Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

Brain in a vat?

If "that person" really possesses this level of technology, then what they encountered during their previous operation was probably a tin robot with a mad mind.

Ash was still a little puzzled by Tomat's revealing explanation.

Will I suffer any loss?

Thomas countered with a question.

"Is there still some risk involved?"

"No, on the contrary, I'm just like you. I also look forward to talking to someone who can understand what I'm saying."

"Actually, among the people I know, there are quite a few who choose to believe my experiences, even if they seem as fantastical as novels to them, but they don't understand them."

This explanation was devoid of excessive sentimentality; Tomat simply and calmly recounted his feelings to them.

—And it was enough for several people to empathize with it.

"Yeah, I understand how you feel. It's like how I learn the local language, a lot of the time is to get information about Earth, even though I don't get any information at all, haha."

Blitz nodded repeatedly at Tomat's explanation. As one of the most active members in engaging with the locals, he understood this feeling best, as did everyone else.

Being trapped in the desert of Terra for months was more of a mental ordeal than a physical one.

Their professional military skills and weaponry are enough to enable them to adapt to the current environment. However, in a place where they know no one and see no one of their own kind, even though the instinct for survival drives them to keep going, they still yearn for that familiar place with people and things.

"Trust and understanding are both important, but here we only ever gained the trust of the locals. It's not that it's bad, but being able to meet people who understand us feels like returning home... at least that's how it feels."

For a chariot, it can survive even when it is far from home and cannot see its native soil.

But in Terra, it was different. He was the first in the Rainbow Squad to think that this place was not Earth and that their so-called homeland might not exist anymore. So soon after arriving, he was also the first to give up thinking about this question, try to live, and raise an Originium Bug to cultivate his mind, so as not to be so bored that he would talk to his grenade launcher.

So he was quite welcoming of Tomat's arrival.

"More importantly, you yourself said that you are half Earthling. Now that you've said that, there's no reason to be wary of anything anymore, even though on our original Earth, even among humans, there was often infighting."

Despite not seeming like a talkative person, Shuanghua chose to express her feelings on this occasion.

It's a strange phenomenon. In the original world, no one would use "being human" as a reason to unite in the face of adversity. But in this other world, just because of half of what they have in common, they let down their guard.

"Thank you for your explanation, Mr. Thomas, it's really timely."

Tomat's explanation brought them some comfort, and it can only be said that his timing was quite opportune.

Even if they had encountered Tomat in their first few days in Terra, they wouldn't have easily believed such an explanation. They would likely have continued to hold onto their meager hopes, only to have them shattered by even more bizarre sights.

Stranded in a strange world, with no way home, out of ammunition and food, trapped in the desert, how much of a blow would this have on morale? Ash could only hope that the mental fortitude of these few individuals would hold up.

In that case, it would be a fortunate thing if the body met its end before the mind.

But if it were later, how would the Rainbow Team, already embroiled in the local conflict, have gotten the chance to "meet Tomat"?

After all, they were facing an opponent that could not be understood using common sense and tactics.

...opponent?

As Ash contemplated the unexpected consequences of Tomat's different timing, she suddenly realized that she had been so focused on Tomat's explanations that she had forgotten something important.

"By the way, you mentioned hiring us earlier. Why do you want to hire us?"

Tomat had applied to hire them in the basement of the safe house, but based on Rainbow Team's current understanding of Tomat, the hiring didn't seem to be necessary.

"Yes, you're more than capable of protecting the locals, right? You can fly and fire lasers."

Blitz, however, expressed curiosity about Tomat's abilities, pointing out that Tomat was strong enough to protect the safe house himself.

“It’s not that I can’t do it, it’s that I don’t have time. I have other things to do.” Tomat also looked troubled. “I was just hired to investigate some strange cross-border financial flows in this area. I owe the client a favor, so I need to handle the case as accurately as possible. I’m not here specifically to provide support.”

"Sounds like Interpol. Is Rhodes Island, where you work, really a pharmaceutical company?"

The chariot asked a question that others had already given up on pursuing.

