Steel steam and flame

Unknowingly, he came here again. Waters' eyes did not need to be controlled, and he was completely focused on the silhouette of the ruins in front of him. In the past two years after returning to the small country from the empire, in order to avoid constant searches by various powerful families, he did not have a fixed residence and scope of activities. I traveled around many small countries and lived in too many cities, but I only stayed for two or three months before moving on to the next place.

I went to see Delya not long ago, and Hessler also came over afterwards. The three of them talked about a lot of things, all of which were inseparable from the boredom brought about by leisure. But there wasn't much time to get together in a comfortable way, just one night, after which Waters and Hessler left.

For some reason, Waters returned to the first city he lived in when he returned to the small country from the empire. Like a cycle, he thought. However, he also thinks this is a good new starting point. After meeting Delya, he has decided to go back to the dark world and continue arms trading under a new identity... no, it should be said that it is small-scale arms sales now. As for Hessler, the protection network that had not yet been integrated into the arms business network had not been affected in its development. The money accumulated in the arms business in the past is enough to last for a long, long time.

Waters knows that he is not a person who can relax. A little rush is the environment in which he can survive. And some things will slowly deteriorate if they are kept there. He was also afraid that one day when the regiment leader came back, he would not be able to manage the manufacture and sale of arms because he had not been in contact for a long time.

At this time, he took a long breath of relief, shook his head and prepared to turn around and leave. It can be seen that there is no one around, only the sound of a trumpet can be heard from a distance from time to time, and the turning posture freezes.

"Forget it, let's go and have a look. Although he and Hessler both went to see it a month ago." He knew that in his heart he really wanted to go and have a look. If it weren't for the pressure of being caught, , he can even live in that ruins. However, finding excuses for yourself always fills people with invisible courage, "It's not far, just think of it as a rational walk after breakfast."

As he got closer to the ruins, Waters' body automatically and naturally entered a state of alert, and his steps relaxed. He didn't want anyone to know what the ruins meant to him, nor did he want others to know what was in the ruins.

It wasn't a huge distance, but it took Waters more than half an hour.

Inside the ruins of a building, the air carries the coldness of winter and the desolation that no one has visited for a long time. Looking at the huge concrete block in front of him, Waters carefully observed his surroundings, then with some difficulty raised a corner and took out the stainless steel box pressed underneath.

Carefully placing the concrete block down, he took the box and sat down against the wall of the ruins. Looking up from the gap, snow clouds stretch across the entire sky, a faint gray-black color. It won't be long before there is a heavy snowfall.

He stared at the stainless steel box, moved his fingers, and then stopped. Because he has been wandering around all year round, he has come here the most often compared to Hessler and Delia. He has opened the lid many times, but this action has not entered his memory, making it difficult for him every time.

Hope often brings despair, Waters didn't know why this sentence suddenly came to his mind. But he clearly knew what it meant, and he also knew very well that after the lid was opened, there was nothing but pure air in the box. But every time he came here and leaned against the wall, his heart would be filled with expectation and hope. The despair accumulated in the heart in the past will be cleared away, but later, it will be filled with despair and loss again.

But it doesn't matter anymore, Waters thought. As a surgeon who has not completely broken away from human attributes, it is very normal for him to retain some human emotional characteristics.

Taking a deep breath and then exhaling, Waters felt like he was doing something sacred and then opened the lid.

A letter that was put in a few hours ago, a few days ago, or more than ten days ago, lay silently in the box, entering Waters' eyes, which were suddenly filled with light.

,,,,,,

"Ah, Miss Sotuyali, are you leaving here?" In the light snow, a middle-aged woman stood in front of a flower shop with a bag full of ingredients, looking at the notice beside the door. When he spoke, his words were full of regret.

"Because of some things, I need to go back home." The woman who was doing the cleaning came to the door, put down the pruning scissors, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your help, Ms. Turvey. Remember to prepare this home." You helped me with a lot of things when I was in the florist shop.”

"It's all small things..." Ms. Trevi looked at Sotuyari's face. "It's really not quiet here recently. There are SADF vehicles everywhere. In fact, it's good to leave here."

"Yes, Ms. Trevi, you should be more careful recently. I heard that it is very unsafe at night, so it is best not to go out." After saying that, Sotuyali turned around and picked out a large bouquet of flowers and handed it over, "Thank you With the help of these times, it will be a new year soon, and I hope that after that this place can return to what it was not long ago.”

The lady took the words, looked at Sotu Yali's face, sighed and said, "I hope you can open a bigger flower shop when you go back home."

"Thank you." Sotuyali bowed slightly to express her gratitude. She waited until Ms. Trevi reached the front of the street, then turned around and looked at the shadow inside the flower shop. "The so-called concealment means that you need to truly blend into the surrounding environment. I got it. I remember this was a technique given to me by the regimental commander before, when we were still developing weapons business in Empire Manoma."

"But if you really get involved, you won't feel a little sad when you leave?" Hessler walked out of the shadow of the flower shop, wearing a very thick piece of clothing with a light green striped moving company logo. Now he is a strong porter.

"What to do with the eleven suitcases in the basement?" Hessler asked, looking at the bunches of flowers arranged beside him. "It's a pity that these flowers can't be sold since it's almost night."

"Have you made any money in the flower shop?" He suddenly thought of something and said jokingly, "In that small basement you dug out yourself, eleven suitcases means there will be twenty-two runner Pistols, dozens of reinforced steel-cased bombs, more than a thousand rounds of high-quality platinum bullets, and most importantly - eleven pneumatic swords made by mechanics that are of absolutely high quality."

"In the past year, the price of pneumatic swords on the black market has been floating around 15 million to 40 million holy coins. The specifications you are interested in are definitely not cheap. After a little calculation, who would have thought of this? The true value of this flower shop is at least over 160 million holy coins."

"I thought that developing the protection network I had was enough to consume enough money, but compared to you, it was still too economical." Hessler sighed, but there was no blame in his words, it was all uncontrollable and overflowing happiness. , "It will take several moves, and a one-time haul will attract suspicion and be an unexpected chore."

"The flower shop must have made some money, but it can't be used to buy pneumatic weapons at all." The woman who is both Sotu Yali and Delya picked up the scissors again, "clicked" a few times, and smiled. Unable to restrain himself, he showed it on his face, "In fact, they can be kept here as a hidden weapons storage point. However, they will be put into use soon. With the consumption rate of the regiment leader, he will definitely not recycle them." These things. Therefore, I would like to trouble you to move them all away bit by bit."

"Ready to serve!"

"Where is Waters? I think he is still in a state of excitement. He came here from the Kingdom of Chil and spent several days without wasting any time. When he came here, he looked extremely tired, but A face that looked full of weird energy. Thinking about it now, he should have only had happiness in his body at that time. Among us, he was actually the one who couldn't sink the most." Delya then asked.

"I just rested for a day, and then returned to the Kir Kingdom." Hessler nodded in agreement with Delya, "He said he would investigate on the spot along the way. Because he has been traveling around various small countries in the past two years. , I have impressions of many places. Where there are cheap and abundant metal and processing industry chains, where there are powerful steam furnace towers, where transportation networks extend everywhere and connect to coordinating countries, etc., I often observe."

"He said he wanted to choose a very good place to be the starting point of the factory. Now, he is enjoying the process of field exploration. In his leisure time, he is thinking about opening a small workshop to process cheap bullets. The time is just right, and what happens next is enough for him to have no chance to be idle."

"This is exactly what he hoped for." Delya sighed, turning to look at the falling snow around her. "It's also what you and I hope for."