Life as a mercenary turned into a girl is a bit difficult

In this way, we can understand why this tank was destroyed in such a miserable state, but the idea of ​​using an abandoned tank as a monument is quite good.

"Now that we've arrived near this monument, we should get off at the next stop." Hirakura suddenly looked at the tram route map posted in the carriage.

"Did you arrive at the station?"

"We haven't arrived yet. It's just because the front is a military restricted area, so we need to take a detour."

"Military restricted area?" After hearing Hengcang's words, Hiiragi's eyes moved away from that special monument. She immediately noticed that the traffic on the street seemed to be blocked in this area. The gathered traffic moved slowly around the island. The role of traffic diversion is very limited, because one exit is blocked by a blue iron wall, and soldiers with loaded ammunition are wary of any vehicle passing in front of them.

This is obviously an important transportation hub. Why should we establish a military restricted area here?

"It is said that a subway station left behind by pre-war ruins is blocked here. After all, the original site of Changming City is part of the NC abandoned city. The huge subway system also connects the dangerous areas in the north."

Subway?

Hiiragi couldn't help but recall the experience of falling underground when JD abandoned the city. These huge transportation systems existing underground in the abandoned city are indeed a major danger to the abandoned city. This is also one of the important reasons why it is difficult to establish urban bases at the original sites of many abandoned cities. First, why can't it be completely sealed with reinforced concrete?It must be because of some other construction difficulties.

"The tram has arrived at the terminal. Passengers arriving at the station, please get off in turn..."

Chapter 14 Daily life in Changming City (Happy New Year)

From anti-collision cement piles to barbed wire fences, all necessary defense measures are available. Even nearby high-rise buildings have been demolished to prevent people from peeking into the restricted area from high places. It can be seen that the Changming City Government attaches great importance to this subway. How seriously the site is blocked.

And what people are concerned about is not only these visible fortifications, but also three tall tower cranes in the area separated by the iron wall, perhaps to avoid the excessive gaze caused by the busy traffic during the day. Note that construction has not started at this time, but there is no doubt that there are large-scale projects that have not yet been completed.

"After getting off the bus, go this way. We are almost at Epoch Square, which is also the most prosperous area in Changming City." As a local, he has long been accustomed to this military restricted area. Naturally, Heng Cang will not dwell on the topic of military restricted areas. After getting off the bus, I continued to follow the tour route I had planned all night yesterday.

Soon the road around the island and the military restricted area were left behind, and in front of us was a bustling city visible to the naked eye.

Just as Hirakura said, both pedestrians and vehicles here are far denser than the hotel area where they live.

The crowd, the huge crowd, this is a scale that Hiiragi has never seen before...

And it was completely different from the groups of workers who worked hard for life that were controlled by factory commuting hours that Hiiragi saw in the First Life City.

People here walk together in twos and threes, with a large proportion of elderly people and children among the pedestrians. They chat and laugh leisurely or enthusiastically, and sometimes visit the shops on both sides of the street. The closer you get, the more lively the atmosphere becomes. It was so high that no trace of the wasteland world could be seen.

The pictures of busy street scenes seen in those pre-war travel guide books seemed to overlap with the scene in front of me.

This is Changming City, the largest human city base in the Southern Federation... Compared with the huge walls he had seen before, the scene displayed at this moment made Hiiragi even more impressed by the scale of Changming City.

Lingjiu's eyes were as surprised as Hiiragi's, and she looked around with no less interest than others. Although she had actually lived in Changming City for a long time, except when she went out to perform tasks, she had been under the supervision of the Ministry of Science. Living in a secret facility, the hustle and bustle in front of her had nothing to do with her being a prisoner at that time.

"That...what is that?" While Hiiragi's eyes were still attracted by the street scene of Changming City, Lingjiu's eyes looked beyond the crowd and looked into the distance. There was something there that the first-time visitor had to pay attention to. existence, Ling Jiu, who had always been taciturn, took the initiative to ask Ping Cang for the first time.

"Oh, that is the carved pillar called 'Light of Humanity'. It is located in the center of Epoch Square. The reliefs on the stone pillar show the process of human beings from the recovery to the establishment of Changming City. The height of 17 meters commemorates the recovery in 117 The year of Changming City has now become one of the symbols of Changming City." Ping Cang, who had already done his homework, knew the basic information about this stone pillar by heart.

