Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland

"Silver card..." Romi was stunned, and his tone suddenly rose: "You mean... that represents the highest authority of our technology hunters, the silver card of the inner circle of the watcher?"

After the other party nodded, he finally remembered where and when he had heard the name Lu Beiyou.

The sword saint Alke issued a wanted notice on behalf of the headquarters, offering the thirteenth silver card as a reward, and offering a reward for the elimination of Kral's Choice who had attacked many relay stations - the latter was one of the few crazy people who would not give the technology hunters any face for the restoration of the country.

Terrorist attacks, the attention of the sword saint, the promised silver card, the authority that came with it, and the coins and points rewards... Whether it was for the survival of the organization or for personal interests, many good technology hunters were alarmed and prepared to gather in the territory of the Shak Kingdom.

I have to show my skills well and deter those who don't obey.

Even Romi, who was far away in the depression lagoon, heard about it and was quite eager to try.

However, this reward had not been issued for a long time.

Suddenly, the dust settled.

Unexpectedly, the person who got it was not any well-known and famous high-level technology hunter, but a titled warrior of the Shek Kingdom... an outsider.

——The Nameless One.

As his title suggests, someone looked through the archives afterwards, but there was no analysis record of this person at the headquarters or in various relay bases, and nothing was found, as if he appeared out of thin air.

This unclear...

It feels a bit predetermined.

Even whether the Nameless One really exists, whether there is such a person, and whether it is possible that the "shameless" headquarters wants to default... If it were not for the consistent statement of the Shek Kingdom and the changes in the situation, it would probably cause a lot of trouble.

And his true identity.

It was not until recently that it was officially disclosed by the Shek official - but by then, after two years, the attention of ordinary technology hunters had long been diverted. Apart from noticing a name and secretly envying it, not many people were still paying attention to it.

After all, he is good.

But what does it have to do with them?

They are still busy going to dungeons and escorting.

And Romi, it was at this time, heard the name of Lu Beiyou.

...Red King?

"Is it really him?" he asked.

"According to the news from the Shak Kingdom, their princess Seto is practicing with the Nameless One - although this is very surprising, seeing that they have no special reaction, this should be tacitly agreed by the stone demon..." Liu Si pushed his glasses, "Even if the possibility that this Shak girl is Seto is only 50%, and the possibility of having the same name and surname is also 50% - but they happen to be connected together, the probability of confirming the identity is already 75%, a simple math problem... not to mention that in fact it is more than that."

The reason why he opened his mouth to test.

Not because he was interested in Princess Shak.

It was precisely because he reacted to the name Lu Beiyou, and thus deduced the other party's identity. After getting a positive answer, he confirmed the two in turn and confirmed the guess.

Romi didn't think so complicated. He just believed in Liu Si's judgment and said with some surprise: "So, those wolf cavalrymen... and the forces entrenched in the flash land actually belong to Lu Beiyou who got the silver card, and belong to the inner circle of the watchers..."

"No." Liu Si shook his head, but denied the second half of his sentence, "Although the current members of the inner circle of the watchers are all silver card owners, it does not mean that those who have silver cards must be members of the inner circle... You should understand this relationship."

Romi paused and nodded.

He also realized that he had fallen into a misunderstanding.

- As an organization, the management of internal members of the technology hunters is actually very loose, which is unexpected by outsiders. What can bring them together is the powerful reward and punishment mechanism supported by the mechanics.

As long as you can help discover ancient technology.

You are a good hunter.

You will get the benefits.

The attraction of this temptation can even exceed the compulsory means used by many other forces for management.

It doesn't matter if other countries plant spies - if you want to exchange for intelligence or equipment, you have to complete the task to get points. It doesn't matter who comes.

After doing this... the mechanics already have what they want, and it can be considered "deepening cooperation".

However, from another perspective:

If you really reach the point where you can ignore the bounties issued by the headquarters, you can also leave the organization at any time, clear the points, and come and go freely... There are many reasons for doing so, such as lying down for retirement, conflicts of ideas, pursuit of faith... and the most important, personal strength.

For the latter, the headquarters hopes that you can stay.

So, there is the title of "Watcher" - at this level, these technology hunters are qualified to sign a private contract with the mechanics at the end of the world, and negotiate the conditions that each can accept. They are often subject to very few constraints, and some can even establish their own forces without conflicting with the interests of technology hunters. The only requirement is to help the organization when it encounters a crisis, which is to watch.

