After eating, everyone formed their own groups and started wandering around the outer city - of course, seeking information was the real goal.
Except for letting Alex and Alex work together to find ways to find people, the rest of the people wanted to investigate things related to the mission. For example, information related to Dacapo's train, the status of the inner city of the royal capital, whether the so-called royal emblem has a special name, who is the Dark Sage, and where are the three areas such as the Eternal Corridor...
Lu Ning was in a group with Yan Rong, and Yuan Jie was in a group with Lian Bisheng. Zhu Qinyuan said that it would be more convenient for him to investigate alone. After everyone agreed on a time and place, they each chose their own way.
The streets in the outer city seem to have no plan at all, and the houses are built inside and outside. Although they may look good individually, put together there is only one word to describe them: "chaos". Nest is basically responsible for the construction industry in the outer city, and the price can be said to be very cheap. The most expensive ones are the land and internal equipment.
It is precisely because of this situation that you can build a building with money, and the outer city is full of all kinds of remote alleys, alleys and other areas. There are also many drunken people lying in the corners of the walls, and some even have Being dragged deeper into the place.
"Obviously the nobles have no intention of managing the outer city well." Yan Rong frowned, "They did provide a lot of things, but they were just to maintain a superficial peace..."
"That's not surprising." Lu Ning walked past a wall covered in graffiti. Although he couldn't understand the content of the graffiti, he could feel the decadence and depravity in it. There was no positive flavor at all.
As he walked, Yan Rong noticed that there were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the road. Lu Ning looked around and soon discovered the reason: bright lights appeared in the windows of many factories, and some of them could still see busy people. silhouette. Not only are people busy, it seems that the factory itself is also busy - the light is so bright that it seems to tell everyone, "Look, we are working hard."
This side of the outer city is so depressing and suffocating... In Lu Ning's memory, in normal urban life, even during work and school time, there are still crowds of people on the streets. It seems that there are always some people who are free to wander around every day. Go shopping and maintain a sense of excitement. But here in the outer city, it was as if everyone was stuffed into the same timetable. After the lunch break just now, people quickly disappeared into various factories like ants returning to their nest.
Except for a few people.
There are indeed some scattered people on the street. These people are obviously different from the office workers in suits and ties, and their fierceness can be felt from a distance. These are small groups similar to the Mercury Triggers. They gave up their stable and boring jobs and instead used their lives to seek a more exciting life. They carried weapons and chased the bounties of the nobles like vultures chasing corpses. At the same time, they also paid attention to the group. Everyone outside is wary.
Lu Ning and Yan Rong also tried their best to keep a distance of more than two meters from these people. Perhaps their clothing characteristics were too obvious, and no one came to make plans for them.
The two walked for a while and saw a small building with a green roof. The words "Ticket Booth" were simply hung on the eaves. What attracted people's attention was the "D" coat of arms next to it, which was exactly the same as that on the carriage.
Dacapo is in charge of transportation in the outer city. They manage everything from the legendary train lines to the routes as small as a bicycle. Nest's blind construction seems to have no impact on Dacapo's route planning. Their ticket offices are scattered all over the city. As long as you have money to buy a ticket, they can ensure that you get on the bus on time.
Of course, for Lu Ning and Yan Rong, it was just a matter of time to see if there were any clues about the train. After the two walked in, they found that the foyer was not large, and there was a sleepy conductor behind the counter. Judging from the D coat of arms on his collar, it was not difficult to understand why he dared to be so passive and slow at work.
Lu Ning walked to a promotional shelf nearby and took out a copy of each introduction brochure. Of course the conductor saw it, but he didn't say a word - not even a greeting.
"Brother, don't you say something?" He didn't say anything, so Yan Rong took the initiative to come up to him.
"Where to go?" The conductor asked with his head propped up and his eyes hanging.
"I heard that there is a rumored train line in Dacapo, but I don't know what conditions are required to take it."
Lu Ning slapped her head. How could she have forgotten that Yan Rong's external speaking skills were extremely bad.
