Volume 2: The Undersea City Chapter 40 Barbecue
"Old dog! We can hardly save ourselves now! You can't sacrifice all the living for a dead man!" Leighton said in a deep voice.
The hound opened its eyes wide and puffed up its cheeks as it stared at Layton for more than ten seconds. Finally, it sighed in frustration and slowly sat down against the wall.
"Oh... Damn it! This world... It was like this before, and it's still like this now..."
"Old dog..."
"We fought with the native monsters in the wilderness and lost our lives, but in the end we couldn't even apply for a pension... And what about those losers living in high-end residential areas? They have no worries about food and clothing, live a comfortable life, eat the best food, sleep with the most beautiful women, and occasionally have parties and cocktail parties on weekends. They don't have to face any danger. Many of them have never seen the world outside the Ark from birth to death..."
"Old dog, be careful with your words... I'm afraid..."
"What are you afraid of? You're afraid of Luanzi! Don't you think I'm a coward?"
"No, no one said you were a coward...but now..." Leighton looked at Ke Lan helplessly, and Ke Lan could only spread his hands.
"Those blood-sucking worms that have been until now..." The Hound gnashed his teeth and said, "The pension for a fallen soldier is not even as valuable as a cigar between their fingers. But even with such a small amount of money, they hold it tightly, fearing that even a penny will fall through their fingers."
"Ni... Mr. Hound, all of this was handled according to standard procedures. Although I sympathize with the victims, I do not have the authority to embezzle Ark's public funds... How about this, I will pay compensation to Jiang Lian and the families of those soldiers who died in the battle in my personal name, and the credit points will be deducted from my personal account. What do you think?" The secretary walked over and said to Hound.
"..." The Hound remained silent. Although he wanted to make another fuss, he knew that it would be fruitless and the dead would not get any more compensation.
"Come on, old dog... I'll treat you to a drink. You finally made it back alive, didn't you say you wanted to celebrate?" Taking advantage of this opportunity, Layton pulled the hound out of the registration office.
Ivan was going to have a prosthetic arm replacement surgery, so he went back to the clinic first. There was still no news about the missing Asano Akira and Zhuoligetu, and only Hound, Layton and Ke Lan were left in the original team of seven.
Although Layton said he was treating everyone to drinks, in reality each person only got a small cup - the diameter of the cup was only about the size of the circle between the index finger and thumb, and the height of the liquid inside was not even more than two centimeters.
In the words of the hounds, it was "just enough to moisten the tongue, not even the throat."
"How come the price of this thing has gone up by nearly 20% in just one month... This is too unfair!" Leighton's sturdy body was squeezed on a small bench. Fortunately, the bench was made of engineering plastic that was as strong as metal, otherwise it would not be able to bear his weight.
"I heard that the hydroponic farm had a serious harvest this season. It seems that a new plant virus has appeared and many crops have died." Ke Lan picked up the wine glass and took a sip, then took a skewer of meat from the grill next to him.
Of course, the meat skewers are not made of real animal meat, but synthetic meat made from soy protein and artificial fat. The taste and flavor are naturally incomparable to real meat, but the price is only one-fifth of real meat or even lower.
This is also the first choice for most of the middle and lower class residents in the Ark when they want to eat meat. As long as there is enough sauce, the difference between real meat and fake meat will not be so obvious.
"Those guys in charge of the inspection are just freeloaders." The Hound said with some disdain.
Any person or object returning from the outside world must undergo detailed inspection, especially the "trophies" brought back. Once they are assessed as "biohazard level 2" or above, they must be strictly isolated and disinfected. More than 40 years ago, an extremely serious epidemic broke out, causing the population of the entire Ark to decrease by nearly one percent. Later, after verification, it was discovered that the virus originated from the rotting corpse .
"But it probably won't have any impact on those masters. They don't eat food grown in hydroponic farms... So, do you really believe that rice grown in soil is more fragrant?" Layton grabbed a handful of seasoning and sprinkled it on the skewers. Many of these tiny particles fell into the flames below, making crackling sounds, and the enticing aroma filled .
"I haven't eaten it, so I'm not qualified to comment." Ke Lan said after swallowing a piece of protein in his mouth.
"It's all the same." The hound munched on his food and scratched his neck with his greasy hands.
"Ah? Have you eaten old dog before?" Leighton was a little surprised.
"I haven't eaten it, but I've seen businessmen mix food produced by hydroponic farms into those 'high-end goods' grown by 'soil'. At least half of it is mixed in. Those gentlemen can't even tell which is 'hydroponic' and which is 'soil' -"
"Burp~~" The Hound suddenly burped and continued, "It's all just a gimmick. They think that soil-grown crops are more noble than hydroponic farms because soil-grown crops waste precious spaceship space and soil, and require more manpower and material resources to take care of... It's like in the old era, the same handicraft made by machines on the assembly line is obviously better, but rich people will pursue those handicrafts that take more time and effort. In their eyes, higher costs give the goods higher value, even though this value has nothing to do with practicality... Thousands of years have passed, and this has not changed at all."
"Hic... So..." The Hound raised his head and drank the little liquid in the cup in one gulp. "It's really a miracle that the Ark was built before the destruction of the earth."
"Perhaps only when survival is threatened will people abandon useless vanity and desires." Ke Lan smiled. "If those old men were thrown into the wilderness and starved for more than ten days, I think they would be able to swallow gray potatoes, let alone soil or hydroponics."
"No, no, no... They can't be hungry for more than ten days, because they can't even survive until the next day, hahahahaha..." As he spoke, the Hound burst into laughter, attracting the attention of people at the nearby tables who were also eating barbecue.
"Fuck, you old dog, you're so damn right!" Leighton slapped his knee hard, but almost knocked over the battery on his thigh. He was so scared that he quickly threw away the half-eaten kebab and quickly hugged it with both hands.
Ke Lan asked in between swallowing: "Leighton, when overhaul? It's not a good idea to hold a battery like this all day long."
"Just these two days. I made a lot of money on this mission. It's just right for me to upgrade all the parts on my body. Then you can see a more powerful me!"
"That's not necessarily true..." A sissy voice came from the next table, "Recently, manufacturers of mechanical prostheses have increased their product prices by several points, especially for new models. The prices on the black market have also gone crazy."
