Chapter 154: Lead And Silver Dollars (5)

Chapter 154: Lead And Silver Dollars (5)

Hey, Vex.

Yeah, Hepburn?

What Im looking at right now Is it real?

Looking at what youre saying, then I must not be seeing things right now.

Coming out of the Inspection Bureau building, I was worrying about how I would find the two people scattered out in the huge Dome, but it was easier than I thought.

Vex was waiting for me in front of the Inspection Bureau building with some sort of beige-camouflage hood you commonly see the Wasteland people wear, and Ian

Sorry, but dont obsess over me too much, ladies. Im only here for a short while before leaving again. And I already have someone I love. So loving me will only hurt you. If you love yourself, then it will be best for you to leave me.

Ahh, monsieur! Dont! Dont say such things!

Just stay next to me, Ian. Im confident that Ill be able to embrace every single scar you own, and when the time comes, you will have the time to look back at me, so if you just stay with me for now!

Like I always said, Ian isnt exactly what you could call handsome. Actually, he does look pretty good. He has sharp eyes and a little grungy look. But it all looked pretty uncanny with that metallic jaw of his. No, just looking at the outer appearance, dont I look much better than him? So why is it that he

Hm? Ah, times up. Now, it is time for us to bid farewell. Melina, Tiri, Azien. It was only a short while, but I enjoyed it.

Ahhhh, no!

Is popular enough for the women to start staring death rays at me just because I showed up!

I heard Ian was here for a while, so I looked around, mainly near the housing buildings, and was able to find him at the most luxurious-looking one, surrounded by women that clearly looked rich.

He was wearing a white fedora and dark brown suit that fit snugly on his body. When he got up from his seat, looking like a drunk mafia with his dress shirt unbuttoned, he broke free from the binds of the women and spread his arms wide open while giving me a toothy grin.

Gyosu! Its been about a month since Ive seen you! Has everything been fine?

Not as fine as you were, at least.

Keheheheh! Of course! You gotta strike when the irons hot, you know. Cant just stay still when our budget and fame is at its peak.

To my genuine response, the man just gave his signature windy laugh (one of the women in the back who had been staring longingly at Ian fainted at that) and pointed up at the hotel with his thumb.

Lets not meddle here and go up to my room to talk. I booked a room because I was expecting to stay here a bit for the business. The place is for caravans from other Areas and Scavengers with contracts, and its not bad, I tell you.

Uhh, alright. Yeah.

Not knowing what to say about his mafia + Casanova-like attitude, we just nodded our heads and followed him up the stairs. Watching the women let out cries and wails when Ian walked past them while nonchalantly waving his hand, I was again reminded that the world really was at its end.

A suite room? Do you have a bad spending habit by any chance? Dont tell me you got influenced by Koduro

Its not like that, ya bastard. I booked a small room, but the secretary or something of the Life and Murders CEO came by and put in a few words to the owner, and they upgraded it to here. I didnt use a single penny, so dont glare at me like that.

The upper floor that Ian talked about wasnt just a room in the upper floors, but the entire floor of the four-story building being the entire hotel suite room. It was a little ironic that we needed to walk up the stairs to get to the suite room full of lavish furniture, but well, it was free.

Bringing four glasses worth of milk at my request for a glass of water, Ian added a little brandy to the milk and handed me a bundle that was sitting next to the table.

Here, its a present.

Present? What present?

Ah, I was walking around town when I found something that reminded me of you.

Inside the bundle were two boxes about 30 30cm in size. Wait. This box I think I just saw it back in the Presidents office.

Dont tell me

When I opened it up, just like I expected, a detailed wooden figure of me was inside it.

[No.17 Finishing Blow Gyosu Park]Thê source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))

You damn!

Keheheheh! Isnt it nice? Its apparently supposed to be you shooting that Zeus thing. Its a limited edition, you know? The Area 47 Domes Inspection Bureau makes only 50 of these, and the higher class in the Dome all throw money at the guys to buy these things, but they said they kept these to give to us. Ah, Vex. Theres yours too.

Tell them to go f**k them and their stupid consideration!

That just means our value has gone up to the point where wooden figurines like this sell at the ridiculous market price of 30 thousand Shillings.

Banksys art was sold for 600 thousand, and youre telling me a puny figurine like this is 30 thousand?

That was just a special case. You couldnt reveal your identity to the Dome back then, so the only purchaser were those art guys. If you put that up on the auction for the Dome, then it would have easily sold for over 10 million.

The worlds ending, I tell you

They say heroes are popular in a crisis. Since its the end of the world, like you said, were being practically worshipped.

After briefly glimpsing over at Synthia and Vex, who were completely ecstatic about what came out of the other box, Ian took a big sip of that weird milk-brandy drink and started talking about what had happened for the past month.

The total war with the Raptor Society last time. The people are calling it the Breaching Dawn Battle over here, and all of you should know that weve gotten pretty famous here because of that battle. In order to calm down the confusion and chaos, the Dome framed us as heroes and advertised us all over the place. It must have worked pretty well because the Domes citizens completely forgot about the fact that the Raptors successfully invaded the citys central power system and just cheered about the new appearance of their heroes. Covering up an issue with another issue. Your normal average viral marketing, right?

Although the effects werent that average.

