Wasteland Echoer

The roar of Brett's mechanical chariot finally stopped in a slightly dark neighborhood lined with high-rise buildings.

After parking the chariot in an inconspicuous street covered with spider webs and food and body remains stained with various molds, Brett breathed a sigh of relief, fumbled for his uniform shirt, and approached the escort "Long Sword and Hammer" In a pocket near the medal.

Then, he took out a pocket watch with a copper color.

Gently pressing the top button, the vaguely stained glass cover of the pocket watch was easily opened by Brett, revealing the exquisitely carved hour, minute and second hands, as well as the dial with some mechanical gears inside. .

"It's seven o'clock in the evening, Wright." Brett's mellow voice floated into Wright's ears.

"Yeah, it's getting late. But along the way, I only saw the city scenery, and I didn't see any human beings, or... even the lost and the careless." Wright suddenly sighed with emotion.

"No matter what, it's always a good thing if there is no one. It's also a good thing if there are only unintentional people. After all, they can speak with fists and weapons. If we win, we will move forward. If we lose, we will mutate. It doesn't matter if they are the Lost, they are the enemy after all. , just engage in a life-and-death struggle. If it were a human being... I shouldn't say this from the level of education and morality I received, but I still need to think about the problem this way." Brett lowered his head, pondered for a few seconds, and said :

"Humans are dangerous creatures, especially in places that have lost or are about to lose the control of the empire. In fact, now that I think about it, this place is not subject to any imperial laws. The 'Ruin Hunters' and the Lost are obviously capable of attacking us. Living creatures with consciousness, and those members of our own legion may also be a source of danger. After all, I have heard that the salary of many legion members is only about 10 Singapore dollars a month, which is not even enough to replace weapons."

"That's really too little, and I think I heard Moros chatting about it that time in Migov. The salary of non-staff employed by the legion and the city is even lower, only 6-8 SGD, and even 5 SGD in some small cities. I'm afraid even buying food will be a problem," Wright added.

"This is still a small problem. Many non-staff personnel and some low-level legion members are infected by the Wuxin virus, but they cannot be recognized as superpowers. Some may have stronger combat capabilities, but it is difficult to enter big cities and can only be found outside the cities. Districts and small cities are struggling to survive. Many of them have underlying stubborn diseases, and some still need to take care of the elderly and hungry children. And they themselves, who do not know which day will be filled with burning fluid due to the virus, will eventually be regarded as unintentional. People are executed." Brett stared at the sky that was gradually turning orange and said with emotion:

"In fact, they are envious of those factory workers who work three shifts. At least they don't have to put themselves into dangerous situations. The journal "Imperial Medicine" once published an article, which made statistics. Most people living in the city have a life expectancy of 50-70 Years old, of course, the data does not count people with powers, they are not strictly human beings." Brett teased a little.

"Not human, haha, not human." Wright laughed twice, then stopped abruptly.

After all, he himself is now a superpower.

"Yeah, not considered human." Brett repeated in a low voice and continued:

"You just talked about the life span of humans in the city, right? That report also calculated the average life span of legions and escorts in various places, which is about 40-60 years old. These are officially established soldiers, that is, you and me. Those non-staff personnel are generally 25-30 years old, and they will die at the age of 35 at most. Even if they are willing to survive due to many difficulties, they will be expelled from the city and live in scattered villages everywhere, and some small towns will bear the burden of The wages are low and the body is tortured by hard manual labor.”

"It's really... miserable. It reminded me of a proverb." Wright's black eyes dimmed briefly, then he scratched the black hair on the back of his head and said:

"Natural selection, survival of the fittest. Both humans and nature follow similar laws, except that human laws are called law and order, and nature's laws are called survival and reproduction. Right, Brett?"

"That's right." Brett nodded slightly.

Then, he suddenly laughed twice, and then turned his head with a smile on his face, trying to relieve the heaviness caused by the question just now.

"Want to see this pocket watch, Wright? This was left to me by my mother. It was made by a famous craftsman in the empire. At that time, my mother wanted to put some diamonds in it, but I said that thing is made of the same material as coal. It's almost enough for industrial cutting. It's better to use gold to make some alloys. You know, gold is a gorgeous product made in the dream of the Creator, but He likes to play pinball games and let the planets made of gold crack and scatter into every corner of the universe. Gold is romantic and a product of the divine.”

Brett said, holding the pocket watch in his broad and thick palm, and handed it to Wright.

