Embers Ad Infinitum

Before it was completely dark, the "Old Tune Team" arrived at the "Rootless" camp.

Looking from a distance, the first thing that caught their eyes was one huge vehicle after another.

These vehicles are several times the size of a Jeep. Their carriages are long and tall. They are painted in different colors, either brown and white, or white with black patches, or stripes with silver and gray.

"Are these all RVs?" Jiang Baimian was no longer wearing sunglasses, slowed down the car, and carefully identified the cars for a few seconds.

"Yes." Bai Chen nodded, "RVs are the homes of the 'rootless', and each car represents a family."

"That's it..." When Jiang Baimian looked at the camp again, he could see more details.

The vehicles in the camp are mainly RVs, there are at least dozens, maybe even close to a hundred.

Among them, the largest RVs were parked at the edge, forming a circle of steel walls, leaving only an opening for vehicles to enter and exit.

Through the gaps between this circle of "walls", you can see that the cars inside are all parked neatly, and there seem to be several larger and giant vehicles in the core.

"What is an RV?" Long Yuehong asked without understanding.

Shang Jianyao took the initiative to help explain:

"It's a vehicle with a house inside."

"Have you seen it?" Long Yuehong asked in surprise.

Everyone has received the same education and has the same experience of going out. Why have you seen an RV but not me?

Shang Jianyao shook his head:

"never seen it.

"My guess."

At this time, Jiang Baimian laughed:

"What Shang Jianyao said is not too problematic.

"A motorhome is a vehicle that turns its cabin into a residence. It has a bedroom, a toilet, a kitchen, and some even have a living room and dining room."

"Luxury." Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong commented at the same time.

Such a room can only be allocated if you have to be D7 and above in "Pangu Creatures", or if both the couple have reached D4.

Bai Chen explained:

"It is said that the original 'rootless' people came from the RV campsites of the old world, which were campsites for those who traveled in RVs."

Although she didn't understand why the old world had to do this, she still repeated the words she heard exactly.

Fortunately, Shang Jianyao did not object to this.

Bai Chen looked at the setting sun shining on the car window and continued:

“You also know that at that time Wuxin outbreaks were mainly in big cities, and places like RV campsites were fine, and there were no various attacks against them.

“So, they were all lucky enough to survive the destruction of the old world, but they could not return to their hometown.

“They may have tried, I don’t know, but judging from the results, they must have failed in the end.

"In the chaotic years after the destruction of the old world, they felt that it would be better for everyone to get together, as more people would be more powerful. Then, they also looked for places to settle and farm, but they were disrupted by wars again and again, and were attacked by waves of monsters and a large number of careless people. attacks and were driven away from their original settlements by the changing weather and environment.

"Later, they became completely accustomed to life in the car and to the wandering of such a large group. They no longer settled down and called themselves 'rootless people'. Well, we prefer to call them 'rootless people'."

Shang Jianyao raised a very serious question:

"Then what do they eat?"

"Yes, yes." Long Yuehong said that she wanted to ask the same question.

Not settling down meant that farming was impossible and there was no fixed harvest.

Bai Chen looked at the entrance of the camp getting closer and closer, and spoke a little faster:

“Their initial state is closer to ruin hunters, obtaining fuel, food, weapons, high-performance batteries and various supplies from the ruins of cities after the mass death of ‘Heartless’.

“At that time, every urban ruin was a rich mine.

"When the chaotic era ended and major forces were established one after another, a fleet as large as theirs quickly became the target of exploitation. They also took the opportunity to change their identities and became agents who traveled between various forces to undertake cargo transportation and resale transactions. Armed caravan.”

"Why don't the big forces do these businesses themselves?" Long Yuehong remembered that there were many large vehicles in the company's parking lot, many more than the "rootless" camp.

Hearing his question, Jiang Baimian, who was driving, joked:

“How can the company have so many people?

"If you, a newcomer like you, can get the 'Old Tune Team', you know how tight the manpower is.

"We are not a 'machine paradise'. We have neither the resources nor the technology to produce so many intelligent robots."

Long Yuehong suddenly realized.

Bai Chen added casually:

“For many major forces, they don’t like to send their own people to escort materials that are not particularly important.

“There used to be a relatively large settlement, but it was because the leader sent a large number of guard members out to deliver goods. As a result, the interior was empty and was taken away.

"Moreover, in many sensitive areas, it is more convenient for neutral caravans to pass through."

Seeing that Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao no longer had any problems, she said again:

“As long as you have fuel, food, high-performance batteries and various relatively complete vehicle accessories, you can hire a group of ‘rootless people’ to deliver goods for you.

“They claim to be living in pursuit of oil and electricity.

