Cyber ​​God: Abyss Walker

"A direct allocation of 60 universal currency. Although it's not much different from the last mission, the fact that the equipment they prepared for me in advance shows how generous the Tide Gang is this time."

Wang Yu made a simple inspection of the heavy and massive vehicle beside him, marveling at it. A RimWorld All-Terrain Vehicle—this thing wasn't cheap, and even if you had the money, it wasn't easy to get your hands on one.

This time, the Hai Chao Gang actually provided them with this level of equipment in their warehouse in Jincheng, a mobile city, with advance funding.

"I think I'm starting to regret taking this mission from you, but I'd like to ask in advance, has the Tide Gang said what to do with this thing after the mission is over?"

Dorothy carefully placed each of her drones, which were stored in a storage box, into the trunk of the transport vehicle. The trunk thoughtfully provided each drone with its own storage compartment and a retractable landing platform. She talked as she did so.

"They didn't say, but I guess they're not kind enough to let me drive this transport vehicle back as a reward for the mission."

Wang Yu shook his head, climbed into the driver's seat, entered his Star Ring Mercenary Device into the control panel, verified his identity, and started the extremely useful transport vehicle.

"That's good. Since it didn't say it would be given to you as a reward for the mission, it means you don't have to compensate for the damage to the vehicle. So, if the vehicle is damaged due to an accident during the mission, there shouldn't be any problem, right?"

With a sly smile, Dorothy tapped the roof of the car with her screwdriver, talking about her idea.

"That makes sense. If everything goes smoothly, let's do it this way, just like last time, splitting it equally."

The other party's words reminded Wang Yu that if he modified the thing before going back and then found someone to sell it on Mobile City, he wouldn't have to return the car to Hai Chao Gang. As the saying goes, he'd be happy if Hai Chao Gang suffered a loss.

"Bingo! That's the good thing about working with you, you're so generous. Alright, people will die for money, birds will die for food. This deal may be risky, but I don't regret it now."

Upon receiving confirmation, Dorothy snapped her fingers and said cheerfully, pointing to Wang Yu, who was starting to load his equipment onto the vehicle.

"That's an unlucky thing to say."

Wang Yu didn't react much, but the silent monk who had been fiddling with the lifting heavy machine gun on the roof of the car spoke up at this moment.

"You still believe in this?"

Dorothy asked the other person with a hint of surprise, as she truly did not know that the Silent Monks had such intricacies.

"After all, my mercenary codename is the Silent Monk, so it's normal for a 'monk' to have certain conventions."

The Silent Monk made a gesture of praise that neither Wang Yu nor Dorothy could understand, and then focused on studying the ordinary and special ammunition that the heavy machine gun could be equipped with.

"Hey, there's nothing unlucky about it. It's just the truth. Aren't we mercenaries like that? 'People die for money' is probably the best way to describe us. If we could, who would willingly risk their life? Isn't it better to do some dirty and hard work in the ruined city?"

"It's a pity that everything revolves around money. In the end, we guys still ended up in this line of work for a common currency. Who knows when or where we'll die? Don't you think so, Ultraman?"

Dorothy was indeed the most talkative of the group, but what she said was true. Which Star Ring mercenary wasn't after the high rewards and risks of their missions? Murder, arson, protecting people, saving lives—as long as the money was right, there would always be a Star Ring mercenary willing to take the job.

There weren't that many thugs in the abandoned city, but the Star Ring mercenaries were a huge group in themselves, which was already quite a mob.

"You're right."

In a simple response, Dorothy seemed particularly concerned about money. Wang Yu had already noticed this during the last mission, but he didn't care why. Anyway, it didn't conflict with his goal. His only objective was to successfully complete the mission and get rid of the parasite in his brain. Paying more money to get things done was definitely worthwhile.

"Alright, I've already checked the system of this Ringworld transport vehicle and found no problems. With this vehicle, my effective control range for drones can be extended by at least two kilometers, not to mention the impact of the anomalies in the wasteland."

