Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 26 26. Find someone who can drive this thing...what a coincidence, isn’t it?
The device driven by Tien quickly stopped next to the vehicle captured by Cypher, and then slowly lowered its suspension slightly, as if on standby.

The armor plate behind its torso suddenly opened, and the hot, dim radiator grille inside encountered the cool desert air, immediately spewing out a large amount of smoke and rapidly cooling it.

"Ugh... How could anyone possibly open this broken thing? Ugh..."

Tien opened the entrance to the front armor plate while vomiting. The moment he jumped out of the cockpit, he lay on the still warm sand and vomited for a long time.

Then suddenly the sand was shoveled over the things.

He stood up as if nothing had happened, identified the large piles of burning scrap metal nearby, and walked towards the only intact but quiet medium-sized vehicle.

This gave Sefer the chance to ask, what happened over there?

"A lot has happened. The guys who attacked the convoy weren't just any low-level bastards. They even had combat aircraft ready for deployment."

Sitting down at the control desk in the main control room, Tien took a deep breath and said, "My boys and those mercenaries won't be able to hold out for much longer. Let's retreat quickly and return to Edge Node City."

Cypher was a little confused: "So... does that mean someone is going to attack the city?"

"That's exactly what's going on. That's why we have to hurry. This place is relatively close to the Edge Node City. Bringing back evidence will make those companies behave. Ugh... How disgusting."

Sefer glanced at the time. It was still half a night before dawn. He didn't hear anything about "how to support the rearguard" from Tien's words.

So he asked directly.

I thought Tien would continue to wave her hands nonchalantly and say how little human life is worth in this world, but she was rare silent for a few seconds.

"You see, I was forced into this machine by the boys. We could have gotten two of these things, but unfortunately the other one was activated by the driver at the same time."

A person who has no idea how to drive this thing, a temporary driver who might even die if he sits on it, is really nothing compared to a driver who specializes in driving this thing.

This is why Tien had to escape back, while the others were struggling over there... Now it seems that most of them may have been sacrificed.

"So, I can't let the boys' sacrifice go in vain. The external communication disruption that's engulfing this area is preventing us from sending any intelligence. We have to leave..."

Cypher suddenly stood up. "Well, you guys go back first. I'll help you get your boys... well, minimize the losses in the team."

"……what are you up to?"

Of course, it is to do some heroic deeds that I only dared to think about in my mind before, such as saving teammates, which I may actually be able to achieve with some effort.

Although we know that the appearance that Sefer shows to the public now is fake, his spirit of doing something for strangers instead of thinking about protecting himself in such a critical moment is commendable.

"No, you don't know what it's like to drive this thing. If someone without special training drives this crazy thing, it's basically the same as seeking death."

"What a coincidence! I'm not a normal person. Besides, I've driven this kind of thing in a vision before, and I have logistical support here... Don't worry, I won't fight a battle without preparation."

Asking her to quickly organize the troops, Cypher left the medium-sized mobile base that he alone occupied and walked up to the machine painted in desert gray.

There would definitely be no problem contacting Lin Shenxue with this kind of thing - when she took a look at the condition of this thing, she was quite surprised.

She was surprised that there were weapons with such backward power and structure still in use, but Lin Shenxue quickly said that they could just go up directly, and after the connection was successful, she could start quick preparations.

Or take over.

The aircraft wasn't very tall, about six meters in idle mode. It was smaller than the ones I'd flown in the vision, and the cockpit seemed particularly cramped. As soon as I sat in, the hatch locked and negative pressure set in, and the various controls and buttons lit up before my eyes.

"Let me check this machine first... Well, there's no damage, but I can't find its weapon mounts."

After seeing Lin Shenxue's report, Sefer wanted to roll his eyes: You really just drove someone else's naked phone here!

However, it is a tradition for pirates to steal other people's things.

Seifer's hands were placed on both sides of the seat in well-fitting, dampened gloves, and his whole body was tied to the chair... and other than that, there was no assistance to resist the G-force.

It is worthy of being called something that only a madman can drive.

Outside, where he couldn't see, the camera on the head of the machine lit up, and the rear panel that had been opened for heat dissipation closed. The limbs, torso, and leg armor plates that were in a state of readiness returned to their proper positions with the assistance of various transmission devices.

The entire machine stood upright in the night sky, its shadow elongated by the searchlight looking sharp and angular. No symbols of any faction were sprayed on the machine, and it was as clean as if it had just appeared.

"Have you finished checking?"

"Initialization complete, you may now operate this device... Just in case, I'll say this again. Your combat unit does not have any weapons."

Things like weapons, what a big deal...

Seifer reached up and grabbed a pedestal-mounted particle beam launcher from the firing point on the quiet medium-sized mobile base.

Isn't that a weapon?

This crude style made Lin Shenxue cover her head and sigh, but Leica, who had been in communication, agreed. Mercenaries not only had to carry their own weapons, but it was also necessary to find suitable weapons on the battlefield when necessary.

"Red Arrow, I've confirmed that you've piloted the combat unit. However, the electronic map hasn't been restored yet, so we don't have any information indicating the enemy's number, the severity of the threat, or whether there are licensed mercenaries."

"I know."

"So, it's best to gather intelligence first, confirm that we can invade, and then enter the battlefield, okay?"

"No, I want to go directly to the core area."

This rebellious answer made Leica a little angry, but soon a third person was interrupted in the communication between the two - Tien.

"Exactly! This kind of momentum and comradeship is exactly what we need! Let me remind you, what I just fired was a jammer bomb specially developed by me as a former pirate. Tonight, no radio waves can be transmitted in or out of that area. You'll understand when you see it."

"I originally planned to disrupt their short-range communications, but I didn't expect the two mobile bases they sent out were quite capable... If you see my vehicle still intact, remember to look in the cargo hold. There should be some quick-assemble weapons."

When Seifer asked her in a troubled tone why she took these things out, Tien replied as a matter of course:
"Who wouldn't want to take some goodies with them to sell and supplement their coffers if they can go out? Are you stupid?"

People without any financial resources would never think about this kind of problem. Sifu silently turned the machine around, pushing the nozzles at his back and feet at the same time, making the machine draw two beautiful flight paths and rushing in the direction it came from.

Tien, who was resting in the car, exhaled slowly, then tossed her long hair, full of energy and spirit: "Alright! All the remaining lazy guys, get moving and clean up the battlefield for me, pull the truck back, we should go back!"

"We can't let down the big guys who are left behind!"

(End of this chapter)