Chapter 653 Warm Firelight in the Snoring
The armored train that shuttled through the mountains roared forward. When the swarm of insects descended from the sky, dense gunfire sounded on the train. The firelight covered the body of the train like a hedgehog armor, smashing the attacking swarm of insects into pieces.
The remaining juice and blood fell on the leaves of the forest in the mountains. Along the way, I don’t know how many similar attacks I encountered. Fortunately, the scale was always small and could not stop the armored train from moving forward.
In the afternoon, the black and gray troops marched on the land, and when they arrived at the signal transmission site in the evening, they saw piles of charred insect corpses. The land for several kilometers was stained black by rotting flesh and blood, and the smell of burning was overwhelming.
Walking between these insect corpses and black tar, the bad smell and traces made people dare not imagine what kind of tragic battle this place had experienced.
Finally, the team passed through the piles of debris and corpses, climbed the small hill in the inner circle, and saw the only relatively clean round land.
There were many damaged and burnt armored vehicles left here, and the rescue association's logo was also covered with dried blood.
"Are we too late?" The leading Iron Core looked at the scene and couldn't help but ask.
"No, they should have survived." A tall and thin officer looked around the scene.
"Although there are many remains of corpses here, there are almost none in the center, and it is even relatively clean. Moreover, although the armored vehicles are damaged a lot, they are not the only ones."
"Then how did they win or persist in the end?" A team member asked.
"I don't know, but we still search around, maybe we can find something."
Then the leading officer asked his men to disperse and search.
About half an hour later, the members in charge of the search returned and reported to the leaders.
"We found this." A member handed over an iron plate.
On this iron plate, a line of handwriting was written in the form of fire.
"We suffered heavy losses, but we still survived. Thank you for your support. We will have to rest and recover for a long time in the future. We may not be able to contact you in the short term."
After reading this line of words, the leader handed the iron plate to others, then boarded an abandoned armored vehicle, looked at the land from afar, and sighed at the devastated world.
"They are really tenacious... No wonder they can survive until now."
"Sir, what about us now?" The member next to him asked.
"It should be fine. There are so many corpses piled up here. Look, those insects have not gathered here anymore. What does it mean? It means that such strong pheromones can't attract insects. They can no longer pose a threat to this land."
"Let's make a record and then return."
"Then where is the Heshan Rescue Association going?"
"That's not my business. Leave them a way out." The leader waved his hand.
"They are extremely weak now. Even though we had a good relationship in the past, I'm afraid they would be worried
when we meet now." "This world is full of dangers. Leave a good impression. Maybe one day we will also encounter difficulties."
"Let's go back."
Some people in the team still miss the technology passed down by the Heshan Rescue Association, but they don't know where the other party is now, and their boss doesn't have too persistent ideas, so they can only return the same way with regret.
On the way, several leading officers sat in the train to discuss.
"After this swarm of insects, we don't know when the next one will come. With the intensity of this swarm, even if we encounter it, we will suffer great losses."
"I heard that the main city has begun to set up watchtowers along the mountains along the border to monitor the eastern region where the swarm broke out."
"What a pity. In the past, the base of the Heshan Rescue Society was so solid, and the warning points were like stars all over the eastern mountains. No one wanted to lose them one after another and be destroyed by the swarm in just a few months. It's good that 10% of them survived this time."
"According to scholars in the alliance, these insects prefer warmer areas, so they are rarely seen in the north and are not very active in winter. The reason why the Heshan Rescue Society was able to migrate successfully is also due to the heavy snow in winter."
"Our Ford Alliance is located in the north, and there are mountains between us. It won't be easy for them to invade. As long as we are careful, they shouldn't pose much of a threat to us."
The train continued to roar, and many soldiers on the train leaned against the carriages to sleep and rest. They had been marching for several days and were already exhausted. Although they didn't catch up with the battle, it might not be a bad thing for ordinary soldiers. Now that the swarm of insects has dissipated, they are relaxed and can sleep peacefully even in a shaking and noisy car.
The sky darkened again, and then the train drove into the mountains and slowly disappeared into the night.
In the south of the wilderness, the small valley that used to be quiet on the grassland was now quite lively. The surviving members of the Heshan Rescue Association were stationed in the open space in the valley, and the armored vehicles at the entrance of the valley formed a temporary wall to guard the interior.
The tall figure of the moose boss walked between the campfires, handing over the prepared meals to the members of the rescue society who were sitting by the fire to treat their wounds and take a nap. On the other side, Mimi, a cat-tailed species, was busy at the makeshift kitchen counter with several companions. She held a spoon in her hand and skillfully stirred the food in the pot, adding some chopped ingredients from time to time.
