<h4>Chapter 240 Chapter 240: Gold Diggers and Treasures </h4>
The Salvation Society, a mysterious organization that has risen in the wastnd in the past decade or so, has an unknown origin and founder. Although it has been established for a short time, it has expanded really fast.
This is due to the Salvation Society''s strict control over its members, making it impossible for outsiders to enter, and because of the nature of the organization. Its purpose, as its name suggests, seems to be to save the world.
It is said that the people of the Salvation Society not only save survivors'' bases and viges from the Miasma monsters but also generously share many resources. In return, they apparently only ask for some knowledge.
Knowledge is worthless in the wastnd, while resources are the most valuable treasure. Only the Salvation Society would exchange resources for knowledge.
The exnation of the Salvation Society is that their purpose in collecting knowledge is to gather the wisdom of all beings one day to find a way tobat the Tainted Miasma.
Although the survivors on the wastnd do not believe this, exchanging cheap knowledge for resources is a deal that everyone likes. Hence, many other organizations and survivors wee the Salvation Society very much.
Just like now.
"Hey! Hey! Over here! This way!" The scavenging thugs shouted at the people of the Salvation Society, many of them waving their arms.
The Salvation Society''s attention was sessfully attracted, and the ten-vehicle convoy immediately stopped. A team member at the front, using a device simr to a telescope for information processing, scanned the other party and immediately reported back:
"Captain, the identity has been confirmed. They belong to the ''Sanguine Hammer'' scavengers, but ''Sanguine Hammer'' is not seen. No other biological signals detected within five kilometers, suspected to be survivors of a monster attack. Please instruct the next step."
The middle-aged man in the middle of the ten-vehicle convoy, after scrutinizing the disheveled appearance of these thugs, nodded and led the way:
"Stay alert and approach."
"Received!"
The convoy immediately changed direction and drove towards the thugs, who sighed in relief upon seeing this. They had brought nothing with them in their escape and were now close to starving and dying of thirst.
"Everyone, don''t move, raise your hands, throw your weapons on the ground, and repeat, once any aggressive actions are detected, we will counterattack immediately. So, to avoid unnecessary conflicts, please cooperate."
The Salvation Society usually operates in groups of ten, and each member is highly skilled inbat. Three people are responsible for holding guns and shouting, two people are on guard, and four people quickly step forward to disarm the thugs'' weapons.
The thugs didn''t resist and obediently did as told. The entire process took less than a minute. After confirming that the thugs were not a threat, the people of the Salvation Society lowered half of their guns, easing the tense atmosphere.
This is understandable, after all, in the post-apocalyptic wastnd, vignce is always paramount.
"Enough, don''t waste effort. We have no fighting power now and no strength to do anything else. Instead of this, better hurry up and give us a week''s worth of food and water! I''m starving to death!"
Some of the thugs had already started moring, and upon hearing this, the captain frowned and shook his head: "That''s impossible, we are the Salvation Society, not a charity."
"Hmph, I know, so we will exchange information for it. Isn''t this what you like the most?"
Intelligence is also a kind of knowledge. Hearing the thug say this, the captain''s face remained unchanged, but he actually became more alert in his heart. He quickly asked:
"Okay, but the specific amount of resources we offer will be based on the value of your information and decided after assessment."
"Don''t worry, this information, even for a week''s supply of food for you, is a loss for us. Listen up, if you go in this direction, about thirty or forty kilometers away, you will see a settlement vige."
As one of the thugs spoke, she pointed in the direction of Kano Vige, where Renji had been.
"In that vige, there is someone with a powerful weapon that can change its shape at will, stolen from a machine servant. We have never seen such a weapon before. I believe you will be very interested in it. It''s a Miasma weaponparable to a Danger Rank... no, no, even a Disaster Rank!"
Hearing this, the faces of the Salvation Society members changed, especially at the mention of a "Disaster Rank" Miasma weapon, many showed excitement.
Still, the captain was moreposed and immediately retorted, "How can we believe you?"
"What the hell do you believe or not, can''t you see I''m like this? If it wasn''t for that stinking... pretty boy running into good luck with that weapon, how could our boss have died at his hands!"
"Your boss is dead?" The captain showed a surprised expression.
"Nonsense! Otherwise, why would we be asking for your help now!"
The thugs spoke so irritably for a reason. First, they were naturally wild, and second, the Salvation Society has always been seen as the good guys, so they were unreserved and impolite.
