Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 16 16. Don’t ask anything else, just tell me whether it was opened or not.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Cypher entered the machine, and everything in front of him looked particularly...fresh.

The extremely narrow cockpit makes it impossible to see anything about the outside world. All you see are multiple embedded displays and tangled pipes. Even a single glance at them would make most people give up thinking.

The control levers on both hands are densely packed with buttons and triggers, which are definitely much more complicated than those of an excavator.

Moreover, there are more than two pedals, which seems to be considered for ergonomics, but that’s just a consideration.

Just as Sefer was wondering how to start this thing, he heard a few dull noises. The entrance behind him slammed shut with a few clangs, and the airtight door was locked. In an instant, everything in front of him was pitch black.

But soon, the screen in front of him immediately lit up with a layer of background light, and on the dark screen appeared lines of incomprehensible program self-tests and the message conveyed by Lin Shenxue.

"I've activated the machine in maintenance mode. Before you begin operating it, you'll need to get used to the operating instructions."

Seifer hesitated for a moment, then spoke directly: "I don't think it's necessary."

'? '

The good news is that everyone seems to be using similar notations.

Sensing the other party's dissatisfaction from the question mark, Seifer had to explain that after he boarded the plane - oh, after getting on the plane, he knew that he could drive this thing as easily as his own hands and feet!
It's easier than driving a tank. After all, tanks are manual transmission, while this thing seems to be automatic.

The functions of the pedals are also very simple, and you can learn the various buttons at a glance, including posture fine-tuning, etc.... Well, it's just like when I was suppressing those pirates and participating in the competition.

When I came into contact with it, I learned it naturally, as if these fighting skills had been written in my mind long ago.

"Anyway, let's not rush this. Just help me get the machine up to full performance, and then tell me where to re-equip it."

Lin Shenxue didn't answer, but fortunately the panoramic view in front of her... no, it could be said that the full-scale screen surrounding her lit up, revealing the scene outside.

She was standing on the roof of a flattened house. The tablet in her hand was shining slightly, illuminating her somewhat thin cheeks and scattered bangs. Her clothes were not very neat, but they were very clean, with a beauty like a flower in ruins.

Without looking any further, Cypher focused on the scene before him.

From Lin Shenxue's perspective, the machine in front of her was silent for a moment, and then suddenly the engine started to work, spewing out a fierce airflow. The whistling sound and wind made her quickly hide behind a solid wall and peek around.

The machine slowly sat up, and this action made the people in the hall who were struggling to fight against the invading machines subconsciously look over.

Lin Shenxue quickly wrote down the reminder on the tablet.

"Be careful, the revived machines could be mistaken for enemies. Keep the noise to a minimum. If you're testing anything, it's best to leave the lobby."

It was very considerate, but the machine's response was extremely simple. Its various nozzles quickly sprayed and pushed it forward, causing it to jump up and land on the ground. Its heavy body crushed several thick floor tiles.

Then he raised his arm and aimed the gun that the previous driver had not dropped at the monster on the side of the train that was jumping around and constantly hitting the load-bearing pillars.

Large units naturally use large weapons. The moment the trigger is pulled, even the arms of the human-computer interaction units are slightly tilted up due to the recoil.

The roar echoed.

While the people in the hall couldn't help but cover their ears, the monster that was yelling at the machine was like being hit by an invisible hammer, and its whole body instantly fell backwards. It tried to adjust its posture, but was hit by the next shot.

Live bullets hit it one after another. Cypher drove the machine until he emptied the entire magazine and then stopped shooting.

After the active reaction of that thing disappeared, he pressed the reload button, and the huge magazine fell down. An auxiliary mechanical arm behind him immediately turned around and stuck the new magazine into the gap.

The human-computer interaction experience is very smooth. The design of this thing takes all aspects into consideration, and Sefer is very satisfied with it.

"I've spent three minutes figuring out how to open it. What do I do next?"

Just three minutes - Lin Shenxue really wanted to scold him like this, but Seifer really did what most people couldn't do, he just started the machine and defeated the monster without reading the manual, so there was no way to refute it.

She sighed silently.

"Going outside, whether for testing or doing something else, will cause panic in the lobby. It is recommended to speak more."

Cypher nodded in understanding. "I know what to do. Now then... for those still at the station, please be patient and hand over any usable equipment on this machine to me for maintenance."

"Otherwise, I will blow up the front of the car without hesitation."

''

Not only Lin Shenxue, but even the people below who were finally trying to cheer themselves up for being alive wanted to question it.

"It seems that what I said was not urgent enough. Let me add a time limit, within one minute. Or should I fire a few shots at the carriage now?"

Someone immediately waved a glowing indicator stick below, signaling Cypher to move the machine to the rest platform... Isn't this easy to communicate?
Although everyone's faces were filled with panic, as long as they weren't about to be breached, it was fine. As they spoke, the firepower points outside were extinguished again. This time, it wasn't because they were being repaired, but because the weapons had reached their limit and were about to explode.