Undoubtedly,

Sword Saint Alc is among them.

The reason why these Watchers are called the Inner Ring is because their contracts with the Mechanic are different, and no one except the World's End and themselves can know the specific terms.

The same is true for fellow Watchers.

No one knows what benefits they have received to be willing to stay in the Tech Hunters and work for the scholars at the end of the world.

All people can see is that once the contract is signed, he often joins the top of the Tech Hunters headquarters and becomes a common manager, issuing tasks, designing rewards and punishments... the real core of the organization.

The reason why Romi thinks of the Inner Ring of the Watchers is that all the members of the Inner Ring are top Tech Hunters, and one of the proofs of being top is often to complete a difficult task recognized by the organization and obtain an identity silver card.

In addition, silver cards are rarely issued. At most in history, twelve cards have not been issued at the same time... Now it is far from this number, and almost all those who have silver cards are members of the Inner Ring.

This has formed a habit of thinking.

Romi subconsciously ignores exceptions.

The moon is high in the night sky, and the long wind blows, blowing the dry grass and bringing a cool breeze to the two Tech Hunters. The tired bodies were stimulated by this news, and for a while they did not feel sleepy at all, and were unusually awake.

They looked at each other.

To be honest, although the silver card Lu Beiyou got was also very rare, it was not as valuable as other inner circle members.

An unspoken fact:

This was an exchange of interests between the Tech Hunters and the Kingdom of Shek, which was considered a firm stand and an expression of the desire to continue to deepen cooperation.

That's why Alc gave the silver card to a titled warrior who had contributed to the suppression of the rebels.

Just like the official recognition of Alc's title of "Sword Saint"... although it was indeed earned by him.

Lu Beiyou was considered to have reaped the political dividend.

This was also the reason why some people questioned the secret operation at the beginning - of course they would not mention that they also wanted to eat, but they just didn't have the ability to get ahead.

After Alc issued the warrant.

The other inner circle members had no objection.

This was also extremely rare, issuing a silver card to an outsider who had not even joined the Tech Hunters... Of course, correspondingly, without signing a contract with the Mechanic, he could not enjoy so many benefits.

And after all, there are inherent limitations. In the minds of many technology hunters, even if he has a silver card, Lu Beiyou's status will not be equal to that of the inner circle members - on the surface, they will get along with each other in a friendly manner and give many priorities, but they cannot be given unlimited attention.

The number of the thirteenth silver card he owns has broken two digits. In history, it has long been positioned as a reward and a title of honor.

Compared with the top ten unlocking conditions, such as solving an ecological disaster on the continent, reviving lost technology; or finding the intelligent core in the top five... the difficulty and importance are far less.

Not to mention the "capture the lord of insects" bounty, which has only one item and has not been achieved so far.

It has been hanging for two thousand years at the top.

If the conditions were not so harsh, there would not be so few people who could become members of the inner circle of the Watchers.

However, Romi understood what his companions meant.

- It seems that the owner of the thirteenth silver card, even if he is not a member of the inner circle, is probably not as simple as they originally thought.

It is definitely not a sham.

Liu Si exhaled: "... But, in the end, it's still secular achievements, and it has nothing to do with us technology hunters."

Conflicts between the secular world and scientific research are common... For example, at the end of the world, in order to encourage scholars who have made outstanding contributions in various fields, they specially set up the "Iyo Prize", named after one of the founders of the Mechanic, and awarded from time to time.

However, the irony is that among the candidates for the Iyo Prize, there is often an unexpected candidate for outsiders-the Holy Lord Phoenix.

Of course, as the emperor of the Holy Empire, Phoenix could not have made any scientific and technological achievements, and could even be regarded as its destroyer... Fortunately, the Mechanic also has a special award "Iyo Aihei Award", which can be won as long as you are nominated. The name of the award just corresponds to the prophecy of "love and peace" chanted by the Oakland Holy Church.

The meaning of tailor-made is self-evident.

According to the teachings of Oakland, every Holy Lord is the reincarnation of the first generation of Phoenix... Then he has won the award more than 60 times.

