Chapter 348: Chapter 348
The place called Sacramento was completely foreign to Jing Shu; it was her oversight. To go to the United States to scavenge for resources, she had prepared every tool imaginable, but she forgot to back up information about the United States.
Following the direction Yang Yang pointed, Jing Shu wouldn’t have even known which side was Mexico and which was the United States if it hadn’t been labeled.
"Based on the latest intelligence, Sacramento originally had a population of 450,000. However, civil unrest erupted in the United States, and the new government demanded all food supplies. Consequently, Sacramento was the first to become an independent city-state, overthrowing the local government. Since the President of the United States is currently too preoccupied to deal with this area, it will be our best starting point.
"Sacramento now only has 300,000 people left. However, in the past few days, a sudden influx of Mexican refugees and various individuals from surrounding areas has brought the population to over 300,000, and it’s still increasing.
"It’s worth mentioning that Sacramento is a hub for economy, agriculture, commerce, and transportation. It possesses not only a massive amount of various supplies and food but also a formidable armed force. Fresh chapters posted on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝔫𝔢𝔱
"After Mexico’s agricultural economy completely collapsed, survival became extremely difficult in the post-apocalypse world. However, they had well-developed drug-smuggling channels and drugs cultivated before the apocalypse. Now, they are using Sacramento as a second transport and trade spot. Some Mexican factions are colluding with local Sacramento residents. They are exchanging drugs for food and hiring some locals as bodyguards, among other roles.
"To summarize, Sacramento is currently a mess—extremely chaotic, with various factions scattered and disorganized. However, everyone has a single goal: to get their hands on the plentiful local resources.
"A word of caution for everyone: do not eat the food sold outside, as it might be laced with drugs. This is also one of the Mexicans’ methods of controlling people.
"Our mission in Sacramento this time is to transport a large batch of supplies back to our country—food, salt, rare minerals, finished and semi-finished industrial parts, cotton, fabric, oil—we want it all!
"It would be best to find the storage site of the ADM food giant. Don’t be afraid of not being able to carry it all; the more varied supplies you find, the better. Even if we strip Sacramento bare, we have ways to transport everything back to our country."
What an ambitious tone! He seemed to welcome anything that came his way.
Yang Yang seemed to finally show his fangs. From another perspective, Huaxia was short on food and various other supplies—indeed, severely short.
It looks time, they were really going for a big haul, and this was only designated as the first stop. There must be an endless stream of ships ready for transportation.
Monkey frowned, saying, "The idea is good, but the armed forces here are too strong. A brute-force takeover is impossible, and an ambush couldn’t succeed with just the few of us. Besides, even if we did find that many supplies, it would take us years to move them all."
Lingling lowered her head, shyly saying, "The key is we don’t know where the supplies are, and we’re also unfamiliar with the city. We feel like we don’t know where to start."
Yang Yang smiled. "That’s exactly why we have to work well together and let them deliver the supplies to us. With several hundred tons of materials, how could only a few people move them onto a ship to transport back to our country? We won’t make a move; we’ll let them come to us and act on their own. That’s what makes it interesting."
Jing Shu raised an eyebrow. Do all men like making others do the work? No, that wasn’t right... I’m getting sidetracked.
Tan Ke, being a straightforward man, couldn’t wrap his head around this. Hearing Yang Yang’s words, he couldn’t help but look disdainful. "You think everyone’s a fool?"
If they really tricked people out of their supplies with conniving schemes, those people would probably chase them to the ends of the earth to kill them, Jing Shu thought. For some unknown reason, I recall the incident from last year when a rocket blasted through the co-driver’s seat of the RV. They must have done something outrageously offensive to warrant such retribution.
This year, we won’t still be chased, will we? Jing Shu had already decided that from now on, she would not only wear a bulletproof vest to sleep but also get into her Mecha if possible.
"Okay, now we’ll divide into two small teams for brief, separate actions. The combined strength of the two teams should be roughly equal. Does anyone have any objections?"
Zhen Nantian shrugged. "Since you’re the one planning, you should also divide the teams. It’s more reasonable that way."
Yang Yang nodded. "Then, one team will be led by Tan Ke; his stature is more convincing here in the United States. Snake Spirit, Lingling, Monkey, and Mirror will form a demolition team. They will head directly to the Underground Black Market referred by a friend of mine. Your mission identity will be mercenaries. You need to quickly complete some high-difficulty missions and climb the Black Market rankings to S-tier mercenaries. Then, I will arrange an opportunity for you to join the target group.
"Meanwhile, I, Zhen Nantian, Monk, and Hao Yunlai will have something more dangerous to do. Ten days. We will regroup in ten days." Yang Yang narrowed his eyes, finally choosing Monk to carry his luggage. Through recent observation, I’ve noticed that Tan Ke isn’t as amenable as Monk. For any task, Monk says, ’Leave it to me!’ He’s always alert, and due to his years of martial training, he possesses significant strength, making him a good pack mule.
Whereas Tan Ke is always like: ’I can’t see, I don’t know, I don’t understand.’
If the entire team knew Yang Yang was agonizing over who should help him carry his luggage, they would probably have serious doubts about the success of his mission.
Jing Shu felt somewhat disappointed. This wasn’t quite what I had imagined. I thought that upon arrival in the United States, we would have started robbing people with guns and cannons while I secretly stuffed all the goods into my space...
But if we were that high-profile, we probably wouldn’t live past two episodes.
Seeing that no one had any objections, Yang Yang continued, "Before this mission is completed, no personal matters are to be resolved. Any supplies you can carry yourself will be your own property. What can’t be carried will be confiscated and converted into Contribution Value, or you can use Contribution Value to cover travel expenses."
The twelve-hour flight passed quickly. Explaining the roles and plan took a full two hours of discussion. Jing Shu spent the rest of the time resting and sleeping—not because she didn’t want to practice with the Magic Cube. I’m so anxious. Yang Yang mentioned that the transported goods would be in the hundreds of tons, and I’m incredibly eager for it. Unfortunately, I don’t want to practice with the Magic Cube in front of so many people, especially with Zhen Nantian, who seems to see through everything.
The group arrived safely in Sacramento. Jing Shu first checked that her family’s signal reception was normal. After reporting her safe arrival to them, she began to observe the city.
Unlike the pitch-black state back home, the city center of Sacramento was as bright as it had been before the apocalypse. It brimmed with a sense of vibrant life and excess, giving the impression of intoxicating euphoria, as if this were Heaven. The United States still has electricity! Jing Shu became even more eager to discover what the United States, three years into the apocalypse, had become.