Chapter 617: The Village’s Hidden Arsenal

Clatter and chaos…

It seemed everything was set—the moment the Village Chief shouted, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from afar.

As the throng gathered at the doorway, women and children watching the commotion quickly cleared out, yielding the open space. Then, from several corners of the village, over a dozen robust young men surged forward, each clutching a submachine gun and wrapped in bands of ammunition. They assembled neatly at the entrance, their faces beaming with sincere smiles and eager anticipation as they looked at Lu Xin.

The Village Chief chuckled, “Dear guest, take a look at our local specialty.”

“All we have in this village are guns and plenty of bullets,” he continued.

“…”

“This… actually looks pretty impressive…”

Lu Xin examined the guns and ammunition wrapped around the young men and couldn’t help but praise their setup.

Who would have thought that such a small village harbored its very own mini armory?

Smiling with crinkled eyes betraying years of experience, the Village Chief scanned every dish he’d served or prepared, then produced a battered little abacus from behind him.

“But I’ve got items just like these as well,” he said.

Before the Village Chief could begin his calculation, Lu Xin answered with a smile as he reached into his own bag.

He pulled out a revolver and placed it on the table.

Glancing at it, the Village Chief grinned, “Not bad, not bad. But your specialty is far less impressive than ours.”

“I have more,” Lu Xin replied with a smile.

He then retrieved the electronic remote key for his off-road vehicle, newly upgraded before departure.

Swinging it before the Village Chief, he pressed a red button on it.

There was a sudden “wsss” as the off-road vehicle—a robust steel monster, recently scrubbed to reveal its original deep black hue—roared to life and abruptly reversed to the front of the doorway.

The next moment, there came a series of sharp snapping sounds.

Steel plates on the roof and front of the vehicle burst open, revealing several dark, bundled gun barrels.

They stared around like eerie eyes fixated on everyone nearby.

Particularly, the trunk popped open on its own, revealing a silver electronic robotic dog that stood up. Its gun barrels jutted out as they rotated side to side, scanning the faces of the onlookers as if seeking the perfect angle.

……

……

Clatter and chaos…

The crowd watching the spectacle suddenly vanished without a trace, only to reemerge peeking from behind the wall.

The young men clutching their guns visibly tensed, each aiming as if facing a formidable enemy.

Yet, their expressions grew peculiarly conflicted, as though unsure who would end up the bigger loser if shots were fired at this vehicle.

“This…”

Even the nearly two-meter-tall Village Chief was startled, his time-worn face trembling slightly.

Lu Xin looked at him and laughed, “My specialty, looks pretty good, right?”

He couldn’t help but feel a genuine sense of pride.

He hadn’t even realized that within just one day, the Special Cleaning Department had transformed his off-road vehicle into this beast.

Admittedly, in front of such knowledgeable onlookers—and with an item truly worth showing off—reveal it out of the blue and bask in the mix of envious and wary glances felt rather gratifying…

“Not bad, not bad…”

After a few seconds of stunned silence, the Village Chief quickly recovered and awkwardly smiled, “Your stuff is far superior to ours.”

He then admonished the group of young men, “Hurry and put your gear away! Aren’t you embarrassed to be showing off like this?”

At once, the young men, as if granted clemency, scrambled to stow away their guns and dashed into the village.

“Anyway, I really appreciate your help,”

Lu Xin said gratefully to the Village Chief, “Not only did you help me with the vehicle, washing and fixing it, but you also welcomed me with a bounty of food. This is one of the warmest places I’ve ever been.”

“It’s not easy here in the village. Please, take this small token of appreciation…”

“…”

While speaking, he fished out two fifty-yuan bills from his bag. Just as he was about to hand them over, he thought twice and retracted one note.

“This…”

The Village Chief glanced at the retracted bill with a momentary blank, then quickly composed himself and grinned:

“No, no need.”

“A little help like this isn’t worth much anyway.”

“No, no; you must accept it. I’d feel guilty otherwise.”

“Oh, you’re too kind, dear guest…”

“Of course, of course…”

“…”

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Lu Xin insisted on stuffing the fifty yuan into the Village Chief’s hand, instantly lifting his spirits.

Returning to the feast, he had nothing more to worry about and even started chatting casually, “The roads here are a nightmare—the maps seem all mixed up. I originally intended to head to Flame City, but for some reason, after running for dozens of miles, the map shows I’m even farther away. Village Chief, which route do most folks here take to get to Flame City?”

“Flame City? That’s in the Inner City—you need to use the freight route,” the Village Chief replied after a moment’s thought, shaking his head. “You definitely took the wrong path. If you come from Qinggang, just enter the A-Line freight route and head straight through the Eastern District’s major cities, and you’ll reach Flame City smoothly. But since you stumbled into our area, you’re already in the western wasteland. Taking the side roads isn’t easy with a vehicle as large as yours. I can point you to the freight route, though.”

“Freight route?”

Lu Xin paused, then quickly inquired, “Freight route?”

The Village Chief explained, “The freight route is one of those main roads constructed by Flame Company for cargo transport. It’s incredibly smooth and ideal for big rigs—fuel efficient and fast. But ordinary people aren’t allowed on it; you must go to an agent, register, pay the toll, and get a pass to clear the checkpoint before directly entering the route to Flame City.”

“There’s such a fine road here?”

Lu Xin, intrigued, asked in detail.

Only after the Village Chief’s explanation did he understand that even the Chaos Zone had been roughly divided by Flame Mining.

Centered around the Flame Group’s towering skyscraper, the core Flame City of the Chaos Zone was delineated, with various settlements and towns around it divided into four major districts—much like four major subsidiaries. Beyond these districts lay vast “wastelands,” areas nominally under Flame’s control but usually ignored.

