Chapter 432: The Oasis Under the Mountains and the Truth Behind the Legend

"A-choo--"

General McLen, standing at the door of the tent, sneezed, and accidentally lost his teeth, blowing the cigarette butt in his mouth into the sand.

Rubbing his sunburned nose, he glanced at the cigarette stuck on the ground and cursed.

"...Damn it."

Although this was a perfect plan, McLen still felt a little aggrieved when he thought that he, a two-star captain and a noble "Sky Conqueror", had fallen to being a contractor in the desert.

And I don't know why.

Since just now, he has felt a chill on his back.

He had this feeling two or three months ago, and not long after that, the propeller of his beloved Iron Heart was swept into a hydrogen balloon that floated from nowhere.

Until now, he was still not sure which bastard had released the balloon...

"Increase patrols!" McLen looked at the newly promoted centurion on the side and gave an order with a dark face, "Expand the search range from 3 kilometers to 5 kilometers. Anyone approaching will be arrested, and anyone resisting will be shot!"

The officer on the side stood up straight and saluted.

"Yes!"

Watching the officer trotting away, General McLen stamped out the cigarette butt with one foot, rolled it with his boots, and then walked to the north of the camp with his hands behind his back.

The runway of the airport is under construction.

There is no bulldozer, so we can only dig with a shovel and move the earth with a wheelbarrow and a truck.

The land here is severely desertified. In order to prevent the ground from collapsing when the plane lands, the runway must be strengthened.

More than 50 army soldiers patrolled the edge of the runway and supervised the construction of the entourage.

More than a thousand followers were digging earth with their upper bodies naked under the scorching sun.

Looking at the bare arms and shoulders, McLen cleared his throat and shouted louder.

"The sun in August is like a red-hot furnace. I know you are dizzy and tired as if you were filled with lead... But being baked here is better than being baked into charcoal by white phosphorus and burned to ashes by gasoline on the front line."

"That's what happened to your friendly forces. Your enemies will torture you in the most cruel way, so you must fight and move forward. This is the only way for you to survive. Thank us for showing you a clear way. You don't have to be slaves of kings or puppets of enterprises. The suffering you endure today will be returned to our enemies a hundredfold tomorrow."

"They will repent in the flames, turn to ashes under the high temperature of tens of millions of degrees, and be crushed into slag by our anger!"

"Push harder!"

"Get moving!"

Seeing those people digging harder, McLen nodded with satisfaction and turned back to the barracks.

It would be perfect if he could have a bucket of ice cream at this time, and it would be best if Princess Theresa fed him... No, she was already dirty after being caught by the barbarians, so it would be better to wait until the war was over and go to the old king's harem for a tour.

He was actually not very interested in women, after all, that kind of thing was too easy for him to get.

Those ice creams, on the other hand, were rare products produced in the alpine pastures along the Solat River. Even if they were tens of thousands of kilometers away, they were luxury goods specially supplied to the nobles.

With the unlucky Finod around, those natives should know its value.

I hope those bumpkins didn't eat them all...

...

The sunset had already fallen to the horizon.

Under the shadow of the wooden wine barrel, a black and white cat yawned lazily and licked its paw.

At this time, a small dried fish swayed in front of him.

Smelling the salty aroma, the cat squinted its amber eyes and walked up with an elegant cat step.

It meowed politely at the dried fish. Seeing that the "servant" did not object, it moved its mouth unceremoniously.

Obviously, it has become accustomed to people feeding it... or offering it.

It seems that the old man named Bulma is right. People here like cats very much, so the cats here live a leisurely life and are not afraid of people at all.

"Mimi~"

Gently rubbing the back of the warm and fluffy head and listening to the comfortable snoring, Zhimahu, who was squatting on the ground, smiled with his eyes narrowed into crescents, his cat ears swaying leisurely one after another, and his face was full of satisfaction.

The burly white bear squatted beside her, looking curiously at the little guy on the ground.

"Have all the cats in the wasteland come here?"

"Well, it's really strange. I haven't seen cats anywhere else... but I have seen dogs." Zhimahu said after careful recollection.

