepted in all major Highwall Cities, but in the wilderness, some didn’t recognize it, so we had to bring some gold as backup. With certain special groups, even gold might not work; we’d need to trade with food.”
“…”
Initially, Lu Xin had only heard that Gecko had experience surviving outside the wilderness, and he hadn’t thought much about it. He brought him along mainly because he needed someone to drive for him. But now, hearing him speak so knowledgeably, he grew serious. It seemed his decision to have Gecko accompany him was truly correct.
“Still, you could see that Old Chen had really invested a fortune in you…”
Downstairs, when he saw the wilderness-specialized vehicle prepared for them, Gecko got a bit excited.
He circled the vehicle, touching it here and patting it there, looking exhilarated.
“Why do you say that?”
Lu Xin didn’t understand, thinking it was just a car.
“Hehe…”
Gecko lifted the front hood, looked at it for a while, grew more satisfied, snapped it shut with a “pa”, and laughed: “This was clearly a Hummer modified specifically by the research team into military-grade off-roader. High chassis, bulky rear, V10 naturally aspirated engine, 6.8L displacement with modified air intake and exhaust, supercharger kit as its heart, enlarged fuel injectors, all paired with an ECU tuning program. Horsepower like a 30-year virgin—1099 horses. Plus bulletproof glass and a heavy six-barrel rotary machine gun. Damn it…”
His eyes glinted slightly: “It was practically an iron beast!”
Lu Xin listened, somewhat baffled: “Isn’t it just a car?”
To show concern, he still asked: “Are you sure it runs outside the city?”
Gecko turned, his gaze somewhat contemptuous as he looked at him.
Lu Xin involuntarily felt guilty and explained: “I mean… was it fast outside the city?”
“Relax!”
Gecko pulled open the door, climbed into the driver’s seat, patted the steering wheel, and said: “I even thought it could fly!”
Lu Xin watched the staff members loading the prepared supplies bit by bit into the vehicle. They even showed him each item clearly to facilitate easy access. Finally, as the Team Leader of the Special Operations Team, he signed off and took his documents. He opened the passenger door, sat down, and asked: “Did you need to go home and tell your family?”
“No need!”
Gecko laughed: “I was a loner—no one cared except Linda. We could head straight outside the city.”
“Oh!”
Lu Xin nodded once and said: “Before leaving, stop by Moon Terrace. You know my home address.”
“Why?”
Gecko looked at him in surprise: “Don’t you realize time was precious now?”
“To pick up my family…”
Lu Xin looked back at Gecko, puzzled. He thought, you didn’t have family, but he did.
Gecko “shua” turned his head to stare at Lu Xin.
Seeing how serious Lu Xin appeared, his expression gradually became strange.
His face paled again.
“Activate…”
Gecko didn’t say anything else. Instead, he turned to test the voice activation system and started the car. Then he drove Lu Yin silently, following all rules, to the old apartment building where Lu Xin lived, and parked.
“This…”
He didn’t dare turn his head, just stared at the steering wheel, his voice strained: “Do you need… to go up and get them?”
“No need!”
Lu Xin sat quietly in the passenger seat.
“You should…”
Gecko’s voice was slightly faint: “To help with luggage or something…”
“They were already in the car.”
Lu Xin turned and smiled at Gecko: “You could leave…”
Gecko glanced at the vacant back seat in the rearview mirror, swallowed, and silently started the car.
Once the car slowly moved onto the main road, he couldn’t stop peeking into the mirror.
After struggling for a long while, he suddenly forced a smile and did something Lu Xin never expected.
“Uncle, Auntie, Little Sister, good evening! I’m Gecko, Lu Xin’s good colleague and friend.”
He actually chatted: “Nice to meet you all…”
“…surely you were pleased to meet me too?”
“Haha, don’t be shy…”
“…”
“Hmm?”
Flipping through files in the passenger seat, Lu Xin turned to look at Gecko.
His expression became quite odd.
Plenty were scared by his family, but this was the first to try chatting with them when they couldn’t be seen.
Lu Xin sighed inwardly in resignation. Looking up, he saw the Steel Drawbridge ahead slowly lowering.
The wind from outside the city blew in gently, feeling different from inside.