Wasteland Echoer.

Chapter 562: Novaask (Part )
January 558, 1th year of the New Era, Cruzde’s New Year and the Flame Empire’s Gregorian New Year.

Cruz Federation, southwest of the Icefield Province, on the outskirts of Novayask, "Eternal Red Station".

Around 8 o'clock in the morning, the sky had completely dispelled the darkness and gloom of the long night. Countless golden lights floated in the bare "dense forest". Tall oak trees stood like guards on the outskirts of the city, as if to protect the city to prevent this place reborn from the "ashes" from being hit again by the "wave of careless people" from the Binglin Province thousands of miles away.

"Passengers, the Ka-Yong Express has arrived at its final stop. Please pack your luggage and get off the train. Do not leave any items in the train. Otherwise, according to Article 51, Paragraph 3 of the Federal Temporary Transportation Management Regulations, when you leave the train at the final stop, all items left on the train will become the property of the Administrative Group's Materials Group."

The horn on the train started playing in a loop as the train arrived at the station. I don't know if it was because the power was replenished or the magnetic field in the surrounding space was stable, but compared to two hours ago, this time the horn had no noisy sound at all. Instead, it gave people a comfortable sense of clarity.

Dark and Light walked into the dirty platform without much luggage, only a suitcase that they could swing easily with one hand, and weapons on their waists.

Not many people got off the "Temporary KD-02" train, although many of them were dressed decently. Some were gentlemen with superpowers wearing top hats and suits, while others were federal soldiers like Dark, wearing khaki military cotton coats and heavy earmuffs.

But Wright could clearly see that these people were all very tired without exception. Even though they could hear the constant snoring in the carriage, the fatigue left over from long-term fighting or fleeing could not be relieved by just one or two days of sleep.

Moreover, the faces of the federal soldiers, including Dak, were covered with scars of varying sizes, and their military uniforms were all torn and stained with dark red dirt. If they were not rotated down from the front lines, then they must be successful people who had "transferred smoothly" without telling their superiors.

Dakla held Wright, who was confused about the surrounding environment, and followed the crowd to the outside of the platform. Under the influence of the sun, Wright found that the two months in the human world had dispelled most of the "sorrow" in his body that he had contracted in the "Red Fantasy Ruins".

This also allowed Wright, who was promoted to Order 3: Combat Level, to gradually integrate the power of the Order Monster left by the "Peeping Bracelet" on his arm.

Now, even if he doesn't chant any spells or deliberately mobilize any magic power, he can still see the changing colors of the magic power in the surrounding environment and people's bodies.

This station, located at the easternmost part of the Water Province and close to the "Yongchi Volcano" in Nanshan District, is filled with fine blue smoke coming from the west and red light floating automatically. They are shrouded in the air like a veil, adding a bit of weird color to the whole slightly desolate place.

"Novaask, from the letter Wolfya left me, it was not originally called this name. It was because the 'Wave of Careless People' completely destroyed it once, leaving a lot of ashes that were difficult to shovel away. So after it was rebuilt in the year 414 of the New Year, 'Loser' David Rurik personally gave it this new name." Standing outside the crowd, Dak began to briefly introduce the history of the city that could be seen not far away. Although he had never been here, as long as he had the vivid description left by Wolfya, he could also play the role of a tour guide:

"Before, this city should be called Hamosk. It was an industrial town built by Putoya Governor Seth Putorian when the Cruzde Empire and Putoya Empire formed an alliance in the early and middle period of the Steam Element. There are mountains behind this city, swamps on the left, and a desert in the north at that time. Although it has no commercial capabilities, it has an excellent geographical location. Several emperors of the old empire who were expelled from the capital used it as a base to expand their power and return to the throne of power again."

"This city sounds a bit legendary." Wright slightly retracted the power of the "Peeping Bracelet", and the world in front of him finally regained its clarity. He tilted his head to look at Dark and continued:

"Since it's an industrial town, are there still machine factories there? Like... um, the Shine people's Chekavsk?"

"Of course there is." Dak nodded and pointed at the white smoke rising in the distance.

“Although Novayask lost half of its industrial capacity after reconstruction, and its ability to produce military equipment and industrial semi-finished products was partially replaced by Koenig Province, the territory west of Ice Province has just fallen. Soon, a considerable number of federal soldiers will gather here. In less than three months, I’m afraid it will return to its peak before the new era.

