Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 38: After signing the contract, I have to treat myself to a delicious meal...

Since Sefer was able to take in everything in without looking sideways, he came to a conclusion after assessing the other person's attire.

As expected of a guy with the title of Doctor, he really wasn't armed at all.

"Well, have you thought it through? My rest time is very limited. If you don't want to take the commission, let the next person come in..."

"I think we can first discuss the remuneration and the details of the commission."

"can."

Dr. Mei waved his hand calmly, then swiped a few times on the work board. Immediately, a familiar dialog box and a familiar name appeared in front of Sefer's eyes.

Tangerine: You said you didn't want to cause trouble, but your body still behaved well.
Griffin: Let's talk about the reward.

Sefer didn't dare to speak, as he always felt that the other party would stick to him and mock him harshly as soon as he spoke. The most infuriating thing was that he couldn't punch him.

Tangerine: Let me think about it. You have a car, but it's too useless. Let's increase its length and durability first.
This sounds a bit...

Cypher asked Dr. Mei directly: "So this person is planning to invest in my mobile base?"

She nodded slightly, and in the temporary chat channel of the three people, Tangerine was still sending messages.

Excluding the unnecessary extras, the "initial capital" she offered was quite appealing. However, the underlying issues behind such generosity worried Sefer.

So he asked directly.

Red Crossbow: Are these generous benefits really just for recruiting new mercenaries? Will there be requirements to join a specific company or take on certain fatal commissions later on?

Tangerine: You are such a coward. You are a mercenary but you are so timid. How about I send you some snake gall to make up for your lack of health?
Don't be angry, this is the financial sponsor, you can't be angry, this is the one who pays the money, the one who pays the salary is the boss.

Red Crossbow: This is a necessary consideration, otherwise independent mercenaries will become synonymous with cannon fodder.

Tangerine: From now on, I'll call you the cowardly Red Crossbow Arrow~
After all, he was the sponsor. Sefer stared at the text in front of him without any anger, then looked at Mei. After reminding her that time was running out, she closed her eyes and began to rest.

The work commission was sent, and after clicking on confirmation, Ganju immediately changed his previous angry and mocking attitude, and ended the communication with just one sentence "Drive the car over", and even deleted the ID.

...Look at it from a bright side, the reward has already been submitted to the mercenary support system, so there is no need to worry about the other party running away.

"Then, Dr. Mei, the escort mission begins now. So our route is to first head to the edge node city, and then head to the central node city after you complete your research...right?"

"um, yes."

Mei nodded slightly and suddenly stood up: "The break is over. Send me a communication before leaving. That's it."

Then she left just as she came, as if nothing could attract her attention... But, it didn't matter, the escort mission was very simple, there was plenty of money and starting capital.

The mission brief was written very professionally. Saifu could now move his vehicle to the industrial maintenance area and the maintenance point of the Phantom Mist Group, where preparations had been made.

This assistance doesn't come for free—after Cypher delivers his target to the central node city, these upgrades will be removed.

The client will not take any commission from any profit earned from using the car during the period, and only needs to complete the contract.

It's too generous, so why don't other people accept it?
Completely unaware that mercenaries were not the type to be patient or easily provoked, most of them started cursing and even threatening the client's family, Seifer returned to the commercial district with this doubt.

He purchased some canned food, drinking water needed for daily life, and long-lasting, non-perishable wine as a supply reserve. When Seifer returned to the car, he saw Lin Shenxue lying on the table in the main control cabin.

She turned around with some difficulty and weakly raised the board, which contained only the sincere expression. "Food!"

...Can't you just eat portable dry food?
Seifer imitated a sigh and asked her to wait for a moment, then turned and went to the preparation room. He thought for a while at the temporary stove and decided to make her a high-fat and high-calorie meal using the ingredients on hand.

The fried powder used to wrap the quick-frozen chicken of Q Company (also known as Daqin Food Company) is prepared during the rapid thawing process.

The analytical scan can accurately indicate the weight and proportion of various seasonings. According to the replacement materials and the recipe in memory, heat the oil pan and start cooking.

Frying chicken nuggets is not difficult. You just need to dip them in wet sauce, roll them in deep-frying powder, gently tap off the excess powder and then throw them into the pan for deep-frying.

It's not that simple to say, because whether the chicken is well-seasoned or the oil temperature is too high or too low may affect the finished product. Recalling the spirit of studying when he had free time, Seifer looked at the chicken pieces rolling in the pan and quietly calculated the time.

The maintenance room was filled with the unique aroma of fried chicken. If the airtight door hadn't been effective enough, the rich aroma would have drifted to the main control room long ago.

Too bad Cypher couldn't smell it.

After he had cut the whole chicken into pieces, he heated up the oil and fried it again. During this process, someone seemed to be ringing the doorbell at the door - leaving the door open. Tien's surprised voice came faster than the person.

"It smells so good... What delicious food are you secretly eating?!"

"Fried chicken, are you interested in trying it? But some of it is for my crew members, so you can't take it."

Responding calmly, Seifer brought up a plate of fried chicken that had been fried until golden brown and was still sizzling with heat and warmth, the source of all the aroma.

Then he quickly caught Tien's intention to "interfere" and asked her to come with him, and asked her what was the matter.

"Well... the purchase is almost done. I asked them to get used to the new car first, and I came by to see if you want to go back with us."

Tien's eyes were clearly fixed on the fried chicken, and even her words were absent-minded... Was this thing really that appealing? After all, he was a former pirate who had made a name for himself, and was now the main force of the city patrol.

It turns out that for people who have never had a proper city job and those who came from the Doomsday Train, the irresistible food from the concept of the civilized world is also very effective.

As soon as the plate was brought over, Lin Shenxue, who had looked lifeless before, jumped up and waited impatiently for the late lunch. Tien took out two bottles of beer and sat down as if he was familiar with the place.

Then they both reached out, one took the left leg and the other took the right leg, holding the bottle of wine and opening their mouths impatiently, biting the golden and crispy skin.

Even those who haven't eaten it can hear the crispy "crunch" sound. When the fried crispy shell is broken, the hot, sweet and salty juice inside immediately gushes out.

The two of them tilted their heads back in sync, not wanting to spit. They blew out the hot air while putting the bottle directly into their mouths.

At that moment, Seifer could even read a sense of happiness that transcended the body from the expressions of the two people, so he had to clap his hands to call them back from their trance-like state.

Then Tien immediately took a big bite, not caring about the juice and debris on her face. She sucked the water like a dragon, leaving only the bones, and turned her head away.

"Delicious! I was right—quick, tell me, were you previously the R&D director for a food company?!"

“…There’s no need to exaggerate to this extent.”

"Have you ever considered joining us? I/O Enterprise is open to all talents... Well, no, you should come work for me. I only need to provide food, and I can pay you this much every month!"

Just as the clean people who walked out of the shelter could not understand why the people in the wasteland were fighting for a drink of clean water, Seifer could not understand how deeply obsessed the people in this world were with the "food formula".

It also further made him realize that the knowledge in this world is far more valuable than he thought.

(End of this chapter)