Chapter 382 - 382: Arrival
Zhao Yu paid the deposit on the spot and agreed to meet him at his residence in
an hour.
He returned to the hiring hub and hung up a sign to buy fireworks.
These items were not of high value and rarely searched for. There was an abundance of them in the old city, mostly in the peripheral areas. Soon, several teams approached Zhao Yu.
With the price of few rifles, Zhao Yu signed agreements with several relatively weaker teams that could only operate in the outskirts.
Unlike Luo Bing who demanded half the deposit upfront, these smaller teams
only asked for one-fifth of the deposit.
Zhao Yu wasn’t worried about them taking the money and not doing the job because this was a platform set up by Peace Town. Each team and employer had to register and the transactions were certified by Peace Town officials. Before the completion of the transaction, the items in their residences couldn’t be moved, acting as a deposit. If one party breached the contract, compensation would be deducted from the items in their residence.
When he returned to his lodging, Luo Bing and her team had already been waiting at the door for a long time.
After greeting them, Zhao Yu gathered all the soldiers in the courtyard.
“You’re bringing so many guns?!”
Each of Zhao Yu’s soldiers was armed, not just with rifles and sniper rifles but even two had machine guns. Luo Bing was uncertain and worried about it.
From the bulging waist packs of the soldiers, it was apparent they also carried grenades.
Additionally, almost every soldier had a tactical backpack filled to the brim, though it was unclear what exactly they contained.
“We’re planning to infiltrate, there’s no need to engage in a firefight with the mutants…”
Luo Bing reminded them.
Zhao Yu nodded slightly, “Don’t worry, my people won’t act recklessly, but we
still need to bring the guns…”
He noticed that Luo Bing’s seven-person team only carried two guns and didn’t seem to have spare magazines.
Apart from firearms, he even saw them carrying more primitive weapons like knives and swords.
Everyone exchanged glances but didn’t say much. After all, Zhao Yu was the financier.
“Let’s go!”
Luo Bing, with no other choice, led the way in a certain direction.
Zhao Yu naturally followed closely with his people.
The group arrived at the north gate of Peace Town, which seemed even busier than the west gate where Zhao Yu had first entered. Many people were shouting at the entrance.
“Going to the old city, too bullets…”
“Old city, anyone?”
After listening for a while, Zhao Yu realized they were calling out for a shuttle service between the old city and Peace Town.
From their uniform attire, it seemed to be an official operator of Peace Town.
As Zhao Yu and his group’s large scale arrival, the vendors were overjoyed and rushed up to ask if they were interested.
Before Zhao Yu could speak, Luo Bing glanced through the crowd and smiled,
“I’ve made arrangement!”
Immediately, a woman in her thirties, looking delighted, emerged from the crowd, causing the others to disperse.
“Sister Bing!”
Although she looked older, she called Luo Bing ’elder sister’.
“Hello, Huang Juan!”
Luo Bing greeted her without taking offense, then indicated the number of
people in their party.
“With so many people, we might need a minibus…
Huang Juan led Zhao Yu and the others to the outside the north gate of Peace
Town, explaining as they walked.
“Usually, the vehicles going to the old city are small, ranging from four to
seven seats…”
“But we have too many people. We can either rent several small cars or just one minibus…”
Zhao Yu had learned from Eagle that the cost of renting vehicles for trips between Peace Town and the old city was borne by the financier. This was why other teams were willing to take on such tasks, as it saved costs and provided extra earnings.
“Let’s go with the minibus!”
Zhao Yu nodded in agreement.
This time, they couldn’t use their vehicles, as leaving them outside the old city would require someone to watch over them.
Therefore, they had to leave their vehicles in the secure Peace Town and rent a vehicle there for the trip to the old city.
The group quickly arrived at a minibus, apparently a converted old public bus,
still bearing traces of its former use.
“How about this bus?” Huang Juan asked proudly.
The interior space was limited. Though twenty-plus people could squeeze in, it wasn’t necessary; he needed to ensure his soldiers could react in emergencies.
“Do you have a bigger vehicle?”
“A bigger vehicle?!” Huang Juan was startled for a moment, then she seemed to understand.
“A bigger vehicle, would a truck do?” she asked excitedly.
Such a big customer was first for her, but a good opportunity nonetheless. The bigger the vehicle, the higher the price and the more commission she could earn.
Soon, Zhao Yu surveyed the truck area and chose a spacious truck.
“Alright, let’s go, I’ll take you to pay…”
Huang Juan’s face beamed with joy as she led Zhao Yu to Peace Town’s official registration and rental office.
“One rifle at new or 500 rifle bullets…”
Zhao Yu immediately handed over a rifle.
He had been briefed by Eagle about the situation between the old city and Peace Town and had prepared the rental fee in advance, ensuring it wouldn’t affect the soldiers’ combat capabilities.
The staff member checked the gun briefly, then registered the previously viewed large truck’s license plate.
Under Huang Juan’s watchful eye, her name was smoothly filled in the driver’s column.
Only then did she finally relax, leading Zhao Yu and the others towards the large truck.
Although Zhao Yu had heard about the situation here from Eagle, he was still curious and couldn’t help asking a few questions.
“Are these cars from Peace Town?”
“Yes…”
“Are you the drivers they hired?”
“Yes, that’s right. We’re all drivers, but we have to do it ourselves…
After confirming that she could get the commission for a large truck, Huang Juan was overjoyed and said a lot along the way.
Soon, the group arrived at the vehicle, which had three seats in the front besides the driver’s seat.
At the moment, there was a light drizzle in the sky, and Zhao Yu naturally didn’t want to get wet. He pulled the sergeant along to sit in the back row of the front.
Luo Bing, as the captain of the team, sat in the passenger seat, while the rest were all crammed into the truck bed.
There was a small incident when boarding the vehicle. Zhao Yu gave the command.
As a result, the twenty soldiers boarded in an orderly and well-trained manner, impressively demonstrating their discipline.
This left Luo Bing and others speechless, and they started to believe more in the rank of commander on Zhao Yu’s shoulder.
After all, only such a significant figure could possess such professional soldiers.
“Is it just you driving?”
Zhao Yu noticed that Huang Juan was the only driver, without even a guard.
“It’s not far from here to the old city, just two hours away…”
“I’m not talking about that. I mean, aren’t you afraid of someone hijacking the vehicle with just you driving?”
Huang Juan laughed and said while driving, “Those who can rent cars all have residences in town, and those items act as a deposit…
“As for outsiders…”
“On this piece of land, no one dares to rob a car from Peace Town!” She said proudly.
Zhao Yu nodded slightly, understanding the situation. After all, Peace Town seemed to be developing well.
The first source of income was from the residences, and the second was from shuttling between Peace Town and the old city.
To establish the second income, they probably had to eliminate many private transport vehicles to monopolize it completely.
The truck was fast and there was a relatively smooth dirt road between Peace Town and the old city, obviously maintained by Peace Town.
Cars occasionally overtook them on both sides, causing Huang Juan to grumble.
However, the joy in her eyes clearly still immersed in the emotions of a significant commission from this deal.
Two hours later, the vehicle arrived at its destination, a place not smaller than an average stronghold. The security was tighter here, with over three hundred guards and numerous heavy weapons.
Huang Juan was very friendly. She asked about the return time of Zhao Yu and others, agreeing to continue as the driver when they returned before parted ways.
The stronghold was not small and had a trading market. Many people were hawking items scavenged from the old city, but most were not much valuable. “Commander Zhao, shall we go straight in?” After walking around with Zhao Yu, Luo Bing couldn’t help but ask.
“Alright! Let’s go in..”