Consciousness slowly returned to Reno's alcohol-soaked brain. He slowly parted his eyelids and the first thing he saw was Li Qingyu's smiling face right in front of him.
"Holy shit!" Reno jumped on the bed, recoiling. "What are you doing?!"
His head was a mess. Where was he? How did he get here? No memory.
Li Qingyu, without removing his sly smile, insinuated:
"Do you know what I did while you were sleeping?"
"W-what did you do?" Reno asked. Everything inside him went cold.
He crawled back to the wall in horror, secretly feeling his rear – it didn't seem to hurt. Then he checked his pants – dry. Phew...
Li Qingyu, observing these manipulations, darkened. The smile slipped off.
"I went and wiped out the mutants by the broken pipe. What were you thinking? That I hacked your 'sewer'?"
Reno blushed deeply. Then the meaning of the words sank in, and with a dull expression, he asked again:
"Why did you wipe them out?"
Li Qingyu almost flared up. This drunkard really forgot everything?!
He pulled the two-faced mutant head from behind his back and, like a ventriloquist, began to open its mouth, imitating Reno:
" 'Listen, bro, take out those freaks by the pipe, and I'll get you water to the workshop in return!' "
Reno stared at the head with horror and amazement. The meaning dawned late, he almost choked on air.
"Me?! I said that?! You're kidding! The Guild forbade running pipes anywhere!" This is a violation!"
The entire activity of the Clean Water Guild relied on monopoly. If they started giving out water left and right, what would they earn on?
Li Qingyu frowned. He turned the head the other way, where there was a smaller face, and squeakily imitated:
" 'I, Reno! When I served in the rangers, my word was like flint! I said it – I did it!' "
Listening to the clowning and recognizing his drunken words, Reno broke out in a cold sweat. Damn, it seemed he really could have said something like that.
He looked hopefully at his retinue. The guys nodded in unison.
"Yes, boss. That's exactly what you said. We all heard it."
They chimed in so harmoniously, as if they were working for Li Qingyu, not him.
One of the guys raised a bag with uniforms and shook it – the bones inside rattled menacingly.
"Boss, we found the remains of the guys you sent to fix the pipe. They were eaten. It was definitely mutants. While you were sleeping, Chief Li went and killed them all."
Reno's face darkened. Traitors! Whose people are you anyway?
Li Qingyu opened the door and threw the head outside. He shook his hands:
"Well, if not, then not. I see it's hard for you to lay a pipe. You were drunk, you didn't think. I understand everything, I won't pressure you. Let's forget it."
These words made Reno feel ashamed. His conscience, fueled by a hangover, stirred.
He hesitated, clicked his tongue, pulled Li Qingyu aside, and whispered:
"Alright. I'll lay the pipe for you. But quietly, just for you! If the authorities find out about the illegal tap – they'll take my head off."
Li Qingyu immediately brightened, took out a cigarette, and brought a light to it.
"That's the man's way! Kurny, brother of Reno! I knew you were a man of your word! If anything needs to be settled – dirty, dangerous – just whistle. We'll do it all: fast, hard, and quiet."
Reno waved his hand, as if to say, "Alright, let's go."
As a parting gift, Li Qingyu loaded two crates of stewed meat and a canister of potato moonshine into his car. He saw him off with a wide smile.
When the car disappeared from view, he turned to his fighters and said haughtily:
"See? That's called 'retreating to advance.' Learn from it, you greenhorns!"
A few days later.
Li Qingyu was training his psychic abilities in the Sanctuary. Under the influence of the Holy Wine, he could already hold a ten-kilogram pipe in the air for twenty seconds, and his progress was steady.
Physical training was also yielding results. His stats had increased: Strength – 17, Endurance – 17, Spirit – 23.
He had truly broadened his shoulders, his muscles had filled out, and the shape of his skull seemed to have become slightly "sharper."
He sold the second batch of alcohol, earning eighty thousand. The third batch was now fermenting.
Remember the three modules for the workbench that opened up with the Black Trader at loyalty level two? A hydraulic press, a cartridge loading machine, and a mixer-cleaner for ceramite.
With a heavy heart, he drained all his savings and sold half of the "jewelry" he had found, but he bought the module. Now the workbench had been upgraded to level three.
At levels one and two, the workbench could only modify items. But at level three, crafting was unlocked!
Three main directions: Weapons, Ammunition, Armor.
Weapons.
It all started with junk guns: a pipe plus scrap metal equals a homemade gun. Smoothbore, no rifling – nonsense. Li Qingyu immediately dismissed it. Why waste time on junk?
Next – more interesting. It was possible to create Planetary Defense Force (PDF) weapons. Recipe: broken weapon ×1 + scrap metal ×5.
Scrap metal is not a problem: take it from the junkyard or cut off a rail. The system will count it.
But the broken weapon is an issue. He'd have to shake down Lieutenant Rudolfson.
The weapon module has two slots, so you can craft two barrels simultaneously. Production time – from one to three hours.
Ammunition.
Simple: explosives + brass rod = cartridges. The Trader sold explosives, and Knife, with his gang of "rats," obtained brass by stripping wires.
You can craft everything – from level one to level five ammunition. Time – from one hour to half a day.
For example: level three cartridges for a PDF assault rifle. Recipe: detonator ×1 + brass rod ×5. Time – 3 hours. Output – 300 cartridges.
Li Qingyu clicked his tongue. Toss in a handful of junk – get a crate of cartridges. Almost magic. Or, as they say in the Adeptus Mechanicus, "The Omnissiah has blessed us."
Armor.
He had to start with unrefined ceramite powder. Pour it into the cleaner – two units of dirty raw material yield one unit of pure powder.
Now, from pure ceramite, you can craft:
Recipe: pure ceramite ×15 + fabric (any) ×2 + scrap metal ×1 = Level 4 Ceramite Armor (full set).