Chapter 296: Satellite City Seven

Night was already falling as the convoy entered Central City’s Satellite City Seven.

Like Qinggang City, checks in Central City’s Satellite City Seven weren’t as strict as in the Main City. The convoy delivered goods here periodically, so they collectively held passes—in fact, they now had more passes than people.

Lu Xin also held an official Qinggang identity, a special one with an embossed seal.

Never mind entering the city, he could probably even get a small loan in Central City with it.

However, just like Qinggang, one crucial step before entering was surrendering weapons.

Whether Qinggang or Central City, Main City or Satellite City, carrying firearms within the high walls was strictly forbidden. As people who ran large cargo trucks year-round, Gao Ting and her crew naturally knew these rules. Motorcycles had already come to collect all their firearms before they even entered the city. These firearms would be sent to a storage point outside the city to be picked up upon departure.

Some storage points with good service even offered ammunition replenishment and firearm maintenance.

This was considered a new type of service industry that emerged after the Red Moon incident.

Lu Xin felt a pang but still handed over his gun along with Gao Ting’s group’s firearms. He only turned in the gun and the ordinary bullets, carefully stashing the special bullets away in secret…

That stuff was too expensive; he didn’t quite trust leaving it with others.

…

By the time the convoy entered Satellite City Seven, truck by truck, it was already 8 PM. Gao Ting led the string of trucks straight to a familiar motel within the city. It catered specifically to wasteland transport teams like theirs, equipped with a large parking area, various types of guest rooms, food and hot water service, and surrounded by numerous massage parlors and hair salons of all sizes.

These places provided legitimate head massages and mental well-being services to soothe the tense and weary old drivers.

The group of old drivers hadn’t slept for nearly two days and nights and were utterly exhausted.

As soon as the trucks stopped, some slumped over their steering wheels, dozing off.

Only Gao Ting, Old Zhou, Sun Gouzi, and a few others forced their bloodshot eyes open to handle registration, get rooms, and order food.

Old Zhou glanced disdainfully at the old drivers too exhausted to move. “These guys just can’t handle it…”

“Look at us, almost fifty, but still full of energy, right?”

…

In the post-Wasteland world, procedures weren’t complicated; everything was simplified. Rooms were quickly arranged.

Sun Gouzi blew a loud whistle, waking the drowsy drivers:

“Everyone up! Boss says get something to eat, wash your feet, then go back to your rooms and sleep.”

The motel had limited rooms, and the convoy needed to save money, so they didn’t book many.

Most would squeeze into the communal sleeping areas; only those with some status got standard rooms with bathrooms. Lu Xin was assigned a relatively high-end standard room, but he had to share it with Old Zhou and his nephew Little Zhou. It couldn’t be helped. If he didn’t share with these two, the only other option was sharing with the boss, Gao Ting. Lu Xin weighed his options and decided staying with these two was safer.

“Uncle, I don’t want to sleep with you…”

Little Zhou was young and had more energy. Despite not sleeping for two days and nights, he was still quite spirited. He first slurped down a small basin of the motel’s cabbage and pork stew with vermicelli, followed by four steamed buns, and guzzled down two bottles of beer.

Bedtime arrived, and he looked distastefully at his uncle, saying, “Sharing a bed with you is impossible. If we sleep head-to-head, you grind your teeth and snore all night. If we don’t, you don’t wash your feet, and the smell makes my head spin…”

Saying this, he looked expectantly at Lu Xin. “Brother Lu, can I share a bed with you?”

Lu Xin, who had also just finished a bowl of pork stew with vermicelli, was coming out of the bathroom after a shower. He looked awkward upon hearing this.

“No.”

He politely refused Little Zhou and took out his bag.

Although it was only eight or nine o’clock, the motel was already very quiet.

The old drivers staying here had either eaten and gone for a relaxing head wash or were already asleep.

Confirming no one was around, Lu Xin dialed a phone number Han Bing had given him earlier.

“Hello, Blue Kite Pet Shop…”

A man’s calm, magnetic voice quickly answered.

Following the code Han Bing had given him when he left Qinggang, Lu Xin lowered his voice, “Do you have cats there? The kind that don’t shed.”

The person on the other end paused. “What proper cat doesn’t shed?”

Lu Xin replied, “Who keeps a shedding cat if they’re proper?”

The person countered, “The more proper the cat, the more it sheds.”

Lu Xin asked, “So I’m not proper enough?”

…

The voice on the phone paused for a moment, then changed its tone. “Is this Mr. Lone Soldier?”

Lu Xin smiled and quickly nodded. “Yes, that’s me.”

