Survival begins with Red Dead Redemption 2

Chapter 158 Chapter 157, Militia, Barricades, Passes

157,

Tonight is bound to be a rough night.

The starving residents of Armadillo Town finally fell into a drowsy sleep, only to be awakened by the explosion sound coming from the direction of the Hanging Cliff, their stomachs rumbled and they returned to silence.

Someone stood up wrapped in a blanket, left the tent and glanced towards the north, but all he could see was the indissoluble darkness in the desert.

When the rich people left during the day, they not only took away a small amount of food, but also harnessed the few remaining horses in the town to their wagons and took them away with them.The few poor horses left behind were either old, weak or sick and disabled. They barely rode them away, and they had to be thrown off before they could go far.

In the endless desert of New Austin, Armadillo Town at night is an isolated island with no ammunition and food.The only thing the surviving residents on the island can do at this moment is to pray silently in the long night, praying for enough food, thick blankets, and an earlier sun to rise.

The Sun Also Rises.

It won't be early for anyone, and it won't be late for anyone. No one can control it.

But the road to Armadillo Town can be controlled by people.

The road that was built against the mountain and could reach Armadillo Town the fastest collapsed due to landslides, which made countless adventurers who rushed here the first to be frustrated and beat their chests.

But it has to be said that few people can resist the temptation of gold, and the power it brings is even more inexhaustible.

After a brief rest at McFarlane Ranch, these people regrouped and turned around in a big circle. Although it was a long way to the south, the road was in good condition, and the road that allowed the carriage to speed up snaked toward Armadillo Town. Come.

The people were still the same people, but after such a toss in the morning, the gold diggers and adventurers who flocked from all over the country had mixed into a whole mixed and neat team.

Caravans, small caravans, and more than 50 cargo carriages of all kinds, driving end to end on the same road.

Among them are gold diggers who came here specifically for the gold mines, trying to get rich overnight; there are also speculators who are loaded with various goods and looking for business opportunities; Adventure cowboy with gun holster on waist.

All kinds of people, with all kinds of materials and with all kinds of thoughts, stepped into the deserted desert of cactus spring.No one knew what was going on there or what was going to happen until they reached Armadillo.

But these are not important, as long as the news that there is a real gold mine in Armadillo Town is enough.When they found a piece of raw metal ore that was fused with stones from a fallen female corpse on the side of the road, shining a little bit of golden light, the speed of the whole team unknowingly increased a bit.

Even in the hot noon, the team did not rest, and chased after me, and finally left the company of the San Luis River in the afternoon, and rushed to the south of Cactus Clear Spring, the lakeside of Don Julio Lake.

At the current speed, they would definitely be able to reach their destination——Armadillo Town—before dark.

Old Huck, who was over half a century old, took over the reins and waved it skillfully, keeping the speed of the carriage, so as not to be squeezed out by the accelerated team.His old face was filled with the same excitement and anxiety as the others, and only when he lowered his head to smoke, his eyes would reveal a little suppressed worry and tension secretly.

In the crates that filled the car behind him were brand new bolt-action rifles and cartridges.Because of the high price, these weapons were not sold in Blackwater Town, so they had to try their luck in Armadillo Town.

In addition to the guns and bullets, there was also a strong black man sitting in the carriage. It was the black guy who had just been replaced after driving the carriage all morning.

It's just that this guy didn't take the time to rest right now, but hung the loaded weapons on his body one by one under the cover of the tarpaulin on the carriage.At the same time, while no one was paying attention, he stuffed two bolt-on rifles with the same loaded bullets into the saddles of the two war horses tied to the rear of the carriage.

After doing all this, he returned to the back of old Huck, and pinned a revolver that was also fully loaded to the opponent's waist.

"Why don't we pull over and find a chance to leave, and say that there is something wrong with the axle." Looking at the calm road on both sides, the black guy Little Charlie couldn't help asking in a low voice:

"It's still too late."

"It's too late. We have been targeted since we passed Don Julio Lake. No, it should be said that everyone in this convoy has been targeted. People have already targeted us on the northern hillside. I won't It feels wrong."

Old Huck continued to drive the carriage without looking sideways, without showing any surprise:
"If we stop at this time, we will attract the attention of others. We will naturally know what the other party is going to do when we get to the front. Don't worry, not only us, but also other people have noticed something is wrong, but everyone has not stopped. In the current situation, only mixed In the convoy, it is the safest choice.”