It is said that when Emperor Tengu ascended the throne, the United City sent bureaucrats to the Mechanics to test whether the Iyo Prize of that year could be used as a gilding to prove that Tengu was a smart... or at least not stupid emperor.

The result was rejected.

The head of the Mechanics said tactfully at the time: "If one day, every researcher can see a hundred eagle flags at the foot of the mountain at the end of the world when looking out from the window of the laboratory, the award must be presented with both hands... otherwise it will be a loss of face for the empire."

As the symbol of the United City, if the blue and white flying eagle can appear at the end of the world - the eastern defense line of the Holy Kingdom, at least it has been completely defeated.

The implication is obvious.

"We set up this award to make a living, and the neighbors in the south are still watching... you don't have to join in the fun."

Within the Mechanics, it is natural that this award is as if it does not exist. After all, whether it is science or peace-loving, it has nothing to do with the Oakland people who have been conducting heresy trials at home and launching holy wars abroad for many years.

Influenced by the mechanics and the nature of their work, tech hunters also agree with a similar philosophy: what determines a member's internal status ultimately comes down to how much contribution they have made in discovering technology and collecting secrets.

As for worldly achievements, they are important but not a hard requirement. You can cooperate for the sake of interests or fear for the sake of strength... But if you want to say how much you admire these forces outside, it's not to that extent.

It's good to have a consolation prize.

"The good news is that this time when passing through the Land of Light, you don't have to be as nervous as other trips. They at least have to take some face into consideration." Romi smiled: "You can also go with them without worry, but you have to thank them for that."

Lius nodded.

They tacitly did not mention the mission of this trip, which is to raise funds for the acquisition of Ai Mine Town by the Technology Hunters and return to the headquarters.

If the person in the Land of Light is a real member of the inner circle of the Watchers, it would be easy to report directly. Huiming situation.

But the other party is the Nameless One, an outsider, and has nothing to do with this matter.

However, after seeing what happened tonight, the two technology hunters changed their views on Lu Beiyou, and each of them became more or less curious in their hearts-what kind of power did this silver card owner cultivate in the Land of Light, and what kind of person is he?

Tianming.

Seto and Qi Ke, along with the wolf cavalry, counted the spoils and the captured beaked gorillas, and rested for a night. When they were ready to set off, it was already noon.

It was already late autumn in Shandi,

and the sun was not very hot.

It was just that the long wind on the grassland became more and more intense, mixed with the yellow sand from the surrounding borders, the revenge land, and even the bone wasteland, which made people's faces hurt. Ordinary travelers who wanted to move had to cover their faces with fur blankets.

Dozens of white giant apes were listless at this moment, and had completely lost the idea and consciousness of resistance, and did not want to break free and escape.

Behind them.

Little Gus Hasha was panting, with his tongue stretched out long and the barbs clearly visible.

Last night, it threatened these strange gorillas one by one.

Those who were disobedient played games... Everyone was much more honest.

The technology hunter Chad stood in the team, looking at the giant wolf from a distance, thinking in his heart.

According to his understanding, the beaked gorilla looks strong and full of flesh and blood... But like the species it belongs to, its tissue structure and material composition are different from those of ordinary creatures... It is basically inedible.

It is not poisonous.

But it cannot be digested, so it cannot provide nutrition.

How it is imported, it is exported.

The thick slurry is like a lubricant.

Therefore, even if the beaked gorilla is captured, the herders often only take its fur, and at most add its claws and beaks as decoration.

The flesh and blood are discarded.

It is not even suitable for feeding livestock.

However, Chad clearly remembered that the white giant wolf swallowed a whole beaked gorilla alive last night - although it vomited most of it due to the stench, it still swallowed it.

While no one was paying attention, he secretly checked the other party's excrement under the pretext of reconnaissance and leisure.

But he was surprised to find that it was no different from ordinary ones.

In other words... it truly digested the inedible flesh and blood and turned it into its own nutrients and components... Then what kind of creature is it in the traditional classification?

"It's incredible..." the tech hunter thought, "It's exactly the same as..."

However, he believed that this white giant wolf was just a special case - the flesh and blood of these wild beasts at least cannot be used as human food. If you want the fur and sharp beak, you can just slaughter them on the spot, but judging from the opponent's formation, they are going to be captured alive and escorted back together.

For the tech hunter, they still have some research value... But what does the Red King want to do with the beaked gorilla?