Chapter 106 Plague Swamp
The next day, the weather was nice.
In the outer city square of the City of Glory, thousands of steam locomotives are densely packed and ready to go.
Ghoul-class mechanical city, war elephant-class mechanical city, as well as various large and small troop carriers of strange shapes, single-soldier motorcycles, flea trucks, engineering vehicles...
The roar of steam boilers is endless; billowing white smoke rises into the sky, blocking out the sun; tall chimneys stand in a row, and it looks like a steel forest from a distance.
The call for a nationwide war has been issued. Within three days, hundreds of thousands of hunters will set out from the city to fight the "Forest of Ashes". The hunting feast has begun...
…
Early in the morning, Ryan came to the meeting point outside the city that he had agreed to meet with Carl and his grandson.
From a distance, he saw Carl standing in front of a very strange-shaped steam car, twisting some parts.
Ryan walked over and his eyes unconsciously fell on the steam car.
This is not the common four-wheeled, boxy steam car.
It has five rows of wheels. The largest one in the middle is two meters long, and seems to be responsible for stabilizing the body and providing power. The front and rear ones are slightly smaller, probably used to control direction and balance...
It has wheels, but also four sturdy mechanical legs, and a decorative big-eared dog-faced hood and dog tail.
Well……
The overall shape looks like a large dachshund about six or seven meters long!
Although the car doesn't look very cool, if you look closely, you will find that it is full of mystery and technology. It is completely different from ordinary steam cars on the street. It is more like a "concept car" with -edge technology.
Ryan stroked the car body and exclaimed: "Karl, did you design this steam car? It looks like it has strong functions..."
I guess only Carl has the childlike interest to design the look of a dachshund.
"yes."
Carl seemed quite satisfied with his work. He pointed at some of the designs on the car and said, "Grandpa can't stand severe bumps, otherwise it will shake his brain and cause fainting, so this car has many additional shock-absorbing designs and a special suspension system. And those mechanical legs are to cope with complex terrains and ensure stability throughout the entire journey..."
"oh?"
After hearing this, Ryan looked in the direction of Carl's finger.
Looking through the iron sheet that was not completely covered, he found that the internal structure of this sausage steam car was very magical. The five rows of wheels were not as simple as they looked. They were all connected to a very sophisticated suspension and shock absorption system. The large and small brass gears were intertwined and looked very complicated. Whether in terms of function, material, or structure, it was very different from ordinary locomotives.
Carl introduced this and couldn't help but say, "Brother Ryan, let me tell you something... Although my 'Sausage' is small, many of the technologies on the car are unique and the most advanced technologies on the market. Any bearing or valve part can be patented!"
"Sausage?"
Ryan's eyes twitched, and he looked as if he knew it, and praised, " Karl 's mechanical skills are naturally amazing."
Tust was taking a nap in the cab when he was awakened by the voices.
He waved the mechanical arm concealed by the glove and greeted Ryan: "Ryan boy, you are here."
Ryan smiled and waved at the old man, "Grandpa Tust, good morning."
…
Ryan helped Carl hang some instruments that could not be put into the storage ring on the back of the "Sausage".
Not long after, a broadcast sounded over the radio (don’t ask, it’s the steam black-tech speaker).
"Go to the 'Plague Swamp' wasteland hunters, prepare to set off in a quarter of an hour! Follow the 'Glorious XIII' mechanical city closely, we will not wait for you if you are late..."
"Go to the Red Rock Canyon Wasteland Hunters. Prepare to set off in a quarter of an hour! Follow the Glorious 25th and 33rd Mechanical Cities closely. We won't wait for you if you are late..."
"Go to the 'Karna Poisonous Wetland' wasteland hunters, prepare to set off in a quarter of an hour! Follow the 'Glorious 19' mechanical city closely, we will not wait for you if you are late..."
“…”
The sound continued to echo among the army gathered in the square outside the city.
This time, the wasteland hunters were led by the City of Glory, which also sent dozens of "ghoul-class" and seven or eight "war elephant-class" mechanical cities to join the expedition.
These giant war castles are the greatest guarantee for land reclamation.
Destroying a barbaric civilization is not as simple and crude as hunting the wild beasts; it requires some necessary strategies.
Each mechanical city will arrive at its predetermined destination and build a camp, forming a large encirclement of the "Forest of Ashes" and slowly eroding it.
Finally, they gathered into a legion, looked after each other , and overwhelmed everyone.
These mechanical cities are also the logistics support bases for the wasteland hunters.
Provide the necessary places for land reclamation...field hospitals, equipment supply, and logistics support for mechanical maintenance.
…
The mission that Ryan and his team accepted was to go to the "Plague Swamp" and participate in the construction of the base.
The capable liar hunters had already set out yesterday. They accepted front-line missions such as "clearing dangers", "paving roads and building bridges", "drawing maps", "hunting monsters", "installing communication base stations", "setting up sentries" and so on.