The Chaos Zone essentially referred to these vast wastelands outside the four main districts.

In such regions, there were no proper city mayors or administrative divisions—only small sectors managed by individual agents responsible for procuring materials and distributing goods for the four districts.

And this so-called freight route was Flame’s exclusive internal transportation network—a long, wide main road.

“That makes getting to Flame City quite a challenge…”

Lu Xin pondered the matter seriously.

Today had been rather lucky, meeting such a sensible Village Chief saved him a lot of trouble.

But continuing on the side roads meant risking getting stuck in pitfalls, and likely facing similar extortion and robbery.

He didn’t always encounter thoughtful villagers. If someone intended to kill him, fairness would dictate he kill them back—but if too many foes appeared along the way, wouldn’t that mean taking too many lives?

Lu Xin didn’t like the idea of too much bloodshed.

So he decided the best course was to follow the Village Chief’s advice and seek out an agent.

To avoid giving his potential victims a pretext for killing him, he begrudgingly paid the toll he could have otherwise saved…

…sigh. Consider it his compromise with this world!

……

“So, does that mean I can also seek out an agent?”

After a pause, Lu Xin asked.

“Absolutely. Agents handle everything—as long as you have the money, they can get anything done…”

The Village Chief continued, “Whether it’s the freight toll, regular taxes, or disputes between groups in the wasteland, it’s all handled by them. Honestly, after our last skirmish with the neighboring settlement where we lost a lot of stuff—and even some of our women—we’re at a loss about even paying next season’s taxes…”

“Hmm…”

Lu Xin mused, then suddenly asked, “So that’s why you all decided to extort me?”

“Not exactly…”

The Village Chief replied matter-of-factly, “Technically, what we did was nothing more than extortion, not outright robbery.”

“…”

Faced with such detailed classifications of services, Lu Xin had to admit that what the Village Chief said did have its logic.

Shaking his head slightly, Lu Xin continued, “But isn’t it still not ideal to do this?”

“Whether it’s robbery or extortion, both are illegal…”

“…”

“Dear guest, that’s not how we see it,”

The Village Chief shot back, “We’re barely surviving here—what’s there to worry about about legality?”

He glared toward the doorway, “San Lengzi, drop that stone right now!”

Turning, Lu Xin saw a snotty little child squatting by the door, licking a stone while eyeing a sausage on the table. His eyes gleamed as if the mere sight of the sausage promised a delicious treat.

Feeling a pang of sympathy, Lu Xin handed the child a sausage, “Here, have some.”

“Ah…”

The Village Chief tried to intervene, but the child, both shocked and delighted, darted forward and snatched the sausage away in a flash.

Watching the child devour it greedily, Lu Xin’s mood brightened considerably.

“You…”

The Village Chief was at a loss for words, as if Lu Xin’s act had put him in an awkward spot.

Soon, Lu Xin noticed something amiss. No sooner had the child taken the sausage than a cluster of small, dark heads began to crowd at the doorway, each peering at him with pitiful eyes. Startled, Lu Xin looked over and saw the Village Chief hastily packing away not only the sausage but also the cornbread and thick noodle cake.

“So stingy…”

Lu Xin shot the Village Chief a disapproving look, then went to his vehicle and unloaded a crate of canned beef and more bread at the entrance.

“Help yourselves!”

As children swarmed toward the treats, clutching and carrying them with glee, Lu Xin’s mood soared.

The Village Chief, observing the scene, was at a loss for words. Clearly sensing Lu Xin’s discontent, he awkwardly set down the cornbread and dry noodle cakes and said, “That’s just how things are here. Nobody wants the kids to go hungry, right?”

Shaking his head, he added, “But you have no idea how harsh agents are when it comes to collecting taxes. When the Knights come to raid, they don’t hesitate—charge whatever tax they want. In our fields, we barely harvest enough to eat, and after they take their cut, we often end up owing them more than we can repay. So, we have to find ways to scrape together enough food…”

“But honestly, we still try to play by the rules,”

“…”

Lu Xin, beginning to understand, suddenly asked, “So despite all this extortion, you still follow some rules?”

“Of course…”

With a hint of pride, the Village Chief explained, “When a guest arrives in our village, we help out wherever we can—whether it’s food, drink, or even a bit of entertainment. And no matter how much money our guest has, we’re never greedy. We never risk lives; even after a robbery we leave a little money behind so they can make it home alive…”

“Do you think we’re decent people?”

“…”

“Hey?”

A spark of understanding lit up in Lu Xin’s mind.

To be honest, the Village Chief’s words suddenly rang very true…

When you’re barely surviving, a bit of robbery and extortion seems understandable.

And if you can at least preserve some boundaries in the process, maybe you can still call yourself decent…

It felt as if Lu Xin had inadvertently absorbed a deep life lesson. Normally a man of few words, he soon warmed up, and the two began an animated exchange, quickly becoming good friends.

The Village Chief not only detailed the local customs and rules to Lu Xin but also pointed out the way to the agent.

In gratitude for his kindness, Lu Xin even left an extra fifty yuan when departing.

As he left, many villagers came forward warmly to wave him off, bidding him a friendly farewell as he exited the village.

The Village Chief himself escorted Lu Xin for a while to ensure he avoided any treacherous ditches nearby—after all, those pits were dug by the locals and were well known.

Before parting, the Village Chief earnestly reminded Lu Xin, “Dear guest, when you get to the agent, remember: follow the rules. Speak only when necessary and handle only what should be handled. Your specialty isn’t much to them; we’re all honest folk here. Don’t try any tricks—stick to the rules and you’ll live long…”

“Alright, alright. Don’t worry—I’ll be careful. Now, off you go!”

With a cheerful smile and a wave goodbye, Lu Xin set off eagerly toward the agent’s office.