Wasteland Echoer

After almost five or six hours of walking along a dilapidated road covered with messy weeds and randomly scattered gravel, the sun that hung high in the sky and shined brightly like an angel descended began to dim. , Brett saw some sporadic low-rise bungalows at the end of his line of sight, in a place that was not particularly far away intuitively.

"Moros." Brett's rich voice briefly resonated with the roar of the mechanical chariot and the howling wind around him.

Moros didn't notice anything. He still held his monocle outlined with golden lace and was immersed in the content of another "Chekavsk City News" issued in March.

It seemed that the impassioned speech by the former administrator Kaigu moved him, and it seemed that the heroic deeds of the vividly depicted legion [soldiers] moved him.

In short, when Brett's angry bear-like roar reached the ears on both sides of his slovenly face, he "wake up" from the text content he was immersed in.

"Moros, are you deaf?"

"No, no, too focused." Moros smiled sheepishly.

He turned his head and glanced at Wright, who was holding the upper handle of the car with one hand and leaning on the left window, sleeping, and Miyou, who was still curled up and taking a nap by the right window. He chose to carefully fold the newspaper three times and put it away. Under your buttocks, put the glasses into the glasses case in your jacket pocket.

"Are you here?" Moros asked, standing behind Brett's seat in confusion.

"No, it's still early. Now I just saw some scattered bungalows in the wilderness. Maybe there will be a barren village a kilometer or two further. But I want to see the map. I didn't know you went to the camp trading area to buy it yesterday. Are you done?" Brett said, lowering his voice slightly.

"I bought it, but it's just a simple map. Compared with the one produced by Sugra Material Factory, it's still far behind. That one is more like the hand-drawn version of the 'Relics Hunter' in the wilderness." Moros said slightly. He said helplessly.

Then, he turned over and took out a relatively new piece of paper that had been folded many times from the hidden compartment at the bottom of the seat in the last row where "the woman rescued by Wright" lay.

After skillfully turning over the paper, Moros searched for five or six minutes among the messy and tiny Zine Empire letters on the map, which looked like mosquitoes, ants, and cockroaches, before he barely found an arrow and a sign indicating north. The letter "N".

Blinking his dry eyes many times, Moros searched for another fifteen minutes in the messy map with mixed signs. Relying on experience and observing some unclear traces of roads and dilapidated buildings outside the car window, Moros finally managed to find the answer. The location is determined.

"Are you ready?" Brett urged impatiently from the front.

"Okay." Moros nodded and said:

"We should be halfway through the journey now. According to the current time estimate, it will be evening before we enter Donusk. There are some settlements on the edge of the city, and the map shows that there should be hundreds to thousands of people. We can Requisition their houses for one night in accordance with imperial law, or pay them and then enter the city ruins when ready."

"Can't we go into the ruins of the city and find some houses? Maybe we can also search for some useful supplies." Brett suggested.

"It's difficult. First of all, after so many years of plundering by explorers and 'ruin hunters' from all over the world, valuable things in the city have long been gone. After all, the Unintentional Virus broke out in Donusk in the early New Year. Although the Empire After two military operations called 'Lonely Light', we briefly regained control, but in the end we were still unable to put a large amount of materials here. In the end, we had to abandon this industrial city and let it return to the embrace of the God of Nature. ." A hint of melancholy flashed in Moros's eyes, and he continued to add:

"Most of the ruins in the city have become crumbling after being eroded by plants and extraordinary power. If we sleep in the open, we not only need to inject the necessary medicine regularly, but also prevent damage caused by the collapse of the building. There are even some 'ruin hunters' 'Specially kidnapping us imperial soldiers for ransom. So this is a very poor decision, and one that should not be made unless it is absolutely necessary."

"Really? But I don't want to deal with those people living in the wilderness outside the city. In fact, to be honest, they rarely inject anti-virus drugs, and they have no such awareness. Most of them have already mutated, and they have nothing to do with them. I always feel uncomfortable when he touches me." Brett's broad, angular face showed an expression of disgust.

But his hands wearing tactical gloves still controlled the modified mechanical chariot smoothly, and it really felt like he was controlling a tall and handsome knight's special mount.

