Take My Wallet

This was the Waste Mine Society Dennison Henry had never seen before. He could hardly believe such a drastic transformation had taken place in just the month since his last visit.

He was a trader from Trash Town. He used to buy the ore produced by the Waste Mine Society and sell it in Trash Town, where it was processed into usable pig iron and sold on.

He'd heard that a band of raiders had set their sights on the Waste Mine Society. He'd assumed the place was finished, and had silently prayed for the poor people there. He'd also regretted losing a cheap source of materials, since it meant he'd make less money.

But the Waste Mine Society had not only survived—it had even won the Planetary Governor's support.

If that wasn't a blessing in disguise, what was?

At the Waste Mine Society, Henry saw rows of factory buildings and towering smelting furnaces billowing white smoke, symbols of industrial might.

He also saw the residential area built nearby. It was mealtime, and smoke curled from the cooking fires. The residents of the Waste Mine Society were eating better than people back in his hometown of Trash Town.

He saw the soldiers on guard, too. They wore combat suits with ballistic plates over them, and their left eyes had all been replaced with machinery that glowed a cold blue. The Servitors looked like a well-trained force.

Patel took in every detail of Henry's expression.

The look of surprise on his "old friend's" face filled Patel with satisfaction.

He loved seeing people astonished. It made him all the more certain, deep down, that accepting the Governor and becoming one of his subjects had been the right decision.

He patted Henry on the shoulder. "Don't just stand there gawking. Come on. There's plenty more to see."

Henry pulled his gaze away and turned to Patel. "You... the Governor really is this generous?"

Patel's expression was devout. "He is. And this is only the beginning. I have absolute faith that we'll live better and better under the Governor's rule! Honestly, why don't you go back and talk to your bosses? Tell them to join the Governor sooner rather than later."

At that, Henry regained some composure. "We're already under the Governor's rule. We're members of the Alliance, too."

Patel could hear the dismissal in his voice.

He was a little disappointed. He genuinely thought Trash Town could join them and contribute to the Governor's cause.

Of course, he also knew his old friend Henry was just an ordinary trader in Trash Town, with little standing. Trash Town had a population of over a hundred thousand and was a massive settlement. The people who held sway there were known as Agents. Agents of all ranks determined the course of the entire town.

Henry was just a trader. He was still trying to earn even the lowest Agent's standing, and had no say in Trash Town.

Patel had simply hoped Henry might persuade the Agents to consider it.

But it seemed he'd been naïve.

Those Agents made money off raw materials and energy, and off scavengers and adventurers. They were stuffed to the gills. Why would they ever give that up?

Unless they saw the Governor's might with their own eyes.

Putting that thought aside, Patel smiled again.

He led Henry along and showed him more of the good things they had.

They were finished products made of Alloy Plasteel, produced by the Waste Mine Society.

When Henry saw the neatly stacked Plasteel, he gaped in astonishment once more.

"Th-this is Alloy Plasteel? You can make this stuff?"

He truly hadn't expected it.

When he'd seen the smelting furnaces earlier, he'd thought that producing steel would be an impressive enough achievement. He'd already been planning to bring raw materials from Trash Town for the Waste Mine Society to process, then ship the finished goods to Revival City for sale. That route alone would be far more profitable than trading ore.

But the Waste Mine Society wasn't producing steel at all. It was producing Alloy Plasteel!

This stuff was far superior to steel. Depending on the formula, it could be exceptionally strong and resistant to pressure and tension, while also remaining highly malleable.

With a merchant's keen eye, Henry could tell it would sell for more than steel, but not by a huge margin. Manufacturers using Alloy Plasteel for weapons, machinery, or construction had plenty of high-volume, low-end product lines where costs mattered. If Alloy Plasteel cost too much more than steel, they'd simply stick with the cheaper option.

Of course, some specially formulated varieties of Alloy Plasteel had unique properties. They'd be valuable for specialized equipment, such as better gun barrels or sturdier machine frames, and could fetch very high prices when used in high-value manufacturing.

But even if ordinary Alloy Plasteel couldn't command a particularly high price, with a sensible pricing strategy, it would have no trouble finding buyers.

Besides, it seemed that very few forces across the entire wasteland could produce Alloy Plasteel. Blackbird Heavy Industries might have the capability, but they could barely produce enough for their own use. Henry had never seen them sell the material.

From that perspective, the Alloy Plasteel produced by the Waste Mine Society was practically a monopoly.

And beyond the profits, it represented enormous influence.

Dennison Henry could hardly wait.

"How much for this stuff? Sell it to me!" he said, rubbing his hands together.

"Hold on," Patel said with a laugh, then led Henry to another spot.

There, they had finished products made from Alloy Plasteel: body armor and helmets for infantry.

Patel introduced them proudly. "Take a look. A Pipe Rifle can barely do more than leave a mark!"

Then, as if worried Henry wouldn't believe him, he actually pulled out a Pipe Rifle.

It looked crude, but it was one of the most common firearms on the wasteland. A simple metal pipe was lashed to a wooden grip, with the most basic firing mechanism to shoot powder cartridges. With hardly any workmanship involved, its power was a complete gamble, and its accuracy even more so. A well-made one might be passable; a poorly made one was just a loud, smoking stick. Whether it hit anything was up to chance.

The Waste Mine Society had over a hundred guns, looted from the bandits after the Prisoner-Dead were wiped out. The Governor had considered the junk beneath him and given them to the Society for self-defense.

Patel put the armor vest on a target, pulled back the rifle's bolt, and fired more than a dozen rounds at it from a distance of over ten meters.

When he was done, Henry stepped up to inspect it.

There were bullet marks, but not one had penetrated the body armor. The target behind it had been knocked slightly crooked by the impact, but it was otherwise undamaged.

That was more than enough protection.

Henry even tried the vest on himself. It was comfortably light. Alloy Plasteel could maintain its strength and toughness while keeping its weight down.

This stuff was a game-changer on the wasteland. With a set of this armor, the wasteland's most common Pipe Rifle really would become nothing more than a smoking stick.

He could already imagine the enthusiastic reception these vests would get from scavengers and adventurers in Trash Town.

This was money in the bank!

"Enough talk! I'm buying! Take my wallet!"