After stuffing the last drone into the hangar, Dorothy jumped off the back of the transport vehicle, opened the door, lay down in the spacious back seat, and fell asleep immediately. A good rest is an important guarantee for the successful completion of the mission.

"no problem."

Wang Yu gestured to the silent monk on the roof, confirming that the vehicle was in good condition. All parts were brand new, and the vehicle was ready to operate at full power at any time.

"Um."

Nodding in response, the Silent Monk placed his equipment and belongings in the passenger seat, got into the vehicle, leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and entered a state of rest.

"Click".

After turning off the lights in the warehouse, Wang Yu did not immediately go to rest after completing the inspection. Instead, he took out the steady-state anomaly trigger device, hung it on his waist, and placed two abnormal contamination bottles into the slot in advance.

This is a new device that he modified himself based on the information provided by the doctor. The dual pollution injection has become a permanent function. At the same time, Wang Yu also added the self-starting function, so he no longer needs to use his hands to activate the mutation.

Modifying this "transformation device" went much more smoothly than Wang Yu had expected. After actually obtaining the data, he discovered that a large part of it was classified under the field of mechanical repair. As for the abnormal flesh and blood parts that looked like they belonged to biology, they should actually be considered part of ritual science.

The exploration of the power of great existence cannot be systematically categorized into the field of biology. Therefore, in front of the steady-state alienation catalyst, Wang Yu and the doctor are actually standing on the same starting point.

"Mutation start!"

Without any actual sound of activation, Wang Yu interpreted the two tubes as a controlled injection of abnormal pollutants into his body, a preparation for exploring the unknown territories of the wasteland.

He closed his eyes, which were only able to see normally on one side, and like his two companions, he began to rest. In six hours, the mobile city called Jincheng would reach the end of the explored wasteland. They would then take this vehicle to the mission location filled with the unknown. Perhaps this was their last rest.

Who knows...

……

"We have reached the end area. The city will remain here for six hours. Explorers, please set out to explore during this period."

The broadcast from this mobile city reached the ears of every "resident" on it. The massive metropolis called Jincheng coiled its "legs" and stood firmly on this wasteland on the edge of the unknown wasteland with an astonishing aura, waiting for those who wanted to go to the unknown to set off.

"Don't go that way, something looks wrong. It's likely that someone has been irreversibly contaminated. Jincheng won't allow these explorers to enter the city. Go in another direction to avoid being affected. Nobody knows what dangers the contamination effects of unknown areas will bring."

"Um."

Dorothy looked at the footage on the drone and reminded Wang Yu, who was driving, to take another route. At the location she pointed out, several teams of explorers were preparing to climb the city and return to the ruined city, but some had already been stopped.

"Stop, they need to be tested before they can enter the city."

A mech, two or three people tall, blocked the way for those eager to ascend the city, preventing them from reaching the mobile city. Its railgun and rotary machine gun showed no mercy as they were aimed at the team carrying several wounded members on stretchers.

"They haven't received any contamination that would cause widespread harm; they just need treatment. If the infected area isn't removed and replaced in time, it will disappear! Please let us through quickly; they really can't wait that long."

"No! Please step back immediately. You can choose to leave or undergo inspection; otherwise, we will use firepower after a warning!"

The people in the group were extremely anxious. Those being carried on stretchers clearly wouldn't last much longer, and the safety checks in Jincheng would take more than a day and a half, which they couldn't afford to wait for.

However, the mechs belonging to the mobile city showed no leniency, and their siege-grade railguns were already crackling with faint arcs of electricity.

"We have no intention of being your enemy. Look, they can still think clearly, but once a certain amount of time passes, they'll... Li De! Damn it... what are you doing... let... me go!"

One of the team members still tried to make a verbal struggle, supporting the back of an injured person placed on a stretcher, lifting him up, and whispering something in his ear, seemingly trying to prove that the other person was not dangerous, but things did not develop as he expected.

The wounded man whose back had been touched suddenly sprang up, grabbing the other man's neck with such force that he couldn't breathe properly. He could only stare in disbelief at the wounded man who had been choking him, whose features had somehow disappeared, leaving only a pitch-black face. He desperately questioned the other man about why he had done this and why things hadn't gone as he had expected.

