Abnormal Doomsday Records

Chapter 53: Wasteland Ghost Story - Merkmon officially debuts as "Black and White Impermanence" after finding a partner

It would take some time for D-4 to dismantle the medical equipment on Han Bin's aircraft, so Zhou Ke asked Qiao Shan and Lao Taf to help. He took over the task of counting the remaining supplies, and sent Qiao Ya, who was wearing double mourning bands on her arms, to take care of the wounded with A Miao.

By the way, I'll get some food for everyone.

The team officially inherited by Zhou Ke started running like this. After being assigned tasks, everyone didn't have much time to be sad.

The lunar phase of the Mad Moon has just dissipated, which means that the Badlands, which has been dormant for a short time, is about to revive. What happened in End Castle and Oxhorn Gorge can no longer be concealed. Soon Zhou Ke and his followers will become the "new legend" on everyone's lips in the Badlands.

In this situation, staying in the Bad Land is a gamble with your life.

"We must sneak into the city-state area and lie low before this shit gets out. We can make plans after this storm has passed."

In the cargo hold of the military flapping-wing aircraft, Zhou Ke asked the energy device to enter the recording mode to count and record the supplies on his behalf, while he sat on an ammunition box and fished.

In the dim environment, he whispered:

"How to get there is a problem now. We definitely can't leave Tiger State. This aircraft is fast enough but too conspicuous. Once it flies over Tiger State territory, it will be easily discovered. Besides, we can't treat the Acholi Consortium as fools.

I'm afraid that if I get close to the city-state's airspace, I'll be shot down by anti-aircraft fire.

D-4 said that the border inspection troops in the city-state area are still very elite."

"Yes, putting aside the manpower and quality over there, the fact that they can produce a robot product with such high overall quality as the D-4 proves that the city-state has inherited some of the traditions of the old civilization in terms of intelligent mechanization.

This machine speculates that there may be surveillance equipment throughout the city."

Wu Neng worked tirelessly to record the work, and at the same time, he said to Zhou Ke:

"Once you get there, you won't be able to act as freely as you do in the Badlands. If you mess with the mechanized security forces, your plane will be in trouble too. But flying in a flying machine is really the only way out right now!
We have to think of a way to see if we can get a less conspicuous aircraft and get an official identity as a city-state.

Qiao Ya has a legally registered property and shop in the city-state area. This means that as long as we can cross the border, we can obtain a temporary safe place to stay, and it will be convenient to contact Moni and his group later."

"But where to find it?"

Zhou Ke rubbed his chin with some worry, and said:
"Apart from the aircraft used for transportation in Fort End, I haven't heard of anything like it anywhere else in the Badlands. I suspect that the Seven Ring City in Snake State must also have logistics aircraft. After all, they specialize in this.

But now that Old Ohm has driven Denard crazy, if we dare to take Xiaoya to the Seven Ring City, I think the result will be a collapse first and then ask questions."

“This machine can’t help.”

Wu Neng snorted and said:
"This machine hasn't yet completed its environmental scan of the Badlands and the surface world, so many detailed areas aren't captured. Perhaps you could ask Qiao Ya. Didn't she travel the Badlands as a 'traveling merchant' for a long time?"

And old Taft.

Although that guy is a bit timid, he does have a lot of experience."

"Wait until they're done."

Zhou Ke nodded, put the matter aside for the time being, looked around with a strong sense of "stealing", stood up and turned on the lights in the material warehouse.

As the light shone, his shadow was lengthened again.

Zhou Ke stared at his own shadow. After a few seconds, he snapped his fingers tentatively and gave his shadow an "order" in his mind.

"Swish"

The loyal "Merckmon" jumped up like a slime at the first moment, and appeared in front of Zhou Ke in the "blackened" form of old Merck.

This shouldn't be surprising.

However, as Wuneng exclaimed, a second group of "slime" continued to roll and squirm in the shadow realm, and finally formed a second "shadow warrior" as Zhou Ke watched helplessly.

"This ohm?"

Wu Neng screamed:
"How did you get him too? Ah, I understand! He also saw the 'Pale Light Corona' you always talk about, right? Ohm said so himself before he died. This is the only thing he and Old Merck have in common. They both saw the vision called 'The End' before they died."

"Yes, this is the only bad thing that can be related to their lives that have no intersection."

Zhou Ke stared at Shadow Beast No. 2 in front of him and said:

"I've now roughly understood the logic behind the creation of this 'Shadow Warrior'. First, they must have had an 'audience' with the Vision of the End. Second, they must have come into contact with me before, in order for this 'puppet'-like thing to form after death.

