Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 105 104. Tell me if this counts as a gain or not (th update)

Unlike his subordinates, the independent mercenary "Flying Fish" is easy to talk to. This is mainly because as a mercenary, he still lacks something.

That is, the qualification to be able to pilot a mecha.

So when faced with an independent mercenary like Cypher who could drive a mecha, did not seem to have any strange features on his body, and could even eat and communicate normally, he was very cautious.

Those people who were beaten up before were just because of their bad habit of not reading other people’s public information columns.

Seifer didn't care at all. He asked the bartender to bring another bottle of different wine and poured half of it into the other party's beer glass - this operation made "Flying Fish" secretly shocked.

The cyborgs are different, they even drink so recklessly.

Tien turned around silently and waved to the bartender, asking him to come over and give her another good drink, after all, someone was paying the bill.

Flying Fish was silent for a moment. "If you're also interested in that node city, I suggest holding off for now. Abian Company has been shipping a large number of weapons and supplies here these days."

"What are they doing this for?"

"Of course it's not charity. The information they leaked indicates that something strange is slowly emerging beneath the Transformation Association's node city."

He grinned, seemingly mocking a certain company. "Compared to the other two companies that remained silent, Abian was exceptionally proactive, even going so far as to offer generous conditions for missions issued through the mercenary system."

"...Bypassing the mercenary system?"

"Of course. Although such missions won't raise your mercenary rating, besides completing the mission, shooting down hostile mercenaries and so on will still be recorded in your personal record."

Flying Fish took a sip of his wine and said, "That's not the point. The point is the weapons and equipment that Abian provided, as well as the maps of a certain depth."

"But this map only covers the first five layers. What's below is unknown to everyone. For mercenaries, the unknown is what's tempting."

"So I told you to wait two days until the first group of people go down, and then make plans... The only order in that node city right now is the monitoring outpost and supply point on the top floor."

It sounds extremely tempting, although those so-called self-development machines have driven people out, making it difficult to move around.

But it doesn't say that it can't cause damage, right?

"So Abian Corporation is...doing charity?"

"You can call it charity or some conspiracy, but they are distributing supplies in the Crucible Node City, and the first batch of mercenaries has already set off."

The independent mercenary shrugged. "For mercenaries like us who have no money and no power, the company's assistance is too good to be true. It would be strange if we didn't participate."

Cypher wanted to ask him if he wasn't afraid of using people to fill a gap, but considering how broke so many independent mercenaries were, he kept silent.

Even if it's just one independent mercenary, he still has to worry about weapons, equipment, food, clothing, and upgrading his forces, not to mention leading a team.

Especially after I got a mobile base - I can tell that the thing is losing health as soon as it is driven out. Even if there are gadgets produced by Vision to help maintain it, it can only delay the damage.

Seeing that Cypher remained silent, the mercenary immediately struck while the iron was hot: "I see that you can drive that kind of machine. Going down there to explore is definitely better than people like us. Why don't we cooperate..."

"That's fine. I'm used to going down into the mines alone... Besides, I dare die in there and leave the work to my crew. Do you dare?"

There is only one life. When profit is lower than life, mercenaries will always compromise. Apparently, Flying Fish is also such a person. He could only smile awkwardly, drink the wine reluctantly, pay the money and run away.

Less than a few minutes after this man ran away, Sefer was surrounded by various mercenaries who came to make themselves familiar with him.

Some people tried to establish some friendship with such a capable mercenary, while others also wanted to recruit him.

With the example set by the first person to stand out, these people also knew that Sefer was not someone to be trifled with, so everyone behaved very restrained, without their previous arrogance.

This situation continued until Leica finished his break and called in to ask about the progress here - there were several groups of mercenaries coming and going.

Seifer had obtained quite a bit of information from them, and he had a pretty good idea of the node city that couldn't be used or function.

With a wave of his hand, ending his visit to the bar for the day and dismissing the mercenaries who were bragging about their past exploits, Seifer found Tien, who was already slumped over the table. This guy, so well-heeled, wasn't even lying on the table, using his hands as a pillow... The material of his clothes was also quite good.

Doesn’t it hurt to press on it like this?
He easily carried her on his back and left the bar under the gaze of a crowd of people whistling.

"Um..."

Tien behind him made a somewhat labored and confused sound. Sefer thought for a moment and decided to use a gentler attitude to calm her down as she had drunk too much and was a little hungover.

"If you vomit on me, I'll dump you in the alley next to the bar and you'll have to walk back on your own."

Tien let out a muffled laugh and rested her head on Cypher's shoulder: "That's too... uh uh, such a waste..."

"Well, after all, I've had many admirers, so you just throw me on the side of the road..."

If his face could adjust its expression to suit his mood, Sefer would probably want to roll his eyes. He looks like a super drunk with a hangover.

His eyes were bloodshot from not getting enough rest, his hair was messy, and there were traces of dried tears on his face. If he didn't have a good foundation, he would probably be mistaken for a homeless person if he was found on the street.

But the figure is still...

Unfortunately, the machine's body has no sense of touch.

Back at the motorcycle, Cypher put her helmet on. "Don't vomit in it, that's a warning. If you vomit in it, you're drowning in vomit."

Tien was too lazy to answer, but just kept patting Sefer's shoulders and told him to ride his bike quickly.

The huge motorcycle, which looked like a small vehicle in any way, was back on the road. The surrounding high-rise buildings and the flowing traffic and people turned into thin glowing lines passing by.

The main reason why he ran so fast was that Seifer talked too much with those mercenaries. If they continued talking, it would probably take less than a few minutes for him to figure out which route he was going to take in the next two days.

Even though he was drunk, Tien could see that although Sefer appeared calm on the surface, he was actually too naive and made many impulsive choices.

Including the bread she had eaten that morning, Tien found a long gray hair in it... but she just ate the hair together.

When you come to the bar, you will be ridiculed to death. You should talk more and do less. What about drinking too much?

It's because the wine tastes good, not because of any meticulous considerations.

As we passed through the main city and headed towards the interchange, Seifer suddenly smiled and said, "Are you asleep?"

"Headache is more difficult to deal with than menstrual cramps. Tell me what's wrong."

"I brought you something nice."

Under Tien's puzzled gaze, Seifer held the handlebars firmly with one hand to prevent it from shifting, and reached into the imitation leather abdomen with the other hand.

This scene is a bit scary.

Then, with a tug, more than a dozen thick plastic bags came out of his stomach. The contents weren't important; what was important was the different colors inside, all crystal clear and pure...

"Where did this wine come from?"

"I saved some of this when the mercenaries treated me to drinks. I'm free anyway, so I'll take whatever I can."

Tien laughed out loud despite having a headache. She really didn't expect that this guy could be so stingy in such a place.

"So how did you collect it?"

Cypher reached out and pulled, and a hose with a valve rustled in the wind.

To be honest, Tien felt that today was the day she laughed the loudest.

　(10/22) Make it a round number, good night!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)