Chapter 743: Combat Vehicle

Yue Haiying explained, "Because this vehicle took a serious impact — not just the body shell, the chassis frame was also deformed. After it was brought back and repaired, it was retired because its safety performance and specs couldn't meet military vehicle quality standards, but using it inside the safe zone and the territory is absolutely no problem."

In other words, this car can't leave the human gathering area, so can it even be called an off-road vehicle?

Tang Huai quipped, "Brother Yue, a used car with a deformed frame is called a repaired serious-accident vehicle. This kind of car has suffered structural damage, its mechanical performance has already declined, that's why the price is so much lower than a normal used car. Xia Qing, spending thirty thousand on this kind of car, you might as well spend another thirty or fifty thousand more and buy a decent civilian pickup."

Although Hearing Zhu Li didn't understand cars, she also felt Tang Huai made sense. She was about to press the walkie-talkie to chime in with a few words of persuasion, but was stopped by Kuang Qingwei, "Brother Yue isn't someone who lacks judgment, and Xia Qing is even less foolish. We don't know the situation, so don't speak — lest we cause them trouble."

Yue Haiying continued explaining, "This car has already been repaired, its performance is better than an ordinary used civilian pickup."

A military off-road vehicle has depreciated to the point of only being comparable to a used civilian pickup — what value does it have? Tang Huai was about to press the button to urge Xia Qing to come to her senses, not to get dizzy just because she heard the word "military."

Clever Tang Heng stopped his brother, "Bro, let's just listen for now."

Lord Huo Lei, worried that Xia Qing's hard-earned money would go down the drain, came online to ask, "Brother Yue, can I ask about the specific condition of the car?"

Yue Haiying answered, "Go ahead."

Lord Huo Lei's questions were detailed and professional, "I remember the military off-road vehicles our base procured in Year Nine of the Calamity included pure-fuel models and fuel-electric dual-use models — which kind is this one? Was the damage to the crossbeam or the longitudinal beam? Who repaired it — was the frame repair done by hammering, cutting and welding, or heat restoration? Is the engine original, or have its core components been replaced?"

"Right, right! Uncle Huo really knows the trade." Inside Territory Twelve, Tang Huai, who was eating with his younger brother, echoed in agreement.

Zhao Ze also reminded Xia Qing, "The frame was already deformed from a crash, so the engine must have had parts replaced. Even if Uncle Huo can fix it, it's not easy to buy replacement parts in the territory."

Yue Haiying answered calmly, "I only know it's a fuel vehicle, I haven't asked about the specifics yet. The seller is an acquaintance of mine, he assured me this car is definitely no problem for civilian use. I remembered Xia Qing wanting to get a car, so I came online to ask."

The lord of Territory Seventeen, Wen Nengjie, came online: "Brother Yue means well, and his character is trustworthy, so his friends must be decent too. The roads in our territory aren't hard to drive on—if a thirty-thousand car can hold up, there's really no need to spend eighty or ninety thousand. But buying a car is a big deal, and Sister Qing still needs to get clear on what Uncle Huo asked. How about this—Sister Qing invites Brother Huo to go inspect the car together. If it's worth buying, buy it; if not, we can also see if Brother Yue's friend has any other used cars. What does everyone think?"

Inside Territory Six, Kuang Qingwei felt a sense of crisis rising — Wen Nengjie was too smooth with words. If he could join the territory alliance, he might well compete with Kuang Qingwei for assignments.

Xia Qing, who had been silent all along, finally pressed the walkie-talkie button, "Brother Yue, let's do it the way Brother Jie suggested. Does that work for you?"

Yue Haiying remained calm, "Of course. My friend has long said he'd come by my place to take a look. I'll give him a call and have him drive this car over this afternoon to introduce it in detail. I'll also trouble Brother Huo to come over and lend us his expert eye."

Tang Huai immediately jumped in, "Brother Yue, can I come along to take a look too?"

"Sure." Without waiting for anyone else to speak, Yue Haiying went offline to make the call.

However, he wasn't calling his car-selling friend — he was calling Xia Qing, "Xia Qing, what I got my hands on is a Beast Generation Four that our base procured in Year Nine of the Calamity. Do you have any impression of this vehicle?"

Xia Qing's eyes instantly went wide, "Yes, Brother Luo's car was this model. You also drove this kind of car on missions before you retired."

She had not only seen this car, she'd ridden in it once. Earlier this year, when she took part in the mission to wipe out the main force of the Sufeng Squad under the identity of Yan Ning, the vehicle she took to return to the safe zone from the old regimental headquarters was this very model.