If we refine this standard further, perhaps only the sublimated level of life can leave such a "mark".

But why me?"

He hit his head and said to Wuneng:
"Do you think there's a possibility that this has happened before in the Badlands? I don't possess some special talent. It's just rare, just like getting an SSR card doesn't prove I'm the Chosen One.

At most, it means I’m lucky.”

"Hehe, do you think this is possible?"

Wuneng ruthlessly punctured Zhou Ke's guess and said:

"I feel that no matter what world or era, someone like you who can summon spirits from the underworld is definitely an anomaly.

Most importantly, there's currently a lack of in-depth intelligence to analyze these two abilities: extracting "Masks of Power" from certain people and creating "Slices" after the death of powerful individuals who have seen the End Vision.

Therefore, the advice this machine can give you is, don’t delve into the principles of their operation first.

Just use it first, as long as it works!
As you delve deeper into the secrets beneath the surface of this badland, perhaps the answer will reveal itself.

Finally, this machine can give you an idea of what is beneath the surface.”

"Weng Yafen, right?"

Zhou Ke snorted, playing with the silver lighter that Moni had given him before he left, and said:
"The woman that Ohm and Old Joe loved the most, Xiaoya's mysterious mother, the anthropologist who had been to Rust Castle and returned safely, seemed to have discovered some truth and was killed by the Acholi Consortium.

A woman who reveals something abnormal in every way.

Ohm describes her research as 'unconventional' and says she seeks the truth beneath the surface.

Well, no matter how you look at it, this lady is the kind of tough character who would be burned at the stake in the Middle Ages if she opened her mouth. If I can find her research results, even if it's just minor details, perhaps it can answer my doubts.

But the problem is that this line is also broken.”

He sighed and said:

"Ms. Weng Yafen didn't have the opportunity to leave any summary information in the more than ten years between her entry into the Badlands and her death. Ohm said that she completely gave up her research after being rescued by Old Joe. There's no way the 'Scholar's Treasure' is buried in Slag Town. Therefore, what Ms. Fen found or saw remains an unsolved mystery."

"Then follow the timeline of her appearance, Joker!"

Wuneng reminded:
"A scholar's thoughts and research directions definitely don't emerge overnight. Ms. Weng Yafen, who seems to come from a prominent family, was determined to abandon her comfortable life in the city-state and travel to the Badlands to pursue the truth. This suggests that she must have been exposed to similar theories or intelligence in the first half of her life.

It was those things that prompted her to make a life-changing decision, and that knowledge may still exist in the city-state.

We just need to find the knowledge that once guided Weng Yafen, and then retrace her path along the path she left behind.

She already had the answer, so the path was already pointed out.

If we follow her methodology again, we will probably get the same answer."

"Ah."

Zhou Ke nodded. Wu Neng's logic was impeccable, so he didn't need to spend too much time on this matter. Then he looked at the two "Shadow Pokémon" in front of him.

Zhou Ke has tasted enough of Mercurymon's "One Hundred Thousand Volts", and now he really wants to know what the ability of "Ohmmon" is?
"attack!"

He stretched out his hand and designated an empty ammunition box as his target. Ohmmon, standing still, immediately took action to attack.

He leaned forward like Ohm in the standard stance of drawing his sword and slashing, and with a swish he dodged past. When he swung his hand, the shadow condensed into a sharp blade and chopped it down, and there was another sound of wind passing by.

The ammunition box was then split in two.

"Hmm, it's quite entertaining and incredibly fashionable! And that super classic Dimension Slash! Pava's technique should be accompanied by some inexplicable drum beats."

Zhou Ke clapped his hands and exclaimed:

"It's just that the destructive power is so far off. Even a charged slash can barely chop a box. It's like the damn Merck, stuck in the same predicament of 'being ten times weaker when darkened.'"

"You are stupid!"

Wu Neng couldn't bear it any longer, and screamed:

"Unlike old Merc's psionicist template, Ohm is a warrior! Even if his retained strength is diminished, at least his martial arts skills are still there. It's just a matter of changing weapons. Throw 'Ka' at him and try again!"

"Fuck! Are you really a genius?"

Zhou Ke exclaimed in admiration, grabbed the blade from behind and threw it at Ohm's shadow. The latter stood still, ignoring the incoming weapon, and the blade stabbed at its feet. Zhou Ke: "."

Wu Neng: "."