"Romantic things, no wonder I saw the brilliance of gold from the pocket watch." Wright echoed.

He carefully looked at the pocket watch that belonged to Brett. The surface was made of copper and had a bronze luster. Although the surface of the glass is cloudy, it feels smooth to the touch.

A tulip pattern composed of small lines is engraved around the front glass. On the back, there is a double-headed eagle pattern representing the empire, and the name written in Zine Empire language at the bottom - "Brett Klein" .

"The material and style of this pocket watch..." Wright murmured in a low voice.

He looked at the glass front and suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.

Is it a sense of déjà vu? Or did you really encounter this in a dream?

There seem to be some sporadic hints in my incomplete memory fragments. In the wasteland world, especially in the Zine Empire, pocket watches are one of the symbols of identity and status, just like aristocratic women like diamonds that symbolize love, and aristocratic men like diamonds that symbolize love. , generally like pocket watches.

People in the steam age generally regarded time as money. After all, the non-stop operation of factory machines could bring consistent and considerable profits to those factory owners. With a pocket watch that symbolized status, one could always calculate how long one's machine had been running and how much money had been earned. Money, being immersed in it is a wonderful thing.

Of course, due to the collapse of order in the early New Yuan Dynasty, the empire adopted military and economic control measures, and all industrial production was placed under the unified arrangement of the empire and the committees of each city, resulting in collective bankruptcy of factory owners.

Except for those that were hung on street lamps, most of them silently climbed up the abandoned buildings and chose to go to the underworld to continue their business.

It was only in the past two hundred years that as the empire gradually restored order, those factory owners and entrepreneurs came back again, returning to the empire that they were intoxicated with and loved so much.

After vigorously shaking his slightly sleepy head and letting out a deep, sharp yawn, Wright felt that the previous intimacy and familiarity with the pocket watch was just a sense of déjà vu.

Since it was a dream, according to "The Interpretation of Dreams", a book on dream interpretation in the previous world, I must have subconsciously paid attention to the pocket watch from reading in newspapers or talking to other imperial soldiers. And then extended into dreams.

After all, some of the intentions that appear in dreams, in addition to things that are of particular concern to you all the time, also include things that you subconsciously pay attention to, and sometimes you don't even notice them.

Opening the watch cover, Wright took a look at the time. Wright handed the watch back to Brett and said with a hint of resentment:

"I seem to have almost forgotten your noble status, haha. This watch is so beautiful, I want to own one too. But having said that, it's 7:15 now, we have to find a room to stay. Since this place has been occupied It’s abandoned and not subject to the laws of the empire, so shouldn’t we be able to live wherever we want?”

"That's not the case." Brett took the pocket watch, put it in his uniform jacket pocket, and said with confidence:

"This is the place I'm interested in. I just said that we should stay overnight near the lake as much as possible. Now it seems that the buildings here are quite intact, and there are not many traces of plant invasion. Wright, do you know, When we were on our way, when you and Miyou were both asleep, Moros warned me not to spend the night at the city ruins."

"Why?" Wright asked, looking out the window at the high-rise buildings that were old and dark but had a relatively well-preserved appearance.

"He said that most of the places here are ruins and the houses are crumbling. In addition to being regularly injected with the No. 15 drug and being careful not to be infected by the unintentional virus, living here also has to worry about the collapse of the houses. And those 'ruin hunters' They will kidnap us imperial soldiers at any time in exchange for ransom. To be honest, I was really worried at first. After all, to complete a task assigned to me by the Socra Committee, we would have to stay in the city for at least a day or two. But now I I feel that Moros is either too cautious or has old information. This place is not dilapidated at all, but full of life, isn't it?" Brett said with a "no more than that" smile.

"Yes, that's right, you're right." Wright nodded and said "Three times":

"And apart from a few chariots, there are no traces of other humans along the way. The so-called ruins hunters may not focus on the inside of the ruins, but on the periphery. After all, fighting in the city is restricted by terrain factors, which is very difficult. It’s complicated. Once a battle occurs, it is very likely to turn into a street fight and evolve into... a game of cat and mouse. And outside the ruins, it will be a head-on confrontation, without even a chance to escape."

As Wright spoke, his mind suddenly thought of Yolan, the Lost One of Order 4 whom he met a day ago, and the "Hope" sandworm he summoned after releasing his evil soul.

It is indeed a head-to-head battle, a lose-lose battle, a draw game.

"Your analysis makes sense. So I decided to go to the building on the left. I just took a quick look and it was about seven or eight stories high.