Yue Haiying answered, "The exterior of this car is fine. The reason it was retired was that the engine had a serious problem. After my friend got the car, he sourced brand-new parts of the same model and fixed the engine issue, so the car's performance is absolutely no problem. Although it's not quite what you asked for, and the price is higher, I felt the opportunity was too good to pass up, so I still had him drive it over for you to take a look first."

Xia Qing's requirement was to get a sturdy, durable sedan — the more beat-up looking the better — the kind the military uses for transportation within the safe zone. What Yue Haiying got his hands on was a high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled combat vehicle, known as the Steel Chariot Iron Horse!

The only thing this vehicle had in common with Xia Qing's target requirement was: they both had four wheels.

It's like you were scraping together pennies to buy a junky old shotgun for self-defense, and the other party unexpectedly hauled out a brand-new CM82 heavy sniper and asked if you wanted it!

Is this car eye-catching? Of course!

Does Xia Qing want it? Anyone who doesn't is a fool!

With this car, when the next major calamity strikes and she has no choice but to abandon the territory to flee for her life, Xia Qing essentially gains two extra lives:

One is hers, the other is Old Goat's. When the time comes, she can use this car to load up supplies and food, take the old fellow and escape to a safe place, and start over — clearing land, building a house, living her life.

Xia Qing suppressed her pounding heart and asked as calmly as she could, "Brother Yue, how much for this car?"

Yue Haiying answered, "360,000. If you take a liking to it this afternoon and don't have enough points, you can use mine first or pay in installments."

"Just enough. Sorry to trouble you, Brother Yue—I'll bring the 352,000-point card over this afternoon." 352,000 was the amount after deducting the points for the Evasion Sword Agent Xia Qing had traded to Zhang Hongda.

Yue Haiying, who had made four trips to the safe community and called in plenty of favors to get the car, smiled, "Good. Let Brother Huo know — he knows the trade, don't let the cat out of the bag when the time comes."

Tang Huai coming along? No need to tell him — let him tag along and stir things up, so more people will believe that Xia Qing's decision to buy a beat-up car for thirty thousand isn't cost-effective.

At three in the afternoon, Yue Haiying's comrade drove the car to Territory One North.

Besides the territory alliance's allies, Xia Qing's "boyfriend" Hu Zifeng, the kind-hearted Wen Nengjie, and several lords who often hung out in the phone chat group Tang Huai had built all came over to watch the excitement.

When they spotted a combat vehicle entering the territory's east gate from afar, everyone only glanced once, then looked away into the distance. But when they saw Yue Haiying, who was waiting by the gate, climb into the combat vehicle, the lords' eyes all went wide.

It couldn't be... right?!

"Shit!" Tang Huai let loose a string of curses, "Holy shit, shit! Beast Generation Four! What Yue Haiying got his hands on is a goddamn Beast Generation Four! Not some patrol car from the safe zone!"

Lord Huo Lei beside her also had his eyes bulging, and quietly reminded Xia Qing, "Setting everything else aside, just the integrated steel armored body of this car — even if it's been deformed and repaired — is worth three or four thousand points. The other party selling it this cheap means the car definitely had some major problem. We'll need to ask carefully later."

This time, Tang Huai disagreed, "Uncle Huo, even if it has a major problem and breaks down after a few days of driving, you wouldn't lose much by stripping the car and selling it for parts."

Lord Huo Lei didn't say a word.

Hu Zifeng quietly asked Xia Qing, "What do you think?"

Xia Qing gave a slight nod, "I like this car. Tang Huai's right — even if it breaks down, stripping it for parts is enough for me to make a lot of farm tools."

Everyone...

Are you buying a car or buying scrap steel?!

Hearing Zhu Li immediately played along, "Sister Qing's right, thirty thousand for this car is no loss."

Shi Du nodded along, "When I used to carry hundreds of pounds of supplies on missions and trudge back step by step, I dreamed that one day I'd dig up an advanced Yi-evolution plant and trade it for a car like this."

Both being strength evolvers, both being unofficial logistics personnel for the squad — when Xia Qing gritted her teeth time and again hauling heavy supplies back to the safe zone, time and again swallowed by the dust kicked up by roaring combat vehicles that sped past, she had the same thought as Shi Du in her heart.

But when Yue Haiying's comrade Duan Wanbo parked the car at the north gate of Territory Fifteen, took out his phone pictures, and showed Xia Qing and Lord Huo Lei the damage to the vehicle as well as the repair methods they had used, even the most excited Tang Huai fell silent.