Wasteland Echoer

Zine Empire, capital city Sokra, residential area Z district street.

Wright, who carried the "Zhou Yuan" brand rifle he bought on his body and packed a bag full of military and daily supplies, waited for two hours until the pure black dome showed signs of closing. Brett, the silver-haired The man drove the mechanical chariot to a slow stop in front of him.

But it’s no wonder that Brett was there. After all, George’s arrangement for him and Wright was at twelve o’clock at noon, when the sun was the brightest.

Under normal circumstances, the unintentional and the lost will choose to act at night or when the sun is not so strong. At the beginning of the New Yuan Dynasty, scientists from the Zine Empire discovered this feature. Even after five hundred years, many military operations of the Zine Empire and the Socra Committee were based on this feature.

"Hey, Wright, how have you been resting these two days? I said, if your team hadn't come back from the Lost Swamp, that old guy George wouldn't have given you a holiday."

With that said, Brett stopped the spider-shaped mechanical chariot and walked up to Wright.

Then, Wright handed the heavy khaki backpack forward, which was almost three-quarters of his weight, and naturally let Brett take on the role of temporary porter.

After handing all the heavy items to Brett, Wright felt a long-lost sense of relief. Although it had been 24 hours since he last slept, he did not feel sleepy at all at this time, but was unusually awake.

Perhaps because the dome was opened, a certain angel that he had read about in the memory fragments appeared in Wright's mind.

He was born in the wonderful dream of the Creator. He will come when someone falls into despair and danger. The golden color covers the body of the remaining hope. His pair of white feathered wings combined with his fair and charming skin will lead the world to the future. Light, even heaven.

"bump!"

While Wright was intoxicated in his memories and had wild thoughts, Brett suddenly closed the trunk of the heavy mechanical car and shouted in his trademark rich voice:

"Light, we're on our way."

"Getting on the road? This big silver-haired man really knows how to curse me." Wright cursed inwardly, opened the slightly rusty car door with his left hand, and got in.

After the standard-issue mechanical chariot of the escort started along the dirt-covered street, Wright slowly relaxed against his seat.

After all, it had only been three days since I had inexplicably traveled to this world, and so many incredible and extraordinary things had happened. A normal person would not be able to accept it for a while.

The mechanical chariot meandered along the not-so-wide streets. Due to the large flow of people in the inner ring and business district of Sogra, Brett chose a more spacious place in the slum area of ​​the outer ring.

The old streets, the silent houses, the homeless people lying on the ground dying, and the dark color that is gradually rising in the farthest distance of the sight.

"Brett, how long until that black cover closes?" Wright pointed in the distance.

"That dome?" Brett glanced at his watch subconsciously and said:

"There are still forty-five minutes. Don't worry, my driving skills are top-notch, and I can easily maneuver through the crowd of unintentional people. You know," Brett changed his expression to a proud one:

"A year ago, during our convoy's operation to open Route 40, I was the one who ran through the crowd and rescued four or five comrades. Besides, there is no one on the street now, so there is no need to worry about not seeing the sun later."

"That's good." Wright said a few perfunctory words, but complained in his heart:

This Brett said again that he can't see the sun, what a crow's mouth! If anything happens to this mission, it will be his fault. How could he curse someone who had only met for a few minutes?

As if he felt Wright's complaints, after the mechanical chariot drove for almost four or five minutes, Brett tried to ease the dull atmosphere between the two and said:

"Speaking of Wright, what do you think of the city of Sugra? You have just been transferred from the outer area, and I want to hear your opinion."

"Socrates," Wright was a little speechless for a moment. After all, he had only traveled through time for three days, and Wright's original memory was fragmented. If his answer was biased, he might be suspected by Brett, his "good friend". Simply, Wright planned to use The technique of "Great Shift of the Universe" is used to kick the ball back.

"What do you think, Brett?"

"I'm not very optimistic about the Socratic Committee." Brett paused for a moment, thought for a few seconds, and said:

"Their model of urban management is becoming more and more outdated, always continuing the way it was five hundred years ago, and there is no innovation. Wright, if you have read the information, you will know that our technology has been like this in five hundred years. There was no progress in being frozen, even though we humans are gradually expanding our living territory. But after I came to Socra, I realized that the people on the committee have really been completely laid to rest."

