Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 522 Sunfall Ridge

The maximum power output of the thrusters allowed White Tiger to catch up with the convoy in less than five seconds. The broken-down Hummer was thrown onto the trailer, while White Tiger grabbed the hook at the back of the trailer. Four rows of wheels popped out from the hidden slots at the feet of the machine, allowing the entire machine to enter a sliding state.

"Boss," the accountant's complaint came through the communication channel, "Main thrusters one through four are consuming 16 percent of their fuel, auxiliary thrusters five through twelve are consuming between 4 percent and 7 percent of their fuel, and the degree of crystallization in your body has worsened by 0.29 percent... You shouldn't have gone to save people."

“If I don’t go, no one will go to save them,” Nagano Soya said casually. “A little bit of fuel for two lives, it’s a good deal.”

“Just a little bit of fuel… we can’t replenish this fuel on the road,” the accountant said. “Once the fuel runs out, the White Tiger will completely lose its mobility, and we haven’t even encountered any combat yet, and the main thruster’s fuel is already nearly 20% depleted… even if you want to save people, shouldn’t you weigh the pros and cons first?”

The fuel the accountant mentioned was not a conventional fossil fuel like gasoline or diesel, but a special synthetic propellant. Besides its complex production process and high price, the biggest problem with this propellant lies in its extremely demanding storage conditions and replenishment methods. This propellant must be stored in a sealed container under low temperature, high pressure, and vacuum conditions, and this standard must be maintained throughout the process of refueling the engine. If the airtightness is compromised, it could very likely cause a deflagration accident.

To replenish the White Tiger's thrusters, only Dragon City has the necessary equipment and technicians. Even Jade Gate lacks the necessary resources, let alone being on the road.

As the mechs guarding Dragon City, the Four Divine Beasts were not designed with long-range combat in mind. Their high mobility and terrifying firepower came at the cost of endurance. In other words, the Four Divine Beasts are more suited to positional warfare and defensive battles, and long-range raids are not their specialty.

Nagano Soya did not continue to argue with the accountant about this issue. Instead, the two rescued mercenaries thanked the pilot of the White Tiger in the public channel with tears streaming down their faces, almost kneeling down and calling him "father."

"Any changes to the No. 5198 Death Sandstorm?" Nagano Soya asked in the communication channel of Sun Hang's team.

Nagano Soya did not respond to the two people's thanks—Byakko's identity as a pilot has not yet been made public, and he has not spoken on public communication channels, issuing commands under a different alias.

Most people in the convoy thought that this was a "representative" sent by the Longcheng City Defense Army to participate in the operation, and no one would have thought that the person sitting in the machine was actually the boss of "Spring Breeze".

“The acceleration and expansion speed of dust storm No. 5198 have not changed. It is expected to pass 400 meters behind the convoy in seventeen seconds,” Zhulong said. “Fortunately, the No. 1 convoy did not hesitate when carrying out the order, otherwise at least half of us would have been swallowed up by the dust storm.”

"That's good," said Nagano Soya.

Sun Hang noticed a hint of fatigue in his tone and couldn't help but feel a little strange—could the actions of piloting the mech to rescue people just now have taken such a big toll on the pilot?
The White Tiger's movements were indeed swift, but for an experienced pilot, it was nothing special... Many fighter pilots have to withstand several times their own weight in G-force with a single tactical maneuver, while the White Tiger had only run a short round trip. However, Nagano Soya's tone revealed a noticeable weakness. Was it because his body was inherently weak, or was there something wrong with the mecha that used a lot of meme technology?
Or perhaps, both?
"They've arrived," Zhulong said in a deep voice.

Sun Hang and Xue Yue turned around at the same time, leaning back in their seats to look behind the car. They saw the surrounding brightness suddenly drop, and a gaseous black wall thousands of meters high was advancing across the Gobi Desert with overwhelming force. Although this No. 5198 sandstorm had only been formed recently, its scale was already larger than the No. 5196 sandstorm that Sun Hang had encountered before. This made Sun Hang begin to wonder if these deadly sandstorms might have some kind of emergency response to life forms entering the Gobi Desert.

For example, the more living people sensed, the stronger their vitality, and the more intense the death sandstorms generated on the Gobi Desert.

