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

"This... is this place?"

"My ability... is based on a certain place in my memory..." Custer also looked around the room with a little surprise, "I tried to explore it during my days in the small town. These white mist, I always feel that shielding detection and inducing dreams are not all of them... They are very similar to... and Irene's black smoke, so whenever Irene grabs her scythe from the black smoke, I also I want to try if I can put something in it..."

"Space...space has been extended among them. This space has been stretched by the white mist, opening up this field in terms of depth and breadth, but your ability is more stable." Irene nodded slowly, not knowing why. Jing saw a flash of heaviness and unwillingness in Irene's eyes.

Ruoxiang and Poluk on the side looked confused, obviously not understanding what they were talking about, but it didn't matter. Hiiragi didn't understand it either. With her knowledge, she couldn't understand it at all, but things related to witches It's all incomprehensible.

"The white mist carefully extended this small room with a total of twenty cubic meters in the space." Custer stopped and looked around and said with a little regret, "It's a pity that the things that can be accommodated here are very limited. I don't know. The upper threshold is evaluated based on mass or volume, but please rest assured that the five of us here have no signs of collapse."

Custer said and waved his hand gently, and the white mist spread in the room. When they dissipated again, a simple piece of furniture appeared inside the room. Without exception, these pieces of furniture were all made of simple geometric shapes. Perhaps because of the white mist, The relationship composed of fog feels soft to the touch: "Too complex shapes are also a threat to the stability of the space, so living here can only be done for a while."

"What about the outside world?" Hiiragi Jing, who gradually recovered from the shock, asked her about the outside world's visual perspective, "What does it look like here from the outside world..."

"It's a light white mist." Custer replied, "Don't worry, it's easy for people to think it's coming from the unextinguished cigarette holder on the ground... As long as the white mist doesn't hit too hard, nothing will happen here."

"Too strong?"

"Waving, slapping, walking quickly or strong winds or something." Custer said with a hint of embarrassment on his face, "If you are not worried about this place, you can actually go to the hotel..."

"It doesn't matter, that's it." In terms of safety, concealment and comfort, this place is undoubtedly much better than those hotels. More importantly, there is no additional cost here. The journey to the ruins of the airspace is long, so you can save a little. It might be helpful for the rest of the journey.

The additional expansion of Custer's ability is undoubtedly a surprise for them. It can not only help save a lot of money, but also help them cope with wild camping situations in a relatively safe and comfortable way. However, there are too many unstable factors in the wild. If even a little strong wind can interfere with the stability of this space, you should try to avoid spending the night outside.

After getting a general understanding of Custer's small room, Hiiragi Jing and others left one after another and returned to the real world. Now is not the time to rest. After solving the problem of settling in, it is time to start the business in Fenglin City. .

Chapter 33 The first conflict

Hiiragi Jing is certainly not unfamiliar with things like the black market. Almost everyone in the wasteland world has dealt with the black market. Scavengers need to sell special items dug out from the ruins at a price higher than the official purchase price. Smugglers need to Illegal goods that were finally brought into the city are sold here. Workers in pharmaceutical factories need to cash in some activation medicines that have 'disappeared' in the production chain because their efficacy is not up to standard. Precious metals from unknown sources can only be cashed in here. Exchange it for a general coupon here.

This is the black market of the Southern Federation, but the reason for the existence of the black market in the north and the south is actually the same. Black trade is extremely prosperous in the wasteland. The more poorly managed the market is and the more chaotic the black market economy is. What supports it may be just Local gangs, or the shadows of certain people in the local government actually stand behind them.

Even if it was the first time he came to Feng Lincheng, it would not be difficult to find the black market here. Man had already made detailed notes of its location and handed it over to Hiiragi Jing, using the market where the caravan would inevitably arrive as a reference landmark. The location of the black market is not far from the market. Using a place with the same trading attributes as a cover is one of the factors for choosing a location for the black market. In addition, it also facilitates businessmen who do more than one business to travel between the two places.

Soon, Hiiragi discovered a dark alley, which was as dark and damp as all the alleys in the city. The long-blocked drainage channel was filled with black sewage, mixed with various types of garbage and silt. The difference was that this The alley was not deserted, but people would come in and out from time to time. There was a man wearing a black short coat standing on the left and right of the entrance to the alley, which was one of the entrances to Fengli Black Market.