The captain didn''t mind the tone of the thugs but quickly left temporarily to discuss with other team members.
"Captain, we''ve struck gold! If we report this intelligence to headquarters, we can at least get a reward of this magnitude from Manager William!"
One team member excitedly extended his hand, while another added, "We can also apply for administrative leave from thepany. We won''t have toe back to ''Dream Zero'' for at least a week!"
"Or... we don''t report it first. After we go to Kano Vige and snatch that machine servant weapon..."
Another team member suggested greedily, as if they reported it now, other teams would be assigned toe, and if they found the weaponter, their credit would be greatly reduced.
After collecting the opinions of his team members, the captain ultimately made a decision, choosing a middle ground.
"The situation is still uncertain now, so we won''t report to thepany for the time being. Later, we''ll let those scavengers lead the way. Once we really get to Kano Vige, we''ll adapt ordingly and assess the strength. If the other party is rated C or above, we will take a gentle approach. If below..."
The captain didn''t finish, but the team members understood.
If it''s really like what the scavenging thugs said, an unprecedented machine servant weapon that can change shape, if they get such a weapon and analyze its structural data to upload to Kael Technology, everyone''s employee level could rise several levels, and they might even jump to the management level, no longer having to be blood-licking explorers on the edge of a knife like now.
After the decision was made, the Salvation Society, now better described as Kael Technology''s exploration team, immediately took action. They took some of the thugs as guides, restarted the convoy, and sped towards Kano Vige.
It took about four hours for the exploration team to finally see the shadow of Kano Vige. The reason it was so slow was because they encountered many Miasma monsters along the way.
These Miasma monsters are strange, appearing in small groups far more frequently and densely than what is normal for the wastnd.
Fortunately, Kael Technology has mastered the ''Brand'' technology of the old world, allowing their weapons to be upgraded and reced with new ''Brand'' weapons. This enables them to smoothly avoid and kill the Miasma monsters blocking their path without any dangers.
The sudden increase in the number of monsters in the wilderness and their apparent movement towards a single direction is theoretically an abnormal phenomenon that should be reported.
However, every member of the exploration team is fixated on the new weapon in Kano Vige, and even the usually steady captain ignores this point, continuing to move forward.
After all, they are the gold diggers sent by thepany to the ''Old World.'' In front of the glittering gold, no one can resist such temptation.
Driving through the broken gates of Kano Vige, the captain could roughly guess what had happened from the big hole blown in the gate.
It''s likely that these thugs attacked Kano Vige but ended up being driven away by the young man inside.
Unlike the thugs, the captain didn''t try to hide anything and let the exploration team''s convoy openly enter the vige.
Because under Kael Technology''s strategy, the image of the ''Salvation Society'' created by thepany holds good credibility and reputation in ''Dream Zero'' and most viges and settlements at least don''t harbor hostility towards them.
But as they drove deeper into the vige, the captain''s brows furrowed more and more.
Because
''Where are the people?''
''Where did all the vigers go?''
Their convoy had entered the vige''srgest square, but throughout the entire process, they hadn''t seen even a shadow of a viger. Even after deploying the exploration equipment, they found no biological signals within five kilometers.
''Could it be... the vigers ran away in fear of the thugs'' retaliation?''
The captain first thought of this possibility, initially feeling disheartened, but soon he perked up again.
Although they hit a dead end, it also indirectly indicated another point: the young man with the special weapon probably wasn''t as powerful as the thugs had imed, likely exaggerated to inte the value of the information.
After all, if the other party really had the power, how could they abandon the vige?
Building a vige in the wastnd is extremely costly.
Unless absolutely necessary, driven into a corner, they would never abandon the vige and flee.
The target being weak was good news for them, at least it''s safe. If necessary, they could spend more timeter searching for clues in the vige and continue to track the young man based on those leads.
The captain had just finished nning when suddenly, an excited trembling voice came from the other side.
The captain had just finished nning when suddenly, an excited trembling voice came from the other side.
"Captain! Quick! Come here!!!"
An exploration team member ran out of a cer, almost jumping with excitement and waving his hands, clearly having discovered something valuable.
The rest of the exploration team immediately rushed over and followed him down into the cer, where they found the three stories and corresponding murals previously described by the vige chief''s grandson to Renji.
"Captain... The origin of the world! These murals actually contain information about the origin of Dream Zero!"