Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 5 5. Everyone has something hidden in their heart.

The desert, where the sun had vanished, soon began to blow, a wind that wouldn't stop for a while, slowly cooling the still scorching heat. When the temperature dropped to a point where it was no longer suitable for human survival, the sky would brighten again...

This cycle repeats itself over and over again, and is the main theme of this world.

The patrol car moved forward, carrying with it rolling yellow sand. Its wide tracks flattened the sand dunes, as if creating a glowing passage on the spot to prevent people from getting lost.

The armor plate just above the rear of the vehicle opened, and a single main gun was slowly rotating. The caliber of 300 mm allowed it to destroy most enemy armor at the calibrated distance, but the prerequisite was that it could search for the enemy.

Therefore, in addition to the huge cannon, the "newest" and "best-used" optical periscope in the current border node city was also raised, and the commander paid for it himself.

Otherwise, you have to raise the observation tower and let the unlucky guy go up there to blow the cold wind and search visually for possible enemy vehicles.

There was a long dark blue trail behind the car. Judging from the quality of the car, it would not dissipate for more than half an hour... This is also the disadvantage of the patrol car.

If it was still the old robbery car, there would be no need to worry about being tracked, just charge and it would be over!
So the driver was in a bad mood, tapping the ground with his heels, and asking others from time to time how far away it was... Who knows? The direction of the crash site can only be vaguely judged. If we can find it immediately, we will see it...

"There's a radar signal coming back! Judging from its size, it should be the freight vehicle we're looking for, Captain!"

"Really?! Turn the gun around so I can see it!"

As for why you need to aim first, I will not go into details here.

On the screens pieced together from several screens in the main control room, there was indeed a truck with its cargo hold pierced through in the middle, and probably even its power components had completely collapsed, right in front of the moving vehicle.

Several headlights shone simultaneously. Although the huge cargo box was damaged, half of the markings could still be seen. Before the captain could speak, the observer immediately reported: "It's the cargo box of a sand-converting machine. It's quite common in places like this, but... this is the first time it has been robbed by pirates."

"Who cares? Is there anyone alive in the car?"

Everyone fell silent. No one had responded to the call from that day until now. After a whole day of scorching heat and the engine being turned off, even if there had been any living people inside, they would probably have become acquaintances by now.

But the work had to be done, even if it meant towing back the broken front of the car, so after confirming again and again that the other party still had no response, the patrol car slowly approached, leaving a dark blue trail as it approached the warehouse area.

"It's such a big trailer, even the engine compartment is separate. There should be a lot of good stuff inside, right?"

As soon as the conductor opened his mouth, everyone covered their heads. Only a cough from the inspector next to him finally shook him off his occupational illness: "Ahem... just confirming the losses. Otherwise, how are we going to explain ourselves if those companies start making a fuss?"

"That's a valid reason. Go in and retrieve the data. After confirming the survivors, take the transportable parts and leave."

Everyone immediately got busy. When the advance team approached the entrance of the vehicle, the observer immediately reported: "Captain! There are signs of activity in the area damaged by the shelling!"

Yes, throughout the afternoon, Seifer processed the materials he found in the carriage and made them into paint. Then, under the scorching sun, he copied the half-broken logo of the Desert Climate Transformation Agency on the cargo box.

The bet is that communication and movement in this world are so difficult that the other party might mistake your car for some other transport vehicle.

But he didn't expect that the patrol car that came over was actually bigger than the pirate's car... The single-barreled cannon looked much more sophisticated than the ones he had seen on the pirate's car before, so it must be quite powerful.

The advance team lined up against the vehicle body the moment they received the news, all their weapons aimed at the gap facing Seifer who was waving a white cloth below.

"Don't be nervous... Don't be nervous. I'm the only survivor of this car. The others all died in the conflict with the pirates..."

The commander stared at the man in protective clothing, especially the weapon hanging on the strap on his back. After thinking for a while, he picked up the communicator.

"Surely there's a fat one... Um, are you an independent mercenary?"

"Yes, but I can't prove my identity right now because... my mercenary certificate has expired. Also, shortly before you came here, I observed a huge explosion."

The commander became interested. "Tell me more about the explosion. Wait, you can get the team on board first. Is that okay?"

"Sure, the carriage isn't mine anyway."

The front part of the tractor truck was sealed off, so no matter how these people searched, they could only find an empty warehouse that had been turned upside down by the pirates, and it was even impossible to tell what the original cargo was.

Seifer maintained a certain degree of indifference and restraint, and his character as an independent mercenary was well-defined. At least for now, these people didn't notice anything.

The commander remained in his position, while Seifer was guarding the entrance to the front of the vehicle (the part of the vehicle that had to be guarded). The two communicated through close range communication.

"So the current situation is that all the caravan members are dead, and only you, an independent mercenary, and your car are still alive... What about the pirates?"