Although wearing simple and thin clothes, those strong muscle outlines are obviously not what a poor ordinary resident can possess. They laughed and communicated while enjoying the hand-rolled cigarettes with almost only the cigarette holders left in their hands, and then entered the alley with every intention. I asked him a few simple questions.

"What are you doing? Let's play while we're at it."

Seeing several short hooded figures of Hiiragi approaching the two of them, they immediately thought they were children and shouted to stop, but Hiiragi did not stop. Such a reaction was what she had expected: "I want to buy gold." , a lot of gold." Hiiragi said this before the two men guarding the entrance issued a second warning.

The girl's clear voice and the content of this paragraph stunned the two of them. They looked at the five hooded people in front of them suspiciously. After a short period of more than ten seconds, one of them finally asked: "How much do you want to buy? "

"Half of all the large inventories, all of the small inventories." Hiiragi replied fluently, referring to what Man wrote to himself.

The two men looked at each other with some amusement, but in the end they silently lowered their heads and put the cigarette holders in their mouths again.

No answer was an answer. The notes given by Man seemed to be up to date. Hiiragi turned around and motioned for everyone to follow before stepping into the alley. The dirty scenery outside was obviously a means of disguise. He continued inside. Although it is not clean, at least it is not littered with garbage and sewage.

After completely passing through this narrow alley, the space in front suddenly opened up. In fact, it was not too big, but it was spacious enough compared to the narrow alley.

This is a street, a street with a tarp that completely blocks the sky. Except for the dim lighting and the presence of a local gangster with his face covered and a gun standing guard some distance away, this street is almost the same as an ordinary residential street. Both customers and merchants on the street had their faces covered, so the clothes of Hiiragi and others did not attract anyone's attention, and no one went back to pay attention to what was in the shadow under the hood.

"This... is the black market?" Custer asked with a bit of disappointment in his tone. Not only did she, but also Poluk and Ruoxiang lose their original activity, two noble ladies from the pre-war era. And a national idol in Changming City obviously has no chance to contact the real black market. His expectations for this place are affected by certain readings. Irene remains uninterested in anything as always.

"Yes, it is actually a place for people to trade. It's just that the things traded generally do not comply with local laws, or are too special to be traded in ordinary ways." Hiiragi Jing feels it is necessary to explain that these have just begun to truly come into contact with the wasteland. There is still a lot that society, especially the witches at the bottom, need to know, "but this kind of unregulated market will naturally breed crime and violence."

"Do you mean those?" Ruoxiang on the side suddenly spoke, her voice soft and hoarse due to dryness.

Following the direction of Ruoxiang's finger, Hiiragi Jing and others saw more than 20 figures standing or sitting in the open space on one side of the street not far ahead. It seemed a little crowded to have such a crowded area on the sparse street. Eye-catching, they are not just customers gathering around for shopping because they are the products themselves.

A hemp rope made of hay was tied around their necks. The other end of the hemp rope was connected to a wooden stake inserted into the ground. The number of people tied to a wooden stake ranged from three to five, and most of them Some were young men, and a few were women. Their expressions were all numb, and they were no different from walking corpses except that they couldn't bite.

In fact, the thin hemp rope can no longer tie any struggling living creature.

slave……

Yes, Ofantuo has legally recognized slaves. Hiiragi had already learned this from Buton in the underground facility. They came from prisoners in the war and from those who were not subject to Ofantuo's rule. Tribes also come from poor people who cannot survive and voluntarily sell themselves.

Human trafficking also exists in the Southern Federation. The lives of many people are no less miserable than slaves. However, no matter which city base in the Southern Federation, the existence of 'slaves' cannot be recognized. 'Monsters are the public enemies of mankind.' Even if you don’t care about this in your heart, it is political correctness that must be spoken by any political entity.

Hiiragi and Custer once discussed together: Part of the reason for the legalization of selling compatriots as commodities in Ofanto is probably due to their protracted war with the North. Even in the wasteland where monsters are rampant, they It also regards the other party as a human force as its main enemy, so it does not recognize its fellow human beings as much as the Southern Federation. That is, starting from the other party's captives... the source of slaves is gradually increased, and the value of human beings is reduced to commodities. Same column.

"This era... is so barbaric..."