On the platform on the mountain wall, Sura, Fran and several members of the Heshan Rescue Society were discussing the resettlement plan.
"I looked at the black oil stored in the cave. If it is filtered and processed, it can be added to the armored vehicle for use, but it needs to be cleaned and repaired every once in a while." A member of the rescue society held a handwritten cardboard with many material reserves marked on it.
"There is definitely not enough food now. If you want to survive, you must find a way to get food as soon as possible." Fran glanced at the data on the cardboard.
"Heshia said that she is working on a way to deal with the problem of water and soil pollution, but it will take some time to prepare." Although Sura didn't know how to do it, the girl had done too many incredible things now. Even if she said that she was the reincarnation of the Holy Sun, Sura thought it was very likely.
"If the water and soil pollution problem can be solved, then this vast grassland will be a promising fertile land for reclamation." Fran looked at the scribbled hand-drawn map beside him.
"Currently, there are about 1,600 people in the camp, including the original population of the settlement and the members of the relief association. The daily food consumption is a huge amount."
"When we migrated before, we exchanged weapons for food with many settlements along the way. Now I'm afraid we can't do the same as before." A member of the rescue association shook his head.
Just when they were at a loss, a light and flexible figure descended from the night sky and landed in the middle of them.
"Good evening, everyone. This is Lololia, who has just recharged and is full of energy~" With a little air spraying from her heels and palms, this cute mechanical girl greeted several people.
"Uh... hello." Several people present replied to her hesitantly.
Although they all knew that this mechanical girl was not a war machine that only knew how to kill, it was still difficult for them to adapt to the traditional impressions and memories of thousands of years.
"You are looking for food, right? Heshia told me this in the morning." Lololia replied with a slightly brisk voice.
As a creation of the Mechanical Council, being able to help native humans will bring them a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, which is reflected in the emotional level of the code as happiness.
"Lololia flew at a speed faster than the speed of sound and circled the land within a radius of 100 miles. Dingdang~ This is the map." After speaking, her emerald eyes blinked, projecting a three-dimensional map image, showing the situation of this grassland and the surrounding land.
The grassland is irregular in shape, with the eastern and northern parts covered by barren Gobi. The northern part continues to extend as the altitude increases, and vegetation and trees begin to appear. This is the direction leading to the Stone Forest Fort.
To the west is still endless grassland. It is said that there is a big river there, and many barbaric settlements live along the river. Among them, the wolf blood species is the leader. To the south is the jungle where Heshia and Sura met. It seems to be fertile and fertile, but there are many mosquitoes, snakes and ants. If you are not careful, you will be infected with various diseases. In the era of lack of antibiotics, no one will live there.
"The Stone Forest Fort has just been destroyed by an insect plague. Although most of the insect swarms have been eliminated, there are also sleeping insect eggs in the local soil and many hidden corners. If you go there, you don't know when these insects will break out. According to previous records, such an environment will last for at least several years. After the local insects hatch, the food will be cut off before they will spontaneously die out slowly." The technical member of the Heshan Rescue Association analyzed.
"It's best not to go back in the direction we came from. The situation there is even more serious. My suggestion now is to go west and find the settlements on the grassland to trade. Although one settlement is not enough, as long as we go to enough settlements, we can always get enough food for a quarter."
"I'm afraid that's a bit difficult." Sura replied, resting his head on his head.
"The food on the grassland has actually been in a delicate state of balance, and they often conflict with each other over food issues. It's okay if it's just a small amount of trade, but large-scale actions will definitely be noticed by the local settlements, especially the wolf-blooded people there. They all obey the orders of the Wolf-Blood Queen. Given the queen's temperament, after she finds out, she will definitely think about how to annex you and obtain all the desired technology and equipment."
"I went there with my companions a few years ago, and I didn't have a very good impression of them at the time. Compared with the various settlements under the management of the Gray Feather species, they are quite barbaric. Even a caravan may be robbed, and killing a few passers-by without background is a common phenomenon."
In this world, robbing a caravan is a very serious matter. Because of the shortage of supplies, many settlements rely on caravans to bring invaluable medicines, daily necessities, and information from the outside world from afar. Once a caravan disappears in a certain place, other caravans will also avoid those places, so the local settlements will have a hard time in the future.
"For these reasons, although there are many settlements on the grassland, few caravans dare to do business there. Even if they do, whether they sell or purchase, they are much more demanding than other places. For example, originally 10 kilograms of meat could be exchanged for a can of rice, but there it takes almost 20 kilograms."
