Inside Sixth Street’s towering walls.
It was the most prosperous place on the wasteland, a city that never slept built among the ruins.
In the heart of this bustling place, stood a magnificent dome building. Its structure was similar to Houses of Parliament, symbolizing the unity flag fluttering above.
It represented power, the brain of the entire Sixth Street.
Within the council chamber of the building, the Council of Ten members gathered around the round table.Sixth Street was on doing fairly well for a while now, however, what was surprising was that the dignitaries sitting here had no smile on their faces.
As the president of Zhao Corporation, Zhao Chenwu was obviously among them. Sitting across him was his competitor, the boss in the giant firearm company, Feng De. Usually, they would mock each other as part of their routine every time they meet, but this time both of them had gloom all over their face with both keeping their silence.
Sitting on the seat pointing at the door was an old man with rectangular face and white sideburns, he coughed and broke the silent atmosphere at the table.
Although the Council of Ten had an equal status, on the wasteland ruled by the powerful, the right to speak was naturally proportional to the strength.
Cao Jinsong, the president of Crimson Chamber of Commerce, had a force that was not limited to the Sixth Street, and his mercenaries base stretched as far as Su City. He controlled 60% of the genetic vaccine of the pharmaceutical market share in Sixth Street, and although he did not take part of the firearm dealings, his private force was the strongest in the Sixth Street.
"Prowler" tanks equipped with a particle cannon and outfitted with heavy physical armor and particle shield. The tank possessed attack, defense, and mobility, making it perhaps the strongest land unit in the wasteland.
And he had five of these tanks."Everyone’s time is precious. I suppose we didn't gather here to just stare in the air, isn't that right?" Spreading out his hands, Cao Jinsong spoke without preamble.
"That’s true. Then shall we start the meeting?" Zhao Chenwu crossed his fingers, his elbow resting on the table.
"I second that."
"That’s right, I still have an engagement after this, so let’s get this over with."
"…"
Quietly waiting for the sound to subside, Cao Jinsong pressed his hand on the conference table and uttered, "Although everyone should have already seen this, I will play it again."
Dark blue particles began to levitate in the center of the table as a holographic image formed in the middle which converged into a half body portrait.
"Hello everyone from Wanghai City."
The man clad in military uniforms seemed arrogant.
"After seeing this image, our people would already be on their way.
"We all agreed that you're sitting on the treasures from your predecessors, but you don’t think of improving yourself. You sit on a huge amount of treasures, but you settle for status quo and enjoy a lavish life. We can’t wait any longer, I think we need to have a good chat.
"Of course, this doesn’t mean I'm here to negotiate with you.
"That’s right, this is a declaration of war.
"Northern Alliance District, General Wang Beihai. Signing off."
The image disappeared.
There was a frightening silence around the table.
Zhao Chenwu took a deep breath, stretched his hand to gently fix his collar, and looked anxiously at his colleagues around him. Anger, alarm, disdain, and timidness.
Sitting across him was his nemesis, Feng De, who used a tissue to wipe the sweat off his forehead while anxiously adjusting his sitting position.
But Cao Jinsong's look was rather calm as there was not much of a change in his expression.
"They're crazy! They are just a bunch of lunatics. These...Northern Alliance District? If I remember correctly, that place is 1,500 kilometers away from here! Do they think they can fly all the way here? Or are they saying they could slaughter their way through half of Hua's zombies?"
A tall middle-aged man roared with disdain.
"Furthermore, it's a winter expedition, To procure winter supplies for a 1,500-kilometer trek, don't those people need to eat?"
"They sure are that confident to win, eh? Do they really think no one is here in Sixth Street?"
"…"
Cao Jinsong silently looked at the council members around the table as his index finger rhythmically tapped on the table.
"Winder expedition…why must it be in winter? In our eyes, it is indeed a foolish move, but why do they insist on doing this?" Taking a deep breath, Zhao Chenwu stated.
Cao Jinsong gave him a startled look and nodded his head slightly.
Upon hearing someone pointed out this question, the previously volatile council members began to calm down. They got confused by the arrogance of that general, however, now that they had given it some thought, something was definitely amiss.
"According to the information my people had gathered in Luzhou, the Northern Alliance District indeed appeared there. They are currently building an outpost in Luzhou rural area with a large number of people." Cao Jinsong drawled.
"Luzhou? Could it be…" The council member's expression sitting next to Cao Jinsong suddenly shifted.
‘That’s right, they used the underground highway." Cao Jinsong nodded.
"That thing was already broken. How could they use that?" Someone asked derisively.
Highway, railway, magnetic levitation, and other transportation infrastructures were all targeted during the war. The underground highway was no exception. NATO’s satellite weapons deployed 57 pressure bombs that blasted the underground highway into several sections, which was used by PAC to transport military supplies during the war.
"Be that as it may, the underground passage between the Northwestern area to Luzhou has been repaired, so this might be the only explanation as to how their people could appear here."
After hearing Cao Jinsong's words, everyone became silent once again.
Seeing no one was talking, Cao Jinsong paused and continued: "Since this is a declaration of war, then war has become a foregone conclusion. For their arrogance and foolishness, we will naturally respond with guns, this is without a doubt. But there are still a lot of confusing things here…aren't you a little bit curious? What prompted them to make a reckless decision to declare war during winter from 1,500 kilometers away?"
"He mentioned about the treasure, but the question is: what treasures is he talking about? We've been living here for so many years, and we haven’t found anything yet. How could there be goddamn treasures here?" A man with a beer belly couldn't help but swear.
"Winter expedition to avoid mutants, and since they're using the underground passage, they naturally don’t need to concern themselves with the mutants along the way. Then there is only one possibility…their destination could only be reached in the winter," Zhao Chenwu said with a firm tone.
Cao Jinsong nodded with approval and looked at all the council members present.
"I share the same thought as council member Zhao. If there is any place we have yet to set our foot on, it should be none other than the downtown."