Castor sighed in a low voice, hearing from Hiiragi Jing and seeing it with his own eyes are two different concepts, but after Ruoxiang asked, a new question emerged: "Hiiragi Jing, didn't you say that the slave business is not legal in Ofanto? ?Why take them to the black market for sale?”

"This... I'm afraid it's because the sources of these slaves are illegal..." Hiiragi guessed that although there was a slavery system, the Ofanto government was very restrained in identifying slaves. Those who were arrested at will or sold themselves People are not recognized by the law... Of course, it is just a law. As for whether to abide by it, it depends on the local ruler's recognition of this law.

Ruoxiang's face looked a little ugly. She grabbed Hiiragi's arm and wanted to say something, but she quickly swallowed those words back. The impulse of the moment was quickly suppressed by reason. They are just five outsiders here. That's all.

Continuing forward along the street, Hiiragi's eyes quickly locked on a shop open in the corner. The fact that there is a formal store instead of a stall on the ground shows that the shopkeeper here at least does not lack the rent here. The rolling shutter door is half open. There is a one-meter-high gap for people to enter, and the wooden sign hanging at the door reads "Recycle Parts and Books" in paint.

Is that right here?

There are more than just these contents on the rotten wooden sign. There are some traces left by the carving knife in the corner that no one pays attention to. Others only think that this is the result of the wooden board being hacked by rough means. However, Hiiragi Jing, who has read the code book, knows those things. The combined simple patterns mean something.

only……

"It's a little strange. Isn't it too easy..."

"Easy? You call this process easy?" Poluk, who was too frightened and his steps were a little shaky, immediately widened his eyes when he heard Hiiragi's words. Before she could express her anger, Castor suddenly spoke.

"That's true, and it's not too far from Vibus Town. Why did it lose contact with Mann and the others? The intelligence department of a force shouldn't be so lax." Custer also discovered the existence of it. Doubtful.

"Uh...ahem..." No one paid attention to Poluk's dry coughing due to his saliva.

"Wait here for a moment, and pay attention to whether anyone else is following us." After thinking for a while, Hiei Jing made a decision, "Eileen, you go in with me."

After a simple arrangement, Hiiragi Jing and Irene walked to the wooden sign. The sound of their footsteps and their legs stopping in front of the rolling shutter door obviously alarmed the people in the store. After they bent down and entered the room, a tall man wearing sunglasses The man left his recliner and stood behind the counter, while another man beside him had silently turned on the radio and played a song with the sound of snowflakes in the room.

"Welcome, may I ask who you two are..."

"We brought a lot of parts from the wasteland, please estimate the price." He originally thought it was due to dwarfs or other reasons for being short, but when he opened his mouth, it was a girl's voice like silver bells that obviously exceeded his expectations. In the dim light, There was a momentary surprise on the expression behind the sunglasses.

"Give me a price..." A fist-sized cloth bag with the sound of metal collision was thrown in front of the counter by Hiiragi Jing.

"These..." The middle-aged man stretched out his hand to open the cloth bag and glanced at it briefly before trying to put on a kind smile on his face. "The quality is very good. Please wait a moment and the shop owner and I will give you an estimate."

Sure enough, there is a problem...

The scraps of copper and iron picked up casually along the way are not even valuable for recycling. Putting them in the place where other parts are recycled will most likely be regarded as an act of teasing and causing trouble. Judging from the behavior of the other party, it is obvious that they have no relevant knowledge of parts recycling appraisal. , such a level of professional capabilities is obviously not what the intelligence team of the Advancement Conference, which is responsible for lurking here for a long time, should have.

Then there is only one possibility...

"By the way, I have another thing, can you see how much it's worth?" Hiei Jing dropped another dagger on the counter. The unique semicircular blade was not something that would be easily forgotten after just one glance. The man looked obviously startled after seeing this item.

"This thing..." Just as he was about to speak and stabilize the two of them with his prepared words and reach out to press the button that had been prepared on the back of the counter, Irene, who received the signal from Hiiragi's gaze, suddenly rushed up to the counter, and then kicked her. on the other person's face.At the same time that Irene took action, Hiei Jing also took action. She turned around and threw out her bag. The bag filled with stones broke through the resistance of the air like a meteor hammer and accurately hit the other person's forehead. , and the pistol Kankan pulled out from his waist slipped from his hand before he could lift it up.

Chapter 34 Interrogation and Accident

"Hey!"