Like he was waiting for that response, Ian jabbed his finger toward me as he lit up the cigar in his mouth.

Exactly. As a hustler myself, I knew this was going to bring in some hot customers. But something a little different from what I expected happened.

And that unexpected thing is?

That video the Dome uploaded. You know, the weapons on the borderline of being considered Old Times weapons that me and Vex used? I got hundreds of emails every day to my game pod asking if they could buy those weapons.

I remembered. We took a bunch of things from the Inspection Bureaus weapons garage, like hand cannons and monomolecular blades.

Fwip!

I was flipping through each page of the contract as I listened to Ian. Separated into tiers, from Tier 1 to 5, there were several dozens of weapons, each with a set quantity, price, and areas it was restricted from being sold. Some were familiar, others completely new, but even just one quick glimpse at it was enough to know that these were all beyond what was considered the standard technology in the Wastelands. The names of the Caravans participating and their respective areas were also listed in it.

[The following caravans will take 13% m of sales proceeds.]

Goldman Wanderer, Area 42~46.

Dome Caravan, Area 40~49.

BDSM, Area 41~35

Huh?

Hey, wait. This

Isnt it crazy? I told you! I wrote in our names while they were out of it. Its not the profit but the sales proceeds were taking 13% off! If we manage to sell enough of em, our incomes multiplied that much more! Nobody will know exactly how much we sold them for, so that means we could take all of the money when we charge more than what the Dome set the price as!

No, not that Dont the Areas look a little weird?

Mmm, the 30s are a little dangerous, but there havent really been any issues recently. Aside from the slightly more vicious monsters, there are actually even fewer people that can come out here, so well have more customers, and since everyones holed up in their shelters because of the radiation, we wont need to worry about getting attacked either.

No, but the issue is that theres been a really, really big problem in that area recently

I needed to set one thing straight. With all the money we already have, there really isnt a reason for us to risk our lives right now.

Ian. Why are you trying to make money?

Huh? Whats with the stupid question all of a sudden? Did I pour brandy in your milk too?

Im not joking around, seriously. Were rich now. We have enough to use plentifully for the rest of our lives, so Im wondering why you still try so hard to make money.

Serious, you say

Cracklee

Hahhhhh.

Ian breathed out the cigarette smoke like a sigh to my question, then answered as he took off his white fedora.

I do it because I want to.

Because you want to?

Yeah. Do you always need a reason? We have more places were spending it now, so I thought we would need more. Thought this would be a nice opportunity. You should have seen it on your way here. The village or something that grew around our shelter.

And Whats it gotta do with that?

You really dont get it? I know youre not just going to leave that alone.

When I heard what Ian said, I checked for a moment to remember whether I ever told Ian what I did at the village. I didnt tell him a single thing.

You know, you think too much sometimes. Think simple! Now, if you leave those people alone, theyre either going to brawl each other to the death or leave. If that happens, then we return to our homely and lonely shelter. Do you like that? Or not?

But, its not that

F**k! Just think about it and say whether its nice or it bothers you!

Ians voice forced Gyosu to imagine that scene. The familiar alleyway and the path that people once often walked through. There were blood stains in the underground shop where Geum-pil Park settled down, with only the cold furnaces and traces of two people left behind. It was quiet and safer this way, but

It bothers me.

Then we gotta save them. Gyosu, youre looking too far into the future. Sometimes, you have to move on to see just whats in front of you right there. Alright? If you want to run a village, youre gonna need a lot of money then. Even if it isnt as big as the Dome, we need a wall and defense system strong enough to block off the mutants, and people will start to get married once enough gather and mingle, and then well have kids too. While were at it, even if it isnt city-level, getting a couple of shields for bigger shelters will block off the dust, at least. See? I can think of countless things I want to do! And this all needs money. Things that 200 million wont be enough for. You still think theres no reason to make money?

Glug, glug

Clack!

After emptying the glass in front of him, Ian tugged up his collar like he was posing and said.

Im doing this not because of you but because of me. My first family was shattered into bits, and I cant leave my second one to turn out like that too. I like the guys that gathered around our house, you know. So Im gonna need to go through with this contract. Even if its a little dangerous. Its abnormal for wanting life in the Wastelands to be not dangerous in the first place.

Such firm belief, without a single moment of doubt about what he was doing. Its times like these when I feel that Ian really did live 10 years more than me.

Ughhh.

Whatyou dont like it? If you really have a bad feeling about this, I can cancel the

No, it isnt that. I was just thinking about how I lost again.

Lose? To who?

That snake-like mustached man, of course.

I ask that you hurry. At least quick enough to classify those who disappeared as missing.

I thought I was acting pretty cold when I told him I was going to talk about it with the others.

But the President already knew all of this. That Ian made a contract to go to the Area 30s. He basically had the confirmation of one person out of three already, which is why he let me go so easily.

Alright, lets go. Well do business, find the missing people, and deliver the box holding the Domes hopes and dreams. Lets do it all. And well get filthy rich after it.

Missing people? Box? Hey, whats all that

Dont take it back later. Its already been decided.

Checking if the Presidents request document was still inside of his pocket, Gyosu got up from his seat.

Listening to what he said, I wanted to do this now too. I wasnt going to take back my decision now, even if they asked me to.