As the deadly sandstorm No. 5198 gradually receded into the distance, everyone in the convoy breathed a sigh of relief—if the sandstorm had suddenly changed direction, no one in the entire convoy would have been able to escape.

Thankfully, Team One and Team Three were much more reliable and did not split up prematurely due to the sudden changes... This was the only good news in a series of bad news after the start of the trip.

"Damn it, if I find out who came up with the idea of ​​diverting the third convoy ahead of schedule, I'll beat him to a pulp when I get back!" a mercenary cursed over the public communication channel.

"Don't wait until you get back. I suggest you take action as soon as you reach Nanhua Town, hehe." A female voice said sarcastically. "Whether anyone will make it back to Yumen alive is still uncertain. I suggest you settle any grudges as soon as possible... Oh, by the way, if the target is troublesome, 'Sea Buckthorn Rose' can provide paid cleanup services. Call me if you need it~"

"Stop trying to sow discord among your Seabuckthorn Rose people. Don't kill half of your team members before you even know what the treasure is." A rough, hoarse male voice said. "Let's not talk about what happened before. I just hope nothing unexpected happens on the journey ahead."

"Hard to say...hard to say~" the female voice known as "Sea Buckthorn Rose" said with a laugh.

"Who is this sea buckthorn rose?" Sun Hang couldn't help but ask as he listened to the chat on the public communication channel.

"An organization composed entirely of female mercenaries, female hunters, and female superhumans appeared in the Hexi Corridor region two years ago. They are based in Yumen and make a living by taking on various commissioned missions. They have been active ever since." Before Yang Qiaoxi could answer, the mainframe had already spoken into Sun Hang's ear, "The leader of the organization is named Salia, codename 'Scorpion,' a free hunter. Currently, the organization has a total of fifty-seven surviving members on record."

"...There are about fifty people in this organization now," Yang Qiaoxi said at the same time, her words almost identical to those of the mastermind. "They also invited me to join, but I had already retired from the criminal world by then, so I ignored them."

Are these people really that capable?

"I don't know how skilled they are, but their reputation isn't good." Yang Qiaoxi's tone carried a hint of disgust. "They've done a lot of ambushes, murders, and robberies, and they also take on revenge killings and assassinations. They have conflicts with many organizations in Yumen and Longcheng..."

"Huh? Someone like that can get into the convoy?" Sun Hang was taken aback. "Don't the others object?"

“At least on the surface they’re law-abiding. They haven’t killed anyone in Yumen or Longcheng, and they’ve done a good job with their employers… In places like this, there are always people who have to do dirty work that’s considered shameful. Even if you get rid of them, some kind of organization like ‘Seabuckthorn Peony’ or ‘Seabuckthorn Rose’ will pop up.” Yang Qiaoxi sighed. “Besides, there aren’t many good people making a living in the Hexi Corridor. No one can guarantee that they won’t need to place an order with them… So when we encounter this group, we mostly keep our distance… It’s rare for anyone to actively seek trouble with them.”

"Is their leader pretty?" Sun Hang suddenly asked a question that could easily be misunderstood. Yang Qiaoxi turned around, gave Sun Hang a strange look through the car window, and then said, "Pretty, very pretty, the kind of woman with an angelic face and a devilish figure. But if you run into her, I suggest you stay away from her."

"why?"

"Guess what her code name is? 'Scorpion'?" Yang Qiaoxi sneered. "Her code name doesn't come from her abilities, but from her personality... She's had many men, but without exception, they all either died or disappeared in the end. Rumor has it that the meme she was infected with might come from a mantis-like monster, and it's a female mantis at that."

"Is she in the convoy?" Sun Hang asked again.

“I didn’t see her when we gathered in Yumen before.” Yang Qiaoxi shook her head. “I’m not too sure either. She’s always very mysterious, and she’s also good at disguise. She might be sitting in the car in front of us right now.”

“There were three men in that car,” Sun Hang said.

"Disguise also includes dressing up as the opposite sex," Yang Qiaoxi said. "Moreover, the scorpion is 1.76 meters tall, so even if he is dressed as a man, he is not easy to be recognized."

