CHAPTER 3: CHAPTER 3: I’M AFRAID OF DYING

Qu Jianlei ignored Rogers’ plea for help; he had almost thrown out his back when he tried to rise in an ambush earlier.

With a Gauss Automatic Rifle, there must be a rescue.

The Fallen also have Gauss Automatic Rifles, but their supplies are scarce and can only be obtained through looting.

And when the survivors attack the Fallen, they unite and fight ruthlessly.

So being rescued is highly probable; what he needs to consider now is not being killed by the Fallen before getting rescued.

The blood on Rogers’ neck was still gushing out in a hiss.

He struggled to roll towards Qu Jianlei, hoping to get his help.

Unfortunately, he only rolled over once before feeling weak all over, dizzy, and confused.

"Brother Qu, save me!"

Qu Jianlei snorted lightly; you didn’t come closer just now, and now you think of doing so?

He knew very well that Rogers didn’t trust him deep down, which is why he kept his distance.

Now wanting his help was already too late.

Rogers stared at him in despair, the light in his eyes gradually fading.

Qu Jianlei’s body began to roll as well, deliberately bypassing Rogers to move behind him.

The blood on Rogers’ neck wound no longer spurted but still trickled.

His jaw muscles moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn’t open his mouth.

Qu Jianlei nonchalantly untied the restraint on his feet, tied a slipknot, and then bound his hands behind his back again.

Then he lay in the bloodstain on the ground, squinting his eyes and pretending to be dead.

The battle outside was intense, with the sound of explosions erupting now and then.

"There’s actually heavy firepower..." Qu Jianlei thought silently; it wasn’t just Scavengers who had come?

The fighting lasted about half an hour, and the gunfire gradually thinned out.

After a few sporadic gunshots, there were voices shouting.

Immediately after, the door was kicked open, and a cloud of dust flew up.

"This is the disassembly warehouse!" someone shouted loudly!

"There are people on the ground, careful, they could be Fallen!"

A woman’s voice sneered, "Whether they’re Fallen or not, we’ll know with a couple of shots!"

In the Wasteland, lives are worthless; survivors attacking the Fallen aim to annihilate rather than save!

Luckily, someone stopped the woman, "Why shoot? Are bullets free, or are Energy Blocks picked up for nothing?"

The woman indifferently remarked, "Just claim they’re Fallen, and you can claim more bounty!"

Falsely claiming credit? Qu Jianlei sighed inwardly; the order here in the Wasteland is truly horrible!

However, fortunately, there were still sensible people, "Don’t cause trouble; do you think the Settlement can’t detect the Fallen?"

The woman nonchalantly replied, "Not everyone will necessarily inspect, right?"

"Enough, it’s not worth wasting two bullets," someone snorted, "If you two aren’t dead... get up quickly!"

Qu Jianlei twisted his body and slowly sat up, careful not to move excessively to avoid being killed by them.

In the Wasteland, you can never be too cautious.

Rogers clearly couldn’t sit up, but he still managed to kick his legs, indicating, "I can still be saved."

Lives in the Wasteland are worthless, but each life is incredibly resilient.

To survive half an hour after having one’s carotid artery cut without bleeding out, on Blue Star, that would’ve been considered "a miracle of life."

However, the survivors didn’t care about him; saving him? What a joke, can you afford the payment?

A survivor pointed his gun at Qu Jianlei and approached slowly, "Have you eaten human flesh?"

"No," Qu Jianlei shook his head slowly, "I’m willing to be tested."

"Who do you think you are?" a woman stepped forward, kicking Qu Jianlei, sending him rolling several times.

Judging by the voice, it was the one who wanted to falsely claim credit earlier.

Her face was crosshatched with scars, and most of her left ear was missing, leaving just a small upper ear flap.

"Will you pay for the test? If you don’t have money, don’t babble."

"Lock them up, starve them for two days," said a one-armed man, "a cannibal will show an abnormal reaction."

"Or maybe not," the scarred woman spoke coldly, "better to sell them to the Mine."

The "Mine" she mentioned was actually just a junk yard.

The garbage was so much and so thick that there was a danger of collapse in some places; digging holes to pick up trash did indeed have the flavor of a mine.

The survivor with the gun on Qu Jianlei spoke, "Kid, did you hear that? Quickly tell us where you’re useful!"

All tricks! Qu Jianlei understood in his heart, these people just want to squeeze some benefits out of him.

Saving people was never the main focus, but since they saved him, how could they not expect benefits?

The way they were demanding benefits was somewhat blunt and crude, but this was precisely the style of the Wasteland.

It was really not worthwhile to spend too much time on trivial matters.

Qu Jianlei could only look at the person outside the door, "Third Master, you know, I have no money."

The person called Third Master had lost a leg and installed a mechanical prosthetic.

He didn’t carry large firearms, just a peculiar-looking handgun at his waist.

Don’t underestimate this handgun, it’s a legitimate laser gun. Aside from being a bit less powerful, it outperforms the Gauss Automatic Rifle in all other aspects.

Third Master is also someone who makes a living at the junkyard. As for needing to carry a laser gun while scavenging... that’s quite normal.