The ancient radio seemed to have far exceeded its theoretical service life. The blocking feeling of the volume increase button made Hiiragi press it several times with force. When he picked it up, he could still hear the falling parts rolling in it. The sound of hitting the casing and the obvious looseness make people feel that it will fall apart into a pile of parts with just a little force.

While Irene tied up the two captured people with the ropes found in the store, Hiiragi picked up the opponent's pistol again. What surprised her was that it was not a crudely made workshop weapon. Although it looked old and had rifling, Shows more wear but is still a reliable weapon.At least they were much stronger than the city gate guards Hiiragi had seen.

During the body search, this pistol was the only thing that could prove that the two of them were not ordinary people, but it was enough.

"Hiiragi, this is..." Several people waiting outside quickly entered the store after seeing Hiiragi's gesture. Ruoxiang was immediately surprised after seeing the two people who were knocked unconscious, "Could they be Ao Fan?" A secret agent entrusted to you?"

"I don't know. Their professional level is very low. An organization that can interact with Man and the others shouldn't be at this level." Hiiragi hesitated for a while and said to Poluk and Ruoxiang, " You keep watch outside, and if a suspicious person approaches, bring him in, and don’t give him any time to sound the alarm.”

"Hmm..." Ruoxiang immediately nodded in agreement, while Poluk glanced at Castor. After seeing the other party nodding, he clasped his hands behind his head and left the store. He had to go out not long after he came in. He was being used like this. It made her somewhat reluctant.

Although Poluk is very strong, he has a very bad attitude towards people other than his sister. If left alone outside, he would probably regard everyone passing by as suspicious. Waka can judge the situation and is good at communication. The two of them can form a perfect team. Complementary, as to why Custer was not accompanied because she also had to participate in the subsequent interrogation. As the think tank of the team, Hiei Jing needed to discuss many things with her.

With the help of Irene, the two tied people were dragged into the back room. After several people carefully confirmed the volume of the radio and the sound insulation effect of the room, Hiiragi found a tattered iron basin in the room, but the problem Here, where should I get the water from?

After looking around for Hiiragi Jing, I realized that there is no water supply system here. The only way to get water is the primitive means of wells and rivers. I don't know where the well is. There is indeed a river outside Fenglincheng, but it is too far away from here. A little bit...

we can only do this……

A few minutes later, Hiei Jing carefully walked into the room carrying a basin of dark, bubbling sewage. She scooped it up from the sewer ditch on the side of the street while resisting her nausea. After seeing the full view of the basin, Castor immediately pinched it. He stood far away with his nose raised, and even Irene calmly took a few steps back to distance herself from Hiiragi Jing.

"Is it... too much?" Castle asked hesitantly in a strange nasal voice.

"That's the only way to do it."

In fact, there is another way... Hiiragi quietly answered in her heart: If she was still a male...

"Irene, take out the sickle first."

"Both of you, I'm sorry..." Seeing Irene taking out the giant scythe from the black smoke, Hiei Jing whispered an apology in her heart to the two people who were still unconscious and didn't know what was going to happen. After that, she secretly gritted her teeth and poured the sewage in her hands towards The two of them splashed hard.

"Ah... ah... this is... vomit vomit... ah..."

"Um...cough...cough..."

Under the sudden stimulation, the two of them woke up one after another. Before they could react, an extremely strong stench entered their nostrils. The next second, the two of them started retching one after another. They noticed it, especially You Jue. The sticky feeling on their bodies and the retching became more intense after seeing the other party's face covered in sewage. Fortunately, there was nothing in their stomachs, but they kept vomiting acidic water, which would not make the scene more embarrassing.

Seeing the appearance of the two of them, Hiei Jing couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt in her heart. She waved her hand to stop even Irene's gestures towards her, so she should give them enough time to relax for the time being.

"Who are you?" After a few minutes, the retching finally stopped. Maybe it was because he was tired from vomiting, or maybe he was used to the stench. One of them raised his face covered with snot and tears and looked at it in horror. There were three figures hiding under the hoods in front of them, especially after their eyes touched the huge metal sickle in the hand of one of them.

"Now is not the time for you to ask questions, sir." Custer crossed his arms and walked slowly closer, stopping five steps away from the two of them. I have to say that the basin of water Hiiragi found had a really good taste. So exciting.

"Who are you?"

"Uh... woo..."

"It doesn't matter if you don't answer. We have many ways to deal with Ofanto's spies."