"Of course, didn't you see how professional our operators' treatment methods are?"

However, even if Tomat himself doesn't think so, he continues to claim it publicly.

"Actually, you can delegate this task to us, because we're actually quite good at this kind of work. You know, mercenaries don't really do much protecting hostages."

Blitzwright winked at Ash, seemingly trying to persuade him to convince Tomat to entrust the task to them.

"No, it involves some corporate secrets or something. Besides, if a pharmaceutical company's overseas safe house is armed with so many people, there's no reason why the guy I'm investigating, who's involved with foreign forces, wouldn't be armed. And those guys causing trouble today are probably related to what I'm investigating. Are you planning to stay here and defend, or go deep into enemy territory?"

When Tomat had spoken with Okfin before, he had a feeling that the sudden riot might be related to what he was investigating.

Leaving their companions behind to prioritize the mission might seem heartless, but if they remain here and delay, something even more dangerous might happen that could endanger their safety.

After all, he had already arrived at the suspicious area designated by the client, and should pay close attention to the connections between various abnormal events.

“I admit that you may be among the best of Earthlings, but any Terran you pick out is stronger than any young adult who has received military training, not to mention their bizarre Originium Arts. I’m doing this for your own good.”

More importantly, Tomat didn't want these people who shared the same language to lose their lives so soon after meeting, because of Terra's fierce and unruly nature.

[Event] Operation Originium Dust: Chapter Seven Enemy Attack

After some discussion, the group finally reached an employment agreement.

The Rainbow Team members stayed at the safe house to protect the wounded, while Tomat himself went to investigate near Longspring Town.

Once the investigation is complete, the commission will be finished. At that time, Thomas will find a way to take the group to Rhodes Island to pay their reward before considering the next steps.

This way, Tomat wouldn't have to worry too much about the rear, and the Rainbow Squad would receive enough supplies during this time.

Although they couldn't use ammunition or bows and arrows, Originium explosives were still extremely easy for them to use.

"But to be honest, that guy didn't tell us much clearly. I thought he would know exactly where we were, but instead he gave us a lot of science fiction-like speculations."

There were no civilians around the safe house where the riot had just occurred. After Blitzkrieg and the others used the supplies in the safe house to set up barbed wire, temporary traps, and various convenient firing points for defense, they leaned against the door of the safe house, which had been breached, and recalled what Tomat had told them earlier.

"When you're bored to the point of going crazy, you've already told us a whole bunch of similar science fiction stories, like time travel and parallel worlds, but the comfort you get from guessing is still not as good as someone who has had the same experience explaining it to you."

The tank positioned its light machine gun at the firing point in front of the door, while a spiked Originium bug lay at its feet. It was a pet that it had brought along when it moved supplies from its previous temporary residence: "Also, I think he looks much younger than you. My sister looks much older than him. Why do you call him 'older brother'?"

"He has facial features that are very similar to those of Asians, but he gives people a very mature feeling, probably because of his experiences. He once said that he had encountered the things we are going through twice, and now that he thinks about it, our experience is not so strange."

Shuanghua took out several bags of what appeared to be fast food from the safe house, and after confirming with Okfen that the food was still edible, she handed them to the people on guard duty.

"There are two moons in this world, and many countries share names with Martian landscapes. It's not a big deal if someone comes out and tells me that this is 'Mars in the future'."

Although it may no longer matter where they are, Ash still talks about the various speculations of the past, but these questions no longer disturb them.

Hey guys, can I tell you something?

Flash, holding the instant food Frostflower had given them, licked the paste squeezed out of it with a contorted expression, and continued:

Why do their supplies taste so bad?

Inside the safe house, Okfin and Miarro had finished treating all the wounded. Thanks to Tomat's intervention shortly after the conflict broke out, the deaths of the monsters and the mercenaries' disarray and retreat meant that most of them were not seriously injured.

Even though some people were able to move around normally, Oakfield still informed the townspeople of the risks outside and hoped that they would stay in the basement of the safe house as much as possible until the turmoil was over, so as not to get involved in the conflict again.