Seeing that the cat had food and drink and was served by someone, Rourou showed an envious expression on her face.

"Damn, I want to rub it too..."

"Okay, but you have to be careful. Your claws are too big. Don't hurt it." Zhimahu moved to the side and made some room for Rourou.

"Hehe, don't worry, I'm very careful when I rub cats!"

Rubbing her claws excitedly, Rourou carefully stretched out her bear claws.

However, before she put her claws on the cat, the cat was frightened and its fur stood up, making a gurgling sound.

Rourou looked at a loss and quickly retracted her claws.

She was about to explain that she had no ill intentions, but the cat had no intention of listening at all. It bit the dried fish and hurriedly turned around and slipped into the shadow of the alley.

Watching the cat disappear in the alley, Rourou's face was full of frustration and grievance.

"Well... am I too scary?"

Zhimahu didn't know how to comfort her, but seeing her expression that was about to cry, it was not easy to leave her alone, so he could only clap his hands and stand up with a smile. Touched the broad and furry shoulders.

"How could it be, Rourou is so cute... maybe it has never seen a talking bear."

The people here are very superstitious, but their tolerance for unknown things is unexpectedly high.

Even if they see a talking bear, their reaction is just "Your bear can actually talk", instead of shouting "Monster!" and picking up the weapon to beat it.

Maybe it's not just because there are many strange things in the wasteland, but also because the locals often engage in trade activities, and they are no longer surprised by some strange things.

For example, the cactus hotel next to them.

The waiter at the front desk is an old-fashioned android, and the kind that is so old that the skin has faded.

It is said that during the prosperous era, it was working as a receptionist at a resort hotel 20 kilometers away, and later it was sent to a waste disposal center when it reached the end of its service life.

Before it was scrapped, the Doomsday War broke out, and it stayed on the assembly line of the abandoned factory for nearly two centuries until it was picked up by the owner of this hotel a few decades ago and resumed its old business.

Its actual working time has far exceeded its designed service life, so that it always says some strange words, occasionally offends guests, and always stares blankly from time to time, and stays blank for a long time.

Whenever this happens, the owner of the hotel will come out to register the guest's information for it.

"...I remember I was 7 when I first saw it. Now I'm almost 47. Time flies."

"Yes." Sisi, who was waiting at the bar, nodded and replied casually.

47 years old.

This age is considered longevity in the wasteland.

She vaguely remembered hearing someone say that according to the settings in the game, the average life expectancy of NPCs in this world is only 35 years old, and most people will encounter accidents that they can't survive in their 20s.

Flipping through the worn-out notebook, the boss rubbed his index finger on it, suddenly showing an embarrassed expression, looking up and saying apologetically.

"Sorry, guest, there are a lot of people staying in the hotel recently, and there is only one double room left... How about changing one of them to a double bed room?"

Before Sisi could answer, Wei Tail came over excitedly and raised his right hand with full energy.

"Oh! No problem! Wei Tail and Sisi will sleep together!"

Sisi coughed lightly.

"Then... a double room and a king-size bed room."

As she said this, she put a few 10-yuan gold camel coins on the table. They had just exchanged some change with the spoils they had looted from the plunderers at the market, and now they had about 600 to 700 yuan in savings.

It was enough for daily expenses.

It was still cheap to stay in the hotel, 9 gold camel coins per room, and even included a large piece of rye bread for breakfast.

I heard that if you are not picky about the accommodation environment, there are rooms for 2 gold camel coins a day, and the utility room where servants sleep is also provided to guests.

As for renting a garage, it is a little more expensive, but it is only 15 gold camel coins a day, and only 300 if it is a monthly subscription.

This also made Sisi feel cheated.

A volume of "Scenic Area Map" plus a tourist brochure describing local customs and practices was sold for the price of nine days' room fees!

No wonder the boss didn't even count it and took the money bag she threw on the stall into his arms.

At least he earned 40 gold camel coins out of 80!

Too careless!