"The caravans have their reasons. What kind of place is this? I dare not come here without a group of bodyguards. Don't these bodyguards eat or spend money?" Sura imitated the caravan bosses' confident tone.
After speaking, several people at the scene also laughed and walked out of the heavy atmosphere during this period.
After dinner, in the absence of entertainment, many people fell asleep early, and a few continued to chat around the campfire, pouring out the many emotions accumulated during this period.
In the room in the cave, Heshia looked at the 'rhythm crystal' on the table and breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, it was made. I didn't expect that it would be so troublesome to rub it by hand. All the parameters had to be adjusted, unlike the gray dust crystal with many instruments and equipment to assist.
With this crystal, the extraordinary impurities in the polluted soil and air can be precipitated and separated, and the remaining chemical pollution or gas particles can be solved in a simpler way.
Holding this crystal, Heshia walked out of the room and came to the outside of the cave.
At this time, Fran, Guy and others were still sitting by the campfire. Fran held a pen in his hand and recorded the interesting rumors and experiences he heard at night like a bard.
"Miss Heshia." Seeing the girl walking through the campfire, the members of the rescue society along the way stood up and saluted, and then slowly sat down again at the girl's wave and nod.
Coming to the campfire where the core members gathered, Tilan threw the rhythm crystal with a light finger, and it was suspended above the campfire. Its flickering light ripples gave people a sense of novelty and mystery.
"This is the way to solve pollution. It can be used to precipitate extraordinary toxins and impurities in the air, water, and soil, and then filtered again with traditional methods, and it can be used as a safe living environment." She introduced its effects.
"Such a pill can purify a land of about 500 meters in length and width. It should be enough to keep the crop environment safe and clean in the early stage." After saying that, she turned her eyes to the members of the rescue association and asked them to test it themselves.
After listening to Heshia's explanation, Fran and a group of rescue association members gathered around curiously, while Heshia sat down. At this time, Mimi brought her a bowl of milk-flavored stewed meat, which was also matched with green vegetables and tomatoes, which looked very tempting.
"It tastes very good." Heshia took a small bite and nodded in praise.
After listening, Mimi smiled happily, and her tail swayed back and forth. Then Guy next to her told Heshia about what they discussed during the day.
"In other words, in the short term, we can only try to go to the west of the grassland to find food?"
"Yes, when we came here with the rescue association, we had already bought out the food in several nearby settlements, and they had to eat the rest by themselves, especially in the Lake Wind settlement. Now it is estimated that there are only breeding animals. The goat milk in Heshia's dinner just now was obtained from them."
"Is that so..." Tilan thought about it.
"Although we will definitely encounter many problems along the way, we still have to go. In fact, I also want to see what the situation is like over there. As for safety issues, with me here, it shouldn't be a big problem." She didn't know the strength of the Wolfblood Queen, but even if the other party was a terrifying existence of Sequence 8, she had the ability to protect herself. She had been promoted to Sequence 7, and now she could try many secret techniques and skills that she couldn't use in the past.
"With Loloria and the mechanical bodies she controls in the camp, there shouldn't be any danger."
In fact, today, Lololia has already surveyed and mapped the land within a radius of 100 miles, because there is almost no place to hide on the grassland, and there are not many living things, let alone the forces that can threaten the camp of more than 1,600 people. This is because Heshia has a high sense of self-morality. If she commands these people to plunder, she can directly capture and rob all the settlements within a radius of 100 miles.
"No, I don't agree. I also want to go out and play with Heshia. I just need a mechanical partner to guard my home." The mechanical girl's hearing is particularly developed, and the processor on board can analyze the simultaneous conversations of thousands of people at the same time. Heshia's words were heard by her from afar, and then she ran over to complain.
"I also want to go out with Heshia~" She came to the girl, grabbed Heshia's sleeves, and begged coquettishly. I don't know who set up such a behavior template for her, but with her originally petite and cute appearance, it really works very well.
In response, Heshia had to touch Lololia's head lovingly and agree to her plea.
"You can go together, but you have to conceal your identity on the way and not reveal that you are a machine."
"Yes, I will. I am a high-level mechanical life with wisdom and intelligence. I am not that stupid." After the request was approved, Loloria happily circled around Heshia and laughed happily.
Seeing such a humane and lively machine, the members who were originally afraid and worried relaxed a little. At least she could communicate, right, instead of just following the code to operate the rigid machine.
Under the night sky and the bonfire, light laughter and snoring intertwined, and the oppressive and heavy memories of the past were slowly soothed by the warm firelight, becoming peaceful and gentle.
(End of this chapter)
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