"Bang!"

With a light, frivolous sound like a balloon bursting, the wounded man, whose face had dissipated into a patch of black, exploded, transforming into an indescribable, invisible wave that enveloped the entity that had choked him.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

As if a chain reaction had been triggered, the wounded on stretchers burst open one after another, and the invisible spreading waves enveloped everyone in the team before they could react.

When the anomaly subsided, the entire team had completely vanished before everyone's eyes, leaving only a dark, humanoid imprint on the ground like a shadow.

"The anomalous properties of the previously explored areas have been verified over a long period of time, which is why they can enter the city without so many restrictions. However, at the end of this explored area, the anomalous contamination carried by all returning travelers is unknown."

"Although it may seem cruel, sending them up and causing everyone else in the mobile city to die along with them is truly reckless. It's impossible for that exploration team to confirm the pattern of the abnormal pollution in such a short time. Clearly, the fact is that they were wrong."

Dorothy shared her assessment of the explorer team that had vanished into nothingness with Wang Yu and the Silent Monk.

This is the price to pay for exploring the unknown. Even mobile cities can no longer serve as safe havens and may be declared dead the moment they are affected by unknown anomalies.

It's brutal, but ultimately, the areas we've explored so far have been discovered step by step, with lives lost one by one. Otherwise, how could we have summarized the patterns of abnormal pollution? Naturally, it was deduced from the lives of explorers who died in those areas.

The exploration of new lands that humans can set foot on must come at such a cruel price. That is why mobile cities provide the most basic protection for explorers and pioneers, regardless of their purpose in venturing into the unknown wastelands.

It's not that those affected by abnormal contamination are refused entry to the city, but rather that they need to undergo a day and a half of testing before they can enter the city to receive treatment. Instead of killing them outright, this is already quite humane in this cruel world.

Driving the Ringworld transport vehicle across the open fields, Wang Yu had already input the coordinates of the target location into the vehicle's positioning system. He didn't need to do much; he only needed to check the vehicle's automatic driving status and remain vigilant.

"We've reached the edge of the isolated area. Ahead lies the lightless zone mentioned in the mission information. Turn off all devices that emit visible light. If necessary, I'll ask the Silent Monk to use the power of Eternal Silence."

Wang Yu reminded the other two people in the car that all the vehicle lights had been turned off, and the drone had been retrieved by Dorothy. They were about to enter the first abnormal area before reaching their target.

Because the powers of most great beings are opposing or incompatible, there are also dividing zones between the abnormal zones formed by the influence of different great beings. These are the wastelands that are very common on the wasteland. Generally speaking, these wastelands that serve as dividing zones are relatively safe.

However, distinguishing the boundary between the wasteland and the abnormal area is quite difficult. The best way is to prepare in advance. At this moment, what appears to be the wasteland under Wang Yu and the others' feet is actually the abnormal area.

The anomaly of this area is that it appears to be no different from the wasteland, but if you bring a light source from outside the area into it, you will unknowingly enter an unknown zone far removed from the real world. There are indeed records of people successfully escaping, but the probability is no more than one percent.

With a little care, there shouldn't be any problems in this unusual area. More than an hour later, Wang Yu and his group left the unusual area and entered the next wasteland. After that, there would be no more relevant information in any of the unusual areas, and they would have to explore them on their own at their own risk.

"I don't think I've ever considered this question: besides the safe zones, are there other human settlements in the wasteland?"

With a slightly strange tone, Wang Yu asked the other two people in the car.

"Never heard of it."

"I don't think so. None of the materials I've read mention it, but theoretically it doesn't seem impossible."

He touched his left eye and saw some translucent, bluish filaments distributed in his left eyeball. These were the things that allowed Wang Yu to see further and ignore the effects of certain things on his vision, such as darkness.

"Really... It doesn't seem like an illusion."

In his field of vision, some distance away, a blurry, indistinct city was gradually becoming clearer.