The light of humanity?The name is a bit tacky, but the specifications of the carved pillars are enough to make people marvel. How much labor was put into it is unimaginable. From the Heroic Monument to this stone pillar named 'Light of Humanity', we can see that the Changming City government paid great attention to that recovery. The Abandoned City is quite proud of its feat, at least in terms of publicity, and spares no effort.

"By the way, if you have shopping needs, you can withdraw money at Changming Bank over there. By the way, the first Southern Federal circulation coupon was issued by this bank."

Ping Cang pointed to the opposite side of the street with one finger. The two stone lions on the side of the street confirmed the place he was talking about at a glance. The one-way glass on the door and window below the four characters of 'Chang Ming Bank' made it impossible to see them. situation.

The appearance of the bank looks very ordinary. Compared with other shops on the left and right, the difference is the stone lion. In terms of image, it is not consistent with its historical significance of "issuing the first Confederate circulation coupon". If it is just for withdrawing money, it will not No visit necessary.

"Don't bother. We already received the reward for this escort commission last night. It's enough if you want to buy anything." Hiiragi Jing said and pointed to the gray satchel on Ling Jiu. She originally thought that she was exercising her personal rights as Han Nianling. It was an operator's duty, and he didn't expect that this escort mission was actually a commission, and the reward was actually extremely generous. However, when he thought of the huge debt he owed, the excitement that had just emerged instantly faded.

"Really? That was really hard work." After getting along for a short time, Heng Cang could confirm that the two girls' personalities were not as arrogant and twisted as he thought. Instead, they were surprisingly easy to get along with. The mercenary game should be the best among the surroundings. It was just a good-natured joke to take care of their emotions, and in return for the evaluation form, he didn't mind chiming in with a few words.

"Then let's take advantage of today to relax."

"Yes, you are right." The unintentional words of closing the position made Hiiragi think a lot. Anyway, that huge debt cannot be paid off in a short while. Being Han Nianling's personal operator There is still a lot of expenses left. After going through so much and finally coming to Changming City, let's put aside all worries and fully experience the humanistic life in this city base.

As she spoke, Hiiragi straightened her back and said, "If you need anything, you're welcome. Just think of it as a gift in return for taking us on a tour. You're welcome."

Being rich means being confident. Hiiragi somewhat understands the mentality of those guys who loudly announce in the pub that they want all the customers to have a drink.

Weaving through the increasingly dense crowd, they soon arrived at today's final destination—Era Square.

Just like the commercial streets of the New City, Era Plaza and the surrounding areas are the commercial core of Changming City, with densely distributed commercial venues surrounding the square.

There are various flower beds and stone sculptures scattered around this huge square, and the carved pillar in the center of the square looks even more exaggerated from this distance. There is another building in the process of being built under the huge carved pillar. Although the stage in the stage is still half-finished, it can be seen that its scale is definitely not small.

"Is that the stage where Ruoxiang performs?"

Looking around the square, Hiiragi discovered a large number of portrait boards. Without exception, they all belonged to the girl idol Ruoxiang. They were obviously built for her performance.

"The date of Miss Ruoxiang's performance is approaching, so it is undoubtedly the most anticipated event in the next few days. The large number of tourists who have poured into Changming City recently are basically here for this." Having said that, he closed his position here. There was a hint of expectation on his face, and he seemed to be one of Ruoxiang's many fans.

Ting Han Nianling said that the original intention of this performance was to promote the rating meeting, but now it seems that it has become the most eye-catching protagonist.

Chapter 15 Daily life in Changming City 2

Located on the left side of Epoch Square is a conjoined building composed of two cylindrical high-rise buildings. The 'Era Mall Center' needs no introduction. The fonts arranged on the six buildings have already marked its name.

It can be said that this is the largest building Hiiragi has seen so far. A rough visual estimate is that the volume should be about three times the size of the Military Government Building in Xidi City.There is also a huge display screen placed on the wall facing the square. No matter where you stand in Epoch Square, you can clearly see the content played on the screen.

Just like the shopping buildings in the New City, the Era Mall Center is a large market composed of many shops gathered together. However, its market size and product types are probably greater than the entire commercial street in the New City combined.

The transportation vehicle store on the first floor alone has many attractions: there is actually a kind of single-wheeled motorcycle in the world with the driving position in the middle of a large tire. The shape simply indicates the load. The two people are called The gyrocopter can fly as high and as long as possible, and there is also a black car that is as long as three or four ordinary vehicles...

