Abnormal Doomsday Records

Chapter 55 55. Mudhowl, I am the Oil Man from the north of the Badlands. Would it be convenient for you to add Psychic Lan and chat in detail?

"What kind of magic potion did you give Qiao Ya? Look how scared the child is! Her face has turned pale."

Before the aircraft reached its target, Zhou Ke, who had finally learned how to operate the flapping-wing aircraft, took the time to ask D-4:

"I didn't ask you to scare her."

"But the necessary pressure and intimidation based on realistic logic can effectively help the currently confused Miss Qiao Ya quickly find the direction of action and dispel in advance a series of strange and self-inflicted ideas that she has due to her immaturity."

D-4 answered seriously:
"According to D-4's calculations, D-4's series of actions will effectively reduce your decision-making pressure and eliminate a series of unnecessary hidden dangers that may arise when the team is first established. D-4 believes that this is D-4's responsibility in the team!
And D-4 believes that he has performed this duty well.

If you feel this is unnecessary, D-4 will try to minimize interfering with your decision-making in the future.”

"No, no, no, I didn't say you did a bad job. I just said you could try a gentler and more effective approach."

Zhou Ke explained:
“Try to use the art of language instead of direct oppression.

Human beings are mean creatures, and I am no exception. Even if I know that doing something is good for myself, when I am forced to make a choice, I will develop meaningless and stupid rebellious psychology due to emotional fluctuations.

Therefore, in this case, gentle but powerful guidance and enticement are often more useful than coercion. "

"Is that so?"

D-4 nodded thoughtfully and said:

"Behavioral database updated! Your prompts will be interpreted again and reinserted into D-4's decision logic."

"Yeah, that's it. Everyone likes kids who are studious."

Zhou Ke laughed and handed over the responsibility of operating the aircraft to D-4. He stretched himself and prepared to get up. At this time, Wu Neng said in a mean way:

"See, the 'good wife' that this machine found for you is very useful, right?"

"It is indeed very useful, but your choice of words is not very rigorous. Your Chinese teacher will slap you for this."

Zhou Ke curled his lips.

Ignoring Wu Neng's obscene reminders, he walked to the middle of the aircraft and clapped his hands, asking the guys resting around to focus their attention on him.

"We're almost there."

He said bluntly:

"It's time to start formulating an action plan. D-4 said that the black market has a certain amount of guards. Considering that the Crazy Month has just ended, the black market buyers in the city-state area will not rush to trade immediately. Therefore, in the worst case scenario, we may need to stay in the black market for a while.

In this situation, it is very important to create an identity that will not arouse suspicion.”

"What other identity can I use?"

Old Taff rubbed his eyes, fished out a wrinkled cigarette case, and said:

"Why not just enter as a black market merchant? There are actually quite a lot of black markets in the Badlands, both large and small. I've been there more than once. The advantage of the black market is that, in most cases, they don't specifically distinguish between buyers and sellers.

And we happen to have some black market-style goods on hand."

Old Taff and Zhou Ke looked at each other, and both of them laughed cunningly like old foxes, but the young man was still confused. Qiao Ya reacted after a few seconds and nodded, but Old Taff's two older sons were scratching their heads, not knowing what these old silver coins were referring to.

"It's the aircraft itself!"

Qiao Ya thought of D-4's instructions and took the initiative to explain. She said to the others:

“Few people have ever seen the Acholi Group’s military flapping-wing aircraft, let alone obtained one in the Badlands. This thing has strong mobility and destructive power. What’s even more amazing is that Master Wuneng has cracked its safety lock.

Theoretically speaking, no matter who it is, as long as they get it and equip it with weapon systems, it can immediately become combat-ready.

Uncle Taff is right.

This stuff is usually very hot in hand, and even forces like the Tiger State and the Snake State do not dare to risk offending the Acholi Consortium by engaging in an open and aboveboard trade. However, in the special environment of the black market, there are not so many rules.

As long as the price is right, many people will be interested. We can even sell the aircraft directly to the black market dealer, that is, the Jiubang behind the scenes.

They must have what we need, but I don't know if there is any weird connection between Jiubang and the Acholi Group.

What if we get sold out?"

"It depends on which one is more important in the eyes of Jiubang."

