Wasteland Echoer

"Really? Finally... I've been promoted to another level!" Wright's joy was beyond words. He looked at his body and it seemed that he was indeed stronger.

Although he is not as overly strong as some "unintentional people" and is a bit scary in size, his current figure can be said to be plump and well-proportioned, with the unique charm of a young man, and it is very suitable for him who has been fighting on the front line all year round. Warrior] spirit.

After showing a different, playful smile, he chose to carefully put the pocket watch, the mechanical core of the deceased "Daughter of the Mechanical Element", into his pants pocket, and then clenched his fists tightly, feeling a special feeling. Abundant and powerful power.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

His fist violently swung out, cutting through the air, creating a fierce sound of wind. Looking carefully, when Wright waved his fist, red magic power escaped inadvertently, and it sounded like stones thrown into a pond. A ripple.

To Wright, the scarlet ripples looked more like circles of red halo symbolizing the future. As the halo spread, he seemed to see a white, pure land of ice and snow without any pollution.

"This...is this the power of 'pain'?" Wright said to himself in disbelief.

Because, he found that not only the fatigue caused by excessive use of magic source power disappeared, but also he could clearly feel that the reserve of red magic source power in his body had almost doubled.

In other words, the magic source power that could previously support one battle or the continuous release of three or four skills can now support two battles and the use of more skills.

In this way, Wright speculated that perhaps in future battles, with the strength of Order 5, he could unearth more skills "inherited" by the power of the red magic source.

The current "Touch of Darkness" has given him the possibility to defeat any lost people and humans below sequence 4. So, even if the tentacles no longer evolve and have several more skills of similar strength, I believe that fighting below sequence 3 will be more effective. Victory will be within reach.

Thinking of this, the corners of Wright's mouth began to rise unconsciously.

Then, he knelt down with a "pop" sound, looked up at the "sun" in the starry universe that was gradually dimming, and began to laugh crazily, expressing the pain and depression he had experienced for more than a month after traveling through time.

Gradually, the smile on Wright's face began to stiffen, and then his expression became serious.

A few seconds later, he suddenly felt pain in his brain, as if a bomb had been detonated.

In a daze, he seemed to see countless mechanical arms attacking his body. As they approached his brain, they turned into sharp knives and began to "gently" and slowly cut his head.

After that, those knives turned into countless tiny flesh-colored tentacles, wrapping around his neck, blocking his seven orifices, depriving him of his five senses, leaving him struggling in the pain of knowing it, unable to extricate himself.

Until, "Red-faced Hain"'s heavy scolding came:

"Lite! Don't get lost in the pain! Wake up quickly!"

"Ah!" A scream came from his throat, and after breathing for a while, Wright felt that the hallucination just now disappeared, and he was sweating profusely and strangling his neck with both hands!

"Have I...been 'seduced' by someone?" Wright asked in a trembling voice, panting heavily in shock.

"No, this is precisely the first test given to you by the 'Pain' sequence core." "Red-faced Haien" answered.

"The first... test? Could it be that there will be more?" Wright slapped his chest hard and said in surprise.

"Of course." "Red-faced Hain" confirmed:

"The characteristic of 'pain' is one of the external manifestations of sequence level 5. Human beings who have obtained the three sequence cores of 'wisdom', 'inspiration' and 'pain' will surely experience endless and eternal pain. Until they have an 'epiphany', Or 'reconciliation', only then will the pain be eliminated, and only then can we truly reach the point of reaching God."

"Actually, aren't all human beings in this era suffering? Whether you have the 'pain' sequence core or not does not affect the suffering you are suffering and will suffer in the future."

"When you were born, the wave of 'unintentional people' surged, and you were forced to live in exile and live with hunger."

"When you were young, the Lost Ones infiltrated the city, and you were forced to fight constantly and live with death."

"When you are old, the human order has not yet been reestablished, and you are forced to bow your head for a living and live with humiliation."

"Even so, what you endure is still the lightest pain. One after another, your comrades, relatives, and friends are dying in front of you, and you cannot abandon the moral values ​​and sense of right and wrong that you were born with. You cannot completely let go of your dignity and become 'lost.'" This kind of life is the existence that brings pain to the extreme." "Red-faced Hain" said and paused.

Because he found that Wright's black eyes were filled with tears at some point, he had to slow down his tone and said apologetically:

"I'm sorry, Wright, I didn't mean to say that. But that's the fact. Although I didn't come out during this period, I have been listening and observing the situation. It is obvious that His Highness the Imperial Crown Prince Ivant is very concerned about the situation here. Military operations are destined to be a lose-lose outcome, and exhausting the empire’s strategic reserves to fight a war with greater political significance than military significance is destined to have no good end.”