"Qiang——!" At Custer's signal, Irene flashed the sickle in her hand very cooperatively, but before she could do anything, the two of them suddenly said at the same time: "Say! I can say anything!"

Ugh?

The completely unexpected reaction made Castor stunned on the spot. Although she was the warden of a high-level prison, she had never had the experience of an interrogation. The lady's actual attitude towards this was full of interest. What about water torture? The Prisoner's Dilemma had been running through her mind after she heard about participating in the interrogation, but before she could show off her skills, she didn't expect such a result.

"Can't you just hold on a little longer?" Custer muttered in a low voice.

"Huh?" The two of them couldn't hear the words clearly under the loud background of the radio.

"Okay, okay, just ask." The dignified Sister Custer rarely shows her interesting side. But the longer it goes on, the more likely things will happen. After all, theoretically this is still the enemy's territory, Hiiragi said. He stepped forward and grabbed one of them by the rope and took him into another room.

After confirming that the sound here would not reach Custer, she started her inquiry.

"Think it over first. We will check your two answers later. If there are any differences, you will be responsible for the consequences... name."

"Pi...Pile."

"What's the other one called?"

"Belwyn Bron."

He turned out to be a guy with a surname. Hiiragi was a little surprised, but this didn't mean anything. She went straight to the point: "What is your status among the secret agents? Do you have any accomplices?"

"I...we are not spies!" Piller said after a brief hesitation, "We originally used our height to serve as escorts for a local businessman, but...but not long ago when the boss was paying rent to the black market Motivation was twisted, and ended up being kicked off by the head of the black market... And because of this old bastard, no one in the black market dared to hire us anymore..."

"We couldn't find a job in the black market for several days. When we were about to leave to go elsewhere, a group of people suddenly came to us... They said there were several places in the black market that we needed to watch, but the request was very strange..."

"Weird?"

"Yes, yes." Piller swallowed and began to speak more fluently, "I asked the two of us to be responsible for guarding this store, but it is not to do business but to stabilize the customers who come into the store. They said they would come. …”

Sure enough, it was a trap set by Ofanto's spies to surround the intelligence team... It was very different from Hiiragi's guess: "How did you tell them that there was a customer in the store?"

"Alarm...the alarm button is under the table. After pressing it, you should get the message over there..." Piller said and quickly added, "I haven't had time to press it yet."

"Then do you know their location?"

"I don't know... I really don't know. By the way, there are many people like me who are hired by them to look at the empty shops. They are all scattered on the streets of the black market. Maybe there is someone among them who knows."

At this point, Hiiragi Jing has basically determined that these are just temporary workers hired by the spies. They know nothing about the core secrets, otherwise they would not speak so easily. As for other colleagues on the underworld, they are basically the same. Same as Peeler.

After asking a few more questions, Hiei Jing returned to the room just now. At this time, Custer and the others also finished questioning. The guy named Bilvin Bron was even more frightened than Piller. He took the initiative to pour out a lot of things. After checking with Castor one by one that their answers were consistent and not lying, Castor was a little disappointed: "These two temporary workers don't know much information. Our clues It’s broken again…”

"Button..." Erin, who remained silent, suddenly said, "Press the button... they will come over."

Irene's proposal is as consistent with her character as ever. If necessary, this is indeed one of the ways. However, they have not yet understood how much power the secret agents have in Fenglin City. Once the conflict begins, their identity as witches will no longer be a secret. The follow-up continues I am afraid that the impact to the north will be considerable, and there will also be a large number of innocent victims in this human city base with a population of more than [-].

Just as Hiiragi Jing was in a tangle, Ruoxiang suddenly ran into the room in a hurry: "Hurry, come quickly, Poluk has caught a suspicious person!"

Gained?

Aruka's confirmation showed that Poluk's action was not reckless. They immediately ran out of the store and saw Poluk at the entrance of a narrow alley across the street, suppressing a man wearing a black windbreaker and a mask. She pressed her knees against the person's back, grabbed a ball of soil in her hand and stuffed it into the person's mouth, obviously keeping in mind Hiiragi's instructions not to let the person sound the alarm.

After noticing that Hiiragi Jing and others arrived, Poluk's face clearly showed off a bit of a show-off smile.

"Well done." Custer gave a very timely compliment, and Polluxe's ​​hand tightened even more with great psychological satisfaction.