Steel steam and flame

It is very common in these small countries where electricity and the thermal energy contained in coal mines coexist. There are not many cities that can use electricity as their main energy output. Most of them are in relatively important positions in a small country. Most of them use coal, which is a convenient tool that only requires mining and transportation costs. The pollution they cause is completely negligible to these people.

Road conditions vary between being close to and away from cities. Although the road passes through the territories of several countries, the routes are at the junction of two or more countries. The mix of people and regions makes management difficult. Seems very confusing. Thanks to this chaos, the bus moved forward without any resistance. For several days, it did not encounter any checkpoints or inspectors who needed to check entry and exit status.

The only downside is that it's not very safe. Vettel's company seems to have some reputation in these areas. It was indeed stopped by armed men on the road several times during the trip. After identifying themselves, they were let through smoothly. The price was a few bottles of wine brought from the empire. Medium quality stuff.

It's just that Cassia was watching Vettel and the two drivers taking turns from his seat, and they didn't look relaxed. It seems that there is an element of luck in these times. And the further away from the empire, the more frequently this happens. In Cassia's senses, the appearance of these small countries also changes with the distance from the empire, and their development and stability.

It was on the eighth day after setting off from the Empire that the coach stopped moving. This afternoon, Cassia had read all the books she brought with her and was selecting a few of her favorites to read for the second time. The gradually improving road conditions let him know that the next city would not be far away.

At about half past three, the vehicle arrived at a dilapidated station. On the outskirts of the town where low-rise buildings gather, there are numerous repair shops and weapons shops with direct signs. The name of the firearm and the caliber of the bullet are like a menu, written on a sign and hung at the door. All kinds of people gathered on the narrow road, including mercenaries, bounty hunters who took on tasks to make a living, subordinates of black marketeers, and even soldiers in military uniforms. The slow-moving vehicles were all modified vehicles, whether they were randomly welding steel plates or regular-looking tanks, they were all mixed together.

Vettel and the others drove the vehicle into the station with an iron gate. The iron door uses two layers of 20 mm thick steel plates, with a steel column as thick as a baby's arm in the middle, filled with a layer of concrete and hard ceramic mixture. It is very heavy. It uses a steam engine that was dismantled from somewhere and is opened with a reducer and chain.

After the vehicle entered, the two iron doors were tightly closed. It was spacious inside, comparable to a small regular station in the Empire. It is surrounded by a high wall of about three meters, and there is also a barbed wire hanging on the top of the wall. There were about thirty passenger buses of various types parked in a large open space with irregular parking positions.

There is no structure that a station should have, except for large pipes for filling steam and filtered clean water. A two-story building was built on one side of the parking lot, with thirty or forty rooms. But that's not for Cassia and the others. The place where they rested was next to this small building, and a long awning-like building was built next to it. The passengers of more than 30 buses staying here were all standing there.

"Come down and have a rest. We need to spend the night here. If you want to sleep, I suggest you not to come to the car. If you have a hard time, this is the only night." Vettel opened the door, walked up, looked around and said, "Eat first. This meal is free, which can be regarded as compensation for some time delays on the road. In addition, here is a solemn reminder that no matter what the matter or for any reason, everyone should not leave this station. Although I know that everyone will not, there will always be more people. An accident happened."

In the last few words, Vettel said very seriously: "Besides, don't get close to the walls of the station. It's best to stay near the small buildings. If anything happens, you can go to room 17 upstairs." I."

"Mr. Vettel, what happened outside?" Someone stood up and asked.

"It's nothing serious, it's just that it's been a bit messy here recently, and it'll be fine in a day or two." Vettel replied, "Anyway, you won't be in danger as long as you stay in the station." After saying that, not wanting to explain anything, Vettel I got off the bus and pointed to the place where white smoke was coming out. That was the station canteen. The two drivers each took out a luggage from the cab and followed Vettel to the two-story building.

The twenty-three people in the car began to take out some clothes from their luggage. "Is nothing going to happen?" Someone rolled up his clothes and put them in a cloth bag and asked the others, "Didn't you see them just now? There are many shops selling guns outside."

"It'll be okay. This station is one of the safest places in this town." A middle-aged man in his forties said, "The last time I passed by here by car, I also stopped there. It lasted two days. One night there was a fight outside. There were gunshots and explosions everywhere, and the ground was shaking. It was scary. But in the end nothing happened here. Early the next morning, we We set off on time. Everything will be fine. We paid so much money, a small part of which was the cost of the trip, and most of it was used to buy safety."

"Were you here last time?"

"Yes, I went back last year to rest for a while, and I will go back to my original place of work this year." The middle-aged man said, "Just do what Vettel said. If you do what he says, you will be fine."

Cassia took a piece of clothing and followed the crowd to the canteen while listening to the conversation of several people. Very rough food, but it all smells delicious.

At the same time, on the other side, Vettel and the two drivers had already sat in room seventeen. The room is much more spacious inside than it looks from the outside. There are five people in total, and there is another man and a woman, who are permanent staff here and handle the handover of some affairs.

"Didn't I say that this route is very stable a few days ago? If something happens, why don't you send us a message so that you can take another route. Even if it is a long way around, it will be much less troublesome than this." Vettel's forehead was covered with dryness With a frown on his face, he asked the two people in front of him, "They are carrying goods this time."

The two people in front of them gave a bitter smile: "We also wanted to inform you, but we couldn't make it in time. The main radio signal tower in Filoka Town was bombed, and it was impossible to connect you. The thing also happened suddenly, last night. It was still fine. The devil knows what happened. When I woke up, I only knew that something happened next door. It is said that it happened at four or five in the morning. Nearly a third of the town was bombed, and then the fire burned some more. It wasn't put out until noon today. As you saw when you came, Filoka Town is usually a quiet place. Just a few hours ago, people from several large trading gathering places around were rushing here, so it became It’s like this now.”

"I don't know what happened now. The person I sent to inquire about the news said that no one there knew what happened. It's just that most of the people in Charlotte next door died. Of course, I can't be sure. So many people poured into Philoka. It seems that Charlotte and a few of his men came here and don’t know where they are hiding.”

"Charlos? There shouldn't be anyone around who dares to do anything to him, right?" Vettel looked thoughtful, "He is from the Kingdom of Botonland. Everyone has vaguely guessed this. He is on our route to the Kingdom of Botonland. He is helping. He has several regular troops under his command, and he has also been in contact with senior officials in Botonland."

"Is there something going on inside Botonland?"

"We won't know until some time later. But instead of worrying about this, I think it's better to think about the evening. Charlotte's reward is out." As he spoke, the man took out a printed piece of paper with something like The introduction during the interview clearly introduced Charlotte's situation, and added a sentence at the end - after capturing him alive, let the news out, someone will come to you with seven million.

"They will provide you with the common currencies of the three giant countries. Whichever one you want, they will provide you with it. I don't know who Xia Luo has provoked, or who his leader has provoked."