Alligator's Ark of Tomorrow

“Seria, double-check before you leave. Make sure you don’t bring any electronic devices. The old-fashioned manual transmission car is the limit. If it weren’t for the fact that we can’t find that many camels in a short time, I would have liked to ride a camel inside.”

"I see."

Nodding, Seria already knew from Gard the dangers that might be encountered in the Hot Land. Every security personnel who entered would receive a booklet containing Gard's experiences in the Hot Land.

The first line I wrote was: Don't completely believe what's written in the pamphlet.

Time brings changes, and Gard couldn't guarantee whether the creatures he saw four years ago and those appearing in the hot land four years later would be the same.

Will the monsters in the scorching, foehn lands migrate?

Gard didn't know.

Having only visited this hotbed once, there is so much that Gård doesn't know.

Therefore, he could not guarantee that what he saw was everything in this land.

The only thing that can be said for sure is this:

In this hot land, communication is absolutely prohibited, and any electrical equipment should be avoided as much as possible.

Finally, Gard once again warned the security personnel in the team.

"In this land, there are more than one ancient lost civilization. Even though they have long been destroyed, their production bases still maintain the most basic maintenance functions."

“Once they discover that someone has invaded their territory, they will not hesitate to send out their ‘soldiers’ to wipe out the invaders.”

"Believe me, you absolutely do not want to be hunted down by a mechanical creature that may number in the hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands."

Even though those are basically just ordinary mining machines.

With a silent grumble, Gard climbed onto the roof of a car, sat down, and waved his hand forward.

"Let's go, let's enter this land and see those lost ancient civilizations."

……

Chapter 49 The Rainy Season on Hot Land

In July, the scorching desert environment made it difficult for the convoy to move forward.

An hour earlier, Rhine Life's convoy arrived at the border of Salgon. Everywhere they looked was coarse sand and gravel, with dry ditches lying lifelessly across the ground. Occasionally, a whirlwind could be seen whipping up a column of yellow sand that slowly rose into the air.

This is the end of the Terran civilization. The nearest towns are more than a hundred miles away. Once the caravan enters, there is no turning back.

"Everyone, we are about to enter the Foehn Hot Land. If anyone still wants to back out, you'd better do it now!"

At the front of the convoy, Serea stood holding a shield. In order to cope with the scorching living environment of the hot land, the Rhine Lab's research and development department had specially developed a set of Originium-based cooling protective clothing before the group set off.

However, because of a remark by Gard, the protective clothing, which incorporated various emerging technologies, was discarded in the warehouse and became a pile of useless garbage.

Serea is currently wearing only a black protective vest with a white hooded coat over it.

At the front of the convoy, nineteen RheinLife employees stood with resolute expressions.

The fact that they did not back down before setting off shows that they were prepared to sacrifice themselves.

More importantly, they believed that even if they sacrificed themselves, as long as Serea was alive, she would definitely take care of their families.

Gard sat in the car, under the scorching sun, watching a group of Rhine Labs agents.

After this trip to the frontier, it remains to be seen how many of these officials will survive.

Even now, he is willing to stay by Serea's side and follow her.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were Serea's confidants.

If they all die here...

Wait a minute, if they all die here, then when I go to Rhine Labs to take over the Defense Department, won't I become a commander without any real power?

Gard finally realized what was happening.

So this is where you were waiting for me, you little devil!

When Seria noticed that Gard was looking at her, her expression became somewhat unnatural, which made Gard even more convinced of his guess.

The crocodile-man wanted to stick out his tongue, but he knew there was no such thing as a free lunch!

However, even if he reacts, his actions won't change much.

The threat of this land will not diminish in the slightest because of anyone's will.

Thinking this, Gard turned to look at the girl beside him.

"Kanerian, do you really want to come in with us?"

He really couldn't understand the girl's thought process. If she wanted to learn Colombian, she could just find someone. If all else failed, there was more than one person who was fluent in Salgon among the people evacuated by Rhine Life.

Why insist on relying on yourself?

"Hmph, I just find it amusing."

With her arms crossed over her chest, the wind rustled the girl's white trench coat, and beneath her short white hair, her delicate face wore an expression of high spirits.

"Moreover, I don't like accepting charity. Since you're going to teach me Colombian, I must give you something of equal value in return."

So, you could totally hire a professional Colombian language teacher for all those Originium tablets you have.

Gard cursed inwardly, glancing at the man out of the corner of his eye.

Sitting on the roof of the car, from Gard's angle, you could just see Kanerian's long, tanned legs under the hem of her trench coat. They were long and slender, and didn't look very fleshy, with a rather strange curve.

Kanerian was about the same height as Seria, but Seria was much more muscular than Kanerian, probably because of her regular training, which gave her a strong and powerful appearance.

Kanerian, on the other hand, was thinner, thinner in every sense of the word.

After finishing the final preparations, Serea came over.

"Gald, I'm counting on you from now on."

"Yes, yes, you said so, how could I possibly slack off?"

Gald made a no-go gesture.

Serea tilted her head in confusion. Had she said anything to Gard?

After the final mobilization, the convoy began to move forward.

