Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 12. Even though you’ve only traveled through time twice, you’ll just have to get used to it.

Just like the first time he traveled through time, Sefer had developed resistance to being suddenly thrown into some strange place.

He immediately composed himself, looked for Laika in the communication list, and called her - there was no response. It seemed that this anomaly could not communicate with the outside world.

But it could also be because he fell too deep.

Leica had reminded him before that as long as the communication technology could keep up, it would actually be easy to contact the outside world and get assistance within the vision. So now it can only be said that it's either good luck or bad luck.

Fortunately, when I fell, I bumped into a vision and was sucked in. The bad thing was that I didn't know which level this vision belonged to.

This should be a freight warehouse. The train is traversing the snow, but the supplies it's carrying don't look particularly high-end...

Sefer casually flipped through the fixed shelves, which were basically filled with drinks and food that were easy to store.

For example, low-alcohol wine, sealed sugary drinks, bundles of dried meat and unknown dry food.

It’s a pity that I don’t eat much.

Freight trains, snowy country scenery, looking at the bright side, this strange phenomenon is probably the same category as the 'competition' I participated in before, just in a different environment.

With such a pleasant thought in mind, Seifer walked through the shaking train, looked at the partition door for a long time, and unexpectedly found that the door opening button was quite advanced.

The carriage looked a bit old, but the password lock was a full touch screen. After clicking to unlock it and seeing the scene behind the door, Seifer felt that his judgment was... careless.

Outside the door is a space filled with many pipelines and metal support roads. These roads are equipped with various transmission devices to facilitate the delivery of goods to designated stacking areas.

The door of the carriage he came out of was just one of the doors in this partition wall. Above and on the sides were storage spaces of the same specifications and sizes.

This isn't a train, it's clearly... a giant mobile fortress!
And this was just one carriage. Sefer had no idea what the scenery was like in the carriages ahead or behind.

Speaking of such a huge thing running on track, the strength of this track is beyond imagination.

As he was thinking, there was a sudden movement in the nearby carriage. Seifer immediately drew his weapon and took aim.

The middle door opened, and a young woman in work clothes emerged from the carriage. She carried a tool bag slung across her shoulder, and the tools inside jingled loudly, seemingly having just been used and not yet secured.

The messy black hair was flattened by the earmuffs and tied into a casual ponytail, as if to prevent the hair from affecting work...

She seemed to have just finished a period of non-stop work, and she was a little shaky when she walked, but the first thing she saw after she came out was Sefer who was pointing a gun at her.

...Anyone could notice such a big guy wearing silver clothes staring at him.

The girl's cheeks, already pale from exhaustion, instantly became even paler. She stared with her green eyes wide open, motionless, as if a thousand excuses were running through her mind.

The atmosphere was tense. After thinking for a few seconds, Seifer decided to initiate the conversation: "Who are you, why are you here, where are you going?"

These were three classic questions, asked at just the right time. The girl moved her lips, but under the gunpoint, she didn't utter a single word.

Then, under the double pressure of intense mental stress and days of intensive work, she fainted while standing!

...No, aren't you too fragile?

Seeing her fall to the ground with a plop, and the tools in the bag scattered all over the floor, Seifer couldn't help but look down at his own weapons, thinking... there was no need to be so nervous, right?
With the mentality that he had to find someone to question, he went over and picked up the girl, put away her tools, went back into the storage room, put her down, and tried to get a bottle of low-alcohol wine.

Then he sprinkled it on her face without hesitation.

Stimulated by the cold liquid, the girl, whose consciousness was cut off, quickly opened her eyes and saw the silver monster holding a bottle of wine and about to feed it into her mouth.

She jerked her head back, only to hear a 'bang' as the metal wall panel collided with her skull, with the metal appearing to have the upper hand.

The girl curled up on the ground, holding the back of her head, tears instantly overflowing from her eyes. She looked like a poor person who was about to be put into at least six different positions by the strange mercenary.

"...Anyway, calm down. Let me introduce myself. My name is Cypher, an independent mercenary."

Finally recovering from the pain and dizziness, the girl slowly raised her hand and slowly pulled out a tablet that could be used for writing from the inner pocket of her overalls.

Then he slowly sat up straight, raised his hand and wrote a few words on the board, then turned it over to show Seifer.

The words were incomprehensible, but Cypher could understand them.

'Lin Shenxue'.

"Your name is Lin Shenxue... Well, what do you do?"

'mechanic'

The girl paused and added the word "senior" in front of this line of words.

A senior mechanic, performing routine maintenance checks on the train, had worked all day and night to ensure the transport loading line wouldn't get stuck when arriving at the terminal. He was about to return home to rest...

Family?
It was the first time Seifer heard this term in the car. He was a little curious: "You live in the car, don't you go home at your age?"

Lin Shenxue paused, seeming even more confused than him. She wrote on the board that the vast majority of workers responsible for transportation and maintenance, and even the combat personnel on board, lived on this never-stopping doomsday train.

