Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 35 35. A mercenary without a commission is like a can without a drink

The Furnace Node City is a little different from what I imagined.

When he heard the name, Seifer thought it might be an industrial city built near a volcanic crater or geothermal area. However, when he actually got closer, the first thing that caught his eye was a mirror-like metal sea that made him dare not look directly at it.

"Molten salt generator... would something like that be useful here?"

Tien in the communication expressed disdain for this, saying that this was just the "showing off" of the Furnace Node City.

There are many ways to use energy in this world, and the energy provided by ores extracted from sand and deeper mines is the mainstream.

Things like this that use molten salt thermal energy to generate electricity have almost no advantages other than demonstrating that they have more advanced industries that can withstand extreme weather.

But you gotta say it, you gotta say it, this thing looks pretty spectacular - who doesn't like the spectacle of large, neatly-arranged man-made structures obscuring the natural ground landscape?

Of course, the reverse is also possible, but in this place with only sand, man-made objects are more pleasing to the eye.

After entering the Furnace Node City docking station and passing the inspection, the vehicle continued to move forward under guidance. At the same time, the people in the car also began to move around, and many people even came to ask Sefer if there was anything they could help with.

The diehards chosen by Tien to follow him generally have good personalities, except... except that they don't look like "official personnel" of city management.

Thanks to their strength in numbers, the vehicle successfully entered the triple security gate, passed by a bunch of busy construction vehicles and transport vehicles, and arrived in the city. All the recyclable items had been sorted.

It just so happens that the price of recycled weapons in this city is relatively high, so it's no problem to use the extra profit to treat everyone to a meal.

After making this arrangement, Safe drove the car to the designated area and parked it, and the entire cargo box nested in the body of the car was disconnected.

The contract ended here, and Tien stretched. "Okay, I'm going to go shopping—oh, by the way, if you want to buy any equipment, remember to go to the legitimate shops here, and don't go to those random shops in the outer city."

"The illegal modifications they provide are unstable. Remember to pay the fee every day if you park your car here, otherwise your car will be impounded and you will be in trouble."

Tien's voice sounded particularly free and easy in the communication. I wonder where she is going to pick up the car.

After the carriage was taken away, the mission was declared completed. Seifer listened to the settlement statistics voice coming from the support system and contacted Leica.

"Leica, I'm in the Crucible Node City. Can you tell me about this city?"

After a while, a low voice came from Leica's side: "Um...Furnace Node City. It's a forging city. The industrial center of this city was jointly funded and built by the Commercial Union."

"The city was built directly on a huge mine, and they're still digging and exploring underground. Multiple industrial companies are collaborating here, and you can buy mobile bases, components for your own mecha, weapon racks, and so on..."

"Excluding the mercenaries, the entire city's permanent population exceeds 600,000, a very large number... Well, there's no food crisis for the time being, that's basically it."

It sounds like an industrial town.

Seifer looked at the screen. In the distance, in the huge parking area, in the underground world illuminated by countless lights above his head, the brightly lit high-rise buildings and factories were neatly arranged and classified.

Looking at the map, in addition to the main urban area, there are several satellite urban areas scattered around. There are even huge load-bearing columns and metal grilles in the city, supporting a ceiling of unknown weight.

Even though he had no sense of smell now, Seifer felt that the air might be filled with the smell of smelting steel and oxygen welding.

After a moment's deliberation, Seifer suddenly realized, "You mean I can buy a car here?"

"...If you have enough money, you can give it a try. But I don't recommend it. Forcing yourself to take out a loan when you can't afford it can lead to disastrous consequences." "For example?"

"For example, being dragged over and transformed into a corporate mercenary, where you have to complete various dangerous missions to earn money to redeem yourself..."

It is still questionable whether I can be considered a human being now.

"Then I'll go buy some weapons for that mecha, or sell it at a discount and get some weapons that are more suitable for my current needs?"

"The decision is yours, Red Crossbow. You can also rest in the city. The possibility of an attack on the Edge Node City... has nothing to do with you."

Leica seemed to finally wake up, and she regained her usual calmness: "You are a mercenary, and mercenaries work for money. As long as there is a commission and the remuneration is reasonable, I will consider it."

"Don't do anything that doesn't pay you. Gratitude won't make you stronger."

Sefer nodded perfunctorily, connected to the city network, pondered for a while, and suddenly asked Lin Shenxue if she wanted to go shopping?

She was stunned for a moment, hesitated for a few seconds, and then shook her head, saying that she still needed to familiarize herself with the mechanics of the car, and it would be pointless to go to a repair shop outside where she was not familiar with the place.

I can only say that it is a bit sad for two outsiders to wander around in such a world.

Without forcing her to go with him, Seifer left the car and boarded the bus to the city. During the trip, he accessed the city's internal network at any time to see if there were any topics that interested him.

During this time, someone came up to chat with me.

Perhaps the city dwellers had never seen such mercenaries before. The silver-haired beauty, standing alone and silent, simply staring out the window (actually observing the building structure), might have a chance—

Cypher didn't give them much of a chance, simply replying, "I'm a mercenary," and then shifted his attention to the local mercenary exchange board.

There are recruitment boards opened by old mercenary teams, and there are also self-recommendation documents from various mercenaries who seek teams after realizing that going it alone is not a solution and they cannot get big orders.

There were also people arguing on the message board, venting their emotions about being cheated out of money by some small workshops or scammers, but in the end, only the mercenaries laughed at them for being so stupid.

People after Hong Wen can curse at anything. Sefer learned some very simple curse words in this world, which really opened his eyes.

The shuttle bus arrived at the station and Cypher walked into the city, feeling like a country bumpkin who had suddenly arrived in the city.

On the wide and sturdy road, commuter vehicles of various shapes and colors come and go, and freight vehicles are mixed in, making it look extremely busy.

Numerous overpasses and expressways connect every area of the city, and these designs are mainly intended to divert civilian vehicles and industrial facilities.

On the outer expressways, engineering machinery was carried by transport vehicles to surrounding cities for work. Some of them were covered with scratches and damages, and were quickly transported back to distant factory areas for repairs.

Following the flow of people, Seifer found the local 'Independent Mercenary Support System' hall in the central city area where the flow of people was the most dense.

Compared to the small box in the Edge Node City that could only accommodate a few people and felt like a bank branch, it was much larger and could accommodate many mercenaries to rest, exchange information, and... directly connect with the system for consultation.

As soon as Sefer walked in, he saw several mercenaries coming out in great anger, cursing as they walked, saying that if they didn't want to recruit people, they should just say so.

After letting them out, Seifer walked into the hall and saw a row of mercenaries standing in a corner, bored, seemingly waiting for employment.

In this situation, you should just... turn around and leave!
(End of this chapter)