“Even if the Serpent Scorpion wasn’t involved in this operation, we absolutely cannot let our guard down,” Yang Qiaoxi added. “Admittedly, everyone is involved in the operation for that treasure, but besides the treasure, there are definitely many others in the caravan who have other ideas—after all, there’s only one treasure, but the others have a lot of valuable items on them. My advice is not to go too deep into Nanhua Town after we arrive; just gather intelligence on the outskirts… Of course, I know you probably won’t listen to me, but anyway, if you encounter other people involved in the operation in Nanhua Town, you absolutely must not mistake them for your comrades.”

"And what about you?" Sun Hang asked with a smile.

“First of all, I want to emphasize again that I have no interest in that treasure,” Yang Qiaoxi said angrily. “Besides, are you deaf? I’ve already said that I won’t enter Nanhua Town. I will only stay on the outskirts of the town. If you encounter me after entering the town, don’t doubt it, it’s definitely someone in disguise. Just shoot that guy in the head.”

"You're so ruthless to yourself?" Sun Hang asked, somewhat surprised.

“The only people here who like to disguise themselves as others are the ones from Sea Buckthorn Rose. They especially like to use this method to frame others,” Yang Qiaoxi said. “If you really encounter them in town, even if you have no hostility, they won’t let you go.”

"...I feel like this treasure hunt has turned into a battle royale. By the way, Nagano Soya, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

“I can only guarantee that such a thing will not happen within the Spring Breeze,” Nagano Soya said. “But in the No Man’s Land, the name Spring Breeze has no binding force on them.”

“A title may not have any binding force, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have force,” Sun Hang retorted. “If you just put the White Tiger there, I doubt many people would dare to cause trouble.”

“But I can’t keep an eye on everyone all the time,” Nagano Soya sighed. “Here’s what we’ll do: once we arrive in Nanhua Town, you’ll follow me. I can’t guarantee that the others won’t attack each other, but I can at least guarantee that no one will attack you.”

“You said you were going to protect us.” Sun Hang picked up his water bottle, took a swig, and then ruthlessly exposed Nagano Soya’s true purpose. “But in reality, you just want us to work for you, right? After all, in this team, Zhulong and I can be considered among the top combat forces.”

"It's just a win-win situation." Nagano Soya, exposed, showed no embarrassment. "Acting with me will save you a lot of unnecessary trouble, and with Byakko's firepower support when you encounter battles, things will be much easier for you. Moreover, I can assure you that if you find that treasure, I will never ask you for it. I can even protect you and help you return to Dragon City with the treasure."

"Then what are you after? You risked your life just to fulfill a long-cherished wish?" Sun Hang stared at the microphone in front of him, his eyes narrowing. "To be honest, I always feel that this argument is a bit far-fetched."

Sun Hang desperately wanted to use his mind-reading ability on Nagano Soya, but although the other was a cripple, he was still an infected person and could sense the unusual sensations when his mind was being read. If he discovered that Nagano Soya had ulterior motives, the two might just break off relations—Sun Hang wasn't afraid of breaking off relations with Nagano Soya, but it shouldn't be at this time.

"Whether you believe it or not is your own business." Nagano Soya gave a wry smile. "I've said all I have to say. This is my most honest thought."

"Boss, we're almost at Sunfall Ridge." The accountant's voice suddenly broke in, easing the tense atmosphere of the conversation considerably.

Directly ahead of the convoy, a low hill appeared, and on the surface of the hill were a large number of round objects emitting a red glow, which looked like LED lights added to the craters on the moon.

As the convoy approached, the temperature in the air began to rise rapidly.

“That’s Sunfall Ridge. Those glowing things are pools of lava of all sizes,” Yang Qiaoxi said. “It looks like many ‘suns’ of different sizes have fallen onto the mountain, hence the name Sunfall Ridge.”

"Is this place also haunted?"

"The mystery's number is Geng 319—Sunfall Ridge," Zhulong said. "The geological activity beneath Sunfall Ridge is unusually frequent. Magma eruptions have even occurred on flat ground. Each eruption leaves a semi-permanent magma pool on the ground. The best way to safely cross Sunfall Ridge is to follow the edges of those existing magma pools. Because there won't be secondary eruptions where magma has already erupted."

(End of this chapter)