The dazzling array of products, from their appearance to their uses, are refreshing Hiiragi and Reijiu's understanding. There are so many things they have never seen before that the two of them are deeply aware of the shortcomings of their own vision. Just recognizing so many things along the way All the hardships were worth it.

After completing the tour and returning to the square from the exit of Epoch Mall Center, Hiiragi and Reijiu were still lingering over the new things they saw in Epoch Mall Center, while Hengsang followed slowly behind them. Drink half the bottle of water in your hand and then accurately throw the empty bottle into the recycling bin on the street from a few meters away.

His explanation has almost never stopped since he entered the Era Mall Center. Until he was so thirsty just now that he had finished two bottles of [-] ml clean water. Heimagang really didn't expect Hiiragi Jing and Lingjiu to actually There are people who ask such questions. Although their identity is clearly there but they seem to have less knowledge than him, is it because of the remote location of the Newborn City?Or are their lives deliberately blocked out of some kind of education?

But instead of speculating on the life experiences of these two girls, he now urgently needs to solve a problem in front of him: What to do next?Staring at the assigned work watch on my wrist to close my position felt like a headache.

Because according to the original plan, the center of the Era Mall was all they were going to do this morning, and they would go to the Changming City Museum in the afternoon after dinner.But what people didn't expect was that Hiiragi and Lingjiu only took one hour to visit the entire Epoch Mall Center.How could this happen?This is the most confusing part of closing a position.

He has received many experiences as a tour guide. Summarizing his many experiences, he is sure that the center of Era Mall is definitely the most suitable place to receive women like Hiiragi Shizu Reiji. Let alone stay in such a large shopping mall. Even if it's morning, it'll be fine all day long.

However, the performance of Hiiragi and Lingjiu was uncharacteristic. They directly skipped the luxury stores such as clothing, precious metal jewelry, high-end cosmetics, etc. that accounted for the largest number of stores in the center of the shopping mall. There were only exhibitions of transportation vehicles and a few tactics on the first floor. The equipment counter was the only way to keep their pace. The only purchase so far was at the snack shop, where each of the three of them bought a shaved ice to relieve the heat.

Even if you don’t have enough money, you will at least stop and watch for a while...

"Um...ladies, do you think this mall center is boring?" Hengsang couldn't figure it out and had to ask directly.

"Boring? How could that be? It's quite interesting here." Hiiragi Jing was surprised why Ping Cang suddenly asked this question, while Ling Jiu kept nodding in agreement with Hiiragi Jing's comment.

"interesting……"

That's right. From the way they looked around enthusiastically and kept asking questions, it seemed that there were indeed many things that interested them in the Epoch Mall Center. Perhaps it was just due to personal differences in preferences. This was because they relied too much on past experiences. .

Today's difficulties can only be regarded as a lesson for not thinking carefully and having no backup plan. He really wanted to advance the Changming City Museum project to now, but the problem is that the museum can only accept a limited number of tourists at different times. The administrative authority gave him The three quotas can only take effect between [-] pm and [-] pm. The quotas in the morning have been snatched up long ago. The video game hall they may be interested in has recently been closed for maintenance. Otherwise, why don't you take them somewhere else? I would like to take a look around the place, but wouldn’t this be too perfunctory?

While Ping Cang was thinking about the remedy plan, Hiei Jing suddenly thought of something and turned around and said to Ping Cang: "After looking at Ping Cang for so long, I really want to buy something useful. Ping Cang, do you know where I can buy it in Changming City? Weapons and equipment?”

"Weapons?" Hiiragi Jing's question made Ping Cang frown in confusion, "If you want to buy things like guns, you have to go outside the city. Both Beifeng Heavy Industry and the Changming City Coordinating Committee have set up places to sell weapons. , but Changming City has very strict management of firearms. I don’t know where to buy these things in the city..."

Does this mean that if you want to obtain weapons in the city, you can only use illegal channels such as the black market?However, as an outsider, she obviously has no way of knowing the specific location of the local black market. Ping Cang is just a temporary employee of the management bureau and has no way to know. What's more, she doesn't want to offend the local management just because she wants to try the weapons of Changming City. Regulations are causing trouble for themselves.

"What about the temporary stall for scavengers?" Thinking of this, Hiiragi had no choice but to give in.