The key to the double room was given to Zhimahu and Rourou, and Sisi went upstairs with her tail.

Passing by the corridor.

She saw a man with a beard and a woman with a sad face standing by the window on the second floor.

The man was wearing a gray linen shirt, and his temperament looked like he had been a soldier, or at least worked as a caravan guard, and was the leader.

The woman in front of him was wearing a beige dress, with slightly curly brown hair, a pretty face, and a slightly bulging belly as if she had just gotten pregnant.

"... There will always be a way. I heard that someone in Silver Moon City is recruiting sailors. At worst, I can go there to try my luck."

"But... what about me and the child." There was a trace of sadness in the woman's eyes.

"..." The man was silent and didn't say anything. Obviously, he had no other choice.

The woman hesitated for a while, as if she had made up her mind, and took off the ring on her ring finger.

"Why don't you take it and see if you can change it for something..."

The man quickly held her hand.

"Don't be like this... Let me think of another way."

Sisi looked at the two people and estimated that they should have fled from Oasis No. 9 or Oasis No. 3. After arriving here, they had spent all their savings.

While Sisi was looking at the two people, the man also noticed the two girls coming up the stairs. After hesitating for a moment, he walked forward.

"Madam, I am very sorry to bother you. Excuse me... Can I exchange some money with you?"

Sisi glanced at the purse in his hand. There were quite a few Golden Lion coins in it, estimated to be about 300 or 400. These two people seemed to be from the Kingdom of Lions.

The man probably felt that this request was a bit abrupt, and he couldn't help but retract his hand.

He knew very well that the currency of the defeated country was worthless.

If it was a few months ago, this bag of money could at least be exchanged for 400 Golden Camel coins.

Now, even if he had no other options, he couldn't bear to let these two girls be taken advantage of.

However, Sis still took the bag of money from him and stuffed it into his hand.

"Deal, after this trip, we are planning to go to Oasis No. 9, and we won't need to exchange money there."

Looking at the bag of money handed over by the girl in front of him, the man was stunned and said with a guilty conscience.

"This... is too much."

The heavy weight is at least 300 gold camel coins, which can be used sparingly for half a year.

Even some small business can be done.

Sis weighed the bag in his hand and said casually.

"Your country has not lost yet. Those who are still resisting, their determination is worth the price. Take it."

The man's Adam's apple moved, and his expression showed both gratitude and a bit of shame.

After a brief silence, he took the purse and bowed deeply.

This was the only thing he could do at this moment.

"Thank you for your generosity, and may the spirit of the sea of ​​sand bless your journey. My name is Charlie... Although it is just an insignificant name and not worth remembering, if we meet again, I will repay your kindness to me and my wife."

Thinking that this guy is quite interesting, Sisi curved the corners of his mouth.

"Don't take it too seriously, it's just a business deal, just be nice to your wife."

The tail next to him also smiled and said.

"Oh! I hope we can find a lot of treasures on our way back! Oh, yes, we are members of the White Bear Knights, and our leader is a talking white bear. Please spread our legend even more outrageously!"

The man looked at the two girls blankly, then bowed deeply again, returned to his wife and told her the good news.

With two pairs of grateful eyes watching, Sisi and Weiba walked to the room deep in the corridor.

Looking at Sisi who took out the key to open the door, Weiba stroked his chin and thought for a long time, and suddenly seemed to have discovered some incredible secret, and spoke seriously.

"Incredible, I didn't expect Sisi to be soft-hearted, and didn't even suspect that the couple might be scammers."

Sisi replied casually without being too frank.

"No, I just think I might not be able to buy it if I don't buy it now, so I'll buy it as a souvenir... Oh, by the way, this expense can be deducted from my share of the income, after all, it's my personal interest."

Although no one seemed to care much, she thought it would be better to calculate it clearly.

She had seen too many guilds that were originally very close to each other and fell out because of an equipment that would be razed after two versions.

Wei looked at Sisi who opened the door in surprise.

"Hey! Sisi wants to take the out-of-print gold coins for himself?"

Sisi was stunned, then smiled and stuffed the purse into her hand.