Operating the machine, Cypher looked at the weapons online in front of him. After confirming them, he slowly walked towards the end of the train while a group of people looked at him as the God of Plague.

'While walking, you can stabilize your stance and accurately aim at the enemy. If you are in a hurry, I recommend using the normal galloping stance.'

"However, the pressure in this stance is already higher than that of ordinary combat armor. I hope you will use it with caution."

Although Lin Shenxue looks unhappy because her suggestions are not accepted, she is actually quite attentive when teaching.

As I stepped out of the station, endless wind and snow immediately flooded the screen. At this time, the monsters had climbed up to the defense area, and even the thick reinforced concrete walls were being eroded by strange long-range artillery fire.

People and monsters kept falling from the city walls, and they must have started fighting hand-to-hand... The reason this 'station' was able to hold out for so long wasn't because the people here were so tenacious.

It's simply because these monsters have not yet produced any flying units or other air support units that can easily cross the high walls.

Maybe this is the rule in the vision. After all, I am now driving such a big thing, and it is even more unreasonable to prepare for an attack behind the defense line.

Sefer, who was in a fairly stable mood, arrived at the entrance, where the heavy gate had been raised to prevent monsters from entering directly, and saw someone directing him with a luminous device.

"You will need to use your jump device to leave the station, and there will be no support once you are outside."

Lin Shenxue wrote quickly and urgently.

"If you can find any teammates still outside, try to reunite with them. From now on, unless you destroy the command terminal, you will be marked as an enemy if you cross the wall."

What a weird rule.

The people in this vision use all kinds of machines and devices, but are afraid of the revived machines. The specific reason is unknown... Cypher stands on the catapult platform and chooses to jump.

The high-voltage device on the platform released energy instantly, and the entire platform was pushed upward as Cypher jumped up, until the top broke away with a loud "clang".

The nozzles all over the fuselage of this machine spewed out flames at the same time, instantly pushing Cypher into the sky. He casually glanced at the data on the screen and found that the G-force instantly reached 20.

The body of a machine is great. It doesn't feel pressure, doesn't get cold or hot, doesn't need to eat, and doesn't feel pain. I always feel that this is quite... No, no, I can't think like this.

His divergent thoughts were instantly gathered, because the moment the wall in front of him disappeared, he saw a scene that made his eyebrows jump.

——The snow-covered ground and the lake seemed to have never existed. A torrent of steel with a faint red glow in the darkness was constantly rushing towards this barrier. They had no interest in the things rising above their heads and just kept moving forward.

Further away, Cypher's target was launching balls of light, some aimed at the city walls, not caring if they would hit friendly forces, while others were whizzing towards Cypher.

Everyone has their own duties...so the command node is so important?

Cypher immediately controlled the machine, and after a momentary pause, blazing flames gushed out from the nozzles on the back, under the feet, and even on both sides of the body.

The machine pushed forward and easily passed through the firepower. Seifer casually asked about the flight endurance of this machine.
"You can actually withstand it... This is the latest equipment developed by the R&D department. Theoretically, it can fly continuously for about fifteen seconds."

"When you reach your equipment's limit, there's a short cooldown period and you need to recharge your nozzle energy. During this time, you might only be able to move at high speeds..."

What do you mean by "can only"? I thought that after using it up, I could only walk slowly on the ground with my feet... Wait, we have such a powerful engine, why do we still need feet?

Wouldn’t it be nice to make a wheel that can roll on the ground? Even though it may not look very good, it is definitely better than two legs.

With a neat roll in the air, he dodged another series of artillery fire. Seifer felt as if he had become one with the equipment... Following this feeling, he maintained his short flight, raised his gun and took aim.

The square search and fire control aiming system in front of him was locked, and he pulled the trigger instantly. At the same time, the two boxes that had just been installed on the shoulders of the aircraft opened, revealing the rocket pods that were stuffed full inside.

"I remember that I had a colleague who loved playing a game."

'what? '

"He likes to play loudly. You can always hear all kinds of lines when playing, but that's beside the point... Rocket barrage launch, launch them all!"

The electronic signal ignited, and all the missiles ejected from the cabin with a dull thud. The engines pushed these "little guys" to scatter in extremely irregular flight paths.

Each shot accurately hit the slow-moving energy turrets, and each shot caused an even louder roar.

The machine, which was constantly accumulating frost and snow, fell heavily to the ground. The device hidden under the armor spewed out hot air to relieve the pressure, and then it pushed forward and sprinted. The fireworks that continued to bloom on the rocks on both sides of it were just embellishments.

At this point, the threat scan finally picked up some action... and found friendly forces!

(End of this chapter)