"What? Where did you come from? Go, go, this is the place where tickets are sold. If you need to inquire, ask someone else." The conductor waved his hand like a fly. Yan Rong's eyes suddenly widened, and Lu Ning ran over in time to grab him. Give her a look.
"Sorry, we came up from the wasteland and wanted to know the convenient way to the city."
"Take a carriage!"
"The carriage is free and has a fixed location. If there is any emergency and we need to come here immediately, don't we need to prepare some emergency measures? Please introduce us to us. We are not familiar with this place." Lu Ning explained, "I remember Hei It should be considered a rule in the city to provide services at all times, right?"
The conductor stared at Lu Ning for a long time before nodding: "You can buy express tickets."
"What is the express ticket?"
"The blue booklet in your hand, page 4, read it yourself!" the conductor said impatiently, "If you don't understand, just read more about that one, there are all the things that should be introduced! Just go without buying a ticket, don't Block the guests behind you!"
Lu Ning turned around, who was behind? Except for her and Yan Rong, no one came to buy tickets at this time.
She tried her best to pull Yan Rong out of the door. If it was later, she was afraid that Yan Rong would hit him with his fist. After taking some time to suppress Yan Rong's anger, Lu Ning took out the books and flipped through them. Sure enough, I found something about express tickets on the fourth blue page.
[Express ticket service scope-taxi, flying car, mechanical beast car, bus, tram, train, fixed-point bombardment.
Tear up the boarding page of the express ticket, and the designated transportation vehicle will park in the safe area closest to the passenger within twenty seconds (only those who use the ticket are allowed to ride!).
Express tickets are valid for thirty days and will be automatically burned upon expiration. Please pay attention to the usage time. 】
"Let's not talk about what kind of black technology this is. At least it mentions trains, right?" Yan Rong raised his eyebrows, "In other words, the existence of trains is not a secret. Other manuals should introduce different types of transportation? "4E
"Yes, there is, but it's a little different from what I thought." Lu Ning picked up a green manual, "I have also read this part about the introduction of trains before, and only mentioned that it is a mode of transportation between cities. , has a relatively 'extremely fast' speed, but it doesn't explain what those special trains are at all."
"Uh... Then if we go and inquire, can't we only get information about ordinary trains? Since they are specially marked, those trains must be different, right?"
"It's definitely different. After all, the intercity doesn't seem to include the inner city. But it's not necessarily true that no one knows..." Lu Ning smiled, "When you mentioned the rumored train, the guy showed that he didn't want to answer at all. Attitude, right? Rather than an attitude of not knowing.”
"As expected, I will..."
"Wait a minute." Lu Ning quickly held down Yan Rong with quick eyes and hands, "That man is wearing Dacapo family clothes, which means he must be a member of the family, and it is normal for him to be informed, but we can't attack people from these noble families in the outer city. Do you understand? If we must find an opportunity... it is better to use other methods."
"What can we do? If the nobles can really handle this, we will be discovered as long as the guy on the opposite side makes a little move." Yan Rong was a little sullen, "There are some completely unknown people pressing down on us. This feeling of being tied up is not very good. Sample."
"Anyway, we can't afford train tickets now. Also, why do you think exploring the ruins is listed first? This should be the way to go."
"In exchange for treasures?" Yan Rong understood immediately.
"According to what Lan Tu said, if the outer city wants to be truly stable, it must establish a relationship with the nobles, and the most direct way in our hands is the treasures that the nobles are collecting, the treasures left by the king." Lu Ning said, " We don’t need to use any tricks, we can just trade openly and exchange information about the train with the nobles. Even if we can’t actually exchange it, the importance of this information can be seen from the price.”
"I understand." Yan Rong nodded slightly.
After making plans here, Lu Ning actually had another idea in mind, which was to use private transactions with one person to avoid dealing directly with the nobles and instead deal with people like the conductor. Since it is within the main mission, getting the ticket itself is not a problem, but entering the inner city is the most troublesome.