"I see. It seems that after the fall of Ice Province, Novayask will be able to play its historical role again... a perfect counterattack base, gathering a large number of humans from the west. They are either burning with the flame of revenge, or have the ideal of saving humanity, or are filled with the will to make achievements. It's exciting just to think about it." Wright clenched his fists, his eyes almost shining with excitement.

But Dake's next words poured cold water on him:
"If the Crusaders really had the ability to retake their homeland, Wolfya would not have let us go east. You know, after the collapse of the Gnadi Line, the ugly deeds of the Federation Council were known to the humans in the Federation's strongholds in less than half a month.

"Just based on the 'Old Fireworks Incident' a year ago, Vasily was nailed to the pillar of shame of the Federation's criminals. In order to obtain the energy to break the 'wind wall' in the 'Bersluna' area and open the 'Red Fantasy Ruins', he actually activated the Ordered Monsters and sacrificed more than 4 people to the 'Ancient Gods'.

"Not only that, in order to maintain the stability of the so-called 'Gnaty Line of Defense' and realize his dream of the 'Universe Energy Evolution Platform Plan', Vasily has already drained the manpower, materials and food from the eastern provinces. Now, including in the big cities such as Novayask, Icefield City, and Nebsk, the people left are either the old, the weak, the sick, or the supernatural beings who are at odds with the Federation. It is difficult for them to protect themselves. If they encounter the 'heartless wave' that spontaneously organizes itself in the wilderness to 'forage for food', they can only run for their lives."

Dak sneered a few times, put his hands behind his head, and randomly drew a circle around with one finger, and continued:

"This 'Eternal Red Station', at least three years ago, when I came here to deal with the monster incident, there were two military camps used to protect the safety of the railway line. Oh, look over there, there used to be a 20-meter-high watchtower, a military building like the 'Lin Tower' in Xinfeng Town, but now only half of the bricks are left. And here, here... The abandoned camps are either occupied by wanderers or directly occupied by independent armed forces. The chief executive here dare not intervene at all.

"Look, there's also this place. I don't know why, but there's no one collecting the abandoned supplies everywhere. These federal soldiers who escaped here don't even bother to look at them."

Wright looked in the direction Dak pointed from far to near. Indeed, the remains of the military camps had already been dilapidated, with only the messy piles of human and animal skeletons interspersed with them.

The ground nearby was covered with the wreckage of guns and various military supplies. Some of them were still very new and could barely be used, but there were no "scavengers" coming to take them.

Wright walked over and picked up an officer's robe embroidered with the "double-headed eagle" emblem of the Cruz Federation. He mobilized the red magic power in his body, poured it into his right eye, and activated the "Burning Black Vision".

A red mist passed by, and Wright carefully examined the robe and the supplies, but did not notice anything unusual. Even through the perspective of the "Burning Black Vision", he did not observe any energy aura. "These supplies don't seem to be abnormal. This cotton robe is still new, just covered with a little dust. I don't understand why these usable supplies are thrown here casually, and no one comes to pick them up. Is it because they have sufficient supplies and don't care about these?"

"Do you believe what you said, Wright?" Dak said with a smile:
"It's possible that there are enough supplies, but if even the Lost Ones are unwilling to pick up the supplies, there must be other reasons. I think we can only get the answer after we enter the city and find 'Purple-haired Anna' and the others."

At this moment, a three-wheeled mechanical vehicle, which was so simple that only the wheels were left, came in front of Wright and Dak. Along with the rumbling sound of the engine and the choking sand and darkness that were raised, a rough voice came from the driver's seat:
"Hey, guys, you're from the west, right? I see you just got off the train, heading to Novayask, right?"

"That's right." Wright admitted it openly. Although he couldn't judge the good or evil of the person in front of him, with his strength at level 3 and the power of being known as the "evil god", there were probably few people who would dare to attack him.

"That's right, get in the car. We, the Yongchi Ferry Group, are here to take you from the station to the city. It's still 40 to kilometers from the city, and the road conditions are bad right now. If you walk, it will take at least five hours, but taking my car will take at most minutes."

Seeing that Wright and Duck were still hesitant and neither responded nor left, the owner of the rough voice continued to promote his services:
"It's... well, 10 o'clock in the morning. If you walk, you will arrive at least at o'clock in the afternoon. Recently, the city administrator, the woman named Shaneva, has issued an order to close the city from : p.m. every day and prohibit everyone from registering to enter the city. Guys, if you miss the time, you will have to go to an independent armed camp in the middle of nowhere.

