Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 49. Getting is earning, earning is satisfying

Actually, Cypher didn't care what he got, but it was so special that it must be worth a lot. These people gave up the mineral so readily... so why didn't they take it?
Things without an owner are owned by those with virtue.

After casually stuffing it into his clothes, Seifer reported the news to the wired communications office, and the person who answered the phone was obviously relieved.

He said that the enemies in the elevator area had also retreated, and seemed to have realized that continuing to send people in was a very unprofitable deal, so now they had to consolidate the defense of the mining area.

And...external communications have been restored.

It was just that Sefer's location made it impossible to communicate. Upon hearing this, he ran back to the original mining area without stopping.

This trip back and forth took half a day... Anyway, it felt like playing an FPS game. The protagonist was alone behind enemy lines, and theoretically, he should have been able to sneak through.

It's a pity that Cypher didn't fall for it at all. He didn't even bother to send out a threat scan or an alarm. After all, those light weapons couldn't even make him stagger.

Only the mercenary leader who came later seemed to have some knowledge, but not much.

Upon returning, Sefer was greeted with warm applause. He accepted this calmly, and when he asked if there were any other tasks, the other party waved their hands and said that although the mine was now poorly defended, support would be provided as soon as the sun went down.

So fast……

The communication started ringing rapidly, and just as it was connected, Tien's voice was heard: "Hey! You're not dead yet!"

"What if you die?"

"That's a shame. Don't worry, I'll avenge you—if I can find the culprit. But since you've replied, doesn't that mean it's not a big deal?"

For Seifer, it wasn't a big deal. If it were any other mercenary in this area... they'd just have to hope their armor was thick enough and their weapons powerful enough.

"Yeah, they're all pretty weak guys. But the people who sent them here are not weak."

While they were communicating and loading the truck, Leica's voice suddenly rushed in: "Red Crossbow! Your communication is interrupted again. I detected that your signal is blocked..."

The height and weight of the neatly stacked ore bricks on Sefer's back amazed the miners.

He replied calmly, "The problem has been resolved. I'm going back to the car. Can you help me find out... what the Desert Climate Conservation Organization is."

"Maintain the organization...Okay, wait a moment, Red Crossbow, are you injured?"

In response to this, Seifer led the group back to the ground safely and found that this place was no different from before... If you have to say, there were probably some abandoned devices thrown nearby.

I don't understand it, and it has no recycling value.

He waved his hand, signaling everyone to form two diagonal columns on the left and right to maintain the team and follow him back... Be more vigilant, so that those people won't make a surprise attack.

It's different on the ground than down there. If your protective suit is torn, you're basically waiting to die.

"Red Crossbow, I found the information you wanted."

Leica's voice was a little subtle, and she seemed confused about the information she had found. "The Desert Maintenance Organization. It's an organization that has emerged recently."

"Their philosophy is also very strange, that desert climate modification will cause people to lose the energy they need to survive... because everything now is made up of such extreme weather and the world beneath our feet."

"If the current situation is changed, the entire world will be in chaos, and everyone might even die in the process. This organization was originally a branch of the Desert Climate Modification Agency. For unknown reasons, they suddenly broke away from the organization and established their own organization."

"However, it's not a very influential organization. The Business Alliance has only recorded them as a small group of forces."

Leica concluded briefly, "You're unlucky, Red Arrow. You happened to encounter these people attacking a poorly defended mining area."

"They also attack small settlements, plundering resources or people, and they specifically invade in small groups during the day. Be careful." As they walked through the terrible area made of gravel and sand, Cypher suddenly had an idea: "Is it possible that the organization you mentioned is just smaller in scale, but is the vanguard of others?"

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"Because you see, they're small, and their weapons are crudely made, but sometimes they can pull out weapons customized for mercenaries. They look like they're just looting without any reason, but they have very advanced shielding devices, right?"

Leica paused: "The shielding device is actually not very advanced..."

"But they're definitely not something a bunch of vagrant soldiers would use as consumables. I can't even find any company-produced inscriptions on them, so they're most likely homemade."

"You make a lot of sense, Red Arrow. I'll continue to help you investigate... but it might be hard to make any progress."

That's not a big deal. Seifer looked back at the panting group and said, "Take your time to investigate. There's no need to rush this matter. After all, we're just small, unknown mercenaries. Even if the sky falls, we still have the company to support us."

"...This is the first time I've heard of something like this. Just don't act like a fool and get yourself killed for no apparent reason. Red Crossbow, communication terminated."

The Laika side was over for the time being, and a group of people also walked to the bottom of the convoy - those guys were so excited that they almost ran towards their own cars.

The temperature inside their body-sensing protective suits was already over 40 degrees Celsius. If they had been a second late, they would have died outside. However, Seifer slowly entered his car with a trailer and stacked the mineral bricks neatly.

After locking it, he went to the main control cabin wearing protective clothing. During this time, Lin Shenxue curiously sent a message asking if the mine was fun.

What fun can there be in a mine?

Tien's voice was still as loud as ever. She scolded those underlings over the comms, saying they were too cowardly, hadn't organized an effective counterattack, and were too uncultured to just run around the car.

Not interested in these for the time being, Seifer sat in the main control position, took out the piece of ore covered with cement from his tattered protective suit, and looked at it for a while.

It is obvious that the structure was covered with patina later, and it seems that it was covered to prevent detection. Should we find some tools to knock open the outer shell and have a look?
But if he rashly hit something containing energy, Seifer always felt that it might explode with a force that would blow the entire car up into the sky... This thing was like a hot potato. Once he got it, he found that it was difficult to let go, and it was also difficult to hold in his hand.

While I was hesitating, a new communication came in.

Dr. Mei's somewhat tired voice came in: "Mercenary, you brought something back. You have disrupted most of the experiments."

...If she hadn't said anything, Sefer would have almost forgotten that there were scientific researchers in the car!
After he told Dr. Mei that he had brought back a stone, he was silent for a while and asked him to bring the thing to the scientific research section.

After readily agreeing, Seifer put the spare body for going out to fight back into the hanging compartment, replaced it with No. 1, the spare body with skin, and then took the stone to the research section.

A bunch of researchers in the cabin were adjusting equipment that kept sounding alarms, but Dr. Mei was the only one calmly drinking from a bottle of clear drink with a straw.

"Here it is, bring the stone over here."

She said this indifferently, and held out her hand to Cypher. The moment she took the stone, Cypher felt that she seemed to be interested.

"Hmm... this thing is indeed quite rare. You, come here and polish it out, and then make a restraint."

The researcher quickly took it and carefully carried it to the workbench.

Cypher was curious: "So what is that?"

"Well, do you know about anomalies? Mercenaries like you should theoretically have participated in investigations within anomalies."

Another strange vision. I always feel that this thing has been linked to technology = archaeology.

(End of this chapter)