Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 10. All behavioral goals are actually to integrate into the strike

The things in the backpack were completely different from what he had picked up in the vision.

When they were in the vision, some of them were boxes, some were small square devices, and some were even things similar to graphics cards with fan cooling structures. But after being taken out, they all turned into parts.

Most of them were integrated circuit boards, something Safe was very familiar with, but upon closer inspection, they had a completely different structure.

It seemed to be true, but it was not. Seifer reluctantly took out the cheapest one in the mercenary support system (worth 20,000) and removed some electronic components. Then he unexpectedly found that even the substrate had more than several layers of etched circuits inside.

This technology... so, the construction technology and even weapons engineering technology that I see now may all come from visions?
Sitting in the control seat of the car that should belong to him, Seifer was about to conduct a deeper study (destroy the panel) when he saw someone ringing the doorbell outside the car.

It's outrageous that there is a doorbell at the entrance and exit of the maintenance garage leading to the outside world!
He had to put down the board he was studying and wrap his protective suit with electrical tape while going to open the door.

The sealed door specially used to isolate the inside and outside was opened. Cypher finally wrapped up the part that might reveal that he was a robot, and heard a familiar voice coming from the light outside the door.

"Well done! Although I thought you could win the championship when we first took down that team, I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. Are you interested in working for me?"

The driver of the Edge Node City patrol car, Tien, was standing at the door.

This time she did not wear the protective suit that required slow movement under the scorching sun, but instead wore a neatly cut, straight, and formal-looking uniform.

His short burgundy hair was very roughly styled, which was a pity for his pretty, even overly fair face - after all, it was clear from his words that he had been a robber in the past, but had just turned over a new leaf.

…Compared to this long-sleeved uniform, Cypher was more curious about why this man's entire body, from the neck to the palms of his hands, and from the bottom to the short boots suitable for movement, was covered in a layer of black substance?

Seeing he didn't reply, Tien didn't step in. Instead, she stood at the door with her arms folded. "You helped me and my younger brother win the challenge in the vision. Thanks to you, we both made a small profit."

"Can you still afford a couple of drinks? Let's go?"

Seifer thought for a few seconds and shook his head: "No, I'm not good at drinking."

"Have you eaten yet?" Tien shrugged and continued.

"No... No, I don't have a good appetite today. I don't want to go to the bar..."

"Who told you to go to the bar? Come on, check out the Administration cafeteria."

Having said that, Cypher sighed (the speaker made a "sigh" sound): "Are you planning to recruit me to join the patrol car team?"

Unexpectedly, Tien shook his head leisurely: "No, didn't you refuse? Hey, mercenaries, even if I refuse now, I will receive orders later because of commissions, so I'm not in a hurry."

"Just making friends. Speaking of which, you'd better not wear that protective suit in Node City. I'm afraid people will be wary of you if you walk on the street."

This time, Cypher finally found an excuse: "I... only have this protective suit. I have no other clothes."

"What? You're just wearing this?"

Tien's expression was a little strange. She tugged at the black substance next to her body and said, "You're not wearing this thing? How come you didn't die outside?"

...These words are really hurtful.

Seifer shook his head slightly, his look full of secrets making Tien cross her arms with a little concern... This posture made the soft thing, which was already particularly eye-catching, appear even more magnificent.

It's a C... no, the underbust is at least D. No wonder she has so many supporters despite her straightforward and independent personality.

However, as a robot, Cypher remained calm. He shook his head slightly, "Maybe I'm lucky. The protection level in the car is very high. Anyway, I might stay in Edge Node City for a while, so there's no need to rush..."

"Okay, here's my contact information. If you're planning on taking a job, just contact me. That's all."

She left in a hurry, looking less like a city law enforcer and more like a big sister who was going out to make a killing.

Is there a vault or something like a bank in this city?
After watching her leave, Sefer breathed a sigh of relief, went back to carry everything except the board he had dismantled, and then went out to exchange money.

The technology tree in this world is quite distorted - the part I have been exposed to now is still relatively superficial. If I really want to understand it in detail, I must make my own value valuable.

As an independent mercenary, the more valuable your identity is, the closer you can be to the company... Of course, you can't join the company. After all, independent mercenaries can consider refusing missions, and the company's organization and mercenaries can only go up and send them!
Everything produced by the anomaly, whether it is the office windows of various companies or the mercenary support system, will be collected, and the quote will make any independent mercenary smile.

