Rise of the Wasteland Chapter 186 - Recruit Buddy

Chapter 186        Recruit Buddy

Zhou Qingfeng had experienced his own words. The longer the cataclysm and disaster last, the tougher the lives of people. Right now, there was a huge problem right in front of him. Compared to agricultural resources like food, industrial resources were much more deficient. For instance, they will not be able to find cheap and convenient fuel anymore.

On Staten Island, most of the people already started to chop the trees and disassemble their houses and furniture. Zhou Qingfeng even saw someone tear apart an expensive carpet just to burn and cook a meal.

Fortunately, a lot of cottages in the United States were made of wood and they could last for a period of time. However, there was no fuel for cars and boats; they could not go anywhere else.

Zhou Qingfeng was expecting to get more diesel for the two ferries that he got from Fernando. The fuel for the ferries were running out; they were just going to last a few more rounds.

The other problem was even more urgent; nobody could guarantee whether or not Skull and Bones would come for another invasion. Zhou Qingfeng could not afford the loss of the last forty people he had. If they were gone, he will need to do the trivial things like cooking and be the sentry all by himself. If that happens, he will not be able to get away from New York anymore.

“I’ll join the combat team of the Brotherhood of Steel.”

In order to get to Queens again, and for the safety of Lena, Angie, and his mates, Zhou Qingfeng and Butcher could only get involved with and work for the Brotherhood of Steel instead of just being mercenaries.

The brotherhood was not going very well too. The white supremacist organization experienced a huge loss during the fight with Skull and Bones. They realized it was not worth it to sacrifice their honorable white men in the war; they had to find people to replace their men to fight in the frontline. Therefore, they began to loosen their recruitment standards.

When Zhou Qingfeng and Butcher arrived at the recruiting sites of the Brotherhood of Steel, there were already tons of people at the gathering point. In order to get a chance to survive, tons of weak and skinny people were trying out for the recruitment. There were even women who cut their hair, darkened their faces with mud, and tried to get in.

Looking at the crowd of people, Butcher whispered, “Maybe we should recruit some people too. They wouldn’t just simply run away anymore.”

The sources that were previously collected by Zhou Qingfeng and Lena were actually very sufficient. It was best especially after they got the huge amount of resources from the NYPD, they did not even have to worry about food anymore. The canned Spam itself could already feed a large amount of people.

“A small amount wouldn’t be a problem. But surely, the Brotherhood of Steel will eliminate us instantly if our numbers are threatening them,” said Zhou Qingfeng.

Even though the Brotherhood of Steel was just recruiting people to replace their white men at the frontline, they were not just simply recruiting those who were useless. A lot of people did not meet the requirements as they were too weak. Zhou Qingfeng was standing between the people who got rejected and all of a sudden, he felt somebody grab his arm. He immediately got rid of the arm and pulled out his gun.

The person who grabbed his arm fell on the ground. Zhou Qingfeng looked closer and was astonished, “Uncle Zheng, you’re in Staten Island as well?!”

Zhou Qingfeng looked at the people behind Uncle Zheng, they were Zhou Qingfeng’s neighbors when he was in Chinatown. Compared to when they were in Chinatown, they looked down-and-out. They were all wearing messy clothes and they looked pale; they all looked like homeless men on the streets.

Uncle Zheng was sitting on the ground and could not get up; he must have been starving for quite a while. Uncle Zheng put his hand out and cried, “Zhou, please help us. For the sake of us being compatriots, please help us. We’ll listen to you this time. Even if you want half of us dead. As long as the other half can survive.”

It was the same idea that Zhou Qingfeng suggested during the first time he met them in Chinatown. However, none of them were willing to make sacrifices then. When the situation got worse and worse, none of them could survive.

Zhou Qingfeng glanced at the people. There were only around a hundred of them left. He helped Uncle Zheng stand up and asked, “That’s all the people left?”

There were originally more than thousands of them in Chinatown. What they did was just discuss the plan the entire time and they got nothing after two weeks. Zhou Qingfeng did not really want to bother about that bunch of idiots.