"Scavenger?" Ping Cang chewed this word repeatedly, and Hiei Jing suddenly realized that Ping Cang didn't understand the meaning of this word.

Are there no scavengers in Changming City?

"It's that kind of... um, a market where you bring some useful things from the ruins outside and sell them. Is there one in Changming City?" Outside Changming City is a large area of ​​ruins, in which a large number of war materials are buried. Even if the Changming City government keeps digging for relics from the past, there will always be some omissions. The residents of Changming City should not ignore this extra wealth unless it is explicitly prohibited.

"Ah, what Miss Hiiragi Jing is asking about should be the recycling market." After Hiiragi Jing explained the position, he suddenly realized, "This exists. It exists in every residential area close to the gathering area, and gradually it has formed Of course, the largest recycling market is outside the city. After all, there is no need to worry about supervision and there is no need to enter the city for review, so it attracts people from many surrounding bases. "

Didn't scavengers form a livelihood occupation in Changming City?It should be because the cost of living in Changming City is too high and relying solely on scavenging is not enough to survive.

"But it's too dangerous outside the city, so I can't take you two out." After a little weighing, I made the decision to close the position. For some reasons, I didn't want to go near that place, but I really didn't have anything else to do at the moment. Good option: "If you two are interested, I can take you to the nearest recycling market."

"Ok."

It's a pity that they can't go outside the city, but they also have to be considerate of the work of closing the warehouse. As their tour guide, Heng Kong also shoulders certain responsibilities. Hiiragi nodded in understanding and agreed to the proposal of closing the warehouse.

"But your appearance..." Ping Cang's eyes fell on the faces of Hiiragi Jing and Ling Jiu. Although they were in the city, the protective measures were still necessary.

Chapter No.16 A peek into the recycling market

mask?

To be more precise, this is a wooden unmutated rabbit-shaped mask. The image of the animal is more cartoonish, and it is obviously a toy for children. I have seen many children wearing this same cartoon in the square before. A scene of animal masks having fun.

It is very light in the hand and you can hardly feel the weight. There is no unnecessary decoration on the simple surface. The texture of the wood is its most suitable decoration.

This is what Ping Cang refers to as a 'protective measure'. According to his explanation, although the overall security of Changming City is still stable, the large influx of mixed foreigners poses considerable safety risks.

Especially the residential area near the recycling market, which has always been the most preferred place for foreigners to stay in Changming City.Because there are a large number of rental houses with low living conditions but low prices, the recycling market can also provide them with a certain source of income. More importantly, local snakeheads can provide shelter for criminals. This is why there are a large number of illegal households in Changming City. Come.

Hiroyuki is not surprised that there is such a gray area in Changming City. Just as Newborn City has slums and Xidi City has outer city areas, Changming City will not be an exception because of its special status as the capital of the Southern Federation. The prosperity here does not belong to every resident of this city, just like the old man seen on Green Valley Street.

Lingjiu also got the same type of mask. The difference was that her mask was shaped like a cartoon-style animal cat. After receiving the mask, Lingjiu kept holding it in his hand and turning it over and over, looking at it from time to time. Confused: "Why are you wearing this?"

Obviously she did not realize that her appearance might cause unnecessary trouble. In fact, it is not difficult to understand that not long after Lingjiu escaped from the imprisonment of the Central Science Department, she had already been seriously out of touch with normal life, otherwise she would not have He would attack himself with wide-open and wide-open postures without even caring about the risk of being exposed without even wearing underwear.

Although he later experienced a normal life in a women's college, that time was short, and he was surrounded by people of the same age and gender. This obviously did not cultivate Lingjiu's self-awareness, just like he was two months ago.The direct consequence of this lack of consciousness was that Hiiragi had to blush and beat his heart several times a day. This situation was not relieved until Hiiragi taught him several times and he developed a certain immunity.

"Wearing this can reduce other people's malice." Hiiragi was the first to give the reason before he was still thinking about a reasonable explanation. For Lingjiu, the explanation that it was dangerous just based on appearance would only lead to more problems. If you are confused, it would be quicker to explain the result directly.

"Is that so?" Ling Jiu looked at the mask and was a little surprised when he put it on, probably because Hiiragi Jing's words just now confirmed that the mask itself had some special function.

'Malice of others'?

Of course, Heng Cang didn't know Ling Jiu's perception ability, so he just thought Hiiragi explained the whole thing clearly in a simple sentence.

