Chapter 105: Seizing Gas Town
Furiosa had changed into the clothes Jake had brought her: a simple t-shirt, women's jeans, and her pretty face, now clean of grime, combined with the mechanical prosthetic on her left arm, gave her an unusual allure.
Of course, Jake wouldn't deny that it was because of her good looks; otherwise, he wouldn't have stared at any woman who had her arm replaced with a metal prosthetic.
For the first time, Furiosa felt her face warming. A word long forgotten appeared on her face—shyness, perhaps without her even realizing it.
He clapped his hands, waking Furiosa from her thoughts.
"You're planning to trade with Gas Town today, right?"
"That's right," Furiosa nodded, her demeanor instantly changing, becoming serious.
"And you were planning to escape, weren't you?"
Furiosa exchanged glances with the five wives in clean dresses standing beside Jake, seeing shock in their eyes. No one else knew about the escape plan.
However, since things had come to this, the women didn't object. Furiosa had witnessed Jake's terrifying combat power firsthand, and the five wives simply didn't want to argue. It was a better outcome, wasn't it?
So, the Imperator nodded in agreement, "That's right."
"Let's get down to business," Jake asked simply, then quickly dismissed the question, leaving the six women present somewhat puzzled.
Why ask that question?
He just wanted to confirm if the male protagonist, Max, had appeared today.
Undoubtedly, as a protagonist, Max possessed strong survival and combat abilities, but Jake didn't believe he was stronger than himself.
Moreover, in a battle between two locations, one person's strength wouldn't be very effective.
He cleared his throat and shouted toward the cave entrance, "If you capture a man named Max, release him!"
"Yes, Father," came the reply from Nux.
So, he suppressed his original intention to find the protagonist and instead decided to release him.
In this movie world destined to have no sequel, he wondered what Max's fate would be.
However, he hoped Max wouldn't cause trouble, otherwise he would definitely eliminate him.
Afterwards, Jake began discussing the specific action plan for attacking Gas Town with Furiosa.
The best time to attack Gas Town was during this resource transaction; if they missed it, the other side would definitely discover something was wrong.
Things were rushed, so much so that Jake didn't have time to develop many of his internal plans, such as rooting out rebels hidden among the War Boys. He didn't believe that there were only two or three die-hard loyalists of Immortan Joe.
But none of that mattered anymore; it was still unknown how many would survive a war.
"Go!"
There were only twenty minutes to prepare, but in those twenty minutes, the War Boys were already fully prepared.
Two tanks led the way, rolling straight forward.
There was no shortage of driving talent among the War Boys; some people had special abilities in certain areas. For example, some War Boys could already drive tanks and fire according to Jake's requirements, although their aim was poor.
With these metal behemoths simply rolling over them, how many could resist?
"Ready?" Jake shouted into a walkie-talkie.
Furiosa's voice came from the other end.
The neatly dressed Imperator drove a huge water tanker ahead, while the tanks quietly concealed themselves hundreds of yards behind.
Jake didn't intend to launch a direct assault on other factions; the cost would be too high. Instead, a little strategy would make his actions much easier.
"Don't die," he said into the walkie-talkie again, waiting for a "yes" before closing the channel.
The Bullet Farm and Gas Town were located to the left and right of Jake's faction, respectively, forming a three-way standoff.
However, Immortan Joe's power was stronger, consistently making him the largest of the three factions.
Just as the water tanker led the tanks and a dozen armored vehicles toward Gas Town, Jake flashed back, returning to a helicopter.
The military aircraft's rotors whirred loudly as it slowly ascended into the air.
Perhaps some people in this world had seen aircraft, but most had never, so they looked up at Jake in bewilderment, then knelt down under the guidance of a few.
Jake once again displayed the miracle unique to him as their Father.
A dozen minutes later,
"We've arrived at Gas Town," Nux's voice came through the intercom to Jake's ears. "They haven't detected anything unusual."
"Be careful. Have Furiosa deliver the supplies. Be careful; I can't afford to see those precious fuel reserves destroyed."
Soon, the helicopter, piloted by Jake, entered the airspace of the Bullet Farm.
The Bullet Farm wasn't like Immortan Joe's territory; the terrain wasn't treacherous, which facilitated Jake's arrival.
Neither the Bullet Farm nor Gas Town resembled Immortan Joe's territory, which housed tens of thousands of slaves.
What was most important in this world? Water!
Without food, they could eat tree roots, rocks, even people, but without water, they would die.
Immortan Joe controlled a vast water source, so he indulged in the feeling of being a god, keeping tens of thousands of almost useless slaves. Although he didn't feed them, water was enough for them.
The Bullet Farm, on the other hand, clearly lacked that ambition.
It was a small base that traded weapons with other powers.
It wasn't large, and there weren't many slaves.
When the rotors churned up dry air above the Bullet Farm, the weapons manufacturers panicked.
They pulled out their weapons, trying to shoot Jake down.
But this wasn't fiction; rifles shooting down aircraft was pure fantasy. Not only was Jake's helicopter hovering above the effective range of bullets, but even within range, the wind and distance made it nearly impossible for a bullet to hit him.
While those below fired, Nux reported from Jake's side: the deal with Gas Town was complete; they had delivered a truckload of gasoline and taken the water.
The moment the deal was struck, Jake gave the order, "Tanks, move out! Stop the water trucks!"
The scene at Gas Town was predictable.
Just when they thought it was another successful transaction, two armored vehicles suddenly appeared from the distance. Not only that, their gunfire was completely ineffective!
Those are tanks! You think you can penetrate them with pistols and rifles? Then World War II would have been pointless.
Under the crushing weight of the steel behemoths, the personnel from Gas Town were easily detained, and that wasn't all.
In this world, firearms aren't easy to obtain; otherwise, the Bullet Farm wouldn't be able to maintain a three-way balance of power with the other two resource factions by manufacturing ammunition.
In the post-apocalyptic wasteland, the most important things are undoubtedly water for survival, gasoline to power vehicles, and firearms for protection or to harm others!
With the War Boys armed, attacking Gas Town shouldn't be too difficult. The only concern is whether Gas Town, realizing their inevitable defeat, will choose a suicidal strategy.
Finally, Jake realized how unfounded his concern was, because nobody wants to die.
Meanwhile, after giving the order, Jake aimed at the Bullet Farm and pressed the missile launch button on the attack helicopter.
A missile spewing flames plummeted straight down from a thousand feet in the air!
Then, with a deafening roar, flames erupted, sending up a towering heat wave.
"Mission accomplished." With a satisfied look, Jake moved the control stick, turning the helicopter around and heading back toward the Citadel.
He wasn't short of ammunition, so the existence of the Bullet Farm was pointless; he might as well destroy it.
The helicopter flew further and further away, finally disappearing into the horizon. From its arrival to its departure, it remained suspended in the air.
The once-thriving Bullet Farm was now nothing but ruins, perhaps with a few survivors remaining. If they didn't leave in time, a group of War Boys covered in white paint would await them.
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