As Zhou Qingfeng mentioned other people, Uncle Zheng started to cry out loud, “Brotherhood of Steel came to Manhattan; they confiscated all of our property and resources. They even chased us out of Chinatown and now, we’re all homeless.”

“Initially, there were around five to six hundred people with me. There were people starving to death every day. The rest of our men who could barely move had no choice but to come and submit themselves to the Brotherhood of Steel, to at least try to get some food for their families. But, they said we didn’t meet the requirement for soldiers and we got rejected.”

As Uncle Zheng started to cry, the hundred men behind him started to cry too. Zhou Qingfeng has been through a lot and he could only sigh, “If I was in the Brotherhood of Steel, I wouldn’t want those who only know how to cry.”

Uncle Zheng immediately wiped his tears, held Zhou Qingfeng’s hand, and said, “Zhou, please have mercy on us. Please help us. I know you’ll have ideas to help us.”

Zhou Qingfeng did not look that well too. His body and face were covered in dust and dirt. However, he did not look like he was having a bad life. Uncle Zheng and the people from Chinatown were desperate. The moment they saw Zhou Qingfeng, all of them could only ask Zhou Qingfeng for help.

Zhou Qingfeng sighed, turned around, and looked at Butcher to ask for his opinion. Butcher replied with a cold tone, “We only need those who have professional skills.”

Zhou Qingfeng turned around and told Uncle Zheng, “Health care workers are our first priority.”

Instantly, someone behind Uncle Zheng shouted before he could speak, “Me, I’m a doctor.”

A middle-aged man with glasses quickly ran towards Zhou Qingfeng. Zhou Qingfeng looked at him and frowned, “The Brotherhood of Steel wouldn’t reject you if you’re a doctor. They wouldn’t care if you’re not a white man because they really need doctors. Please don’t tell me you’re a vet.”

“I studied Chinese medicine. I’m good at acupuncture and basic injuries. I can even prescribe herbal medicine. But the medical team from the Brotherhood of Steel said I was a psychic. They don’t recognize me as a doctor,” the middle-aged man was depressed and afraid that he will be rejected by Zhou Qingfeng.

Alright, Chinese medicine isn’t that bad. Zhou Qingfeng nodded his head. Following that, there were another few people behind Uncle Zheng who came out; they were all Chinese medicine practitioners.

“We need a few cooks as well,” Zhou Qingfeng had been struggling with his food. Butcher used to be the executive chef of a top restaurant in Manhattan. However, he could not make anything delicious with ordinary ingredients, whereas, the Chinese were good at making ordinary food delicious.

During the cataclysm, a good meal will definitely increase the morale of soldiers. Thus, Zhou Qingfeng recruited a few Chinese cooks.

“Is there anyone who knows car, electronic devices, or motor repairs? We need someone who's good at it.”

“Is there anyone who knows about farming and animal raising? It’s a skill natural gifted to the Chinese!”

“Is there anyone who knows telecommunication?”

“Is there anyone who knows general stuff like sewing clothes? Either male, female, or even children are acceptable.”

As they were his compatriots, Zhou Qingfeng was willing to help as long as they obeyed him.

However, even though Zhou Qingfeng had set the requirements to the lowest level, only around a hundred of them were eligible. It was just a small amount compared to the total number of people from Chinatown. The rest of them were literally useless but acted like they knew everything.

Many of the American-born-Chinese who did not even know how to speak Mandarin were requesting a lot from Zhou Qingfeng. Zhou Qingfeng only had one phrase for them, “Go to hell and talk about your human rights.”

Finally, Zhou Qingfeng asked, “Any soldiers here? Anyone who can play with guns will do.”

There were around three to five men who walked out and all of them were as skinny as wooden sticks.

“I remember that there’s a guy called Marco? I thought he used to be a soldier?” Zhou Qingfeng did not see that tarter.

As Uncle Zheng knew about farming, he joined Zhou Qingfeng. He whispered to Zhou Qingfeng, “Marco is in the Brotherhood of Steel now. He’s the only one who got approved.”

Chapter end