"I don't know, maybe he died too."

Following the other person's words, Seifer used the first person to describe the column of smoke rising into the sky that he saw on the roof of the car during the day. In any case, he did not tell a single lie.

The patrol captain nodded slightly. A hydraulic door opened on the side of the vehicle, and two desert fast-moving vehicles, carrying the reconnaissance team, quickly moved towards the pirate wreckage, dragging a dark blue trail. "Well, don't panic for now. While it's unfortunate that your companions are all gone, at least you're still alive. That's a good thing, right?"

Sefer really wanted to ask, hasn't this person been pinned to the ground and beaten before? If he can't speak, he could consider not speaking and let someone else speak for him.

"Okay, the investigation ends here. The rest is not my responsibility, but I think you have a good eye. Tell me if you have any difficulties. By the way, mercenary, what's your name?"

Seifer was prepared for the sudden question, and he calmly replied, "Red Crossbow. My license expired five days ago. This is my first time it's expired, and I don't know what procedures are required to renew it."

"It's a small matter. You independent mercenaries are not short of money anyway... So, you can follow us back to the edge node city, and then go to your independent mercenary service point to renew your authorization. I don't know the specifics of how to do it, though."

The captain crossed his arms, acting nonchalantly: "After all, I went straight from pirates to patrol officers. I don't understand the twists and turns here!"

...Then you don't have to say it.

And you are talking about this with someone who just suffered from pirates. Aren’t you afraid that others will get stressed out?

As he was speaking, the driver received a response from the reconnaissance team. They found the remains of the pirates in an area where only spots of light remained. The explosion had scattered all kinds of debris all over the area.

The bad news is that the complete structure could not be found, so we can only conclude that it was a chain reaction caused by the explosion of the power system. The good news is that a gun was found at the scene.

The weapons of the Desert Climate Modification Agency were quite easy to identify, so the driver thought for a while and concluded without hesitation that this was an incident where someone from the company had lost their goods and went for a retaliatory attack, resulting in an overturned vehicle.

No one knows how her brain circuit makes judgments.

Following the commander's order, the patrol car turned around and pointed the other side of the vehicle toward the wrecked car. The side armor plates retreated and the mesh grille light swept across the vehicle body. Then the commander waved his hand.

"It's not loud, but don't worry, it won't cut into your car."

"oh oh."

Sefer didn't care much. He stood at the connection with his arms folded. Just as he nodded, several dark red lines suddenly flashed before his eyes.

Then there were several "clang" sounds of metal falling to the ground. After the connection between his car and the cargo box was cut by laser, the weight of the two quickly pushed them apart a little.

This tractor locomotive, which had been idle for a long time, finally got rid of its burden and was ready to start at any time.

"Thank you for your help. Next..."

"Don't be so literary, you're a mercenary, you should have some shame!"

The commander interrupted Cypher, holding the communicator in her hand, and said in a leisurely tone, "Those guys who use their brains are so literary. Why do you speak so eloquently? Are you really a mercenary?"

"It's real. It's absolutely genuine."

"Alright, although expired mercenaries and pirates are almost all illegal organizations, who can blame me for liking you? Hurry up and start your car and follow. Don't leave the patrol car more than a kilometer away. I'll give you two minutes, walk."

It seems that in this world, the captain of a vehicle truly can do whatever he wants... Otherwise, it's hard to explain why this captain makes such a crude and simplistic judgment and his subordinates immediately execute it without saying anything first...

Silently noting this, Seifer entered the cockpit and sat in what should have been the driver's seat without taking off his protective suit. Before he began to worry about the numerous dials, the analysis module had already marked all the functions of the control panel in front of him.

It was so thoughtful that Safe paused, and then followed the prompt to convert the energy of the car, which had been running silently, into the power components.

The tracks crushed the sand, causing a faint blue glow to slowly emerge from underneath. The two vehicles, one in front and one behind, slowly left the disaster area in a not-so-fast alert mode.

There was nothing in the cargo box, and the pirates didn't seem to have gained much, so what was in the cargo box?

The patrol car captain didn't ask, as if deliberately ignoring it, and Sefer was happy to play dumb so that his innocent image could be maintained.

I never expected that the bored people in the next car were very curious about how such a polite guy could appear among the independent mercenaries. It was so strange.

After all, he is a madman who can use incendiary bombs to blow up hospitals for money, so his reputation is quite anthropomorphic.

With curiosity about the new world, after an unprecedented journey, Seifer finally succeeded in connecting with the civilized world and started his new life.

If the entrance to the city of the new life was not a wide entrance slanting downwards to the underground, and there were only a bunch of high and low tower-like devices on the ground, perhaps this alien world would be more fresh.

...If you think about it carefully, in a world with such a harsh environment, it is not surprising that cities are built underground.

　New author and new book, please support——

　　
　
(End of this chapter)