"Also, something will definitely happen later, be prepared, but don't shoot lightly, or we..."

Halfway through, Old Huck got stuck, and Little Charlie finished what he wanted to say next:
"Otherwise we will be beaten into a sieve."

Just as the carriage drove down the slope next to Lake Don Julio, the two saw the Maxim machine gun erected on the hillside to the north of the road at the same time.

The unique round brass water tank of the machine gun is shining with the light of death in the sun. From left to right, five black holed muzzles are lined up. They don’t need to fire, which is enough to make people feel chilled. The direction they are aiming at is the convoy passing down the hillside.

Standing apart between the machine guns were dozens of armed men suspected of being militia armed with long guns.

The reason why it is said to be suspicious is because some of these armed personnel are wearing military uniforms, some are wearing police uniforms, and some are even wearing civilian clothes, but without exception, they all have a pair of white armbands tied on their left arms, with The pattern is black, but it is not clear because of the distance.

The weapons in their hands are not pointing down at the convoy like the muzzles of machine guns, but the menace expressed is not at all discounted.

At the same time, smoke and dust billowed from the rear of the convoy. Amidst the sound of rumbling horseshoes, a small cavalry team composed of dozens of people surrounded the panicked convoy from the rear.

It was already impossible to leave now, not counting the outflanking cavalry behind them, just the presence of the five machine guns on the hillside made it impossible for any living person to run 20 meters away.

The leading carriage of the convoy had to hold the reins, and a roadblock appeared at the three-fork in front of the carriage that needed to turn. More than a dozen militiamen stood guard on both sides of the roadblock.Like the armed men on the hillside, they wore the same white armbands and held the same weapons in their hands.

"Don't~ don't shoot..."

Climbing down from the driving position, the leading car owner trembled a little when he spoke.

In order to dig out the gold mine earlier, he was the first to pack up his tools when he received the news, and set off from Heishui Town. The whole convoy was also under his leadership, going faster and faster. Armadillo town, but did not expect to be stopped here.

He considered that there would inevitably be some troubles on the way, but he never thought that it would be so dangerous. Could it be that the news of the so-called gold mine is really a trap?
A fully loaded revolver is in the holster at the waist, but drawing it in this situation is tantamount to courting death.So without the slightest hesitation, the car owner took out his bulging wallet.

It contains living expenses for the gold panning process in the next few months, but he can still tell which is more important, money or life.

Standing in the middle of the barricade was a middle-aged man wearing a cavalry uniform and a white armband with a serious face. Among the militiamen blocking the road, he was the only one without a long gun.The leading car owner raised his hands and wallet and walked towards the man. Other people in the carriage behind also poked their heads out, or looked this way after getting out of the car cautiously.

"Don't shoot, I have no malicious intentions, please..."

"I'm Major Hank Milton of the New Austin Provisional Independence Regiment. Are you looking for gold in Armadillo?"

"It's us……"

The owner of the car wanted to figure out what the organization of the temporary independent regiment was, but Major Milton didn't give him the chance at all, and a series of questions were asked like a cannonball.

"What is your name?"

"How many people came here?"

"What's on the car?"

"White, as well as my two sons, are tools for panning for gold, hey, it has nothing to do with them..."

The owner was still answering, Major Milton turned his head, and immediately several militiamen in civilian clothes rushed up to search the carriage carefully.This move undoubtedly caused panic among the others behind, but under the threat of gunpoint, no one dared to stand up and say something.

How much can a carriage hold? The search was completed quickly. After confirming that there was no difference from what the owner said, the few people nodded to Major Milton to indicate that there was no problem.

"Three dollars."

"what?"

"There are three of you, and you need to pay three dollars for the toll. If you have no money, you can turn around now."

"Only three dollars?"

"Didn't I understand enough?"

"No no no."

Opening the wallet, the car owner quickly took out a three-dollar bill and handed it in. In return, he got three white slips stamped with the registrant's name.

"This is your pass certificate in New Austin. Take it carefully and don't lose it, or it will be very troublesome. Also, don't go out and run around at night. Beckett's rebels will be completely wiped out, it will be very dangerous."

"Beckett? Rebels?"

The bewildered car owner muttered a few words involuntarily, but when he looked up, he found that Major Milton was staring at him with scrutiny.

