Disaster Simulator, global collapse begins.

“Of course, all my income over the years has been invested, and I’m even in debt,” Hoshiguma sighed. “At first, they were unwilling to lend money to the Guard Bureau, saying that the mortality rate was too high and it would be easy to default on loans. Fortunately, Chen has internal connections with Lungmen Bank, and they got it done for me.”

The Guard Bureau has a high income.

Compared to other companies, their salaries and benefits are comparable to those of middle-level managers in giant corporations. This explains why, despite such a high mortality rate, new employees continue to join the company.

The compensation was also very high, so sometimes Chen Jie, seeing the way the people below treated life and death so casually, and their reckless, brute-force approach to handling cases, began to suspect that they were risking their lives to scam the compensation...

The car sped through the city below, faster than flying in an airplane. And because it was high in the air, Chen Jie couldn't see the scenery within the Fifth Ring Road at all.

It's a bit of a pity. How about resigning after this incident and going to explore the outer ring road?

The idea grew like wildfire as soon as it appeared. Although it was somewhat rushed, if we were to translate it into a game, she had already explored Night City during this time, including the hidden sewer slums.

Confined to this tortoise-shell-like city, one cannot understand the entire modified continent of Terra.

It's like when he goes to a Chinese restaurant abroad, only to find that the food has been slightly modified to suit foreign tastes. Similarly, the news and information about the outer rings that he can get in Night City are probably processed in a targeted way as well.

One should finish what one starts. Before leaving, let's finish the Soul Steel case first.

Three days before his departure, Lao Chen investigated the trading market for Roman alloys.

There was no trace of a large-scale transaction.

But the decline in reserves and the destruction of the Black Tower are real facts.

Based on the analysis, there are two possibilities: first, all transactions are conducted through the black market using LMD; second, some force has been hoarding Roman alloy.

This appears to be a major case with far-reaching implications.

"Our destination this time is outside the Sixth Ring Road, in the former Sargon Empire region, where a series of abnormal data have recently been transmitted from the Black Tower."

Hoshiguma pulled up two data charts:

"This is from five years ago, and this is now."

Melantha noticed it immediately: "The number of blue dots has decreased significantly!"

Hoshiguma nodded: "Each blue dot is a still intact Black Tower node. The number of blue dots that have been extinguished in the past five years is indeed more than in the past thousand years."

"In fact, the military has been tracking and investigating, but the saboteurs are clearly not beasts or monsters, but a group of intelligent people."

"Create a graph showing the daily online status of Black Tower, and then play these graphs from the past five years sequentially..."

Chen Jie and Melanie took a deep breath. The whole process was clearly displayed in front of them. The blue dots gradually faded from the outer ring inward, just like the dark tide submerging the blue island.

"So the problem was already this big."

Chen Jie then realized the seriousness of the problem. It wasn't just a few words mentioned in the news in Night City; the fall of each Black Tower meant that humanity had lost large areas of safe and habitable land.

"Is the military really that useless?"

“That’s not quite right,” Hoshiguma said, spreading his hands. “After all, their duties are more about dealing with the Sea Siren and all sorts of strange threats outside the high walls. Since the collapse of the Empire, all the evil forces have been stirring up trouble.”

"Protection is infinitely more difficult than destruction, and the actions of those Black Tower destroyers are completely unpredictable."

"Maybe the last time they caused trouble outside the Sixth Ring Road, the next time they'll be in the Fifth Ring Road. We won't even know how to defend against it."

"However, this time, they slipped up with Sargon!"

"Locals saw...they fighting a group of Sarkaz who were hiding their aura?"

Chen Jie was taken aback: "I'm starting to doubt the authenticity of this information."

Hoshiguma smiled wryly: "Going for a look around won't cost us anything."

……

Chapter 143 Terra Technology, Awe-inspiring

Outside the Sixth Ring Road, in the former Sargon Empire, a desert beneath a black tower.

The Rainbow Squad is cleaning up the battlefield.

After the hut collapsed, the four of them began to move. Anyone who has been to the desert knows that the worst thing to do after getting lost is to wander around aimlessly. People who lose their sense of direction are likely to walk in a big circle and end up going around in circles.

Fortunately, there were things in this desert that could help them locate themselves.

In the distance, there was a straight, pitch-black object; its shape didn't seem to be naturally formed.

The Rainbow Squad, advancing towards the Black Tower, encountered the Black Tower Destroyers' mercenaries, who, to avoid being exposed, decided to kill them to silence them.

Then he was killed in retaliation.

Thanks to their principle of being in an unfamiliar place, unaware of the current situation, and being cautious in everything they did, the Rainbow Team set up some tactical traps, and this careful move saved their lives.

The chariot lay nestled in the shadow of a sandstone rock; the battle, or rather the escape, had taken a toll on its strength.

"Does anyone remember how we got involved with these lunatics?"

Shuanghua chimed in, "Alexander, we didn't provoke them at all."

"At first, Kuz spotted the other party through his binoculars and asked us if we wanted to ask them for directions. We all refused, since the other party was also armed and it would be dangerous to approach them rashly."

"But the other side used some means to discover and lock onto us, and before we could retaliate, they launched a fire attack with the aim of killing us."

Ashes suddenly spoke up: "It's like they're going to kill me to silence me."

"It's like carrying out some kind of secret mission. To avoid revealing their whereabouts, they'll even shoot civilians they happen to encounter."

"Hey, come and see what I found!" Flash's voice drew everyone's attention.

The captain, whom they had gone to great lengths to kill, had now been stripped naked and covered with a few rags to his private parts, revealing burn marks on his skin.

There's only one reason this man treats his enemies this way: he's not afraid of bullets.

