Wasteland Echoer

"Damn it!" Thalia cursed, looking at the thin layer of flames and scorched paths left by "Yan Xi" after escaping, and angrily fired out the remaining 12 bullets in the "Red Rose" double guns. Jump straight through the gap back to the abandoned theater.

"Captain Thalia, Captain Marco." The arriving team members quickly took out their pistols and got into position.

But then Thalia scolded:

"Forget it, my boys. One of our enemies is here and is dead! The other one has escaped. With your level, I'm afraid you won't be able to catch up in a month. Don't do these superficial things."

Then, she put away her guns, put them back on her waist, and ordered:

"You are divided into two teams. On my left, you go and remove the valuable metals from this dragon, and then dispose of the body. This dragon appeared out of thin air, and I smelled the bad smell of the dark night on it. Remember Use 'light powder' treatment, don't pollute this place.

"On the right, you guys drove here, right?"

"Yes, Captain Thalia." The short young man on the far right of the team, who covered his face with black cloth, replied:

"There were four vehicles in total, all carrying light rocket launchers, clean food and folding tents."

"Well, I guess you're not that stupid yet." Thalia praised without hesitation and continued to ask:

"If you drive, how many days will it take to get to the base? From here."

"About 10 hours. Based on time estimates, we should be able to arrive before getting up at 6 o'clock tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Thalia nodded and said:

"Driving two cars, the four of you and the three of us, including this young man named Luo Nie, get in the car and go back together. He is very strong, but don't worry, he is not our enemy the Lost One, but like us, he is a member of the ice wilderness. As a wanderer of exploration, I think even if 'Big Brother' were here, he would make the same choice as me."

"Yes, Captain Thalia."

"By the way, there is one more thing." Marco, who had been silent all this time, had already silently picked up his "Ice Tiger" brand rifle and the backpack stained with dust and blood, and said to the several team members who were about to deal with the huge dragon-shaped creature. :

"You guys remember to set up the radio station after dealing with the dragon, and send a message to the base. In addition to your exploration and discovery in Area S these days, add a sentence."

"Say, Captain Marco." One of the team members took out a small notebook and a pen from his chest, preparing to record.

"Don't remember it wrong." Marco urged:

"Except for the unexplored 'Jupiter Point' and 'Mercury Point', the remaining abandoned city points east of the North Mamous River in Area S are worthless and are occupied by 'Heartless People' and 'Alien Species' .The danger level of this 'Earth Point' is temporarily set at Level A. That's all."

"Yes, Captain Marco."

…

After these days of fighting, the exhausted Luo Nie finally got some time to rest peacefully.

Although he had not discussed the decision to take Thalia to the base of the "Wild Tourist Group" just now, Luo Jie did not have a clear direction for the time being if he wanted to continue traveling, so he simply acquiesced to this arrangement.

As the old empire-style off-road vehicle slowly drove out of the abandoned city full of rubble, bloodstains and filthy remains, Luo Nie felt a little more peaceful and peaceful in her heart, even though it had entered a long night.

However, the excitement caused by a long period of fierce fighting still had some residual power. Luo Jie closed his eyes tightly and couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He simply opened his eyes and asked Thalia about the way he had just dealt with the huge dragon-shaped creature:

"Say something, Ms. Thalia."

"Haha, little brother Luonie, don't call me ma'am. That's a popular saying in the old empire and the nobility. The lost people, especially the lost people in the 'Order Society' who pride themselves on being elegant people, like to use it. If you don't mind, , can you call me sister?" Thalia turned around and interrupted with a "scary", strange, but very funny smile:

"elder sister?"

"Well, little brother Luo."

"Well, let's forget it, our titles are quite awkward." Luo Nie said with an awkward yet polite smile:

"Let's change the name."

"Comrade?" Thalia held her chin, squinting and thinking:

"It doesn't seem appropriate. That's the name of many enlightened people in the old empire's army. They generally have like-minded people with common beliefs and goals. You are not one of us yet. If you are lucky enough to join us in the future, you will definitely No problem. Why don't you just call me by your first name? Don't use any other titles, it will make you look familiar."

"Okay, Thalia." Luo Nie accepted this compromise and continued to ask:

"By the way, when you ordered those...those team members to deal with the dragon's body, what kind of substance was the 'light powder' you mentioned?"

"You've asked the right person about this." Thalia said confidently:

"You know, last year when I went to search for urban ruins west of the Mamous River in the north of Area S, I led a team to discover an abandoned factory left behind by the old empire. But it's deep, you know, almost twenty meters underground. Open it It took four or five heavy iron doors to get in.

"There we collected several well-packaged 'Light Powder' from several warehouses. Those packaging bags were printed with the double-headed eagle royal pattern of the old empire. Ahem, but having said that, this kind of light powder is purely made of [Light] ore and is extremely purified. The 'light powder' formed can be used in a wide range of applications."

"What are they specifically?" Luo Nie asked.

"Some papers from the Old Empire mentioned that sprinkling 'Light Powder' in a fixed area to form a closed pattern can resist all surrounding forces related to the 'Old Day' and 'Dark Night' from corroding the spirit. It contains The light magic source power can neutralize the dark forces and keep people clear-headed and cognitively clear."