The risk is great, but the corresponding contribution point rewards are also very considerable.
Doctors, mechanics, businessmen like Ryan, and some guys who are just there for show, all started to follow the Mechanical City today.
It's slow and the pay is low, but it's safe.
In a nutshell, those who can fight have gone to the front line to open up new areas and search for treasures, while the noobs and the idlers have followed the Mechanical City as the logistics troops.
…
Gather and set off in a mighty force.
The mechanical city led the way, and its huge tracks created deep grooves.
Hundreds of oddly shaped small troop carriers followed the flat road surface pressed out behind the mechanical city, stretching for several kilometers.
Those "Ghoul-level" mechanical cities that are like small county towns can accommodate at least a few thousand people, but Ryan and his group are not qualified to go up.
That is the private property of the five major families in the City of Glory. Only forces that are on good terms with them and the "Mage Corps" that are the pioneering army of the City Lord's Mansion are allowed to live there.
Ryan doesn't mind, the car is quite comfortable.
Anyway, in the wilderness, when such a large army goes out to fight, there are rarely any blind monsters to attack.
Even if there were any, they would be shot into sieves by various artillery and sniper rifles in the mechanical city before they could get close.
It's true that although the appearance of Carl's "Sausage" is not so cool, the shock absorption is really great. The slight vibration will not even cause a glass of water to vibrate on the car. This is a comfort level that other steam locomotives can never imagine.
If this were any other steam locomotive, not to mention that it would be like a bumper car when driving on complex road conditions , the rumbling vibration of the boiler would be enough to make people's souls leave their bodies after a long journey.
Because of this, Ryan can meditate and learn medical knowledge normally on the motorcycle.
…
There had been no large-scale fighting yet, so the doctors had little time to spare.
But Carl, as a mechanic, has been busy since the start.
The mechanical army goes out to fight, and every day there are locomotives that break down and need to be repaired.
Carl seemed to be always short of money, because his grandfather needed top-level life potion every week to maintain his life. That kind of potion was not cheap, and it cost several million per bottle. Over the years, this was a very horrible expense.
At first Ryan didn't understand why Carl and his grandfather lived in such poverty.
It is obvious that they have mastered a large number of cutting-edge mechanical technologies and have invented some cutting-edge mechanical technologies that can make a lot of money once they apply for patents.
Later, he heard about what happened to Tust when he was young, and he realized that the old man did not apply for a patent because he was disappointed with the Machinists Association that expelled him.
Only the top elite class can afford advanced patents, but Tust hates them!
This stubbornness made Tust prefer to let his skills be buried with him rather than sell them to the dirty dignitaries who had hurt him before.
Therefore, a machinery repair shop that used to have good profits, after deducting the cost of medicines, only had enough money to make ends meet.
Ryan also carefully examined the condition of Carl's grandfather Tust.
His "Gang Line" can warm and stimulate muscle growth, which is a very effective means to treat muscle atrophy caused by paralysis. However, the unknown toxin in Tuster's body is very tricky, and even if the Gang Line warms and stimulates muscle growth, it will soon return to its original state.
Just like a computer virus, if you don’t kill it completely, you will be infected again soon.
Without addressing that toxin, there is no chance of healing.
The poison that even teacher Irubek couldn't cure meant that this was a disease that the entire medical community had no solution for now, so Ryan was naturally helpless. He could only regularly configure [Golden Liquid] to ensure Tust's basic life support.
…
There was nothing to do during the trip, so Ryan meditated almost 24 hours a day.
The twenty times longer time in the dream gave him plenty of time to digest the knowledge.
The amount of knowledge acquired in one month is equivalent to that acquired by others in several years.
Making rapid progress.
He also took advantage of the time on the journey to carefully read through the research materials and medical records left by Irubek.
He now understood that Irubek seemed to have anticipated that he would be caught a long time ago, so he had already arranged a study plan for Ryan.
The document left behind contained the teaching outline of the Royal Medical College tutor... where to start with potions, which books to read from the simplest to the most advanced, where to start practicing...
Very organized and very detailed.
Looking at the prompts, many of which were obviously written in fresh handwriting, Ryan also realized the teacher's good intentions.
That old man really cares about his apprentice.
With these study outlines, he doesn't have to be like a headless fly, not knowing where to start. He just needs to study step by step.
Of course, there is also the "Six Secrets of Fighting", and the skills I practiced in my dreams are gradually getting started...
…
And so, more than a month later.
Ryan and his companions followed the [Glorious XIII] mechanical city to the designated location - "Plague Swamp".
This is a large swampy area in the southern part of the "Forest of Ashes", a notoriously high-risk area.
Their mission is to build a base on the edge of the swamp to provide logistical support for the hunters.