"But they still can't be classified as the Lost. There are many of them. Villagers in those villages often go to the towns with gold and various ores to exchange for supplies, and even the furs and internal organs of many mutated animals. In short, from Judging from the behavior of economics, they are still on the side of the empire, at least economically they cannot do without the empire." As Moros said, he seemed to have thought of something, stretched out a finger and shook it, and continued:

"By the way, Brett. The map shows that if you see a dry riverbed and a huge steel bridge, you are not far from the village settlement. It was a river that once flowed to the 'Central Lake'. Of course, If we stay a little longer, the convoys behind us that also need to cross the city ruins will meet us. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, in this case.”

"How about putting up a flag as a sign?" Brett suggested, pointing to the two flags placed on the empty passenger seat.

One of them is the flag of the Zine Empire, with a red background and a majestic two-headed eagle in the middle. There is a star in the mouth of each head, which seems to be protecting them.

The other is the exclusive flag of the Socra Guards. In the middle of the pure black background is a white double-headed eagle, and below it is the cross-colliding content of the "long sword and hammer" in the guard's medal.

"I don't think so." Moros shook his head and denied:

"It's too flamboyant, and I heard that the reputation of the capital city of Sokra is not very good recently. More and more people are saying that the city of Sokra wants to rebel against the empire. You also heard it yesterday. Those soldiers of the Zhnetsk Army said that they were just Beat up a few disobedient members of the Socra Legion. They don't dare to mess with you and Wright now. After all, there is a Silver Blade 5 and a Red Earth 2. If the situation changes, I'm afraid you will have to throw away the silver-white uniforms. Now, put on clothes similar to mine."

"That's right." Brett agreed after thinking.

After driving for half an hour along the increasingly dilapidated road, which smelled of yellow sand and even had many cracks, Brett finally saw the low bungalows nearby.

While driving at high speed, Brett noticed that those bungalows seemed to have been abandoned for a long time.

The straw on the top was fluttering in the wind, there was no glass on the windows, and even the doors of several houses were open, revealing the dark and gloomy parts inside.

"Moros, I still feel uncomfortable with the homeless people in the villages in the outer areas." Brett broke the brief calm and said:

"I remember that near Kusha, there were some mutant humans near the forest under the mountains. They were not supernatural beings, and we called them 'wanderers' at the time. Many of them were short in stature, and some looked like mice. The same ones have red eyes, grow slender tails, and even have a natural fear of cats and tigers. Some have the appearance of cockroaches, a pair of slender antennae, a pair of insect-like compound eyes, and simply do not have two more slender eyes. Long insect legs.”

Brett stretched out two fingers on his right hand and gestured, as if the two legs were growing on his hands and were being controlled by him.

"'Rat Alien', 'Insect Alien', these should be more formal titles. I remember a few years ago, in order to take care of their feelings, the empire also counted some people as superpowers. Of course, they have always been legally They are our compatriots and cannot be counted as aliens. I think you cannot underestimate those lower creatures and insects. Although they live in the darkness and are often synonymous with being weak and humble, they have abilities that many people dream of." Mo Mo Ross's eyes seemed to be radiating light as he said.

"What ability? I'm curious." Brett asked with interest.

"Eternal life, or immortality."

"Eternal life?" Brett asked doubtfully, his heart suddenly touched.

"Their vitality is extremely tenacious, especially cockroaches. If they are not treated with strong physical forces, such as flames or boiling water, they can even continue to reproduce in oil and garbage. Generation after generation of insect descendants will permeate the dirty place. , they can not only resist viruses and extraordinary powers, but can even resist radiation. As we all know, tenacious vitality is equivalent to eternal life. And, Brett," Moros held his chin and leaned back on the leather-covered seat. asked:

"Have you ever heard of the man cursed with 'immortality' in the legend of Eventre?"

"I want to listen to it. It's very interesting. It'll just relieve the boredom of the boring journey." Brett nodded.

"Legend has it that in the middle of the Steam Era, that is, before the century-old war between the Eventre Empire and the Crusted Empire started, almost during the reign of Eventre Rex II to Lelita I, the Prime Minister of the Empire Kyle He is a person who is cursed by eternal life." Moros paused, and he found that his lips began to become dry during the journey in the Gobi Desert.