The person on the other end said, “Qinggang already called me… Also, Mr. Lone Soldier, you can just call me directly. I’m a legitimate staff member at the Central City office, not a spy. That code is only for emergencies.”

…

Lu Xin felt slightly awkward. “Mainly, I’ve never tried using a code when making a call before…”

“Well, now you have…”

The person asked, “Mr. Lone Soldier, have you arrived in Central City already?”

“Yes.”

Lu Xin said, “I’m currently staying at a motel in Satellite City Seven.”

“Okay.”

The person continued, “Qinggang has notified me. I’ll be responsible for handling your affairs in Central City, receiving the file you… picked up on the road, and conducting a preliminary assessment of both the file and the Forbidden Experiment incident you encountered. However, the intercity high-speed train service is currently suspended, so I can only come find you tomorrow. What you need to be aware of now is to be extremely careful tonight.”

Lu Xin grew slightly curious. “Will someone actually come looking?”

“Uncertain.”

The person said, “But I need to tell you, after you notified Qinggang about the White Tower Town experimental base, when our Qinggang special task force went to collect evidence, they found the entire White Tower Town had been burned down by a wildfire. All evidence was gone…”

“Hmm?”

Lu Xin became slightly alert.

Only a day and a night had passed since the convoy and he left White Tower Town for Central City.

In such a short time, the other party had already cleansed White Tower Town?

Their actions are swift, and their strength considerable…

He thought for a moment, then said, “Understood, I’ll be careful.”

He gave the person the motel’s name and his room number before hanging up.

“The person who designed this code system for the office must fundamentally be a contrarian, right?”

He muttered to himself as he returned to his room.

…

Looking through the window, he saw Old Zhou sleeping on the bed and Little Zhou on the floor; both were already asleep, their snores thundering loud enough to shake the heavens. Only Sun Gouzi was still in the corridor, sitting on a bench, patrolling. Their convoy was habitually cautious, and after encountering such a strange incident, they arranged for someone to stay awake even within the satellite city, just in case something happened.

Seeing Lu Xin, Sun Gouzi, sitting on the worn lounge chair, seemed a bit awkward. He shifted slightly but didn’t know what to say.

Back in White Tower Town, he had suspected Lu Xin, and the matter hadn’t been cleared up yet.

“Thanks for your hard work.”

Lu Xin nodded at him, then looked up at the ceiling. “You really need to keep a close watch tonight…”

“Something might happen. I can only rest easy if you’re watching!”

…

“Huh?”

Hearing this, Sun Gouzi looked stunned, then his expression turned excited and thrilled. He quickly stood up.

“Lu… Little Brother Lu, don’t worry! With me guarding, everyone can sleep soundly!”

“Hmm?”

Lu Xin glanced at him, then nodded. “Oh.”

Men are so easily moved.

Clearly, he was talking to his sister on the ceiling, but the man looked emotionally overwhelmed, almost on the verge of tears.

“Okay, thanks for the trouble.”

Lu Xin nodded at him, glanced smilingly at his sister dangling from the rooftop again, then turned and walked back to the room.

The bed was a hard plank, and the covers smelled a bit musty, but for Lu Xin, who had been on the road for several days, it felt quite good.

Sleeping until around seven the next morning, Lu Xin woke up promptly, his bones cracking satisfyingly.

Stepping out of the room, he saw the old drivers already eating breakfast, full of energy. Seeing Lu Xin, Little Zhou eagerly ran over with a basin of porridge and four or five meat buns wrapped in old newspaper, smiling. “Little Brother Lu, did you sleep well yesterday?”

“Slept okay the first half of the night.”

Lu Xin answered honestly. The uncle and nephew had held a snoring competition all night.

One surged like a great river, rising and falling dramatically; the other flowed gently like water, only to suddenly erupt unexpectedly…

It was too intense, a battle too close to call. In the end, both of them won. Only Lu Xin lost.

“So you slept well the second half of the night, then?”

Little Zhou said happily. “Hurry up and eat. We need to deliver the cargo soon.”

“Deliver the cargo?”

Lu Xin was momentarily stunned.

After something like that happened, they were still rushing to deliver the cargo…

Then he understood.

For this convoy, perhaps nothing was more important than delivering the goods, no matter what happened…

Handing over the cargo smoothly, completing this trip’s mission, and getting paid was the biggest thing in their eyes.

After all, they risked their lives on this trip for this money, relying on it to support their families.

Besides, the twenty-odd people who died in the convoy needed this money for compensation and settlement allowances for their families.

Putting it another way, even if something really did happen, after delivering the goods, they could focus their energy on dealing with it.

Everyone sees the world differently, huh…

Lu Xin thought, nodded, and took the buns and porridge. “Then I’ll go with you guys later.”