"...Then count it as Wei's share."

The room with 9 gold camel coins is much more spacious than the small single room with 3 gold camel coins. It not only has bright windows, soft big beds, but also has independent bathrooms.

Petra Fortress is not in the oasis, but it is the territory of the Hump Kingdom after all. Danshui is just a little more expensive, but not scarce.

Moreover, Oasis No. 4 is different from other oases. Not all fresh water is supplied by the "river bank". The Zhuobar River flowing from the mountains to Silver Moon Bay also irrigates a large area of ​​land.

In the local slang of the Hump Kingdom, the pronunciation of Zhuobar means great and mother, which is also one of the cultures formed after the Wasteland Era.

As soon as she threw down her luggage, Wei rushed into the bathroom like a gust of wind, and soon there was a sound of rushing water.

She hadn't taken a shower for a month.

But she was so depressed.

Sisi walked to the window and sat down, listening to the shouting and hawking outside the window, and put the book "Oasis under the Zhuobar Mountains" that she bought with cash on her knees and read it carefully.

The author's name is Bai Ge, which seems to be a pen name. He narrated his life story in a few words on the title page. He claimed that he came from the Wandering Swamp and was surprised to find this pearl hidden at the foot of the mountain in this desperate land. So he gave up the employer's task, stayed there, married a fisherman's daughter, and taught while writing.

This work, written in the 150th year of the Wasteland Era, is as famous as its author. It mainly records the geographical features and customs of Oasis No. 4 and the Hump Kingdom.

If the Zhuobar Mountains are compared horizontally with the "Roof of the World" in the real world, then the location of the Hump Kingdom is a bit like the otherworldly version of Bangladesh.

It's just that its area is smaller, with a total of only 80,000 square kilometers and a population of only about 1.5 million, living in a total of twelve city-states including the "Petra Fortress".

The king here is Camel City, where one-third of the population of the entire oasis lives, located in the southwest corner of the bay.

If you go through the Petra Fortress and walk south along the Djobar River to the floodplain at the estuary, you will reach the most prosperous Silver Moon Bay in the entire oasis.

Located on the floodplain, Silver Moon City is the most prosperous port city in the Hump Kingdom. The scattered islands and rivers running between buildings are its unique urban style.

Although the population is only 300,000, more than 70% of the kingdom's fiscal revenue comes from there.

"... The locals trade with the archipelago in the south and the Borneo Province in the southwest. The big-horned cattle in the desert were actually introduced from the Borneo Province to Silver Moon Bay. It is said that there are fishmen with gills and big frogs that can spray acid... incredible."

"Oh! Poro! Can I see Poro there?" Rubbing his wet hair with a towel, Tail, who had just walked out of the bathroom, heard Sis talking to herself and immediately came over curiously.

When Sis saw her, his face suddenly turned red and he reached out to pull up the curtains.

"You... at least put on some clothes."

Tails proudly put his hands on his waist and raised his mouth fearlessly.

"What does it matter! I heard that everyone living in the dormitory does not wear clothes!"

Sis subtly moved his eyes away.

"... I may have gone to a fake university."

After being naughty for a while, Tail finally found his integrity. He put on a T-shirt and sat next to Sis obediently, wrapping his hair with a towel, as if he was going to wait for it to dry naturally.

There are even androids here, but there is no hair dryer. It can only be said that this is worthy of being a wasteland.

Tail, who came to the side of the book, stared at the illustrations with shining eyes, hoping to find some clues to the new map from it, so that he could brag to everyone on the forum later.

Sis coughed lightly and returned to the previous topic.

"It just happens that the pronunciation is very similar. The literal translation is the land south of the towering mountains. I prefer to directly transliterate it as "Bora". I feel that the location of that province is a bit like the widened Italian peninsula. Our current fortress is like Innsbruck, Camel City is like Ravenna, and Silver Moon City is like Venice...if you only look at the geographical location."

The Zhuobar Mountains extending to the southwest cut off the traffic on the road, so the only way to go to the Borneo Province from Oasis No. 4 is by water.