Perhaps because the situation has eased considerably, both Okfin and Miarro took a break.

As the one who knew the least about the whole thing, Okfin asked Miarro, who was a familiar face in the neighborhood, about the cause and effect of the riot, as well as the origin of the mysterious mercenaries who seemed to have a good relationship with Miarro.

"It's all because of the trouble caused by the monsters that have been appearing everywhere lately, which has made everyone very nervous. Then today, some people from the town suddenly ran to the quarantine zone, saying that it was the infected who were behind it. They think that there are warlocks among us controlling the infected creatures."

Miarro recalled the events of the morning, which he considered a baseless and unwarranted disaster.

"How is that possible? With this level of Originium Arts, even an Infected could apply to the King's court. Why would they still be staying in the quarantine zone?"

The reasons Miarro mentioned also sounded utterly absurd to Okfen.

"Then they started touching Mr. Kuz inappropriately, saying he was an outsider and very suspicious, and that they wanted to take him and the infected people in the quarantine zone to the Royal Palace for processing," Miyalo continued, adding before the other party could ask any questions, "Mr. Kuz is that blond mercenary. He often comes to trade supplies with the people in the quarantine zone. He's not infected and doesn't discriminate against us at all. He's a really good person."

"This actually happened... Wait, something's not right..." From Miarro's account, Okfin also sensed something amiss. "They didn't have the authority to arrest people, did they? Were there any guards from the Royal Palace present at the time?"

"No, instead, a few unfamiliar Sarkaz big guys appeared. They were the ones who suddenly made their move because we refused to let them take the people away. You know what happened next. Your colleague turned the battlefield upside down, and the Sarkaz and those thugs were driven back. Then they came here."

Although Oakfin usually stayed in this safe house a little far from town, he could still hear rumors from some of the townspeople nearby.

For example, there have been recent monster sightings, or armed personnel who are not guards have gathered near the royal palace...

But the sudden attack on the infected community was still something he hadn't anticipated.

According to Miyaluo's account, no guards appeared at the time; instead, people who appeared to be foreign mercenaries did.

They dared to use the name of the king...

Could it be that something happened at the Wang Chief's residence as well?

"Sigh, if possible, I really hope Mr. Tomat can come back soon. After all, with his strength, he wouldn't have to be afraid of those troublesome mercenaries."

Okfin sighed, not only remembering the fleeting glimpse he had caught through the crack in the safe house door, but also harboring a lingering distrust of the Rainbow Team members.

“Your colleagues are indeed impressive... but Mr. Kuz and his men are very capable. They can actually use those large, repeating guns and took down several Sarkaz in an instant. You know, those were Sarkaz!”

“Bang bang bang bang bang bang!!!!”

However, just as Miyaluo was recounting his experiences with the Rainbow Squad to reassure the other party, a sudden burst of loud and intense gunfire erupted from outside into the basement where they had just settled in.

"Everyone stay down here, enemy attack!!!"

Ash's shouts mingled with the gunfire, but to the two men they were so clear and tense.

Why did those guys still dare to attack?

Aren't they very afraid of Tomat?

Okfin couldn't understand what gave them the courage to make a comeback.

But then he remembered that Tomat hadn't seemed to have left a single survivor so they could go back and report...

[Event] Originium Dust Operation: Chapter 8 The Old Freak

Weather in Sargon region, within the Vajvan Union: Sunny

Recording the weather in the Sargon region is the most idiotic thing to do, because it's all sunshine and sandstorms. People won't make a special trip to this place during the less than two weeks of rainy season each year, and nobody wants to get involved with the locals during the peak season for water competition.

Even on ordinary days, people wouldn't consider going to a place like Sargon a wise choice—scimitar bandits, rusty hammer mercenaries, Vairvan madmen, and Reberba villains are more active members of this land than the natives, and their fierce nature means that the common people here cannot be equated with those in civilized areas.

Poisonous insects and giant beasts that steal lives amidst the sandstorms, or tribal wars that could be ignited at any moment.

Any one of these would make one realize how unfriendly the local customs and culture of Sargon are.