Old Taf narrowed his eyes, lit a cigarette with the help of A Miao, and said:
"Is it their reputation in the black market that they have run for many years, or their friendly relationship with the Acholi Consortium? This kind of thing always requires a gamble. Now that it has come to this, it is somewhat meaningless to consider these things."

"The situation you are worried about is unlikely to occur, everyone."

D-4, who is piloting the aircraft, will say:

"That black market involves many forces, not only the major factions in the Bad Land, but also various family departments from the city-state area. The Eagle State set up that trading venue not only to gain profits, but also to win over relationships and connections.

They will not destroy the channels they have cultivated over many years just because of the value of an aircraft.

This is not a question of humanity, this is a simple calculation of interests.”

“So, let’s do this!”

Zhou Ke said with finality:
"Now we need to change our appearance and pretend to be traders with a great background. Let me ask you, is there any force in this evil land that is disliked by everyone, but no one wants to provoke them, and they need to buy some important supplies from them occasionally?"

"Of course it's the mechanical lunatics of Rust Castle! They are traitors to humanity. Even the most despicable bandits hate them and are afraid that they will go crazy at any time under the orders of their machine masters. But the robots of Rust Castle are experts in searching.

I heard that Rust Castle has been sending organic hunters to the occupied areas to clean up monsters and recycle supplies. Therefore, the mechanical believers of Rust Castle have a lot of technological equipment from the old civilization, and occasionally they will make some transactions in exchange for the strange things they need.

We can pretend to be mechanical lunatics!
The existence of Miss D-4 is simply the most perfect "identity certificate", but everyone still needs to change their style.

In terms of dress, try to be closer to those who worship machines."

Old Taft was still the first to answer.

The old guy was unexpectedly active today, a change from his usual timid style. Zhou Ke glanced at him and felt that this should be the "credit" of D-4.

Maybe it was the conversation between D-4 and Qiao Ya before that made Qiao Ya realize the problem, and she told Old Taf about it in advance, so Old Taf is now trying hard to show his "value" to prevent Zhou Ke from using his wife and children as victims.

Unlike Joeya, Old Taf, who had experienced the collapse of the old civilization from beginning to end, had fully witnessed how fragile human nature was in the Badlands, and he was also well aware of how crazy humans could be when they were cruel.

From his point of view, the fact that Zhou Ke was able to lead Ajie and fight their way out of Castle End has proven that Zhou Ke will never hesitate when it is time to be ruthless.

Most importantly, he didn't dare to gamble on matters that involved his life and property.
"Very good, let's do as Old Taff suggests. We will land in a few dozen minutes, so everyone should get ready during this time."

Zhou Ke said readily:

"Our black market group is led by Lao Tafu, Qiao Ya is his accountant, Ajie, Qiao Shan and I act as guards, and A Miao and the two young men are the new apprentices. As for the core members of the team,
It is naturally the noble 'Mechanical Sage' D-4."

"The disguises of the others are easy to deal with, but the mechanical lunatics also dress in all kinds of strange ways. Even if they don't wear anything, they can go out naked. No one cares about the precarious mental state of those guys."

Old Taff said hesitantly in a low voice:
"But I heard that Miss D-4's bionic posture is not popular in Rust Castle, and their robots don't wear bionic skin. I heard from some knowledgeable guys that some advanced robots in Rust Castle are proud of their 'pure' mechanical bodies.

They will even give their replaced gears and modules as 'rewards' to their loyal human servants."

"D-4."

Zhou Ke turned around and looked at the white-haired robot and said:
"Are you willing to make some sacrifices for the team?"

"Of course, Mr. Zhou Ke."

D-4 stretched out his hand and tore off his bionic skin, which had become tattered after many battles, revealing the unique silver-gray mechanical body underneath the skin.

She said in a gentle tone:
"For robots, ordinary bionic skin without psychic defense structure is just a tool to please the master. Especially for combat machines like D-4, compared with bionic skin without any defense ability, more solid external armor will make D-4 feel safer.

However, D-4's true form might seem a little hideous to humans.

I hope I don’t scare you.”

A few minutes later, D-4 finished "removing makeup" alone in the bathroom.

As a robot, she had no sense of shame. In fact, she could have removed her bionic skin layer in the cabin, but the process of "removing human skin alive" was too "stimulating" for humans who still had basic thinking abilities. In order to protect the team members' currently poor mental health, D-4 adopted Wuneng's suggestion and completed the task in a confined space.