Third Master never thought highly of Qu Jianlei. When he needed to transport goods, he would never pay him, at most just give him a tube of Nutrient Injection.

When he was unhappy, he wouldn’t even give the Nutrient Injection and just let Sha Qu help for nothing.

However, Qu Jianlei never helped for nothing, preferring to take a beating.

After a while, Third Master realized this fool was just like that and couldn’t be bothered to beat him up anymore—hitting someone also takes effort.

In any case, his impression of Sha Qu was average, but after all, he was an acquaintance, "Sha Qu, these people are Hunters."

Hunters don’t make a living by scavenging; they hunt various wild and mutant beasts and sometimes take on bounty tasks.

Their status is much higher than Scavengers and is considered the main combat power in the Wasteland.

Third Master was also a Hunter in his younger days, but after his leg got broken, making combat difficult, he had no choice but to come to the junkyard and become a Scavenger.

He didn’t have a good attitude towards Qu Jianlei, but he didn’t have much to say to Hunters either.

The scar-faced woman sensed his unfriendliness and turned her head to give him a cold look.

Qu Jianlei lowered his eyelids, "I really don’t have money, I usually scrape by at the Mine."

Thinking of selling me to the junkyard, that’s impossible; I’m already from that area.

This doesn’t mean he has a lot of influence at the junkyard, but... whoever wants to buy him would be breaking a taboo.

If everyone in the same area, today someone can buy Sha Qu, wouldn’t it mean someone could buy Third Master tomorrow?

The scar-faced woman’s face darkened upon hearing this, "Such a big junkyard, do you really think everyone will know you?"

The junkyard is really vast, practically endless.

At least Qu Jianlei has lived in the Wasteland for six years and hasn’t figured out how big the junkyard really is.

The woman threatened him, but he still remained silent, just quietly staying there.

Qu Jianlei had plenty of reasons to argue, but he wasn’t a fool—reasoning with someone who’s armed?

He believed that someone would give this foolish woman a hint.

Sure enough, Third Master spoke up, "Sha Qu has a mouth under his nose, he can also write..."

"As long as he claims to make a living at the Mine, no one will buy him!"

"Don’t get what that means? Perhaps those who might buy him also don’t want themselves sold to another Mine one day."

Third Master wasn’t really trying to save Qu Jianlei, but considering all Scavengers—doing so would disrupt the order in the junkyard!

Even the worst order is better than no order!

"Wasting time for nothing!" The woman kicked Qu Jianlei again, knocking him to the ground.

Qu Jianlei still kept his eyelids down and said nothing; this was his cultivated habit of "controlling anger."

"Alright, this is the string for KS16, untie it first," the man with the broken left arm said, "Lock him up and observe for two days."

This is the most normal way to deal with it, yet it was the kindest words at the moment.

A man with only a Long Blade stepped forward, crouched down, and helped Qu Jianlei untie the rope.

Just by looking at his weapon, it could be guessed that this was also a Scavenger.

However, the Long Blade at his waist wasn’t ordinary; it should be an Overclocked Oscillation Blade.

Essentially, scavenging isn’t just a technical job; it tests not only vision but also strength.

And equipment is part of strength itself!

While he was untying the rope, two guns were still pointed at Qu Jianlei, guarding against him storming up.

However, immediately, the man with the Long Blade gave a light exclamation, "Huh... you untied it a while ago?"

The level of Qu Jianlei’s knotting skills was high, but unfortunately, he encountered an expert this time.

But he didn’t feel socially dead; he just lowered his eyelids and replied, "Looking for a chance to escape."

"This... it’s hard to save," the woman tapped Rogers’ body with the tip of her foot.

Then she disdainfully glanced at Qu Jianlei, "Just watching him die like that, not even helping to stop the bleeding?"

Qu Jianlei didn’t want to answer, but after a second thought, not answering would heighten suspicions of him being a "Fallen."

So he muttered lowly, "I’m afraid of dying!"

"What the hell!" the woman cursed angrily, turning and striding out of the room.

"You really aren’t afraid of losing face!" The man with the Long Blade couldn’t help but say, then stood up.

"Since you’ve untied yourself, do it yourself."

Qu Jianlei pursed his lips speechlessly, you lot kill and masquerade, not afraid of losing face, and now you have the nerve to say that about me?

However, the others didn’t see anything wrong with what they said, but no one criticized him either.

To kill and masquerade, one must have the ability... Sha Qu, you want to kill and masquerade, can you do it?

Indeed, you had the means to rescue a fellow, but didn’t take action—being criticized is normal.

Of course, no one called him cold-blooded; staying alive... is more important than anything else.

That’s the stark reality for Wasteland survivors.

But Third Master looked at Royce twice again, recognizing him, "Isn’t this... someone from that small faction in the washing mine?"

Good things scavenged from the junkyard have to be handed over to specialized people for processing, commonly referred to as washing mines.

The profit from washing mines isn’t very high, but it’s not something that can be done single-handedly.

Third Master even vaguely remembers that this dying guy might have some connection to Sha Qu.