He can even face a barrage of fire from a light machine gun, and a futuristic energy barrier will appear around him...

“The barrier we’re seeing must have been created by this thing.” Blitzkrieg picked up a mechanical device that resembled a human skeleton; judging from his relaxed manner, the device shouldn’t be too heavy.

"Mechanical exoskeleton...exoskeleton?" Shuanghua took the device, fiddled with it for a bit, and even tried to put it on herself.

The captain was nearly two meters tall and had a burly build, while Shuanghua was only 1.72 meters tall. There was a big difference in their physiques, but this exoskeleton had many adjustable positions.

Hands, arms, back, legs... she actually managed to put them on.

"It feels a bit like wearing a bodysuit." Shuanghua demonstrated a few movements and then commented, "I can't feel the weight, and it has very little impact on my workout..."

"But at the same time, I don't feel any help."

"It's probably out of power," Tanker said. "After all, this thing withstood ten of my Noise Incendiary Bombs; even a tank wouldn't be that durable."

Ash analyzed:

"The fact that it can be adjusted means that this device, which we'll call an exoskeleton, wasn't custom-made for the captain, but rather some kind of standard equipment."

"Only the captain in their entire team has it, which means it's quite expensive..."

Her analysis is absolutely correct!

Throughout the entire continent of Terra, only a few large corporations within Night City are capable of manufacturing it.

Moreover, the price is extremely high. With Chen Jie's current salary as an inspector in the Guard Bureau, he could probably only afford one set after saving every penny for five years.

This is just the basic model. It's like buying a bare-bones house. The remaining parts, such as the particle barrier, the Originium engine, and the specialized staff modifications, all cost extra. It's a bottomless pit of money, similar to Hoshiguma's car hobby.

"That's not the point."

Blitzkrieg remained near the captain's body, clearly indicating that he hadn't called everyone over because of the potentially expensive loot.

“Look at his head.”

The captain had a pair of menacing black horns on his head.

“At first we thought it was some kind of decoration… but just now, I shaved a little bit of his hair and found that these two black things were growing on his skull.”

"Cyborgs?"

"Is it the product of some special biochemical experiment?"

The world of Rainbow Six is ​​not peaceful either, otherwise there wouldn't be combat personnel like them. Their ability to accept these strange things is much stronger than that of ordinary people.

These attackers are indeed very strange.

First of all, the weapons they carried were of varying quality, including laser emitters, ordinary kinetic weapons, and even stones and javelins thrown directly at them.

They even throw fireballs!

The gang's firepower can be described as spanning five thousand years of human history—including fantasy.

"I thought we had enough ammunition, but I didn't expect to use up so much in just one encounter," the tank lamented.

That captain wearing the high-tech exoskeleton was incredibly tough; his fighting style, charging forward like a raging wild boar, was truly impressive.

Ash sighed:

"If he had fired a gun instead of trying to catch up with us and hack us down with a greatsword, we might have paid a much higher price."

“We can try to find supplies from these people’s corpses,” Shuanghua suggested.

"I think it's pretty risky," the tank sighed. "If they have enough ammunition, why would they attack us with stones and javelins?"

Following the trail of their escape, the Rainbow Squad searched through the corpses and amassed a pile of loot.

Firearms from various eras, some with triggers that are practically useless; a whole bunch of melee weapons that are a complete waste of energy to carry; mechanical products whose purpose is unknown; and... a magic staff?

Ash looked around at his three teammates:

"No communication device?"

"Not found."

"I don't have any here."

"No."

Flash was a little curious:

"How do they communicate tactics...? Through telepathy?"

"Perhaps it's some kind of implanted device," the tank speculated. "What did the forces that created these cyborgs implant in their heads or eyes?"

Their plan to find communication equipment fell through.

Are we going to dissect these enemies?

This wasn't their area of ​​expertise, and even if they did manage to dissect and find some implantable device, they wouldn't dare put it into their own brains.

The good news is that these armed men had vehicles, and although they had to be temporarily destroyed during the engagement, the tanks were well-maintained.

"..."

"I'm sorry to tell you all, I can't fix this car."

"I have absolutely no idea what the car's internal structure is like. It's less like a mechanical structure and more like some kind of crystalline circuit board..."

“If these people hadn’t chased us in this car, I would have thought it was some kind of special work of art, not an engine.”

"Although I still can't be sure if this thing is an engine."

As an Earthling, he didn't recognize the Originium Engine!

……

Chapter 1 Protecting My Enemy

Fortunately, that mysterious armed group had more than one vehicle.

In addition to the off-road vehicle that came to chase the Rainbow Team, there was also a large truck carrying goods.

They took out the remaining guys with long-range sniping, and finally they had their own vehicle. Although it still had a terrible engine, at least it could run and it was left-hand drive.

The blitzkrieg ripped off the hood behind the truck.

They were several brand-new, transparent boxes that clashed in stark contrast to the rusty, scrapped style of the truck. Inside the boxes, arcs of electricity flickered, and silver, suspended spheres gleamed with a metallic sheen.

“It looks like mercury…” Ash analyzed, “but if it were mercury, such a large-scale operation wouldn’t be necessary.”

“I have a feeling that if we just drive this car away, we’ll get into some bigger trouble.”

Shuanghua suggested, "Should we throw those boxes down?"

“Perhaps driving this vehicle is inherently dangerous.” The armored vehicle emerged from the front of the truck. “Good news: this truck may have the same engine as that off-road vehicle.”

"Although I don't understand its principles, it's still possible to simply disassemble the mechanical structure and swap the two parts."

Just do it.

They drove the truck next to the off-road vehicle and swapped the Originium engines inside.