He reached out and took out the military water bottle under his feet. After unscrewing the bottle cap tied with a slender rope, he drank a third of the clean drinking water with some sugar added.

After closing the bottle cap again, he pursed his lips and continued:

"Legend has it that he lost his way in the Evertray Icefield at the beginning of the Steam Age, and was imprisoned in the ice by the servants of the Lord of the Night for hundreds of years. Later, for unknown reasons, the icefield began to gradually thaw, and he was released. He came out and walked alone in the ice field for two years, and finally arrived at the capital of Aventrai.

He then wandered around the capital for more than two hundred years, but when he first came into contact with the princess at that time, the princess was surprised to find that the man in front of her was only in his twenties, with a strong body, fair skin, and even a face that contained a straight face. The face with sharp features and handsome features immediately fascinated the princess.

A few years later, Kyle naturally became the prime minister of the empire due to his underground love affair with the princess. Then he participated in the assassination ceremony known as the "Slaughter of the Ice Bear". After killing Rex II, he supported Princess Rex. Rita rises to power and ultimately destroys the entire empire. "

After listening to the half-mythical, half-historical "little story" told by Moros, Brett remained silent for a while.

When the roar of the mechanical chariot accumulated to a certain level, Moros saw Brett's gradually gloomy face in the front mirror, his brows furrowed and his expression melancholy.

"'Eternal life' is indeed a curse." Brett sighed and said:

"It seems that if God grants someone eternal life, he must also put him in pain, or do something to make others suffer. Just like the Wuxin people, theoretically the Wuxin people's life can reach eternity, but it doesn't count. The corrosive nature of the burning liquid and the wear and tear caused by frequent aimless wandering have led to the saying that it has a life span of 150 to 300 years."

"Yes," Moros agreed:

"I haven't seen a few unintentional people along the way, let alone the Lost. But Brett, we have to be careful about this. If we can't even see scattered enemies along the way, then they will definitely gather. Somewhere along the way, it may cause damage to our subsequent journey across the ruins of Donusk, and to that mission.”

"That... mission? Speaking of Moros, I still want to hear the details." Brett tilted his head and said with a worried look.

"Okay." Moros nodded, and the corners of his mouth twitched unconsciously.

Immediately afterwards, he crossed his hands on his chest and beat his chest three times. Then he stretched his hand to his forehead, tapped his forehead three times with the knuckle of his thumb, and murmured:

"The Lord of the Night has blessed me."

"Give me a brief moment of dark power."

"Covering the eyes of wisdom, bewildering clear and wise thinking."

"Give me the ability to communicate!"

Along with Moros' spirit formation, a rich jet black color suddenly emerged from his hands.

The pure black magic power of darkness quickly turned into some messy threads. Under the control of Moros's complicated movements with his hands, they completely condensed together and formed two dark balls.

He used the tips of his two index fingers wearing brown tactical half-gloves to manipulate the light balls that emitted purple lightning.

Along the predetermined trajectory, a dark ball advanced in a spiral shape and floated into Brett's right ear.

The other one was pressed into his ear by Moros with his index finger.

"Brett, can you hear me?" Moros's sharp voice suddenly appeared in Moros's ears in a high-fidelity state.

"It's amazing that your voice can be so clear. It's as if... it's as if you are talking to me in my body. If you hadn't shown me your magic power once in Chekavsk, I guess I might treat you as a loser and shoot you on the spot." Brett's unique and mellow voice also appeared in Moros's ears.

"The communication ability of the 'Language of Darkness' is a little better than the technology left by Crusted. After all, the intercom will make noise, but the magic source power will not. As long as we are thinking about something in our hearts, the other party can hear it clearly. What about Brett?" Moros raised his chin and asked "thinkingly".

"Um?"

"The ruins of Donusk, the sequence monster deep in the steel-enclosed lake, Sugra's order is indeed for Wright to contact it, right?" Moros asked for confirmation with a hint of worry in his tone.

"Yes, but...but we seem to be in danger!"

Brett's last words were actually shouted directly out of his mouth.

Just now, he suddenly observed through the rearview mirror of the mechanical combat vehicle that at some point, they were being followed by three black military jeeps with flags with strange symbols and patterns. There was even a car closest to them. A rocket launcher painted with dark green paint stretched out!