Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 14 14. Visions also have visions. Do you know your own life?

After the ten-meter-tall 'human-machine interactive combat unit' was activated, if Isaiah had eyelids, he would have opened his eyes as wide as copper bells and launched into flight.

The unique nozzles at the waist, feet and back of the machine directly shook off all the snow on it, and even vaporized the accumulated snow. The moment they took off, even most of the snow in this open carriage disappeared.

The sound made Cypher slap his helmet, feeling like his sound receptors were about to break...

No matter what, this thing can actually take off. Not only did it take off, it was also "boom boom boom" from the air, using the weapons in its hands to shoot at the mechanical monsters and their turrets that can attack remotely.

Forget it. There are many unreasonable things in the other world. Maybe tomorrow I have nothing to do and do an experiment, and I will find that cutting the magnetic coil cannot generate current?
After changing another magazine, Seifer calmed himself down and continued shooting at the mechanical monster.

The battle situation seems to be extremely favorable for the train side... but this may only be temporary.

Judging from the previous battle zone breakouts and the intelligence gathered from chatting with Leica, anomalies tend to have certain trends, such as becoming chaotic, becoming dangerous, or concluding with a certain event...

While he was thinking about it, Sefer suddenly felt that the train began to slow down. Although the artillery on the train had not stopped, it seemed that something had happened.

Everyone, except the mercenaries caught in the vision, began running frantically, but it seemed like they all had a goal... right?

Someone was shouting, 'Pit in! Pit in—'

Some people were rushing into other carriages, and there was no doubt that there were even more people busy in other carriages.

Seifer looked towards the front of the car and saw that the long stretch of permafrost suddenly disappeared, followed by a lake surface composed of a thick layer of ice shell.

The track was built on the surface of the lake, and further back was a huge gray-silver building, so large that people standing underneath could truly feel their own insignificance.

The style is cold and there are almost no curves. The building looks like a 'train station', silently waiting for the train to arrive.

This giant building stands on an island in the lake. The entire island seems to have been transformed into a thick and thorny fortification under the meticulous cultivation of countless people.

The deceleration phase during the pit stop may be the most dangerous phase, but after that, it should become easier, right?

Without being able to contact Leica, there was no way to determine what kind of vision this was. Seifer knocked down another group of monsters that could easily crawl on the ice, and suddenly turned around to look at the mercenaries at another firing point.

Why not just ask other mercenaries?

A giant mobile vehicle entered the station, and the firepower gradually shifted to the front and rear of the train - this station did not have the huge metal doors imagined to block monsters, it was just a station.

The moment they entered the station, the entire interior suddenly became ablaze with light. Although they couldn't find the light source, the activation made it exceptionally bright. Then, many words began to appear.

It's hard to describe. It's the kind of three-dimensional, floating in the air, projection-like words, symbols, regularly jumping digital symbols, etc., emerging and then gathering, from bottom to top, slowly sweeping upwards from the chassis of the train.

Sefer took this opportunity to quickly find other mercenaries.

The mercenaries involved in the anomaly were relatively new, but some had participated in previous competitions and immediately recognized the freak champion who was still wearing a protective suit in the city.

They exchanged cautious greetings, but Seifer ignored them and got straight to the point: "Have any of you heard of or experienced this vision?"

Everyone looked at each other, then lowered their heads and continued to repair the house - in other words, no one had ever experienced such a strange phenomenon.

A brand new vision. If they died here... Actually, when they were outside, the mercenaries felt that they were already dead. It was a blessing to be able to stay here for a while longer.

Seeing that they had become silent, Seifer had no choice but to go back and ask the locals - it was not until then that he realized that the maintenance area that he had previously thought was open to facilitate the exit of the bipedal robot was not the vehicle body.

Instead, he simply discarded the external armor without even thinking about picking it up again.

Now, the flowing text has been scanned, and then the scanning from bottom to top begins again - this time, it is even more mysterious.

The words continued to condense into solid matter, filling and repairing the entire train. Even though it was still being operated, firing did not affect its repair process.

The metal sheet appeared from nothing, from shining to dull... This peculiar conversion of mass and energy made Seifer unable to take his eyes off it.

But the situation will not change if he just stands here.

Another human-machine interactive combat unit that was being repaired slowly stood up. It took a steady step forward with its legs, which seemed quite thin compared to its body, and stepped onto the metal floor of the platform.

Then it took another step and walked heavily and slowly towards the rear carriage. Weapons and equipment were put online one after another. Behind the weapon, Sefer even saw a real complex double-edged sword.

As outrageous things happened one after another, Seifer felt extremely calm.

