Chapter 796: Journey on the Ground
'According to reports from the front, the Fifth Fleet has been staying in the Hanging Stone Star Region for nearly a month, and negotiations between the Federation and the Mechanical Council are already underway...' The personal terminal beside the table broadcast the latest news.
Enjoying the sumptuous lunch in front of him, Biaoxing thanked the Fifth Fleet for its generous food and dining standards.
"Hi~" A familiar voice came from a distance.
Biaoxing looked up and saw the Seaweed Head Researcher coming with a few people. Judging from the driving suits they were wearing, they should be members of the Fifth Fleet.
"It's been a month since you came to the Fifth Fleet. Are you used to it, Biaoxing?" The researcher still had a lazy smile.
Since Pulin led the Fifth Fleet to set sail, he and many people from the institute were also transferred to the Fifth Fleet. It is said that they are going to test new mechas on the battlefield and collect data.
"Used to it." Biaoxing nodded, his eyes attracted by the few people beside the Seaweed Head.
Although they were all drivers, he clearly felt that the other party's mood was rather dull.
"Let me introduce you. These guys are all test pilots of the new mecha. They are the same as you in the institute. We will be colleagues in the future." With the seaweed-headed researcher's suggestion, the guys finally smiled politely.
"Hello."
"Hello." Both parties nodded.
Then it was a routine exchange of introductions.
"This is Misa."
"I'm Kuman."
"My name is Weide."
"And our Que Lin." A girl with emerald twin ponytails was pushed in front of the guys. She seemed a little absent-minded, but she still smiled and nodded.
"Okay, now that you know each other, let's have a good meal together today, or go out to play in the evening. I don't think there will be any missions during this period." The seaweed-headed researcher brought the guys together.
"No problem." The guys nodded at each other. They saw that the age difference was not big. The oldest Kuman was only 36 years old. As for the youngest Que Lin, she was one year younger than Biaoxing, only 27 years old.
"Becoming a Sequence 7 mecha pilot at the age of 27, this can be regarded as a top talent in a star field."
"Of course, Que Lin is the treasure of our team, haha." The atmosphere of the meal finally became lively.
After that, the few people added various delicious snacks, barbecue, beer, and drinks, and went to the starship entertainment area to sing, dance, play games, etc.
After a few days of getting along, Biaoxing also gradually became familiar with these people. The general feeling is that Kuman is more mature as a captain, Misa is a little shy, Weide likes to be cool, and Que Lin... This girl who likes music and seems lively occasionally falls into a state of contemplation and depression. It's
time for vacation again. At this time, Seaweed Head suggested that they go to the living planet to play.
"Anyway, it seems that there will be no war, so why don't you go to the ground to play for a few days. The history of this planet is also quite ancient." Seaweed Head Researcher suggested during the dinner.
"This is a good thing. I dream of this. I can get wartime salary subsidies and travel freely." Weed raised two fingers to express that this is simply awesome.
"Are we all going?" Biaoxing was a little uncertain. If a war breaks out, there must be someone on duty in the team.
"Let's all go." The seaweed-headed researcher casually waved his wrist, and then the room exploded with cheers.
...
'Wind Erosion' is a planet of red soil wilderness.
Dry wind and sand blow, and walking on this land, you will feel the occasional slight scratches on your skin.
"There is a town ahead."
Tilan and Pulin stood on the sand dunes, looking at the town surrounded by hillsides in the distance. It is rare to have such natural conditions that this town is free from the wind and sand.
"Go there to verify your point of view?" Tilan gently covered the scorching sun above her head with her hand.
"Yes, do you dare to come?" Pulin is now wearing a red shirt and jeans, and her fiery red hair is tied into a single ponytail, which is particularly capable and makes people unable to recognize her original identity.
"Of course."
Even though she knew that Pulin was deliberately provoking her, Tilan did not refuse. Today she was wearing a white robe, with only a few hair strands showing between the hood.
The two walked down the mountain path. The road here was just a flat piece of land shoveled out on the desert-like land. It looked very smooth and flat from the sky, but when people really walked on it, they would find all kinds of gravel and sand.
At first, the two did not talk much. After walking for a while, they gradually started to talk.
"It's been a long time since we took a walk together like this." Pulin thought of some of the time in college.
"Yeah." Tilan nodded.
"Why do you feel more boring today? Obviously, you were quite talkative when we were bickering in the morning." Pulin teased the black-haired girl beside her.
"When I'm in a bad mood, I don't want to talk." Tilan raised her eyes and looked at Pulin who was still shrouded in sunlight, with mixed feelings.
"That's really embarrassing. I still want you to accompany me here to continue the debate in the morning." Pulin shook her finger and walked in front.