Even this kind of safe anomaly, when present in large numbers, is highly valuable. If Cypher had someone like him, he might have smiled. Unfortunately, he had to pay his debt first. After all, the currency was all mercenary. After that thing took some of the money, Cypher would only have a few cents left, probably enough to buy a meal.

Before that, Seifer thought for a moment and turned to go to the general store opened by the wandering merchant.

According to the city radio guide, this area sells various items besides the company's weapons and equipment. Who knows, there might be something you want in there...

As soon as he entered the commercial area, Sefer felt as if he was back in the Yiwu shopping mall. Everywhere were merchants setting up stalls in cubicles, and their tables and walls were filled with various specialties.

There were a wide variety of products from various underground cities in the desert, as well as some things that could be considered "special delicacies", but Sefer didn't want to touch them at all.

The name I understood had nothing to do with the animals in the picture, so who knows if they are edible. Besides, I am a robot and don’t need to eat.

Occasionally, you could see small robots moving along tracks and ground lines in this market. This place wasn't crowded, and mercenaries were even rarer... A freak like Cypher naturally attracted the attention of many merchants.

Someone waved enthusiastically and asked Seifer what he was looking for. There was a pile of various mechanical parts on his desk. He couldn't understand them, but they should be of average quality, so he just took a look and didn't pay any more attention to them.

Seeing that he was not a target customer, some businessmen continued to sit together and play a kind of card game cut out of paper. The rules were not complicated and it looked quite fun.

It's a pity that Sefer doesn't play cards or drink, and has a regular life. His original life plan was to get married and have children while keeping it confidential... Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore.

After walking around this three-dimensional commercial district and passing through shops filled with all kinds of clothes, he suddenly stopped at the door of a store. After thinking for a while, he asked the owner what his job was.

The middle-aged man sitting among a pile of machine parts raised his head, wiped his greasy hands and replied that he was a mechanic. Then Seifer made his request.

This request was too strange, but the other party was a mercenary, and his spending was much more generous than that of ordinary workers in the city. The mechanic thought about it for a while, and nodded reluctantly under the threat of an additional 10% reward.

The agreed delivery time was tomorrow night. Seifer then walked out of the trading area and prepared to go back to rest for a while, taking advantage of the free time in such a short time since coming to this world to study the board.

Speaking of which, it was mentioned in the independent mercenary support system that as a mercenary, because you have to be away for a long time to complete commissions and deal with various unknown emergencies, it is best not to fight alone.

In other words, forming one's own mercenary group is important, but hiring people is expensive, and maintaining the team will definitely cost a lot...

After so many thoughts, it all came down to one thing: I had no money.

I returned to the car and continued studying the circuit board until a series of rapid alarms rang out in the city outside, seemingly about to cause the entire underground space to explode.

With some doubt, Seifer opened the video interface to the outside world. He saw people outside the city retreating back to the city in a busy and orderly manner, and saw the huge gate slowly closing.

The overall lighting of the underground city slowly increased, and at the same time, the words "Daylight Remaining Time: 10 Hours and 59 Minutes" lit up in an area on the ceiling.

The system is very complete, and it can be seen that the city's managers have made systematic efforts in all aspects.

Continuing to study the circuit board in his hand, Seifer was amazed at its craftsmanship.

However, this is the limit. Without more rigorous and mature tools, it is still too difficult for this body to analyze this thing with the naked eye... uh, a combat scanning module.

The team needs a mechanic, and not just a maintenance worker. The scope is too large, and even if we find him, he may not come...

Just when I was worried, the [Independent Mercenary Support System] suddenly issued a task from the company to all local mercenaries.

I clicked on it and saw, wow, it even has dynamic logo rotation and mission briefing.

"This commission was issued by Abian Company, a subsidiary of the Commercial Union."

"Independent mercenaries, our underground excavation work at Edge Node City has been attacked by monsters. We need your assistance in clearing the area. The mission reward has been submitted."

'No damage to any excavating equipment and no injury to any workers, report complete.'

The mission is here, and the minimum reward is 50,000... Is it because the company is too rich, or are mercenaries really good at making money?

Seifer didn't know. He silently changed into a protective suit stored in the preparation room, picked up the weapons and ammunition issued to him at the beginning, as well as the very good captured shield, and then got off the car fully equipped and headed to the mission preparation point.

——As for mercenaries, even though I’m not very familiar with them, I still have to do some mercenary work, otherwise what if I become suspected?

(End of this chapter)