According to the description in the book, there are also alien species in the ocean, and it is said that their combat power has reached the level of sea monsters.

However, these alien species are usually only active in the deep sea and are very sensitive to smell.

The locals found that these alien species hated the smell of black ironwood, so they would use black ironwood to make wooden steamships for long-distance trade. In the relatively shallow offshore, they would also use iron sheets to make ships.

The author, whose pen name is White Dove, has a very rigorous narrative style. He might be a researcher at the college.

Sisi thought in her heart, holding her chin with both hands, and Weiwei, who was staring at the illustration, suddenly sighed.

"I didn't expect the world to be so big!"

"Yes..."

"Across the sea..." Touching his chin, Weiwei suddenly looked serious, "Is it an enemy?"

Sisi was slightly stunned, and then burst out laughing.

"... You're out of place, Weiwei."

"Hehe..."

Weiwei scratched the back of his head a little embarrassedly.

At this time, she suddenly saw the scroll on the bedside table, and then she remembered the treasure map, so she stood up and hugged it.

Looking at the map unfolded on the ground, Sisi raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh, it's quite big."

That's not too bad.

"Oh! Si! There's a red cross on the map! It's really a treasure map!"

"You can draw that kind of mark with a pen."

Looking at the startled Ah Wei, Si Si replied casually, her eyes stayed on the map for a moment, and suddenly frowned slightly.

Her index finger subconsciously turned the pages of the book and found the description of the Lost Valley.

Whether in the materialistic sense or the idealistic sense, this relic has a far-reaching impact on the kingdom on this oasis.

Therefore, a considerable amount of description is also made in the book.

"...According to local people's word of mouth, the sky god fell there, and the burning scepter turned the plain into a valley. That is undoubtedly Oasis No. 7. According to the known documents, I suspect that there are radioactive substances and mutant slime molds... or should I say the remnants of the curse."

"I should go there to have a look, but my body can no longer withstand the torment. For the sake of my lovely son, I can only give up the urge to take risks. Maybe one day in the future, when I have nothing to worry about, I will go there to have a look. If I can fix it, it will be perfect, although I don't have any hope."

"They were living gods a century and a half ago. It is better to light a candle and pray than to use wrenches and screwdrivers to solve the problems of gods."

Reading this, Sisi can basically be sure that the author with the pen name White Dove is a researcher of the college - or an explorer.

The pessimistic and self-deprecating tone is exactly the same as that of a researcher obsessed with coffee machines.

"The more you know, the more pessimistic you become. Fortunately, you have an optimistic manager. I would have given up treatment long ago." This is the line that the NPC often says.

His eyes fixed on a certain line in the book. Sis combined the context and barely explained it with limited vocabulary.

"...Titan."

Tails raised his head excitedly, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Titan?"

It is indeed a hidden mission!

Sis nodded, his eyes moved on the page, and said after a little thought.

"Well... The author collected rumors about the God of the Sky. Referring to the description of the locals, he believes that it should be some kind of large land combat equipment with frigate specifications, equipped with mobile reactors, heavy firepower and starship-level shields."

The machine wielding the holy fire, wrestling with the evil spirits waving countless long whips, and finally burned under the scepter that fell from the sky... This sounds like Transformers fighting tentacle monsters.

If the tentacle monster is understood as the mother nest, then the machine wielding the holy fire can be easily explained.

Probably similar to the Doomsday Mech in "Civilization 6" or the Iron Lump in "Titanfall".

This doesn't seem like a battle that took place during the Three Years War, but rather a battle that took place during the Committee period.

"Well, maybe there is something really amazing there, but--"

But it's better not to make things complicated at this time.

After all, compared to the unknown difficulty and benefits of the ruins, the million-dollar goods in hand are of course more important.

However--

When meeting the expectant eyes, the smart face still showed a helpless smile.

Closing the book in his hand, Sis put it aside, patted the dust and stood up from the ground.

"...It would be a pity if I didn't go and see it."

The tail jumped up excitedly.

"Oh! Go!"