219 Stronghold (Part 3)

Most of the mercenaries drove all kinds of off-road vehicles. Some of the larger mercenary groups drove heavy-armored tanks.

Ning Shi spent 100 origin coins, got on a heavy truck, and followed a car of mercenaries to Exit 12.

In the car, Ning Shi did not say a word, silently listening to the mercenaries’ bragging.

They bragged about killing a black-furred elephant with a cannon from 800 meters away, getting close to a Level 3 radioactive creature, a giant paw bear, and killing in a single strike without panicking in the face of danger. The content of their conversation was extremely unreliable and sounded fake.

However, they were all mercenaries who had put their lives on the line. It was still good to be able to relieve their tension by bragging.

Ning Shi was also listening with great interest. He didn’t know much about the situation in the wild, but through the conversation of the mercenaries, he at least knew some content and had a general understanding of the combat power of the radioactive creatures.

The combat power of the radioactive creatures was extremely strong. Level 1 radioactive creatures were much stronger than ordinary wild beasts, and they were extremely difficult to deal with in close combat.

“The most troublesome thing was that their physical defense was extremely strong, and even rifle bullets could not cause them any harm. They had to hit their eyes and other weak spots in order for the bullets to hurt Level 1 radioactive creatures.

As for the Level 2 and Level 3 radioactive creatures that were stronger than Level 1, no mercenaries dared to fight them in close combat. They all used the terrain to fire from a distance.

Among the mercenaries, only the poorest newbies would use bullet guns.

The first thing most mercenaries would do when they earned money was to buy a helium weapon.

The helium weapons didn’t release bullets, but helium light bullets. These light bullets could effectively kill radioactive creatures.

According to the size of the caliber and the level of the helium energy, the commonly seen helium weapons were the helium gun and the helium cannon.

The helium gun could deal with Level 2 radioactive creatures, and the helium cannon could deal with Level 3 radioactive creatures. As for Level 4 and above, they would need more powerful weapons such as warships and mechas to deal with them.

Time passed quickly as he listened attentively to the mercenaries’ conversation. The truck drove for more than three hours before they arrived at Exit 12.

The mercenaries jumped down from the trucks one after another. Some of them were in groups of three to five and were ready to rush to the wild to find traces of the mud cows. Some of them had a hormone explosion and went to the mercenary market near the exit to have fun.

Sword Shield City had a total of 40 exits, and at each exit, there was a market dedicated to the mercenary groups.

In the market, other than being able to buy and repair weapons and exchange information on radioactive creatures, they could also release the pressure of being a mercenary.

As long as they had money, the mercenaries could experience all kinds of extreme enjoyment in the market.

Sex, gambling, hallucinatory drugs, and some things that were forbidden in the inner city could be enjoyed here.

On one hand, Sword Shield City did this to ease the tension of the mercenaries so that they would not cause trouble. On the other hand, they could earn money from the mercenaries, killing two birds with one stone.

It was just that after a long time of development, many nobles and elites in the inner city also liked to go to the mercenary market to seek excitement.

This further stimulated the prosperity of the mercenary market.

Ning Shi only wanted to find the stronghold now and had no mood to stroll around the mercenary market.

He walked straight to the customs pass and showed his identification.

Ning Shi didn’t hide anything and used his true identity to pass the verification. He walked out of the checkpoint at Exit 12 and came to the wilderness.

In order to hide his tracks as much as possible and eliminate his traces, Ning Shi did not buy a car or use a means of transportation. Instead, he chose to walk.

He first spent 10 origin coins on the AI network to purchase a ranking map.

Then, according to the navigation system and the ranking map, they avoided some dangerous areas and planned a route to the stronghold.

Ning Shi set off according to the route. When he was about three kilometers away from the exit, the game system sent a prompt.

[ The current environment has slight traces of radiation elements. Based on the calculation of the host’s current physique and the concentration of radiation elements, the host will experience muscle atrophy after living in this environment for about 38 months. Please take note. ]

Ning Shi didn’t mind. He ate a bite of jelly meat to restore his energy, then ran to the stronghold at a steady speed.

Radioactive creatures usually appeared in the area 10 kilometers away from Sword Shield City. Along the route planned by Ning Shi, there would be occasional sightings of radioactive creatures, but the numbers were relatively small.

Ning Shi was very lucky and did not encounter any radioactive creatures.

After running for about six hours, Ning Shi finally arrived at the stronghold provided by Old Li at two in the afternoon.

In a stone forest.

This place was either filled with rocks or wild grass. It was the main road that was far away from the mercenaries’ exploration of the radioactive creatures’ range of activity.

It was deserted.

After searching for a long time, Ning Shi finally found a hidden pattern of a butcher’s knife under a 3-meter-tall boulder.

He took out a key in the shape of a butcher’s knife. It was exactly the same size as the butcher’s knife pattern on the ground. He placed the key on the butcher’s knife pattern and pressed it gently.

The key sank into the ground.

With a rumble and a slight vibration, a hole about half the height of a person appeared under the boulder. Ning Shi pulled out the key from the dent and entered the stronghold with a bend.

As Ning Shi walked into the stronghold, the cave entrance automatically closed.

Everything was the same as before. This place was a desolate pile of rocks.

No one would have thought that someone would set up a stronghold here.