Steel steam and flame

It will go deeper into the long border of the Flame Alliance. The stronghold is close to small cities, but it is still generally in the forest in no man's land. Most of the border areas are dense virgin forests, and mining has been banned since early on. Hiding a stronghold inside is an inconspicuous thing in theory, but the tricky part is that the border patrol team has appointed beast cavalry, and the equipment is all standard equipment of the Flame Alliance. , a type II creature that has received strict training and has a keen sense of smell. It is a natural spy. There are several ways to avoid these creatures who are good at detecting, but it is not necessary and the cost is huge.

Sellers know this, and they have the capital not to set up shop in these forests. There is no shortage of bold buyers. Compared with putting the base at risk, lowering the price of the goods slightly can attract a large number of customers. There are many resellers among them. First- and second-level controlled items are almost extinct in formal trading centers. If you can get some supply, you can resell them after returning to Larsa. In small batches, the price will probably be three or four times higher. question.

After explaining the situation and giving information about the time and place to meet several teams, Muriel dragged her tired body back to rest.

Cassia went back to her room and sat by the window, looking at the black outside the window, thinking about what she could do in the dark for the next action. The ideal result in Cassia's mind is to keep the mission process calm and safe, without any accidents, to end it as quickly as possible, and then return as quickly as possible. As for whether the sale can be negotiated smoothly, that is not your own business. At best, if there is a chance, Cassia will find a suitable candidate among the sellers and ask for the information he is interested in - where to find merchants who provide second-class biological concentrated blood.

"A Class II creature with strict training and a keen sense of smell." Thinking of the improved hounds seen at the volcano base, although it is not yet a Class II creature, its tracking ability is indeed outstanding. But at that time, a trap was set because of the sense of smell, and the microorganisms eroded all the hounds. Cassia believes that the Flame Alliance's patrol team will not make stupid mistakes. If they want to deal with these creatures in a targeted manner, the probability of success is very low.

"We can't completely pin our hopes on the news that the patrol team passed by the stronghold area just the day before yesterday." There are no restrictions on the patrol team. There are too many variables on them. This kind of news can only be said to be psychological comfort. To deal with danger, it is best to completely eliminate the element of luck. “Then starting from the instinct of second-type creatures, we may be able to find relatively safe methods.”

With Isa and the others beside them, Cassia knew that she could not exude her own aura at any time to drive away potentially dangerous creatures around her. But when creatures mark their territory, they usually leave their own things everywhere, be it hair, feces or other detectable odor sources. Such habits have been well passed down and preserved even in the second category of creatures.

"Blood should play a certain role." Thinking about this, Cassia remembered that there was a shop selling various daily necessities next to the hotel. Just go there tomorrow and buy a small enough razor blade. After that, I spent more than half an hour getting ready to leave at noon tomorrow. The suitcase turned into a very flexible backpack. It was expected that the fifteen-day round trip would be extended. Cassia went to Toynby specifically for this purpose. I got the answer that every mission is like this, and various emergencies always happen.

"Don't worry, you just bring your own things. The rest, the various teams assisting this operation have already been prepared." Toynby, who knew the specific process of the task and the division of responsibilities, did not feel nervous at all.

By noon the next day, Isa and Muriel stepped out of the room door according to the time. After paying for the hotel, the four of them walked down a street to a paid parking lot, got into a limousine, and started driving towards the frontier location of the Flame Alliance.

The further we go in this direction, the worse the road conditions become. By the afternoon, it was difficult to see decent gathering places around. The city had completely lost its traces, and occasionally lifeless villages could be seen. The concrete road turned into a pitted dirt floor, and beyond that, the road was just two slight tracks made by the tires. By the time we reach dusk, the road has gradually lost its original appearance and can only be identified by the height of the grass.

At nine o'clock in the evening, with a "dong" impact, the vehicle was completely declared scrapped. Isa was the driver on this trip. It was unclear whether it was because she was thinking while driving or because she was not distributing her perceptions. Cassia relied on sound wave pulses, knowing clearly that the front was a large pit covered by grass, a natural trap. Even though there were some verbal hints, in the end she could only watch Isha lead the group of people and the vehicle into the pit. go.

",,,,,," Neither Toyinby nor Muriel said anything. There was an illusion. From the expressions of the two of them, Cassia felt that this was not the first time that this happened to Isa.

Each carried his own bag, and the four of them lined up in a line. The first and last turned on their bright flashlights, and continued to march towards the border of the Flame Alliance in waist-deep grass. Take a break every three hours, about half an hour. At nine o'clock the next morning, Cassia, who had roughly washed her body in the forest, felt a lot more relaxed. At least the various pollen and sticky seeds contaminated by wandering in the grass all night would not make people feel uncomfortable.

Toyinbi also came over after washing, went to sit at the root of the big tree opposite Cassia, took out a cigarette and smoked it. The surroundings were slightly dark, and the forests on the plains had a different dense form than those on the mountains, but the darkness under the dense branches and leaves and the air that smelled slightly of dead leaves and rotten leaves had not changed.

Cassia calculated that the distance the team went deep into this dense forest was only a few kilometers, but there were already ancient trees that needed to be surrounded by two or three people everywhere. When Isa and the others came out, it was 9:30 in the morning, and a thin mist spread from the depths of the forest, carrying a faint pungent smell, like a certain kind of resin.

"It's the acetophenyl tree. Its resin and fruit are one of the main materials for some anesthetics and hallucinogens. The Flame Alliance has made some improvements to it, making the anesthetic and hallucinogenic effects several times stronger. Long-term inhalation will affect To all the senses." Isa took out a mask from her backpack and handed it to Cassia, "This forest on the border is a man-made result, but it became a primitive forest because of its long time. It was the Flame Alliance a long time ago A natural line of defense created and cultivated for defense.”

"There are a lot of things later, and I will tell you one by one." Isha, who put on a mask, said, looked at the dial on her watch, and pointed in a certain direction, "It's not far away, three hours away. You can then join the assisting team.”