"Lie down? Did you choose to leave them dead because you couldn't eliminate all the unintentional people?" Wright used a word that was very popular in the previous world.

"Yes." Brett nodded and said:

"The number of unintentional people in the Western Continent is almost measured in hundreds of millions, and there are at least tens of millions in the Zine Empire. The Sugra stronghold has existed for five hundred years, and I'm afraid they don't have the ability to expand outward much. The people in the committee simply pursue themselves Wealth and interests, the Tool Yuan Factory produces materials as if it was opened for them. Even the rituals that provide power to the city and the dome I think they intend to perfunctory. "

"Ritual? Blood Night Ritual?" This word suddenly appeared in Wright's mind.

Immediately afterwards, he felt as if he was in the dark and dirty place of Sogra Waterway. De's face covered with blood, eyeballs protruding, and a ferocious expression seemed to appear in front of him.

"Yes. The Blood Night Ceremony is no longer a secret. The ceremony every forty years has a name. Anyway, no matter what it is called, it is to purify the dome and provide some energy for the city of Socra. If there is no sun With the light of the moon, how can there be so much clean food and water in the city of Sugra?" Brett's somewhat angry explanation pulled Wright back from his horrific thoughts.

He coughed twice, paused briefly and said:

"Although they have been testing the dome these past few days, those people are still focused on the election and power struggle of the Zine Empire Parliament. The ceremony is just perfunctory. Maybe the Lost are infiltrated everywhere in Sogra now."

"Is that so? Are there any risks in our mission?" Wright asked an extremely realistic question.

"Risk? Surviving as a human being in the wasteland is the biggest risk. Think about it, the city of Socra completely prohibits the existence of people with magic power and supernatural powers. In their eyes, all extraordinary and mysterious things are related to unintentional people. Harmful. In fact, how can it be so absolute? There is always an upper limit to the power of human beings, but many local guards in the outer area have introduced superpowers, which actually has an effect on the battle." Brett explained.

"Superpowers? Well, what kind have you seen? Is it like a magician?" Wright asked with a frown.

According to the information currently known, in addition to the lost ones like Yato, Natasha is the crazy woman with magic power who possesses strange and extraordinary abilities. Could it be that there is a third kind of "extraordinary" in the wasteland? The existence of form?

"There are almost two types. One is the physically enhanced type. They can jump more than ten meters, or they are so strong that they can easily lift a one-ton truck. The other is agility. They can insert a dagger in the blink of an eye. Your chest." Brett held the steering wheel with one hand and made a motion of inserting a knife into the heart with the other hand.

"What about the other one?" Wright's curiosity was aroused.

"Having special abilities is a kind of thing. I have seen one who can control Wu Xinren, but he died under the gun of his teammates. There is also one who can use fire. Imagine that he can draw flames out of thin air without any fuel, and he The fire seems to be lethal to unintentional people, but it is different from the flamethrower we use. It’s just the two of us," Brett sighed and said:

"Don't think about those people who have special abilities and don't have them. People with superpowers are not recognized by the Sune Empire, so they can only make their own way. Speaking of which, it would be good to be able to survive in the wasteland, and it is more realistic to be promoted to a professional level."

"Professional rank?" Wright asked, which piqued his interest.

After all, yesterday in the dark and closed security team's lockup room, George accidentally mentioned it.

Besides, he was arrested for "illegal rituals" and he was too embarrassed to ask for more information.

"It's common to the Zine Empire. The rank of the Socra city is particularly important. It is shared by the security team and the army. There are five levels in total. 1-5, 1 is the highest and 5 is the lowest. They are Dawn, Dark Star, Hurricane, Red Earth and Silver. Blade. I am a silver blade just like you. I am a five-star, one step short of promotion. You are a two-star, still far away. But if the road to the Silent Highlands is completely opened this time, you and I will be promoted to rank 4. Hurricanes are no problem, but only if you stay alive," Brett explained.