"When the weather cools down and the volume of transactions decreases, the 'Rootless' people will move to similar camps and use the food they previously stored to survive the whole winter. At the same time, they will also take over some transportation and trading in the areas surrounding the camps. .

“This is the largest group of ‘rootless’ people, and they often choose this camp because there is a working water plant nearby.”

While talking, Jeep had already arrived at the entrance of the "Rootless" camp.

Seeing this, Bai Chen quickly emphasized a few more words:

“After entering, be sure to remember not to damage other people’s vehicles.

“For the ‘rootless’, vehicles are their most valuable possessions. A person who does not have a car and has no other ‘rootless’ family to take him in will only be abandoned.

“Also, nearly three generations of them were born and grew up in cars, and have a unique affection for vehicles. They no longer regard them as objects, but as family members.

"If you hurt their family members, it's definitely not good."

Jiang Baimian was very interested when he heard this. He patted the steering wheel and said:

"It is indeed a relatively unique custom and habit."

At this time, the guards standing at the front of the two large RVs raised the muzzles of their submachine guns and signaled the intruders to stop.

Bai Chen pressed down the car window, stuck his head out and said:

"We're going to do business."

The guard with the beard took a closer look and said with bright eyes:

“You’re good-looking and in great shape, and this Jeep is great!

"What's the motivation?"

"Using high-performance batteries." Bai Chen answered truthfully.

The bearded guard became increasingly interested:

"Do you want to find another wife and keep her?"

"We are true love!" Shang Jianyao stuck his head out at some point and replied loudly.

The bearded guard gave a thumbs up:

"Have a vision."

He immediately lowered the muzzle of the gun and pointed into the camp with his chin:

"go in.

"Stop as instructed, otherwise we won't be blamed for losing my wife."

When the jeep passed the entrance, Long Yuehong in the car said to himself in surprise:

"So simple?"

There was no proof of acquaintance, and no weapons were confiscated, so the "old transfer team" was allowed to enter the camp.

Jiang Baimian glanced at the rearview mirror and said with a smile:

"For a 'Rootless' caravan with sufficient firepower and sufficient personnel, only outsiders may not dare to enter, fearing that they will be able to get in but not be able to get out."

"That's right..." Long Yuehong thought for a moment and said, "Then we have to be more vigilant and cannot completely trust these people."

"Well." Jiang Baimian followed the instructions and walked slowly on the marked road, turning his head to Shang Jianyao and said, "Next, you have to perform well!"

"I'm not a car." Shang Jianyao was a little embarrassed.

"Yes, our little Baichen has such a beautiful girl, but they didn't even take a look at her and just looked at the Jeep." Jiang Baimian started teasing.

Bai Chen originally wanted to say that he was older, but after looking at Jiang Baimian's height, he silently gave up this plan.

With the help of the guide, they quickly parked the car and got out of the jeep.

At a glance, Jiang Baimian discovered that the behemoths parked at the deepest part of the camp were all dragging giant silver-gray metal cans.

"The oil tanker... no wonder it's so well protected." As she sighed, she heard the roar of an engine coming from a blue-and-white-painted RV next to her.

A middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap stood in front of the car, touching the hood and listening to the noise.

When the engine roar stopped, he nodded thoughtfully.

"What are you doing?" Shang Jianyao jumped over at some point and asked curiously.

The middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap is of medium height, with a thick build, slightly dark skin, and there seems to be some oil stains on his clothes.

Hearing Shang Jianyao's question, his originally slightly fierce look relaxed and said:

"The big guy has a temper. We need to hear what dissatisfaction he has."

Seeing that Long Yuehong and others didn't seem to understand, he touched the slightly old blue and white paint of the RV and said with a smile:

"The big guy has been a member of our family since my grandfather. Now that he is older, his temper has become a little bit worse and he needs to be coaxed more.

"Haha, you also have elderly people at home, right? They all need to be coaxed."

Shang Jianyao took a step back, looked at the RV carefully, pointed at the car lights and said:

"Its eyes are so beautiful."

"I've done this twice. It looked better when I was younger..." The middle-aged man seemed to have found a soulmate and kept talking.

Seeing this, Jiang Baimian whispered to Bai Chen and Long Yuehong:

"Sometimes, I really think Shang Jianyao has a talent for making friends."

They chatted for a while, and then the young man in his twenties who was driving the car came down with a toolbox, and together with the middle-aged man, he opened the hood and started repairing it skillfully.

Shang Jianyao immediately retreated and followed Jiang Baimian and others through the RVs toward the busiest part of the camp.

Bai Chen looked back at the place just now and said with a light smile:

"If any of you have very good car repair skills, you can even get a few wives here."