But to be honest, D-4's true form did not cause the "uncanny valley" effect to everyone. On the contrary, Qiao Ya even expressed her amazement at seeing such an elegant thing. The fact that a pretty girl like Qiao Ya could express such emotion proves that D-4's true form is not hideous at all.

She does not have the exposed mechanical structure of other humanoid machines, but instead adopts a fully encapsulated model.

The silver-gray streamlined anti-metal shell wraps around the body curves of D-4, and special packaging is done at the joints. There is no obvious mechanical structure on the face, and instead there is an integrated skull shell.

If I have to say, they are quite similar to the "Twin Dancers" in Zhou Ke's memory.

However, the structure of her eyes is indeed complex. After all, these eyes are not only beautiful, but also a high-energy laser emitter.

“Not ugly at all!”

Qiao Ya stepped forward and covered the newly-made "Mechanical Sage" with a black cloak decorated with gears and broken metal pieces. She whispered:

"Just like the robots made by the legendary old civilization, you are even full of a kind of sophisticated 'industrial beauty'. Well, this word was taught to me by my mother when I was a child. I never really understood it before, but when I saw you, I realized the style described by this word."

"Thank you for your compliment, Miss Joya. D-4's mind sparks an emotion called 'joy'. However, D-4 is just a poor imitation made by the Acholi Consortium based on the technology of the old civilization.

According to Professor Qiao Sina's recollection, before the collapse of the old civilization, any advanced automated factory could produce intelligent robots of the same level as D-4.

Perhaps for a mechanical life form like D-4, the old civilization with highly developed productivity is a more desirable 'paradise'."

A stiff smile appeared on D-4's mechanical face.

Well, this smile actually made everyone’s heart waver. We have already arrived in the wasteland, why is the uncanny valley effect still chasing us?
"Is everyone else dressed? We're almost landing!"

Zhou Ke, who had put on a decorative but mechanical-style metal arm armor on his arm, shouted, and the others immediately appeared one after another.

The knowledgeable old Taf probably saw the mechanical believers of Rust Castle with his own eyes, so he set a new "appearance" for the rest of the team according to his memory.

He was wearing a black coat that covered his body, revealing only a large brass pocket watch on his chest. He was leaning on a mechanical cane made of scrap steel, and had several connected gears tied to his back. He looked very mysterious.

Ah Miao and his two sons beside him were dressed more simply.

The same plain robe, but with all sorts of mysterious lines drawn on the face, neck and arms, all of which were related to gears and levers.

A Miao and her two children were forced to shave their heads and have strange things painted on their scalps.

Old Taff's eldest son Warren had lost his left arm before, so he had a crudely constructed "iron hand" replaced by his broken arm. This made him look more like one of those fanatical lunatics who madly modified their bodies just to get closer to a mechanical body.

Of course, Old Taff’s cane and Warren’s iron hand were both “camouflage props” that D-4 had made for everyone after he dismantled the defense structure of the aircraft’s storage compartment.

Ajie and Qiao Shan had spiked decorations on their necks, and their hair was styled into a rather non-mainstream but Badlands-style hairstyle. D-4 used some special materials to make a one-eyed eyepiece, which he wore on Qiao Shan's left eye, disguising it as a modified mechanical eye. The mechanical spear in Ajie's hand was painted with various mottos of Rust Castle.

"This is for you, Xiaoya."

Old Taff took out a box and handed it to Qiao Ya, who took it, opened it and found a pair of round-frame glasses inside.

After she put it on, she added a touch of scholarly temperament to herself. With the help of A Miao, she changed into a "gear robe" of the same style. She held a scroll for accounting in her hand and wore a pistol with a strong mechanical style on her waist.

The act of picking up things is just for show and cannot be used to inspire anyone, and this is also the work of D-4's "clever hands".

“I always feel like there’s something missing.”

Zhou Ke rubbed his chin.

Looking at the attire of the group of people in front of him, it suddenly dawned on him after a moment.

"We still need a few crude mechanical arms connected to the back and a psychic skull server suspended at the shoulder, but we can't get those two things right now. But we have to get the 'Purity Emblem', otherwise it won't be the same!"

Zhou Ke flexed his fingers and at the last moment before landing, he personally made an article similar to a ribbon for each person in the team.