"You know about the rebels?"

"No, I don't, I don't know."

"Since you don't know, why don't you go quickly? Are there other questions?"

"No no no."

The owner of the car who had escaped did not dare to delay any longer.Holding the three passes, he climbed into the carriage in three steps at a time, drove past the place where the roadblock was opened, and then turned to the road leading to Armadillo Town.

Of course, the carriage dared to stop by the side of the road without going too far, and looked back to observe the rear.At this time, the second carriage had already passed the inspection and roadblock, and turned onto this road, while the third carriage behind it also successfully passed the checkpoint.

Five or six carriages in a row came over so smoothly.

Only then did people realize that although the machine guns erected on the northern hillside looked scary, the roadblocks set up below were simply a decoration.As long as you report the contents of the goods truthfully, the number of people can pass smoothly, and you don't even need to check whether the identity is true or false, just report one casually.

This move undoubtedly relieved many cowboys who mixed into the convoy as guards, and relaxed their tense nerves.

As for the so-called toll fee of one dollar per person, no one cares about it at all.

The long line continued to move forward, and soon passed halfway, and it was almost the turn of Old Huck and Little Charlie's carriage loaded with weapons.At this moment, Old Huck, who had just asked Charlie to take off his weapon, frowned.

He hadn't seen it clearly because of the distance, but now he finally saw the patterns on the white armbands of the militiamen.

The periphery is a black circle, and in the center of the circle is a capital letter S, and two vertical bars run through the letter, which just form the symbol representing the US dollar - the double bar S.And on the top of the logo, there is also a blood-red palm print.

Interestingly, the palm prints on each person's armbands are different.

The careful old Huck even noticed that Major Milton's S had an extra slash, which happened to form a capital letter N, making it nondescript.

Of course, these details are not very important. The important thing is that when old Huck observed the armbands, he found that, except for five or six white men, the rest of the militiamen blocking the way were all Chinese, Chinese with shaved heads.

Because of the cover of the hat, no one will notice from a distance, but when they are close, the difference between them can be seen at a glance.

At this time, the toll for the car in front had already been paid, and several people who were being inspected also discovered this.

The people in that car were also rushing towards the gold mines. The owner of the car was three young men of similar age, and the carriage was also loaded with gold digging tools.After running around non-stop for a day, and having to undergo an examination under the scorching sun, the young man was inevitably a little irritable.

When one of them found out that the militiaman who came up to check was a Chinese, he pushed it away without thinking.

"Hey, get your dirty hands off my stuff!"

Seeing that the Chinese militiaman was still in a daze, the other party couldn't help pushing and added:
"Did you hear that, you bastard!"

"哗啦" sounded,
The thing in the militiaman's hand fell to the ground. When the young man wanted to open his mouth to scold again, he found that at some point, the Chinese militiaman who was scolded had an ordinary cowboy revolver in his hand, facing his forehead.

"Bah!"

gunshots rang out,

A cloud of muddy blood sprayed onto the tarpaulin of the carriage,

Only then did the dead body with unbelievable eyes lean on the carriage behind it and slowly slip down.

The bloody breath froze the surrounding air all of a sudden. Seeing that other militiamen also raised their guns one after another, another person who had already climbed into the carriage quickly jumped down rolling and crawling.

"Wait a minute, it's a misunderstanding, we can explain it!"

"No need to explain."

The one who spoke was a young militiaman standing behind Major Milton, who was also Chinese.The sharp-eyed old Huck noticed that the S on his armband was the same as Major Milton's, with three stripes running through it.

"It's not a misunderstanding, I heard it very clearly." Li Jiayuan fiddled with the three passes with the young people's names written on them, which were about to be issued, and said slowly:

"You resist the inspection, which means that you are suspected of being a rebel."

"Just now~ we are not rebels, let alone know any rebels." The man who jumped off the carriage tried to explain, but Li Jiayuan didn't want to talk to him.

"And the three of you came together."

"What do you mean?"

Li Jiayuan didn't answer, but put a hot muzzle on the back of his head, and then broke the hammer.

"Bah!"

Another unbelievable corpse fell.

The spilled plasma spilled out and just splashed onto the shoe of the third young man. He couldn't help jumping away and raised his head again, and found that all the militiamen present were staring at him with the eyes of a dead man. .

"I……"

"Bah!"

(End of this chapter)