The first step is to turn the car's air conditioning up to the maximum.

Because it's really hot outside!

Stepping into the hot and humid land, the first thing you feel is the gusts of hot air. The high-temperature airflow, exceeding 70 degrees Celsius, blows in your face. Sitting on the roof of the car, you don't feel cool at all; instead, you feel as if you are in a steam room.

At first, he stayed on the roof with an expression that said, "I'm going to conquer this land." But before long, Kanerian got thirsty and quickly climbed back into the carriage.

"The outside is no place for a human to stay!"

Kanerian grew up in an extremely harsh environment, but the harsh environment outside the Hot Land was nothing compared to the Hot Land.

This is just the beginning.

Even the RheinLife staff sitting in the car looked terrified, fearing that the car's air conditioning might malfunction due to the high temperature.

After all, these air conditioners were cheap ones provided by Elliott, and they couldn't compare to the equipment they brought from Rhine Labs.

But unfortunately, they couldn't use their own equipment.

The average outside temperature is as high as 50 degrees Celsius, and in extreme cases it can even reach 60 or 70 degrees Celsius.

Even those who enter this hot land are the elite of Rheinlife.

In this environment, they will lose their fighting ability in no time.

On the contrary, Gard, sitting on the roof of the car, seemed completely unaffected, swaying his tail back and forth, relaxed and carefree.

The weather in the Foehn-stricken Hot Land is extremely harsh, but Gard, who had lived there for three months, knew that the weather there could also change.

The summer in Colombia is the hottest time of year, but in this sweltering land, it's actually the coolest time of year.

According to Gard's speculation, if Terra is a sphere like the world he lived in in his previous life, then the location of the Foehn Basin should be exactly on either side of the equator.

At this time of year, the hot, windy land is not only cool, but it also sometimes rains.

However, when Gard arrived, it happened to be the hottest season in the Foehn Basin. The crocodiles, with their exceptional physiological tolerance, stayed there for three months and even peeled off several layers of skin from the sun.

The temperature right now is really nothing.

The land is very quiet.

Apart from the occasional rustling sound of hot wind blowing through the sand and gravel, it's hard to hear any other sounds here.

The reason for not using communication equipment was to guard against the machines of ancient civilizations, but this does not mean that there are only machines in this land.

Six dune buggies rolled over the gravel and sand on the hot earth.

Some predators slumber beneath the desert, awaiting the arrival of the rainy season.

I opened my eyes.

......

Chapter Fifty, Day One

Choosing to enter the hot, windy land during the rainy season has both positive and negative consequences.

On the positive side, the climate in this hot season is more comfortable, and even without vehicles, RheinLife's agents can still maintain a certain level of combat effectiveness for a short period of time.

On the downside, the arrival of the rainy season makes the wild animals living in the hot land more active.

Gard called the creatures living in the hot earth "disaster beasts".

Because any creature living here, if released into the town, would become a disaster.

On the roof of the car, Gard silently counted down the seconds as the convoy drove into a sandy area.

"All vehicles accelerate, avoid the protrusions in the sand, and rush through here!"

Gard's voice rang in the ears of all the drivers.

Visible to the naked eye, there are mounds the size of rooms on the sand.

The instant the convoy passed by.

A dozen or so sand worms, each as thick as a water bucket, shot into the sky.

They look similar to earthworms, but their structure is much harder, with thick layers of sand and gravel covering their bodies. At one point, Gard even considered calling them giant rock snakes.

However, these sand worms are much more aggressive than giant rock snakes.

Anyone who enters their territory is their enemy.

And the enemy, of course, is meant to be eaten!

Boom!

The Originium engine of the sand vehicle roared, and the vehicle was already going at its top speed, even reaching 160 miles per hour, forcing Gard to hold onto the roof to avoid being thrown off.

Gard remembered this place; after all, this was where he had come from, and it was only the outermost edge of the Foehn-scorched lands.

Back then, he still harbored rage, and his combat power was even stronger than it is now. After entering this sandy area, he directly annihilated all the sand worms in the entire area.

Gard remembered that there were several hundred sand worms in this sandy area four years ago.

There are only a few dozen left now.

Most of them are quite small, and very few are actually adults.

As the saying goes, enemies are especially hostile when they meet.

Several sand worms clearly recognized Gard sitting in the car, their massive bodies wriggling as they tried to catch up with the convoy.

But how could a group of sand worms that crawl forward possibly catch up with a four-wheeled sand vehicle?

Gard chose this path because he had already slain all the calamity beasts along the way, unless another beast intruded into the Sandworm's territory...

The thought had barely formed in Gard's mind when he saw a huge mound appear in the sand ahead, blocking the vehicle's path.

A four-legged beast, over ten meters long, crawled out of the sand, stuffing a young sand worm into its mouth. Hearing the roar of a car, it slowly turned its head.

Upon seeing the enormous four-legged beast, Gard breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Go around it, it won't attack us!"

Creatures in the hot soil are not necessarily aggressive towards humans. The other party had just caught a young sandworm, and its abdomen was full of milk sacs, indicating that it was in the lactation stage.

When faced with an unknown enemy, some calamity beasts will choose to avoid it.