"Actually, there's nothing to worry about. The masks are just in case." In order to reduce the psychological burden that such preparations may cause on the two of them, Hengsang immediately followed up with a sentence of relief.

Turning east from the street where we just arrived at Epoch Square, we walked a long distance even though it was the nearby recycling market.

The prosperity and excitement gradually distanced themselves from them, replaced by the hustle and bustle of the city. The street scene here was far less colorful than that of Times Square, but it made Hiiragi feel a little warm.

Sure enough, this kind of place is the most suitable for me.

Just like Green Valley Street, the location of the recycling market is deviated from the main road of Changming City, hidden behind the surface that can be seen by the eyes. When they stepped into it, they didn't need to close their positions to explain that Hiiragi knew it was them at a glance. destination.

Just like Green Valley Street, they came to a concrete path that branched off from the main road and passed through the residential area on the roadside.

The surrounding buildings have turned into simple collective housing buildings with the same low floors, only four or five floors, but the population living in them is very secretive, which can be seen from the narrow windows that are densely packed like honeycombs on the walls. .

The ropes used to dry clothes create a huge chaotic net between these collective housing buildings. All kinds of clothes weaken the few sunlight that can shine into the depths of the alleys.

The recycling market that Ping Cang mentioned is located in these lanes.

When Hiiragi Jing got closer, he discovered that there was a cave inside the seemingly narrow alley. Except for the important load-bearing walls on the first floor of the building on the left and right, the rest of the building had been demolished and renovated without authorization, which was obviously illegal. Apart from the large open area, The entire remaining walkway is occupied by familiar carpets.

This...is the recycling market?

Its size is not limited to the one in front of you. It continues to spread along the buildings and alleyways into the depths of the residential area. The lighting from a few light bulbs above makes the place look a bit dark, so many stall owners have brought their own portable lamps. Provide lighting for your own stall.

His eyes were constantly looking around through the holes in the mask. The size of the entire recycling market was already comparable to the central market of a human stronghold.

"Most of the products here were excavated from the ruins of the abandoned city outside. It should be the scavenger market you are looking for." Hengcang reminded kindly in a low voice before leading the two people into it. "However, it should be noted that there are many collectors interested in these pre-war items, so many vendors use fakes to pass them off, so be careful if you fancy anything."

"In addition, the excavated materials from the ruins may contain contamination residues, but basically such things cannot be brought into the city and will only appear outside the city without supervision."

"Got it." The reminder to close the position made Hiiragi grin. After being a mercenary in the scavenger market for so long, she was quite confident in her own eyesight. She had already seen it after just a simple look around. A lot of fakes have been produced, and the methods of counterfeiting can only be said to be extremely crude.

However, there was also a discovery that surprised her. She walked quickly towards the stall she had just noticed. There were a few pieces of things like glass fragments sparsely placed on the red rags...

"There are very weak energy fluctuations up there..." The whisper from Lingjiu in her ear confirmed her suspicion just now.

"Is this the crystal nucleus?"

After hearing Hiiragi leaning over to ask, the middle-aged stall owner who was still chatting animatedly with his colleagues immediately turned his attention.

"The little girl knows the goods and can actually recognize them. Uncle will sell them to you at a cheaper price. If you want them, you only need a [-] coupon to pick two of them yourself."

"Ten thousand?" The stall owner's quotation made Hiiragi frown immediately, "Why is an unformed crystal core that doesn't even have the first level so expensive?"

This kind of unformed crystal nucleus is completely different from the real crystal nucleus. She doesn't know its value in Changming City, but in the First Life City, the purchase price of such things is very low, together with recyclable parts of the same quality. In comparison, this stall owner clearly took her as a scapegoat and killed her.

"How could it be possible? These are real crystal nuclei..."

The stall owner still wanted to struggle, but Hiiragi pointed it out unceremoniously: "The color of the truly first-level crystal core is not so dim, and this size is obviously an immature one, and the quality cannot be so light. I'm afraid You dug it out of worthless corpses."

After hearing Hiiragi directly reveal the truth about these crystal nuclei, the stall owner neither panicked nor continued to refute. Instead, after confirming that she had no intention of buying, he smacked his lips and returned to the previous chat without answering the question at all. plan.

Rather than selling goods, this guy is actually cheating...

Hiiragi is not angry either, this kind of character is not uncommon in the Firstborn City.After turning around and leaving, continue walking to the next place of interest.