Only those who volunteer to stay at the supply point will be stationed at the transport node, but that's much more dangerous than being on the train. Is the theme of this vision the Doomsday Train?

Seifer nodded. "I understand. That's the setup. Then we don't have any conflict. I pointed the gun at you just now in self-defense. I apologize."

Lin Shenxue shook his head, confirmed that he had not left any tools behind, and then wrote a line of words.

"You've never heard of the mercenary profession. You're probably lying. But it doesn't matter. Those who can be talked to are not threats. The only threats are those who can't be talked to."

"Tell me about it in detail."

Lin Shenxue stood up easily with his help. She slung her bag over her shoulder and tied her hair into a ponytail again. She pointed at herself and then at the door, motioning Sefer to follow her.

The two left the freight car. Lin Shenxue swiped the watch on her wrist at the checkpoint and walked forward with Sefer.

Next to the freight car is the car that transports weapons, equipment and supplies. There are many logistics personnel here who are inspecting and maintaining the weapons and equipment here.

Compared to the freight cars, there were at least some signs of human activity. Unlike at first, when Seifer had thought it was just another large, automated device...

It took the two of them some time to cross the train carriage. According to Lin Shenxue, the material warehouse and weapons depot, which were divided into multiple compartments, actually looked like that.

What really makes people feel suffocated no matter how many times they look at it is the arsenal bay, the apron, and even the hangar of the human-machine interactive combat unit.

However, a mechanic like her is only responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle's power unit, and she has not had much contact with things that are used to fight against things other than trains.

This person doesn't like to talk, but the news is really leaking out. The main reason can't be that... she is too idle, right?

'After a long day's work, I just want to go home and sleep.'

Lin Shenxue tapped the board in her hand and opened another door. Suddenly, the buzzing sounds of communication and noise came into Sefer's ears.

This carriage is neatly divided into several floors. The metal floor from this door forward is covered with traces of oil stains from daily life. Several metal corridors lead to the upper floors and even higher floors.

People live and communicate here, and even use currency to buy food or daily necessities. If it weren't for the slight shaking under his feet, indicating that this was a giant train moving forward, Seifer would have doubted that he had stepped into a residential area.

"This carriage is a living and trading area. People need communication itself to stabilize their spirits and enhance unity."

Lin Shenxue was not surprised. She continued to walk through the carriage with Sefer. When they passed a stall grilling something on an iron plate, she suddenly turned around to look at Sefer.

Seeing him shaking his head, Lin Shenxue pointed and asked the boss to pack a bag of unknown meat in a paper bag and carry it.

Then he squeezed through the crowded crowd and bought a bottle of light golden sparkling drink... After analysis, it should be a bubbly drink, or beer.

The girl is young, but she has a great taste.

As if realizing something, Lin Shenxue put everything into the tool bag, took off his gloves and continued to click on the screen.

'Don't judge a person's character by his appearance.'

That's true. You look less than 1.6 meters tall and your age is just so-so. If you didn't tell me, who would know you were a senior mechanic...

Honestly, this vision was so rich and detailed that it even gave Seifer the illusion that this was the real world.

In short, take a look at the situation first. Generally speaking, visions will help things move forward rather than just show people the world.

So Seifer asked directly: "To prevent any discrepancies in our communication, let me be frank. In fact, I don't belong here."

"There are many people who don't belong in this car, and I often think so."

Lin Shenxue shook the communication board and continued to lead the way. The next carriage felt much quieter and was neatly planned. Each compartment had a door, and the distances were exactly the same, giving it a very modular feel.

"But this is the foundation of our survival. Without this car, life will be more fragile than a snowflake."

After regaining some spirit, Lin Shenxue's writing became more elegant and literary. It looked more like writing a book than fiddling with metal lumps.

She walked around the residential area for a long time before finally stopping at the door of a cubicle. She turned back to look at Seifer, her eyes seeming to convey the message, "Don't you understand yet?"

Cypher spread his hands. "While what you said is quite profound, the difference I'm trying to make is a physical one. Simply put, you can treat me as someone from another world, and I'm here because your car is in big trouble."

Lin Shenxue's eyes widened slightly, then she thought for a few seconds, and suddenly turned around to open the door - the room was very cramped, and there was no legendary space expansion technology.

A fixed metal bed, with a bright red electric guitar stuck on a cabinet at the foot of the bed. The space under the small table was filled with electronic components, and even the wall space was not wasted... Let's not talk about that for now.

She took out the teppanyaki grilled meat and beer from her bag, threw the bag on the ground, sat on the chair without closing the door, took off her gloves and started the meal, which made Sefer a little confused.

"so you……"

Lin Shenxue picked up the board with her left hand, on which were two lines of beautifully written words.

"Since a crisis is about to happen, it's better to fill your stomach before it happens. Even if you die, you won't have any regrets."

Very good, very energetic.

(End of this chapter)