"We will go to the town later and ask the locals how they view the changes in the Federation in the past 20 years, and see if the Federation under my leadership has made great progress."
"Aren't you particularly pragmatic? Do you believe in gentleness and kindness? If even people in such a remote town feel the changes, I think you have nothing to say." Pulin turned back confidently.
"If that's really the case..." Tilan didn't continue.
The two people's footprints slowly approached the town in the wilderness. At this time, vehicles passed by on the road from time to time, bringing up billowing smoke and dust.
Another truck passed by, and Pulin raised her arm to let the invisible air mask cover the two people to avoid being affected by the smoke and dust.
"This environment is not good at all." She began to complain.
Seeing this scene, Tilan just shook her head secretly. Isn't this the current situation in many remote areas of the Federation?
After finally arriving at the town, the road under my feet finally turned into a familiar gray geomagnetic field. Occasionally, some suspended autonomous units were seen shuttling to assist in transporting goods in the city.
There are not many people living here, only about 2,000 people, and there are few shops on the street. It is rare to see stores of the same category competing.
"Is there anything delicious here?" Pulin asked directly after pulling Tilan into a store.
"Hello, beautiful lady, we have a lot of food here, and we have freshly made honey barbecue here." A young man wearing a small hat welcomed warmly.
"Honey barbecue?" Pulin turned her eyes to the rolling iron wheel not far away, where skewers of barbecue were placed on it to heat up. It was unknown how long it had been.
The age of this barbecue machine may be older than Pulin. She complained in her heart and felt a little disgusted.
"In addition to this, I think we should order some light drinks. My friend likes to drink." As she said, she pulled Tilan out from behind.
Even though she covered it up, the appearance of the black-haired girl still made the clerk stunned for a few seconds before he reacted.
"Drinks, oh, drinks, yes, we also have special sea buckthorn juice, which is a local specialty extraordinary drink, and the effect is good. Wait a minute, I will bring it over."
After saying that, he took the key and went to the small room behind the counter. After a minute or two, he brought out a can of orange drink.
The packaging is a very ordinary glass bottle, which should contain the refined sea buckthorn juice, emitting a faint magical ripple. It seems to be an extraordinary drink, but the grade is definitely not higher than T4.
For such a remote town, Pulin could only shrug her shoulders and couldn't force too much.
"Give us two bottles." She picked up a card to pay.
"Okay~" The clerk replied happily, and then handed a bottle to each of them.
After that, the two took the juice and walked around the store again. There are all kinds of miscellaneous goods sold here, from snacks to electronic products, and some daily toiletries.
"That's all." Pulin took a few bags of snacks before leaving, paid and left.
Before the two walked far out of the store, a bang of an old-fashioned motorcycle rushed over and finally stopped in front of the store behind them.
Five tattooed strong men got off the motorcycle, trotted a few steps, stepped onto the steps in front of the store, and entered the store.
Seeing this, Tilan and Pulin stopped. The two stood under the sparse shade of the trees on the street, opened the bottle cap, and drank this simple juice drink.
Even if the two did not say it, this process can indeed be called nostalgic.
After a while, the sound of talking came from the store.
"Is the boss not back yet?"
"Not yet, but it should be soon." The clerk who just received the two replied, and then there was another muttering.
The process did not happen as expected by the two, which made Pulin lose interest, and then threw the empty juice bottle into the trash can not far away.
"Let's go, let's go and see other places."
Then the two walked around the town. The whole process took about an hour, and occasionally asked the locals about some situations on the way.
"My friend and I came here to travel, and I'm curious if the situation here has always been like this."
"Situation, what situation? Oh, I see, you came from other star regions, right?"
"The development here is indeed relatively backward, but it has improved a lot in recent years." Hearing this, Pulin elbowed Tilan's arm with a little pride.
Seeing her behavior like a child, Tilan wanted to laugh, but thinking of her own immature appearance, she couldn't laugh at this moment, just shook her head slightly, indicating that this was not enough.
"How is it better?" The black-haired girl rarely took the initiative to speak today, her clear voice was like a spring in the desert.
"No, of course it's the public security, now there are no road bullies and robbers anymore." The uncle on the side of the road said casually, recalling the scene when he was young.
"Back then, I almost got involved with them, smoking, drinking, dyeing hair, getting tattoos, racing cars everywhere, and venting my dissatisfaction." He leaned against the door frame and uttered words skillfully, but looking at his big belly now, he probably can't be crazy anymore.
"Where did those people go later?"
"Many of them went to work in other places. In recent years, many star regions have been developing and building, and some space stations have been built. They are all short of people, so even if they are short and inferior, there are still people who want them." He casually complained.
"Didn't you go?" Tilan asked curiously.
