Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 18 18. If you use your brain, you can really make money instantly
In the vision, the afterglow of the human-machine interactive combat device... in short, the machine has not yet ended, and Cypher has to face a new vision.

It wasn't that scary, because it was the same as the last time he left the vision and obtained electronic components, boards, and a backpack, even though the process was extremely fast, even instantaneous.

The gathered light will turn into something real; this is the reward given by the vision.

Ignoring the voice of Laika in his ears for the moment, Seifer tried hard to push away the huge rock that was pressing on him, letting it roll to the side with a dull sound, and he stood up.

As far as the eye can see, there are piles of rocks.

In the diffuse smoke and dust, specks of faint blue light were wandering and dissipating, and above the head, many beams of light were spreading and sweeping downwards.

It’s hard to say how many people are still alive.

He stretched out his hand and pointed at the halo, which immediately condensed towards the center and then expanded. This made Seifer a little curious about the reward... Leica said that the rewards for visions varied, and some special cases could even be exchanged for a huge price.

For example, clothing that allows people to barely move in the sun for a short period of time was taken out of a vision and then modified to become a company's flagship product.

Could it be that in this undeveloped vision, there will be a magical creation that will allow me to make a fortune, pay off my debts and live a free life?

A train that can repair itself, a machine that allows a madman to perform insane actions... these are all big profits no matter how you look at it.

The light condensed, then suddenly dissipated, appearing in mid-air...

She is a black-haired girl with a ponytail.

She appeared unexpectedly, and the surprise on her fair cheeks turned into panic under the attraction of gravity, and then she fell heavily into the pile of rubble.

Fortunately, she was wearing a work jacket and the work clothes commonly worn by repairmen, so she was not scratched by the gravel.

Seifer quickly reached out and grabbed her collar, pulling her out of the stone debris. The two looked at each other... Strictly speaking, it was her little face, which was dirty with dust, that was confused.

Cypher's protective mask allowed her to see her face clearly.

The girl's name is Lin Shenxue, and she is the 'senior mechanic' in the vision.

The good news is that she was calm and didn't make any imaginary 'screams about being in a strange place' to cause confusion.

Of course this is because she cannot speak.

Cypher had her stand in the rubble, and she quickly took out the tablet from its usual place, only to discover to her dismay that it was broken.

The cracks on the screen and the slightly curled appearance showed that it had reached the end of its life.

Lin Shenxue gestured to express herself—Seifer quickly signaled her to calm down: "Don't be anxious, don't be nervous!"

"I don't know what the situation is. Anyway, you should take your time. I'll ask the people I know here about the situation. Don't go too far. This place is not safe right now."

After telling her not to run around, Cypher turned and called Laika.

Behind him, Lin Shenxue brushed the dust off her loose coat, covering her nose and trying to figure out where she was... After all, in her memory, she was still heartbroken that her house had been smashed.

"Laika, what is it that can't possibly be produced in a vision?"

"...Why are you asking this all of a sudden? Let me think, um..."

Leica paused, then quickly replied, "Basically, anything can be obtained from a vision. Weapons, equipment, materials that don't belong to us, production tools, rare minerals..."

"In rare cases, you'll receive some living rewards, such as Company Q, which currently has a monopoly on the protein supply to some node cities."

"They once received a cage of special-quality birds in a vision. After improving their breeding, the canned and fried chicken they supply is still a best-seller today."

Seifer looked at the translucent company logo on the UI in front of him and fell silent.

It was an octagonal base with a huge "Qin" character in the middle.

"Let's...let's not discuss the fried chicken company for now. I mean, are there any higher-level rewards? In terms of living beings."

Leica flipped through the information at an extraordinary speed, and sometimes Seifer even suspected that the person on the other end of the communication was a differential engine or something else.

"Unfortunately, ornamental animals, edible animals, plant specimens, or seeds are extremely rare. In particular, many companies' secret activities are not recorded in independent mercenary archives, so..."

Cypher thought for a moment and said, "I understand. It remains to be verified. As for the fantasy journey, I'll tell you about it once I'm settled. Red Crossbow communication completed."

"...Okay, you must tell me about it, Red Crossbow."

After the call ended, Seifer turned back and shrugged at Lin Shenxue. "Bad news, Miss Lin Shenxue. Anyway, calm down first, or I can help you calm down physically."

Lin Shenxue nodded.

"Welcome to Edge Node City. This will be your second home. The advantage is that you don't seem to be hunted by strange mechanical monsters here. The disadvantage is... well, I currently have no idea how to send you back." Lin Shenxue opened his mouth, then dejectedly found a stone to sit on, buried his face in his legs, as if he had suffered a great blow.

