Above the Blood Moon

Huang Shuangyan turned and walked towards the steps, the hem of her Taoist robe swaying gently behind her. But she stopped at the top of the steps and looked back at Qiao Keli, as if she still had something to say.

"By the way, you can pack up what your partner chose now. I hope you can come back from the wilderness alive, otherwise I'll have to make a trip to the wilderness to collect your body, which is quite a hassle."

Chokley looked down at Big Yellow, only to see that Big Yellow had already climbed to the exoskeleton with the parts in its arms. The mechanical legs inserted the fusion core into the chest groove and locked it in place, and then inserted the combat chip into the data interface on its back.

The moment it connected the pair of silver wolf mechanical arms to the shoulder joints on both sides of the torso, the entire torso lit up, and blue energy patterns spread from the core, covering the entire frame like blood vessels.

Big Yellow crawled back to Jockley's side.

Click click click

With a series of locking sounds, Jockley felt a weight on his back as the exoskeleton pressed tightly against his back. The mechanical arms extended from his shoulders and hung down on his sides, the frame automatically adjusting to fit the curve of his back.

Big Yellow's head slid from its shoulders to the back of its neck, unfolding to cover the back of its head and temples again. The visual sensor belt adjusted its position, and the blue circular interface lit up.

[System connection complete. Torso unit activated, robotic arm unit activated, energy unit activated, combat chip loading... Loading complete, current status: exoskeleton assistance mode activated.]

Master, I feel reborn. I can let you control the two robotic arms, or you can control them yourself. (‾◡◝)

Jockley stretched his shoulders; they felt heavy, at least twenty kilograms heavier, but the weight was evenly distributed.

He tried to lift the mechanical arm on his right. The mechanical arm rose as he thought of it, and the five metal fingers opened and then clenched into a fist.

He felt a surge of power coursing through the mechanical arm, like a sleeping beast awakening.

Jockley then lowered his arm and turned to walk up the stairs. Climbing the stairs was much easier than coming down, as the exoskeleton frame provided additional support.

When he pushed open the dilapidated wooden door and returned to the room upstairs, Art, Daikiri, and the priest were still waiting outside.

Art was leaning against the opposite wall, smoking, the glow of his cigarette flickering in the red moonlight.

The three of them heard the door open and turned around at the same time.

Daikiri was the first to stand up. He whistled loudly and glanced at Chokri.

"Oh," Daikiri said with a smile, his tone unabashedly teasing.

"Out so soon? I thought our new teammates would be inside much longer. How was it, selling your ass?"

Art exhaled a smoke ring, which slowly rose in the red moonlight and then dissipated.

"Stop fooling around."

Although he stopped Dekiri, there was a hint of a smile in his voice.

Jockley didn't speak; he simply stood there, letting the crimson moonlight shine on the red indicator light on the bomb collar.

Silence is the best answer.

Daikiri's smile slowly faded. He looked at the collar around Chokri's neck, and then at the exoskeleton on Chokri's back, which was clearly newly fitted.

"Damn, you used your organs as collateral?"

Jockley nodded. Daikiri was silent for a few seconds, then he walked over and patted Jockley on the shoulder. Art put out his cigarette, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it.

"Alright, the debts are collected, and the necessary equipment is ready. Time to get down to business."

As he spoke, he turned and walked back the way he came.

"Go back to the tavern to get the car, and get ready to leave."

The five of them then returned along the same route. The streets were still the same streets, and the red moon was still the same red moon, but Jockley felt that everything was different.

When I returned to the tavern, the delivery drone was already waiting at the door.

It was a standard wheeled delivery robot, and upon seeing Chokri, a smiley face lit up on the robot's front screen.

"Order No.: DL-7-774, please sign for it."

The cargo hold opened, revealing two guns, three rectangular energy batteries (each resembling a brick), two magazines filled with bright yellow bullets, and a flashbang with a matte gray surface.

Jockley picked up the laser rifle; it was heavy. He checked it and found that the power battery was installed and the safety was off.

He then used the robotic arm to pick up the submachine gun, which was lighter than the laser rifle, and its magazine was also full.

At and Daikiri had already pushed two motorcycles out from inside. At straddled the motorcycle and patted the back seat. Daikiri jumped on and sat behind him, naturally wrapping his arms around At's waist.

The priest walked to the motorcycle behind him, nodded to Jockley to get on, and Jockley went over and climbed onto the back seat.

Big Yellow's voice echoed in his mind.

"Hold on tight, this thing doesn't look very safe. (´･ω･`)"

Ate had started the motorcycle; the engine roared like a beast, black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe, and the wheels began to turn.

"Go go go!" Daikiri shouted, his voice echoing through the streets, "Let's go!"

Art slapped him on the head.

"You fucking focus!" he yelled, but a smile played on his lips.

Then he twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle shot off like an arrow, its wheels kicking up a cloud of dust on the debris-strewn street.

The priest started his motorcycle, which slowly began to move, then accelerated to catch up with the one in front.

Two motorcycles sped through the streets of Forgotten City, past the crooked buildings, past the flashing neon signs, and past the figures wandering in the shadows.

They rushed out of the city.

It rushed towards the wilderness.

Rushing toward that unknown mission.

Shortly after they left, the old beggar with his eyes gouged out was still sitting in the same spot at the alley entrance.

The old man still clutched the half-eaten nutritional paste in his withered palm. He had already eaten half of it, and he carefully wrapped the remaining half in a tattered cloth and tucked it into his bosom, placing it close to his chest.

He stood up shakily, leaning on a steel pipe he had picked up, and slowly made his way to his "home," his dwelling in the sewer.

As he sat down in the familiar corner, he reached into his pocket, wanting to check if the half-eaten nutritional paste was still there.

This half-eaten nutritional paste will at least allow him to linger on for another day.

But the moment the old man's fingers reached into his pocket, he froze. He touched something hard—a physical Covenant coin with a face value of 0.1.

The old man opened his mouth wide, his hollow eyes staring at the invisible coin on his withered face. He seemed frozen, then he used all his strength to shout hoarsely.

"Praise be to the red moon! Praise be to the red moon..."

A tear rolled down his cheek, the sound echoing in the dark sewer before being swallowed by the endless darkness.

On the other side, on the motorcycle ahead, Ate held the handlebars with one hand and took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket with the other, took one out and put it in his mouth. He then took out a lighter and lit the cigarette.

The firelight illuminated his face, and the lenses of his gold-rimmed glasses reflected the endless darkness ahead, along with the faint outlines of metallic debris within it.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette, then slowly exhaled, the smoke dissipating in the wind and disappearing behind him.

As he took out his cigarette, several coins in his pocket clinked together, making a crisp "clinking" sound.

The coins gleamed faintly in the red moonlight; each coin had a face value of 0.1, and there were five coins in total.

A doctor, you know.

If you're a little nimble-fingered, you can "borrow" some change from someone's pocket, and then secretly put some back...

That's perfectly normal.

Right?