"I think, since the 'pain' level is the limit that humans and the lost can naturally reach, there are very few people in the Sune Empire who can refine magic potions, and the only known god, 'The Girl of Mechanical Yuan' has already If they fall, then there won't be many 'high-level lost ones' who can be promoted to Order 4. If you want to obtain more Order Cores and further explore the mysteries of the wasteland world, Wright, let's go to the north."

"North...North?" Wright wiped away the tears on his face, twitched a few times, and said blankly.

"Isn't this also your wish? The Krusted Empire, that ancient country that once created the glory of steel, is a mysterious country that buries the secrets of endless magic power. Moreover, the broken memories are also guiding me. My secret lies in the north." "Red-faced Hain" advised.

"Yes." Wright nodded, sighed, and said:

"Brett is dead, General George is dead, Feng is dead, and many people related to me are dead. Part of my secret 'Daughter of Mechanical Element' has also answered the question for me. There is really nothing worth cherishing here. There is a place. Let’s go to the north. I still have about 3,000 new coins on me. The empire will definitely pretend to try to restore order in the period just after the war. I estimate that I can buy mechanical vehicles, food, medicine and other supplies by going to Chekavsk. . Then, before the real crisis of the empire’s collapse comes, we have arrived at Crusted.”

“However, ‘Red-faced Hain’, the question now is, how to get out of the divine realm?”

"The exit has appeared, Wright. You see, this 'Hall of Stars' is collapsing." "Red-faced Hain" replied.

As he spoke, violent vibrations came from the ground.

Looking around, the "stars" one after another, including the huge "sun", began to fall uncontrollably downward into the endless abyss.

The glass-like path he walked began to disintegrate and fall piece by piece. Within a few seconds, the disintegration situation had spread to the magic circle area where Wright was standing.

Just when he was struggling to stand, overwhelmed and struggling to stand, a huge open door ten meters high suddenly appeared not far in front of him.

At this time, only a mechanical door frame was left in the giant door, and the interior was filled with a dense white mist.

Wright knew that this door was the only exit. No matter how blurry the scenery inside was or where the area leading to was, he had to enter from here and leave this divine realm that was about to collapse.

"I'm going to rush out!" Wright said with courage.

He ran forward hard and almost fell.

Fortunately, after stumbling, he finally rushed through the door.

At this moment, the Divine Realm suddenly collapsed and overturned, turning into eternal darkness.

…

…

…

The chirping of birds, the fragrance of earth, and the gentle breeze constantly stimulated Wright's senses and awakened him from his dreamless slumber.

Supporting the soft ground, Wright slowly opened his eyes. The long-lost blue sky and bright world instantly filled his eyes.

He looked around. The ground was covered with green grass, and there were several large trees more than ten meters high. Not far away was a clear, almost endless lake with sparkling waves. Behind him in the distance was a familiar lake. The long-lost landscape of Gobi and yellow sand intertwined, but not far from my feet, except for a few "silent lone wolves" with gray hair, were crawling in the natural environment, listening to the "melodious music" wandering in the gentle wind. "Outside, is the "Heartless Bird" that just made a pleasant chirp, with a light blue light in its heart.

Yes, this is still the center of the Silent Highlands, but it is no longer the realm of gods, nor is it a half-illusory, half-real, difficult road to the realm of gods.

This is the real human world, a natural situation that is slowly exuding the breath of life!

Seeing this, Wright involuntarily closed his eyes tightly, spread his arms, raised his head slightly, and tried his best to suck in the fresh air in this rare verdant environment in the wilderness of the Gobi.

Pure natural air that is not adulterated with "viruses", not polluted by industrial waste, and does not have the smell of burnt blood and blood in the battlefield. It is not only a good medicine for healing the soul, but also carries a strong breath of nature, which can interact with the body. The magic source power creates a positive resonance.

Empty his mind and appreciate the long-lost nature, many pictures flashed through Wright's mind.

He saw the attic where he had first arrived in Socrates, the fireplace, and the chaotic sky outside the window.

Under the "curtain" formed by the dark and chaotic huge dome is a tireless "big" mechanical arm in the Taiyuan Machinery Factory.

Then, he saw the industrial city of Chekavsk. Towering chimneys were emitting plumes of black smoke, melodious whistles came from the driveways and docks from time to time, the roar of machinery was ear-piercing, and several jet planes roared past. , like a soaring eagle.