Compared to her own body that has turned into steel, her endurance in all aspects seems to have been improved. Lin Shenxue is probably more unlucky... By the way, is she considered a reward for the vision now?
If it is a reward, should it be sold for money?
Occasionally his thoughts would wander, and Seifer would shake his head and put these thoughts aside, and then he received a communication call from the city management.

Only then did he quickly turn on the scanner and scan the ruins below. He unexpectedly discovered... there were quite a lot of survivors!

The worm crisis is over. Those things that came out of the ground either fell down and died, or crawled back deeper into the ground.

Most of the people who fell down, including mercenaries, workers and support personnel, were scattered in the rubble with their hands and feet covered. After the initial confusion, everyone quickly took action and tried to find their teammates.

If I remember correctly, if everyone was pulled into the vision the moment they came down, then theoretically they should all be able to come back after coming out... right?

After signaling Lin Shenxue not to say anything and briefly explaining the current situation to her, Sefer took her onto the rope used by the rescuers and quickly returned to the upper area.

During the investigation, he explained everything about his experience with the vision, but of course, he only mentioned his involvement in the train's defense.

Most of the mercenaries said the same thing, so Seifer got away with it easily, which made the people who came to investigate sigh at his good luck while taking notes.

"Why do you say that?"

The investigator said nonchalantly, "The absence of a fixed anomaly is inherently dangerous. If you encounter fatal injuries within it, you'll most likely die."

"You're lucky you didn't do anything out of place, so you're back. Look over there, the captain of that independent mercenary group probably won't be able to sleep well tonight."

That team lost several new recruits, and if they want to replenish the personnel quickly... it's hard to say when they can do so.

After a few words, the investigator asked him if he had taken anything out of the vision. After receiving a negative answer, he was allowed to do whatever he wanted.

The collapsed area was very large, and all the problems piled up at once, so there was really no time to take care of these mercenaries who had hands and feet and could run and jump on their own.

Seifer waved to Lin Shenxue to follow him. When the two of them took some time to return to the mobile base, Lin Shenxue's eyes widened.

Rather, after she entered the city, her beautiful emerald green eyes never stopped looking at the buildings and the busy crowds.

In a group of huge, super-huge, and behemoth-sized vehicles, Seifer took her into his own mobile base, which looked a bit strange and seemed to have only a tractor head.

After the airtight door was closed and he confirmed that no one outside could disturb him, he turned around and pressed the hatch lock button while Lin Shenxue was looking at the maintenance room curiously.

'Beep, click'

The hatch was locked and the red light came on. Lin Shenxue turned back suddenly, and the curiosity in his eyes immediately turned into caution, alertness, and panic.

However, just like when a gun was pointed at her head, she remained calm and silent, waiting for what Seifer would say next.

"Very good, you're very calm and didn't scream like those brainless little girls. You're exactly what I need!"

Lin Shenxue subconsciously rolled her eyes.

Then he pointed to his throat, pointed to his mouth, and spread his hands.

"Let's not worry about those details for now. First, let me introduce myself. My name is Seifer, internal call sign T59, mercenary name Red Crossbow, and I'm a freelance mercenary."

"Then, you are in an area called 'Vision'. We mercenaries will accept commissions..."

Sefer told her what he knew and inferred, and then explained the importance of it to make her understand how special she was in this world.

——Brought out from the vision, the only intelligent creature known to be able to communicate!

"If I lock you up in a transparent glass house right now and mark it as a vision, maybe in just a month, I can become a wealthy man in Node City."

With an inappropriate joke, Cypher motioned for her to follow him to the control room, where at least there was a place to input text.

To be honest, Lin Shenxue was the type of person who could regain composure the fastest in his knowledge, whether before coming to this world or now.

In the control room, Seifer cleaned the desk of a console and asked Lin Shenxue if she could use it to communicate. However, she sighed silently, pointed at the words on the keyboard, and waved her hands, obviously not understanding.

Ah this... Sefer had never really thought about why he could understand the words in this world and even communicate with Lin Shenxue. The most outrageous thing was that she seemed to understand what others were saying, but she just didn't know how to write.

There was no other way, so Sefer took Lin Shenxue's broken tablet and told her to stay in the car and wait while he found someone to fix it. Maybe it could be fixed.

At this point, Lin Shenxue could only nod, and suddenly gestured curiously, as if wondering why he had to wear this kind of protective clothing in the base?
So Cypher took off his helmet, revealing his metal head.

"It's simple. You and I are not normal people."

　New author and new book period, please give me some tips...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)