Facts speak louder than words. These incredible weapons are now killing monsters everywhere and even protecting trains from entering the station to repair damaged bodies. So they have strategic value.

Besides, the mercenaries weren't idle either. While the train was being repaired, the people on board alighted. The metal panels of all the carriages either slid open normally, or there were direct guides on the platform that sucked the panels open from top to bottom.

The cargo and equipment transported inside coordinated seamlessly with the constant flow of people, as if this behavior had been repeated countless times, woven into muscle memory. Outside, the battle continued, and even the entire island came alive, forming dense firepower points. The roar of land-based artillery, various indescribable artillery fire, and even projected explosives continuously depleted the monsters.

Seifer and some of the mercenaries could have still managed to get in touch and try to establish some communication, but soon a man came over, dressed in bulky clothes and with a serious expression.

"You call yourselves mercenaries, so you should hold yourselves to the same standards as soldiers."

He gestured towards the rear of the train, "The preparations will last all day, and the defenses must not be breached during this time. You may not be many, but you can add some firepower. Why are you still standing there? Go to the rear of the train and reinforce the defenses!"

Several mercenaries were unhappy about being ordered around by an unfamiliar guy, and some of them wanted to kill him on the spot.

Cypher put away his weapon. "Alright, but your defenses look pretty good already. Even adding a few of us won't change the outcome, right?"

"Newcomers all think that way, and they'll soon be killed due to carelessness... You say the defense is perfect? Once these things start attacking, it will be difficult to stop them unless the mobile force can destroy the core unit this time."

The man seemed a little impatient with this explanation. He turned around and said, "Forget it. You won't understand this kind of battle for survival. Just continue playing your mercenary game."

Regardless of whether Seifer was provoked or not, the young mercenaries behind him were really provoked. They hugged their weapons, checked their ammunition and backpacks, and immediately rushed to the area where the battle was still going on.

It seems that they are planning to teach the foul-mouthed contestant in this vision a lesson... No, if you want to teach him a lesson, isn't it to kill him?

As a man of common sense, Seifer pondered for a moment and then suddenly asked, "You deliberately tricked those people into filling the line because the defense was starting to shrink, right?"

"...You are different from those people. Do you always do this kind of work?"

"It's my professional habit to analyze the situation." Seifer replied nonchalantly, sounding relaxed.

"Then your analysis is accurate. Theoretically, we shouldn't be attacked this early in this cycle. Weapons must be stopped for maintenance in turn, otherwise, exploding is the least of our worries."

The man took off his winter hat, revealing his short gray hair and face, which had been working in the wind and snow for years, making him look like a withered date.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm the node commander of the Doomsday Train defense force. You can call me Marshall."

Is it meaningful to remember the names of people in visions? Seifer thought so in his heart, but he stretched out his hand without hesitation: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Marshall. My name is Seifer."

However, Marshall had absolutely no intention of responding to this gesture... It wasn't arrogance, but it was very strange, he seemed not to understand the meaning of this outstretched hand.

So he just stood with his hands behind his back: "Zero? Um... do you have any experience in using a small number of troops to carry out a decapitation operation?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"So do you have experience piloting a human-machine interaction unit?"

Seifer thought for a moment. "I've driven cars before, very complicated ones. Oh, and I've driven construction machinery before, too."

Marshall's expression was subtle.

It's a bit like when you're eating a diet meal and are surprised to find that the dish contains boiled meat that you didn't eat before, but when you look closely, you find that it is a giant green caterpillar in the dish.

But it’s a piece of meat after all…that’s how I feel.

He hesitated whether to continue recruiting Cypher for help, but in this world, most people are struggling to survive today, and it is almost impossible for anyone to be willing to take a job that may cost their life.

Seeing that he was silent, Seifer suggested, "How about this? I don't really understand the current situation. Why don't you tell me in detail while you still have time?"

"To be honest, this is the first time for us mercenaries to participate in this kind of mission, so we are not very familiar with this area."

Marshall looked at him deeply, his attitude suddenly becoming distant. "Then please find your own battlefield. This train may not be your home."

Then he left quickly, and the attempt to recruit him just now seemed like a phantom.

Combined with what the 'senior mechanic' Lin Shenxue had said before, Sefer seemed to suddenly realize something.

Could the background story of this strange phenomenon be that it's a doomsday train that runs endlessly on the track...right?

What I said just now, and my complete unfamiliarity with the train, probably made that person feel that I was telling lies.

In reality, what Cypher didn't know was that the information he revealed was worse than a lie.

But it doesn't matter.

(End of this chapter)