The two of them left the ticket booth and continued shopping. The control of the nobles over the outer city can be seen almost everywhere, and the more critical facilities are completely inseparable from the coats of arms of the nobles. For example, Mist manages major hospitals and clinics, Sacrifice manages industry associations, banks and other facilities, and Eyesight mainly operates information and communication services. Of course, these are only the core industries of each noble. Some retail industries are also under the control of the nobles. On the contrary, secondary processing industries such as metallurgy and furniture have almost no participation by nobles.
"Have you noticed it?" Yan Rong looked around and whispered to Lu Ning, "What these nobles control is basically the lifeblood of the city. This is a rope that looks loose but is tied around the neck."
"That's right, all basic production is in the hands of the nobles. People can only engage in secondary or even tertiary industries. Travel, eating, medical treatment, self-protection, communications, finance... these are all in the hands of the nobles. They can instantly do it if they want. An outer city turned into a dead city." Lu Ning nodded, "Although in a normal world, people like this also need to consider the loss factor... The problem is that this world is not normal, does money really mean anything to aristocrats?"
At this moment, Yan Rong paused and pointed in front: "Lu Ning, that house..."
It was a house with a different style from the ones in the outer city. It was obviously made of wooden structure as the main body and was specially built in a hexagonal shape, like a huge tent. There are still many people queuing up at the door of the house. Of course, those who will line up at this time are those "groups".
Lu Ning and Yan Rong walked over and stood at the end of the queue. No matter what it was, since there was such a rare queue, the two of them couldn't help but be a little curious.
In front of them was a woman wearing a long Western dress, with two ornate stabbing swords hanging from her waist, and a huge lady's wide-brimmed hat on her head. You could smell the perfume she was wearing just standing next to her. The taste is very strong.
Everyone in the team was very quiet and did not talk in low voices. Lu Ning and Yan Rong just kept quiet. As the team advanced, a queue formed behind them. Behind them was a man wearing a patched Tang suit. The old man was holding a cane tremblingly, looking like he was about to fall down at any moment, so Yan Rong paid more attention to him.
As the team moved forward again, the old man took a step forward. As a result, his crutch hit a stone on the ground, and his body immediately tilted. Yan Rong reached out to stop the old man from falling.
"Oh...thank you...ah..."
Yan Rong smiled slightly: "Old man, please pay attention to your steps. The ground here is not very smooth."
The old man nodded repeatedly, and Yan Rong turned around and glanced at her arm. This action was very hidden, and only Lu Ning, who was beside her, saw it. She glanced at Yan Rong, who nodded slightly, and then the two of them were silent again and followed the team forward.
About twenty minutes later, the two of them arrived at the door. The woman in front was obviously in a higher mood and quickly stepped into the door. Lu Ning watched at the door.
There was a curtain as thick as a quilt hanging in front of the house. When the woman slightly lifted the curtain, she could feel a stream of hot air blowing out of it, and the indoor temperature was very high. Since the person who entered did not leave from the door, then there is either another exit or there is some weird situation inside - Lu Ning is more inclined to the former. After all, if he dares to blatantly cause trouble in the outer city, this place cannot be like this. Leave the door open.
Soon, an indicator light at the door turned green again, and Lu Ning and Yan Rong walked in together.
"Two people?"
As soon as they entered the hot room, they heard a hoarse bass. There is actually a fully enclosed furnace installed in this wooden building. It is not large, but if the heat is transmitted out, it can easily set the entire house on fire.
There was a large anvil placed next to the furnace. A shirtless, muscular man sat in front of the anvil, stroking his unshaven chin and looking at Lu Ning and Yan Rong, slightly sizing them up.
There is a metal plate hanging on the wall behind the man, with bright yellow paint scrawled on it: Steel core and iron seal, one-third chance of success, two-thirds chance of failure, no strengthening of garbage, no intention to disturb!
"To be able to enter here together, you two should trust each other quite a lot? Then according to the rules, each person has one weapon. Don't fool with the standard garbage from the weapons factory. I will only strengthen high-quality weapons here."
Lu Ning understood. No wonder there were so many people lining up here, but this success rate really felt like a gamble.