"Forget they're just mindless versions of Shadow Warriors."

Zhou Ke rubbed his eyes helplessly and said:
"Pick it up and arm yourself!"

Under his name, Ohm's shadow reached out and pulled out the sword, then used the sword-drawing slash and a series of Ohm's proud martial arts again, and within a few minutes, he chopped down all the destructible things in the storage cabin.

"That's barely enough!"

Zhou Ke nodded in satisfaction, snapped his fingers, and the two shadows returned to their dormant state. He then sheathed the sword back on his back and said to Wu Neng:

"With Ohmmon wearing the Harvest, anyone who dares to get close to me will be given a five-hit-a-second Windmill surprise!"

"I think these two shadows can do more than just protect your safety."

Wu Neng guessed:
"The power they can exert now is still limited by your own weakness. I suspect that after you reach the sublimated state, the true combat power of these two shadow warriors will be revealed. Perhaps in the future, they will be able to recover their full combat power."
What the hell!

You'll be awesome then, Joker.

Everyone else is a very honest fighter, fighting one-on-one, but you're the only one who's into this awful group fight."

"Bullshit! Only those who survived the duel have the right to brag, right? It's like no one said that Iaijutsu can only be done with a sword!"

Zhou Ke is very open-minded about the issue of "martial ethics".

Perhaps influenced by the environment of the Badlands, he felt that his style of doing things was rapidly changing towards "pragmatism".

But Wu Neng was right.

This time when I go to the city-state area, I must put improving my personal strength first. I can't always wait for the mask to break to bring me a little improvement in my physical fitness.

A few hours later, D-4 placed the disassembled and packed medical equipment into the precision storage compartment of the flapping-wing aircraft, and the others finished their lunch.

You know what, Lao Tafu's mistress A'mi's cooking skills are pretty good, at least much better than Zhou Ke's cooking method of throwing all the ingredients into the pot.

After the meal, it was time for everyone to "get on the road".

D-4 has placed explosives in Han Bin's aircraft to destroy it according to Zhou Ke's instructions. The others gathered in the cabin of the flapping-wing aircraft and planned to hold a small meeting before departure to confirm everyone's next plan of action.

Zhou Ke briefly explained his plan and looked around at everyone around him, including Ajie, who was still holding the pot and dipping energy bars into the broth.

他 说:

"This is the situation! We're going to the city-state area. We have contacts there, and we've already found the local tyrants. As long as we cross the border, everything will be fine. But the problem is, we have to find a way to cross it.

It is impossible to walk on the ground.

Unless you are willing to follow me to attack the chaotic Fort End, and risk passing Wu Qinhu's level at the cost of sacrificing a few unlucky souls."

"D-4 can provide action recommendations!"

The white-haired robot girl immediately raised her hand, indicating that she had something to say. Zhou Ke nodded, signaling her to speak up. Then D-4 pointed to the northeast of the Badlands and said:

"From here, across the border of Tiger State, in the mountains near the edge of the Badlands and the monster territory, there's a 'black market.' It's a secret location, and aircraft often depart from the city-state area to 'procure' goods.

D-4 once went there disguised as a black market trader at Professor Qiaosna's behest, and successfully acquired a batch of supplies from the old civilization in the "occupied area" from those daring "poachers."

"Wait! Are you saying that there are still people doing this kind of business in the Badlands?"

Qiao Ya said in surprise:

"They dared to go deep into the fallen areas that had been occupied by monsters for many years to search for relics of the old civilization?"

"Of course, Xiaoya, there are many such cases. It's just that you were protected by Ohm before, so you never had the chance to come into contact with those true 'desperadoes'."

Old Taft was a man of great authority on such matters. He sat in a chair, lit a cigarette, and then said slowly:
"When the old civilization collapsed and the Badlands formed, not all the lucky ones were able to gather here. At least at that time, there were still large-scale activities of survivors in certain cities in the occupied areas. Although I don't think they can survive for more than 30 years, there are still endless expeditions from the Badlands into the occupied areas to plunder treasures.

To be honest, during the most difficult years before I settled in Slag Town, I also wanted to take the risk and join in to get rich.

The upper class in the city-state area likes to use the creations of the old civilization to embellish their tastes. Therefore, this dangerous trade is often very profitable. Of course, the dangers of this business are much greater than doing business in the badlands.

Those who dare to do this kind of business are truly ruthless!

D-4 said there's a long-standing black market there, which proves there must be a powerful force behind that border black market."

