Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 29 29. Finally I have some time to deal with my own affairs...
Before the morning sun was about to arrive and even before the sky began to turn pale, the tattered convoy finally returned to the edge node city.

Most people were placed on three transport vehicles. The ride was so bumpy that even Sefer felt the engine was about to overload and roast Lin Shenxue in the engine room... Anyway, it's good to be back.

Although I only completed the task of maintaining and adjusting the communication array, and the reward was only about 20,000, I brought back valuable intelligence and was credited with improving the city's defenses...

I received an additional 20,000 yuan in compensation, and I had to use some of this total to pay off my debts.

The good news is that the basket of junk seized and the human-computer interaction machine are all part of Sefer's personal income and will not be counted in or handed over to anyone.

Tien patted his shoulder happily. "You made so much money after going out. You are worthy of being my favorite little... well, big girl."

Before getting a new skin, this name is probably hopeless. Sefer sighed in his heart and asked her what to do next?
"No, we have to wait for a while. Their plan to weaken the defense has been thwarted. They may postpone or even abandon the attack."

When it came to business, Tien looked serious and powerful, but after a few seconds she couldn't hold back any longer: "Forget it, there are so many capable people in this city, why bother with that? I'm not a mercenary, if I can't win, I'll just surrender immediately, right?"

"I advise you not to worry too much about reputation or public opinion. Being defeated by the enemy is nothing shameful. They're just occupying the city to gain production capacity, not to clear out the military personnel... You'll get used to it after you've been here for a while."

Tien shrugged and asked the new city management inspector to slowly leave the parking lot.

By the way, the freight car is still hanging on the back of Sefer's car. It is said that no matter what, the materials for building a fixed anomaly must be transported, so just put this thing here first.

——It is more likely that these people are too lazy to move the carriages back and forth, so throwing it away is easier.

Back in the car, Seifer found Lin Shenxue in the engine compartment, with dark circles under her eyes. "Although I was attacked and had to flee back, I have some good news for you."

Lin Shenxue blinked. The lack of sleep but the feeling of not being able to fall asleep made her feel a little irritable.

"I got a small, drivable human-machine interactive combat unit, but its performance is generally average. This way, we can do more when we receive missions."

"Then I plan to sell that basket of weapons and equipment. But before I do, I'd like you to help me see which ones are in good condition and which ones need repair... After all, good stuff is bound to cost more."

Lin Shenxue yawned deeply and wrote on her tablet boredly:
"I'm a senior mechanic, not a weaponsmith. Furthermore, the weapons in this world seem to have some structural deviations. You're still..."

Seifer emphasized, "I mean, I can only entrust you now. Apart from you, I don't have any other acquaintances who can do such an important thing."

"Only you can help me."

Lin Shenxue was a little shaken.

Then Cypher continued, "Get this done, and I'll get you some beer and soda, and maybe some... fresh ingredients for the menu in the car, ok?"

Thinking back to how Seifer had used such simple ingredients and procedures to make a sandwich that whetted his appetite, Lin Shenxue was deeply moved. The purpose of living is to eat!

She nodded and was then taken into the cargo box. Looking at the three-meter-long cargo box and the stacked weapons and equipment in front of her, she suddenly realized that she might have been deceived.

But Seifer had disappeared without a trace, and the only message in the communication was "I went to purchase".

…………

As mentioned before, Seifer really wanted to replace the car body with a better one, but the only place that could customize and trade car bodies was the next door city that produced casting materials, and it was impossible to get to any farther places now.

Moreover, the city management also lost vehicles, not to mention the mercenaries... For the mercenaries, it is much more painful to be alive but lose property than to die but still have the property.

So now the city is a little more lively. The mercenaries who just lost their mobile base are all squatting at the entrance of the vision, ready to join the fight and get some money to compensate for their losses.

Some mercenaries took the risk. The Second District had been largely flattened during their time out, and the anomaly had reappeared. Many mercenaries, eager to earn extra money, entered… There were no fixed anomalies, and if they died, they were truly dead.

They couldn't even bring out the bodies or nameplates, but these mercenaries didn't care, as if their lives were just to be squandered.

"Anyway, Red Crossbow. This attack has infuriated I/O Enterprise, and they've increased the price to force the independent mercenaries to show their true abilities."

"But the number of people who can pilot that type of machine is still very small compared to the vast number of mercenaries. I think the company will soon recruit you to work under them..."

While searching for something in the control room, Seifer replied, "I'm not particularly interested in being recruited by the Enterprise, so forget it. Also, if I join the Enterprise, I hear the liaison and the entire communications system will have to be replaced."

"That's true."

"That's fine, I'm quite satisfied with my correspondent. He knows a lot of things I don't know. I'd be at a disadvantage if I were in his place."

Laika simply chuckled and changed the subject. "Simply put, you now have a pilotable unit, but don't expect to do anything on your own. This type of weapon is a surprise attack and can't be used in a frontal engagement."

"If you really don't understand why, go check out the battle replay logs. It'll be helpful to you... Communication over."

In the case that there is no way to leave the city for the time being, it is indeed useful to look at the battle records, but this is not what Sefer wants to do now - he wants to confirm the things that he has not been able to do since he crossed over because of various things that suddenly hit him in the face.

The metal body that I use has been very useful so far. I even bought a very good skin as a camouflage, so many people have a good attitude towards it when they first see it.

But the core question remains... Why can I replace my metal body? Is there a limit to this replacement?

Standing where he had opened his eyes and walked out, Cypher looked at the empty rack, opened the external cover and stood under the rack.

A new option immediately appeared on the UI in front of me... Unlike the glaring red of the warning option or the yellow of the reminder, it was a normal color.

"Damage to the machine is detected. Should the machine be replaced?"

Damage...Oh, that scratch on the shoulder also counts as damage.

Cypher looked at the option and found that there were six additional slots. The first slot was blue, the second slot was green, and the others were all dim, and there was a string of numbers counting down behind them.

After clicking to confirm the change, Cypher felt a flash before his eyes. After the UI's chaotic signals returned to normal, he looked down and saw... Wow! His new steel body moved quite nimbly. But where was his previous body?

In the UI, the colors of the first and second slots are swapped... Does that mean these six slots are the upper limit of the body that can be stored?

However, detecting at this stage is not enough. Sefer really wants to know the underlying logic of the system in front of him.

What happens if all the spares are put on standby?

As soon as this thought came to mind, a new dialog box popped up in front of me.

《Core Control is about to go offline and switch to observer mode. Do you confirm?》

confirm.

...Lin Shenxue, who was sitting on a small stool, checking the extent of damage to his weapons one by one, suddenly saw his eyes go dark.

All the power control systems on the entire car were offline, and it was pitch black!
(End of this chapter)