The low-rise residential area and the majestic commercial area are divided into two parts by the turbid and smelly river. Workers dressed in a steampunk style constitute the bustling crowd on the street. Behind the huge bronze statue with a blurred face is a statue named " The government building in "Industrial Heart" is one of the few cities in the wasteland that is still fully functioning.

During the recollection, Wright seemed to hear a very familiar but extremely unfamiliar soft girl's voice:

"future."

Shocked with fright, Wright opened his eyes again, coughed several times, staggered, and almost lost his balance.

After completely coming back to his senses, Wright smiled self-deprecatingly, and then criticized himself:

"Yes, I should look to the future and not recall the past. Sokra is destined to be unable to go back. Now that the mechanical core is in my hands, going back will be a joke with the lives of millions of city residents. Chekavsk, Remember that Ruling Aaron is the teacher of His Highness Ivant. It is estimated that the industrial reserves there have been drained for this war. 'Red-faced Hain' is right, go to the north and leave now."

As he spoke, Wright tried to recall the "Silent Highlands Battle Situation Map" produced by Zhinetsk that he had seen at the Donusk Area B camp, and speculated on the direction:

"The overall pattern of the Silent Highlands is high on all sides and low in the middle. There are some rivers and the 'Lake of Silence' shrouded in yellow sand in the center. Judging from the surrounding pattern, after the death of the gods, the yellow sand receded, and this must be where you are. . Now the empire must have completely controlled many strategic locations in the west, north and south, including but not limited to Dark Night Area, Silent Front Area, Silent Area, Silent West Area, Twilight Dark Area, Shahu District, and Shazhong District , Lakeside District, Silent Central District and Silent East District.”

"In this way, the Hope Zone, where only the Church of Hope is entrenched, may be where the empire's strength is weak. After walking out from there, walking south for a few days, you should be able to reach the town of Sunida in the Three-Way Zone. The explorers who will go there then The association paid money to find someone to help, and after sending me to Chekavsk, we could prepare supplies and go all the way north to Zollin City, and then to the border of Krusted. If I remember correctly, this is a road less traveled. Apart from wandering 'Heartless' and 'Alien Heartless', there are not many human strongholds."

Thinking of this, Wright decided to detect the direction first in order to get out of the Silent Heights as soon as possible.

Then, he opened his cuffs and looked at the familiar mechanical watch. Fortunately, although the glass cover was already full of cracks, the hands inside were still functioning normally.

The hands show that the current time is 10 o'clock in the morning. In this case, divide the time by 2 to get 5. Use 5 on the dial to align the direction of the sun. The direction pointed to at 12 o'clock is north.

The "Hope Zone" is located in the southeast of the entire highland. After doing this, Wright quickly determined the general location.

"We're leaving, haha, this is destined to be a more difficult journey." He laughed at himself.

But just as he was taking steps to leave this "Lake of Silence", he suddenly heard a huge thunderous roar above his head.

Looking up, Wright saw that the sky suddenly turned dark, as if dark clouds were coming.

After a few seconds, patches of dense, hazy blackness became clear, and the originally bright and clear sky was actually filled with combat aircraft with serial numbers on them.

Due to their huge numbers, the aerial armies of these empires seemed to spread to the other side of the sky and beyond the clouds.

After hovering in the air for a while, they seemed to see the yellow sand receding. They hesitated for a while, and finally landed some distance away from the lake.

Three of the combat planes landed in front of Wright without any bias. After one of them landed, it just crushed the head of the "Silent Lone Wolf" who was taking a nap and had no time to escape. Blood even splashed on Wright's face. superior.

A few minutes later, the door opened and five people stepped out between the two planes.

Under Wright's vigilant eyes, several people walked directly to Wright and asked:

"Who are you? Why are you here? Don't you know that the entire 'Lake of Silence' has been classified as a military restricted area?"

Seeing the three leading the way, they were all dressed in standard dark green uniforms of Imperial generals, with guns at their waists, white gloves, and the Empire Legion's new "Sun White Dove" badge on their chests. The one walking among them looked more noble. There is a Zine Empire emblem sewn on the brim of his hat.

Wright was certain that these people must be high-level generals of the empire. If nothing else happened, the man in the middle, judging from his kingly temperament, must be the leader of this war, the imperial crown prince Ivant.

After standing there and carefully organizing his words for a while, Wright bowed in greeting and then replied slowly and sincerely...