And from the top floor, you can overlook the entire lake surrounded by steel. To be honest, this area should have been a residential area in the past. Apart from the ‘Volga Tower’, there weren’t many ridiculously tall buildings. If there are really ruins hunters, the roar of their vehicles can be captured by us in time, and the group of 'loess vultures' can't enter the building, haha. "

Brett said, turned off the mechanical chariot completely, kicked the key that looked like a small silver sword into the pocket of his tactical trousers, opened a small storage compartment near the seat, and took out a pure black face mask.

After putting it on, Brett turned around and asked Wright:

"Do you and Miyou also need to wear masks? The remaining two were originally prepared by Moros for himself, but now it's easier for you two."

"I don't want it." Wright refused firmly:

"I don't want Moros's stuff anymore and give it to Miyou. By the way, I saw that you didn't even wear this thing when you got off the car just now. Why do you remember it now?"

"The Wuxin virus will be affected by the sun. This is basic common sense. Anyway, they erased a memory of you in the Lost Swamp. It should have affected other memories, right. I don't mind educating you more." Brett coughed Twice, he continued:

"The Wuxinren virus will be affected by the sun. The concentration will be strongest at sunrise, and will basically drop to the point of no harm to ordinary people at noon.

But as dusk arrives, the virus concentration will rise exponentially in just one hour. After it is completely dark, even just fifteen minutes of exposure to the air is enough to infect humans who have not been injected with drugs.

So Wright, of course you don’t need to wear it, and the same goes for Miyou, but I can’t. I'm just an ordinary human being without any special powers. "

"That's right, indeed." Wright nodded in understanding.

"Wake up Miyou. He has been sleeping for most of the day. He will definitely be full of energy when the sun sets completely. It is perfect for him to leave the night vigil work to him. After all, humans are suitable for moving during the day, and vampires, Night is their special event. And that woman, if she is willing to get out of the car, take her upstairs. If not, leave some food and lock it in the car." Brett ordered.

"No problem." Wright agreed, turned to look at Miyou who was huddled in the corner, shook his body and shouted:

"Miyou, wake up, we have arrived at the Donusk ruins."

"Oh, Brother Wright..." Miyou's voice was a little low, with a slightly cold aura.

Immediately afterwards, he coughed twice, turned around, stared at Wright with eyes that turned blood red at some point, with scarlet liquid flowing from the corners of his mouth, and responded inarticulately:

"Are you here...are you here?"

"Uh, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?" Wright looked at Miyou worriedly and stretched out his right hand to wipe away the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"No, it's okay, I just...replenished some...energy." Miyou tilted his head to avoid it and explained, showing an apologetic smile.

It was precisely because of this smile that he opened his mouth, and an "energy" that he had not yet had time to swallow flowed out from the gap between his scarlet and dark yellow teeth, and all of it fell on the military green uniform top. Wearing his uniform trousers and the cushions of the chariot seat, he looked extremely embarrassed.

Then, he glanced at Wright awkwardly, quickly swallowed half of the "energy" in his mouth, and randomly wiped the area contaminated by the scarlet substance.

"Brett asked you just now if you were wearing a mask. I think it is completely unnecessary. You are a vampire and a lost person, so you will definitely not be affected by the Wuxin virus. I suggest that you don't drink it secretly from the underground market next time... Well, it’s full of energy. It’s great to be aboveboard and avoid embarrassment. After all, what kind of scene have you not seen among the Imperial soldiers who are performing missions in various places? Brett.” Wright turned to look at Brett and shouted:

"I think Miyou and I are ready. How about we ask Miyou to ask the [Prayer] woman if she wants to follow. If she doesn't want to, just give Miyou the key. We Do you want to go up first and arrange a temporary residence?"

"I think it's okay." Brett nodded, threw the chariot key to Miyu, and opened the chariot door with Wright, stepping on the hard street floor covered with filth.

Wright subconsciously glanced past a broken signboard beside him that read "No. 24, Eternal Silence Block" written in Zine Empire language, and looked up at the huge, orange-red sun that radiated golden brilliance.

Against the background of the setting sun, the dim streets seem to have a brighter atmosphere of "bloody color", and the entire city ruins seem to have turned into a painting painted with gold or red paint that makes people feel deeply shocked. oil painting.

This reminded Wright of an ancient legend circulated in the previous world:

"At dusk, it is neither day nor night, visible and invisible people can encounter unforeseen things."