"Mr. Taft's analysis is very accurate. D-4 concluded from the words and actions of those black market traders that the power behind them is probably the Eagle State."

The white-haired robot looked at Zhou Ke and said:

"Therefore, if we decide to go there to look for usable aircraft, it means that we will most likely also cause trouble for the Eagle State."

The others fell silent.

The situation this group is facing now is quite delicate.

Because of Zhou Ke, they offended Hu Bang to death;

Because of Qiao Ya, they and the Snake Nation have become hostile;
Because of Slag Town, Rust Castle is their absolute enemy;

Finally, because of Zhou Ke, they just killed the elite operators of the Acholi Group. Now, in order to survive, they must provoke the last force in the Bad Land that remains neutral to them.
"My emotions are telling me not to do this, but my mind is telling me that this is probably the only viable solution at the moment."

Qiao Ya rubbed her eyes and cried out:
"How could a small businessman like me have the ability to unite all the forces in the Bad Land to hunt me down?"

"Think positively. Even if they really come, their first target will be me, not you."

Zhou Ke was quite open-minded. He grinned, stood up and said:

"That's settled! We'll set off immediately to that black market to find someone who can take us across the border. By the way, since we've already offended the Snake Nation and the Tiger Nation, it won't be a big deal to offend the Eagle Nation as well."

Eagle country?

Oh, how many divisions does it have?"
-
"Ma'am, last month our psionicists recruited another 300 psionic apprentices to join the training camp. Based on the current acceptable elimination rate and the growth rate of our psionic apprentices, perhaps in half a year, you will have a fourth exploration team composed entirely of psionicists."

At the same time that Zhou Ke was speaking out, a very dilapidated civilian aircraft was landing high in the sky near Niujiao Gorge.

In the cabin, a seductively dressed Eagle State psychic was reporting to her leader, while the Eagle State leader, nicknamed "Evil Eagle", was looking calmly at the canyon with black smoke outside the window.

She wore a ball mask that covered half of her face, and had a cup of hot coffee and a folded book beside her.

Ms. Evil Eagle was not too happy about the growth of her power.

Unlike the Human-Snake Nation that just wants to live a good life and the Tiger Nation that wants to do big things, the Eagle Nation has not been acting for these boring reasons since the day it was established.

They are the most mysterious force in the Badlands, but the fact that all their official members are psionicists makes other forces unwilling to provoke this tough nut to crack.

"So, the Exploration Group's excavation of the 'Fentas Industrial Fallen Area' hasn't concluded yet?"

The vulture took a sip of coffee and asked:

"How long do they plan to delay reporting to me the bad news that can't be concealed at all? That place is not far from the Badlands. I provided them with enough machinery for exploration. I'm not asking them to open up a second Badlands reservation, just to clear out the monsters entrenched there.

Is this job difficult?"

"Well, ma'am, you can't blame them."

The charming psychic who served as the secretary whispered:
"Over the years, our explorations of various occupied areas have brought back nothing but bad news. Facts have proven that the lands occupied by monsters for years have become polluted, and even psionicists cannot survive there. However, the highly alienated psionic environment is an excellent place to train outstanding psionicists.

Thanks to your foresight, none of the wisest people in the Badlands could have guessed that our Psionicist Academy would be established in the Occupied Territory.
And it's not all bad news from exploring a group, ma'am.

The underground laboratory they found is largely intact. Once it's excavated, we'll have a comprehensive research institute with the technological standards of the old civilization, and you'll be one step closer to the 'truth' you desire."

"However, twenty years ago, a 'forerunner' on the surface world had already found the 'answer'! The foolish rulers feared the truth would spread, so they brutally killed the 'prophet' who could bring about change!"

Ms. Evil Vulture scolded:
"We are already twenty years behind that poor lady! I have recruited so many psionicists and worked hard for ten years, but the intelligence I have obtained is not even as much as the conclusions that lady gained twenty years ago alone.

So, I really don’t understand why we should be complacent about this ridiculous progress?

So, am I just unlucky, or are you guys just stupid?
Before you get to the bottom of this question, I suggest you stop saying these flattering nonsense, Afu, instead of flattering me, why don't you do something serious? ! "

"Okay, okay, I'll go right away, miss uh, no, ma'am!"

The psychic secretary curled her lips after being scolded, but she was not angry. Before leaving, she said:
"There's something strange in the canyon below. Be careful when you go over there. Your brother specifically warned me to... well, I won't say anymore. Can you please stop glaring at me? I'm scared."

(End of this chapter)