"In other words, it can eliminate the pollution spilled after the death of the dragon and prevent the entire abandoned city from turning into ruins?" Luo Nie speculated.

"That's right." Thalia nodded.

"Why do you need to go to such trouble to do this? These strongholds are abandoned anyway. It is difficult to recover and rebuild without the power of the federation." Luo Nie said puzzled.

"Actually..." She paused for a second, "It doesn't hurt to tell you, after all, your goals and ours have no overlap.

"Big Brother has actually been trying to establish a new federation within the Crusted Federation composed of 'outcasts' and 'wandering superpowers', independent of the existence of the Crusted Federation Council. But it has always been , our strength is not strong enough and can only be reduced to what the Federal Council calls an 'independent armed force'.

"In fact, the large area of ​​​​the Extreme Cold Special Zone is not only a bare, lifeless ice sheet, but also had a population of more than 10 million even at the end of the old empire."

"There are so many people, it's hard to imagine. It is said that the entire Federation now only has more than 10 million pure humans." Luo Nie said with emotion.

"That's natural. The entire middle and late third era was the greatest and most glorious period of the old empire. The stronger the country, the more developed its productivity and economy will be, the higher the land development and utilization rate will be, and the more people it can support. Big. You may not know much about it, but the old empire was once the largest agricultural exporter." Marco, who was sitting aside, added.

"It seems that your old guy's brain is still very bright, but that's right, this one used to be a professor at the Federal University." Thalia praised.

Although it was not difficult to see that she was joking about Marcodo as a "friendly" acquaintance, when it came to her status as "professor", Ronie observed that what appeared on Thalia's face was not disdain, but respect, a rare respect.

"But having said that, last year we successfully contacted several 'independent armed forces' of the same size as us, including 'gold diggers', 'ruin hunters', and also 'wandering supernatural beings' who were opposed to the lost and divided from within them. . Although the number of people is still not very large, they have controlled several villages and small bases." Thalia continued:

"After the complete alliance, we need to completely recover at least one abandoned city occupied by the 'Heartless People', and use it as a new base to absorb more people who oppose the Federal Council and those who fight alone. To be honest, our main purpose here is Site selection.”

"Why... are you so resistant to the Federal Council? Hasn't their chief executive Vasily been committed to ending the 'Wasteland Era'?" Luo Nie asked in confusion.

"It's very simple, Vasily is a madman, and the Federal Council is a group of liars. Trying to use the technology left over from the old empire to kill the 'unintentional people' is tantamount to a common death, just like a pile of weeds growing in the yard, Vasily What Siri was thinking about was not mowing the grass or using herbicides, but more like trying to light a fire and completely burn all the plants," Thalia explained in layman's terms.

"I...can't understand it for the moment." Luo Nie shook her head and said.

After all, Igor had carefully introduced to him the role and function of the "Universal Energy Evolution Platform" that Vasily was looking for, and explained the Federal Council's great idea of ​​ending the "New Dollar Crisis".

Based on the principle of preconception, and one of the purposes of his coming here is to find traces of the "Evolution Platform", he will naturally have strong doubts about the rhetoric of the "wilderness tourist group".

However, Luo Nie is not a paranoid person, and he is almost in the "enemy camp", so naturally he will not and cannot argue.

Marco and Thalia were naturally aware of Luo Nie's complex and tangled psychology, but they did not point it out directly. Instead, they seemed to hope to slowly persuade Luo Nie by "showing the true side of the facts." Simply, Marco continued to add:

"The energy received by the 'Evolution Platform' cannot be completely controlled, and there is a possibility of spillover. This is why the old empire chose to seal them. Many people within the Federal Council know this, but they know that Vasily is an extremely idealistic and stubborn person, so simply Completely hide the negative side and choose to be completely deceived.

"To this end, they did not hesitate to interpret documents that were once considered prohibited by the old empire, activate the 'sequence monsters' contained in various places, and search for traces of 'Pramini', including working with groups of the lost, especially the 'Order Society' 'cooperate.

"Actually, looking at it this way, one of the purposes of 'Big Brother' trying to establish a 'new federation' is precisely to rescue more deeply suffering people who have been ignored by the Federal Council through a true 'like-minded' war, and to work together to prevent Disaster, completely eliminate the 'unintentional people'." Marco said, patting Luo Zhen's shoulder and said:

"When you get to the base, you will feel even more deeply that the urban strongholds controlled by the Federal Council are nothing but superficial and hypocritical peace."

"Yeah." Luo Nie reluctantly nodded in agreement.

As the excitement brought by the magic power gradually disappeared, Ronie felt that the conversation between Thalia and Marco around him became weaker and weaker, and his world began to be enveloped in darkness and silence.

In the deep and indulgent dream, he seemed to have returned to the gray dream that he had once relied on the "grey coat of arms" to enter.

In the chaos, he seemed to see a towering tree with lush branches in the center of the familiar altar.

But the strange thing is that the empty ground is covered with a thin layer of snow that reveals an icy atmosphere. Except for the giant trees, the surrounding environment reveals a strong and chilling atmosphere of winter.

In the hazy moment, a strong light penetrated into his dream, and what followed was a "violent" shaking of the entire "world".