"If I live there, being blackmailed is not a big deal. The problem is that there have been monsters roaming around outside the city in recent days. I heard that several camps have been destroyed. The scene is so tragic, I can't even describe it..."

"Alright, alright, stop talking. Let's take a ride. How much does it cost?" Dak waved his hand, not wanting to get too entangled with these so-called "Yongchi Ferry Group". However, if what this person said was true, it would indeed cause a lot of trouble if the two of them could not reach the city before 2:30 in the afternoon.

"Come on, the price is not expensive, just one new ruble. Get on first, and you can pay when we get to the city gate. By the way, my name is 'Red Wolf', and I have some Eastern Khitanris blood."

At the invitation of "Red Wolf", Wright placed their luggage, the suitcase, in the "mini cargo box" of "Red Wolf"'s three-wheeled mechanical vehicle and tied it tightly with a rope.

Then, the two of them sat in the back seat of the simple "convertible" mechanical car.

Beep, beep, beep…

The heavy roar of the motor was like the continuous exploding thunder, forcing the two psychics, Dark and Wright, to cover their ears. After the mechanical vehicle started, it kept bumping and shaking, forcing them to hold on to the handles that seemed like they would fall apart at any time to avoid being thrown out.

Fortunately, the situation eased slightly after we got on the road.

"Brother 'Red Wolf'...ah...are you sure that your mechanical vehicle won't fall apart?" Dak asked in pain, covering his head that had hit the edge of the roof.

"Of course not. Don't worry, kid. If the car breaks down, I won't charge you any money." "Red Wolf" said in a generous tone, but soon, a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes. As the engine sound became less noisy, his voice became a little deeper:
"However, supplies have become increasingly scarce recently. Many of the factories and workers here were taken away because of the war last year. Originally, there were no caravans coming here, and the raw materials for these machines, such as steel, rubber, etc., were all transported by these train cars. But in the past two months, there has not been a single truck carrying supplies, but there have been trucks carrying people one after another. It's not bad now, except that my 'old friend' cannot be overhauled for the time being. If it carries more people, I'm afraid that food will become a problem by then."

"So, it was that chief executive, Shaneva, who came up with the idea of ​​closing the city on a regular basis to restrict the influx of people?" Dak analyzed, frowning.

"That should be the case. As soon as she heard about the defeat of the federal soldiers in the west, she issued the order. I heard that many members of the federal committee of the city's ruling group opposed her, but they all disappeared mysteriously after a few days. I think this situation is not only in our city of Novayask. Many cities in our east are probably similar." "Red Wolf" responded.

Amidst the noisy sounds of machinery and engine roars, the three-wheeled mechanical vehicle drove through the road filled with the smell of death. This not-so-lonely old machine passed by a number of dark dead trees that were tilted at strange angles and twisted and winding.

The dazzling winter sun in the sky caused visible but untouchable ripples in the air, and the bare Gobi Desert and the rushing river in the distance formed a weird, exaggerated and mysterious contrast. The lonely chimneys and abandoned buildings that luckily did not collapse stood among the collapsed rubble, making this open "thoroughfare" linger with a grotesque feeling of oppression.

After the three-wheeled mechanical vehicle passed through an abandoned wheat field and barren land covered with weeds, the three finally arrived at the outskirts of Novayask. However, at this time, starting from the "Checkpoint No. 2" leading to the city, there was already a line of vehicles almost one kilometer long along the nearly ten-meter-high wall.

"Red Wolf" had no choice but to light a "rolled flower cigarette" out of habit, leaning back in the driver's seat, motioning Dark and Wright to wait patiently.

At this moment, Wright heard a gloomy oriental music played in a minor key coming from the high wall. In the slightly melancholy tone, a feminine young voice was chanting poems in the oriental language that Wright was familiar with:

"A spirit dragon was born from the ice;"

"The light and darkness are clear and the mist rises;"

"The end of walking alone is unknown."

Wright leaned forward and looked up curiously, and happened to make eye contact with the white-haired boy in work overalls who was holding an oriental musical instrument.

Thanks to book friend 20210901082457066 for the 4 monthly tickets. Your support is my motivation to update more.