A three-finger-wide strip of cloth was used to make a ribbon, which was filled with colorful inscriptions praising machinery, and a wax seal was also modeled with sol.

As a result, even old Taf couldn't help but sigh that the way these people were dressed now really made them look more like machine worshippers than those machine maniacs.

"Pay attention for a moment! Don't lose face!"

Under Wu Neng's control, the aircraft slowly landed in the Black Market Valley pointed out by D-4. Zhou Ke gave a speech to the others in the cabin:
"If you realize you might be exposed, don't speak. Pretend to be dumb. Leave the communication to old Taff. If you can't control the other party, let D-4 take action. I guess the guards of Eagle State don't have the courage to offend the 'Mechanical Sage' of Rust Castle. The blood debts of the organic hunters in the Bad Land have caused too much psychological pressure on humans.

Who is not afraid of death? "

"What if they insist on asking us why we came to the black market?"

Qiao Ya pushed up her glasses and whispered:
"After all, we need to find a flying machine here to go to the city-state area. If we want to trade with the dealer, then our whereabouts will always be hidden."

"Then tell them!"

Zhou Ke grinned, revealing an unscrupulous expression, and said:
“Just tell them that the sage from Rust Castle has an important mission and must go to the City-State District to complete a high-level meeting with the Archon of the Acholi Consortium on the surface world. This meeting will directly determine the future direction of the Bad Land.

This statement was enough to scare them.

After all, this is just an action plan to help us enter the black market smoothly. Our primary goal is still to leave the bad land as soon as possible.

If necessary, it might be easier to resolve the matter with force.

I like things to be simple, and over-complication is bad for everyone.”

The flapping-wing aircraft landed smoothly at the edge of the valley, and soon several old jeeps drove out, carrying the heads of the black market to check the situation.

Old Taft also imitated the behavior of those mechanical lunatics in his memory and shouted in front of the hatch:

"Don't let those impure machines get close to us! You fools bound by flesh and blood, the noble lady does not want to see you mistreating your mechanical compatriots who drive her. Before the wrath of the organic hunters falls, why don't you hurry up and prepare to welcome the distinguished guests?"

"Ah this."

The head of the black market in Jiubang was stunned when he saw Old Taf's overly classic outfit.

Why are they these mechanical lunatics again? !
He really hated these guys!
Every time they come to the black market, they make a mess here. Mainly because these guys are crazy. Maybe they learned from their mechanical masters to drink motor oil and caused permanent brain damage. They break a lot of rules, and most of them are inexplicable.

But as the host of the black market, he couldn't refuse the arrival of the mechanical madman.

Although these guys are annoying, the good stuff they have is really good! Every time there is a black market gathering with the participation of mechanical lunatics, Jiubang can make a lot of money from it.

"Hurry up! Drive the car back and hide all the machines in the base, so that these lunatics won't have any weird ideas about our machines."

The head of the black market jumped out of the car, gave a few instructions to his deputies, and then stepped forward to negotiate with old Taf.

When he asked to meet the "person in charge", the cabin of the aircraft in front of him quietly opened, and the D-4's iconic and somewhat beautiful mechanical arm stretched out and made a specific gesture under Zhou Ke's guidance.

The person in charge of the black market is also knowledgeable.

He immediately stepped forward and kissed the gear ring on the finger of the "Mechanical Sage" with a "kiss of the hand", and at the same time confirmed the identity of this group of people.

He must be from Rust Castle!
Just by looking at the silver-grey precision mechanical finger joints of this mechanical sage, which are different from crude machines, you can tell that the person who came might be the mysterious "manager" of the Rust Castle.

"So, what are the trade items you brought this time?"

He asked quietly with a hint of false respect.

The "lackey" old Taf, who was very dramatic, arrogantly pushed him away with his scrap steel cane, so as not to let this "lowly flesh and blood" defile the "purity" of the sage.

He cleared his throat, pointed at the aircraft and said:

"Foolish humans launched a shameful sneak attack on the sacred Rust Castle, but they once again underestimated the power of the machinery. This spoils of war is useless to us, so I will give it to you as a reward and take some pure things as an offering to the great power of the machinery.

In addition, the honorable sage needs a flying vehicle that can enter and exit the city-state area.

You arrange it immediately!

Hurry and do your work! If you dare to waste the Sage's precious time, be careful that organic hunters will knock on your window tonight!"

(End of this chapter)