Wright turned his head and looked at Brett, who had silver hair and a strong build. He was wearing a silver-white guard uniform and had a "Long Sword and Hammer" medal on his chest. He had a heavy look on his face and felt a faint fear of the wasteland world in his heart.

After all, today he was going from the Socra Greenhouse, which was sheltered by the dome, to the real Socra Outer Area battlefield filled with unintentional people and all kinds of strange things.

As the mechanical chariot got closer and closer to the dark dome, there were gradually more vehicles on the road.

The committee's orders to the convoys and the army were almost concentrated today and tomorrow. When they drove to the first giant silver-white gate made of steel, military jeeps, mechanical combat vehicles and some civilian convertibles had already begun to pass through the checkpoints one after another.

Due to the need to guard against the unintentional and the lost, the city of Socra built a three-layer defense system. Each one has a 60-meter-high wall at the outermost edge, and a tall, dark door.

When it was Brett and Wright's turn for the mechanical chariot to pass by, Wright stuck his head out the window and looked up. The giant door more than fifty meters high was standing upright like a giant guarding everything in the dark. Fulfilling his duties as a knight's guard.

After submitting their escort membership certificates, Brett and Wright traveled very smoothly. A few hundred meters after the black giant door is the silver-white giant door.

As the third bronze door, which resembled a classical bodybuilding giant, slowly opened, pure white light began to slowly shine in along the gap in the giant door.

Moreover, as the mechanical chariot advanced and the giant door opened, the light was like a god holding an incandescent flame, pouring all its strength on the two people, trying to completely sublimate their souls and escape from this hell-like waste. earth world.

"There is light, it is light." Wright couldn't help but admire.

As the mechanical chariot completely broke away from the slowly closing dome of the city of Socra, and quickly moved along Route 55, Wright finally faced the light and carefully observed the world that truly belonged to the wasteland.

After being fully mentally prepared, Wright did not see any industrial dirt. Instead, he saw clear blue sky, lush grassland, undulating mountains and scattered boulders.

Although there are no animals present, the sun in the distance is emitting warm golden light, standing in the distance like the eternal god who controls the light, guiding the people of the wasteland towards hope.

But immediately afterwards, Wright felt that the golden sun seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, and the light it emitted gradually changed from incandescent golden yellow to blood-like red color.

The grass and boulders seemed to have turned into entities that could move at will in an instant. They began to extend strange tentacles, turn out bright red internal organs, grow fangs like vampires, and slowly approached Wright's body.

Just as Wright turned his head to the left, ready to signal Bright to escape at a high speed, he suddenly realized that the mechanical chariot he was in had disappeared from nowhere. He was sitting and flying on the blood-red road in a strange posture.

"Brett?" Wright stretched out his left hand, trying to get closer to Brett, who was also "flying".

However, when his fingers came into contact with Brett's clothes, bright red blood began to flow out of his body.

Immediately afterwards, fat, internal organs, and indescribable filthy liquid flowed out. In just three or four seconds, Brett turned into a skeleton covered in blood.

When the skull's eyeballs suddenly fell to the ground, it turned its head in a strange posture and violently attacked Wright with its remaining fangs.

…

"Wright? Wright? We're here."

Brett's rich voice appeared in Wright's ears again, and Wright suddenly woke up, opened his eyes and looked around.

He was still in the mechanical chariot, but the outside environment had become a little dark.

He took a few deep breaths, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and tried to stabilize his emotions after waking up from the nightmare.

Immediately afterwards, he looked outside and saw that his and Brett's mechanical chariot was parked in front of a simple iron gate a few meters high. There seemed to be two lights above, scanning down to observe the surrounding environment.

"Brett, where are you?" Wright asked, covering his chest with his trembling left hand.

"Silent Highlands Outpost A. We can go in and report later. There should be a mission to fight the Wuxins tomorrow. Let's have a good rest later." Brett said, opening the car door and walking towards the iron gate.

"Rest." Wright said in a quiet voice. He breathed a long sigh of relief and slumped down on the seat of the mechanical car.