"I got married, and my father-in-law was worried about his daughter and I going to the outer star region, so he stayed. Now the children are grown up, and they can't leave." He said, took out a local cucumber from the house, split it, and handed it to the two to eat.
"But you, why don't you go to this broken place when there are so many fun places in the Federation?"
"This, maybe curiosity? I've been to many prosperous places and fun places." Tilan responded.
"I really don't understand you young people." The uncle continued to lean on the door frame.
At this time, there was another horn, and a truck stopped in front of the uncle's house.
The door opened, and the driver in a jacket walked down with a cigarette in his mouth, "Are the things I want ready?" After saying that, his not-so-useful eyes only saw the two girls beside the door clearly.
"Your niece?" The driver was skeptical.
"No, she's a guest from out of town." The uncle said, and walked into the house to take out the heavy metal box that was stored and put it into the truck.
"I've fixed the things. After all, it's an old guy. You can use it with ease later." "
Okay, I got it. Come to the store to ask for the money later." The driver replied skillfully.
"Wait a minute." The uncle stopped the other party.
"What's the matter?"
"These two guests want you to help them go to the city to have a look." The uncle pointed to Tilan and Pulin beside him. They had finished visiting this small town and were going to see a bigger place.
"Tourists?" The driver looked at the two young figures suspiciously. Because of the extraordinary people, even Pulin looked no more than 20 years old.
"Okay, remember to give me the toll." The driver raised his hand and motioned for the two to get in the car.
If it were an ordinary girl, she would probably be afraid that the driver would take the two to an unknown corner, but Pulin and Tilan were both top-level extraordinary people. Not to mention that their communication devices were connected, and military forces would arrive at the scene in less than three minutes. Naturally, they would not be afraid of such a small matter.
The two walked to the back seat of the truck with some curiosity. There was still a lingering smell of sweat and grease.
Although the conditions were not good, they were not the kind of girls who were spoiled. Soon their attention shifted to the scenery that was constantly receding outside the car window.
In the vast wilderness, there were strange-shaped rocks protruding. Occasionally, rusty buildings could be seen on the rocks. They seemed to be radar and communication stations, and some were rusty huts.
The buildings that used to be in sharp contrast now blended with the surrounding environment because of the rust, making it difficult to distinguish.
"What are those buildings?" Pulin was rarely curious.
"Oh, those are very old things. If you really want to trace their origins, they are probably old guys from the Fourth Age." The driver turned his attention.
"Don't you know? I thought you came here to travel specifically to see this. After all, this broken place has nothing else except these rusty antiques."
"The Fourth Age?" Pulin wanted to learn more.
"Yes, the Fourth Age." The driver turned the steering wheel to avoid the big rocks on the road, and then continued.
"It is said that it was the early days of the fleet's exploration of the universe after leaving Earth. At that time, a colony fleet landed on this planet and began to build and transform the environment."
"Don't look at it as poor now. In ancient times, this was an important industrial planet." He said casually.
"See those red rocks? They are all iron ore. The entire planet is almost full of iron ore. Just smelting it will make steel. In the early Fourth Era, such a planet was of course an industrial center. All kinds of colony ships, building materials, and industrial products were manufactured here."
"Although there is not much water on the planet, the wealthy locals at that time would use imported natural water for bathing."
"As for why we use natural water instead of purified water, of course the former is high-grade enough, and everyone can afford it. They are generous." The driver casually turned the steering wheel. It was more like playing a real-life driving game than driving. Middle-aged people really don't have much fun.
On the way, the three of them chatted with each other until a seemingly abandoned city appeared in front of the road.
Many buildings here have been weathered and corroded. Some high-rise buildings seem to have only skeletons left, swaying slightly in the air. The wind passes through them, making a whistling sound. As for the small buildings and low buildings below, they are still vibrant, with various signs of new and old. Tens of thousands of people live here, and some young people can be seen on the streets, even students.
"We're here." The driver stopped the car.
"I have to deliver the goods later. You can stay here. If you want to play around, you can call a tour guide. Try to find a place to stay in the city center. The conditions will be better."
"Thank you." Tilan nodded in thanks, and Pulin's attention had long been attracted by the scenery on the street.
Here, you can see quite old and simple traditional clothing. The torn dark red woven shawl looks like it was left by your grandmother. But in contrast, you can also find the latest fashions in the Federation's clothing and electronic products. What many young people discuss is not too far behind the mainstream of the Federation.
A style where the old and the modern collide with each other is presented harmoniously here, and no one finds it strange at all, as if it should be like this.
"It's a very interesting place." Pulin moved his fingers, making a slight clacking sound.
"Let's call a tour guide first?" Tilan asked Pulin beside him.
"Okay, let's go." Pulin took another look at the chaotic streets with both old and new styles, and followed Tilan.
(End of this chapter)
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