Chapter 7 First Steps
In the ruins surrounded by the sandstorm, Jiang Xia's expression suddenly turned ugly.
I made preparations in advance and did it perfectly, but I didn't expect that the old soldier in front of me would see through it at a glance. Anyone here would feel uncomfortable.
But this is not Jiang Xia’s fault for being careless.
After all, when the star array was activated before, this area of ruins was shining with blue arcs of light.
Such a big commotion.
Unless you are blind, you can see it clearly.
It is not surprising that the strange phenomenon from the sky attracted this group of Wasteland Gang warriors, not to mention, they came here to look for the star array.
However, where did that fierce hunter robot that almost wiped out these guys come from? Who was hunting them? Was there anyone else looking for the star array?
This is a question that Jiang Xia has to think about.
Now that the matter had been exposed and he had met someone with whom he could communicate, Jiang Xia thought about it and decided not to hide it anymore.
He shook hands with the old warrior Rogge in a hasty manner, then pushed the box under him away, revealing the ancient, exquisite, and very familiar pentagonal stone slab hidden underneath the box.
He pulled out the revolver from his waist, turned sideways, nodded his head, and made a "please" gesture to Rogge behind him. The latter had no intention of resisting and did not reach out to touch the pile of guns behind him.
Appears to be very cooperative.
Rogge laughed, ignoring the black muzzle of the gun in Jiang Xia's hand, and just lay on the ground, stretched out his left hand, and blue rays lit up from the palm of his prosthetic hand.
Just like scanning, the texture of the stone slab is recorded from top to bottom.
Soon, several more wasteland warriors came over and used a sophisticated jack-like device to lift the stone slab off the ground.
They placed it properly in an iron box that had been prepared long ago and fixed it on a tracked motorcycle.
Just looking at the process, you can tell that it was well prepared.
It seems that Rogge did not lie, and they did come here with a clear purpose.
Jiang Xia did not stop this process.
On the contrary, there was a hint of joy in his heart.
Since this group of people came for the star array and have made sufficient preparations, it is very likely that they have a way to open it.
This saved me from searching aimlessly in the desert.
“As soon as you entered the temple, you came this way first, and even pretended to pull the box over and cover it, just because you were afraid that we would discover your secret.
You recognize it, you know what it can do.
I know that too.
You do not have to worry about.
Before we came here, we had already determined that it was stored in the ruins of the fortress before the war. Even without you as an unexpected factor, we would have been able to find it.
There is no need for me to lie to you."
Old Roger flexed his wrist and said to Jiang Xia:
“This is all thanks to the previous explorer.
It was he who told us about the existence of the star array, and it was he who gave us hope.
I know this thing is unscientific. It is a relic left behind by an ancient advanced civilization. Through it, we can enter another world and completely get rid of this terrible and fucked-up hometown.
But the problem is.
That world is strange to us.
We don’t know the civilization system, let alone its attitude towards outsiders like us.”
Rogge paused, glanced at Jiang Xia who was listening, and said in a more serious tone:
“The two-way coordinates of the star array are fixed.
We are going to the world you came from, and the fact that you can travel through the star array alone proves that you must be a person of status and power in your world.
So collaborate, explorers.
The world you see is hopeless.
You can't find anything meaningful here except chaos and despair, and you are alone and weak. This star array requires specific energy to activate.
You can't do it alone.
I will try my best to send you back to your world as a reward for your help to us just now.
But I also hope.
You can take us there with you.
There, help us build a new home.”
Rogge's attitude is sincere and his speech and behavior are quite graceful. Ignoring his rough skin on his face, he makes people feel good about him.
But Jiang Xia knew with his butt that this guy must be hiding something.
He glossed over many key points.
This is normal. Anyone with a little bit of common sense would not be so open with a stranger. But at the moment, this statement at least sounds feasible.
Jiang Xia was silent, as if he was thinking, his mind racing.
He thought that he should not tell Rogge his true situation at this moment.
I can't tell him that I'm just a pawn being pushed out to die, let alone having any identity, background or power.
I can't tell him either.
I know no more about the world I came from than Rogge and his group.
Just by looking at the appearance of this group of wasteland warriors, you can tell that they are ruthless and a group of desperadoes.
I am weak and alone . If these wasteland guys with prosthetic bodies turn against me, I will have no good way to deal with them.
However, since Rogge has already imagined this, he might as well go with the flow.
We’ll talk about what happens next.
Let’s go back to the world we came from first.
It probably isn't peaceful there either, and there are dangers, but it's much better than staying in this desolate desert and engaging in intrigue with these wasteland brothers.
Jiang Xia rolled his eyes, then grinned, stretched out his hand to Rogge, and said:
"Very good, helping each other is a good thing, let's make a deal, let's do it.
Activate the star array now and I'll take you there?
I'm not exaggerating, my world is much better than your wasteland."
"Not urgent."
Rogge waved his hand, and the bearded old warrior listened attentively. The peeling and flapping sounds outside the temple had become much quieter, and the sandstorm was about to pass.
He made a gesture, and the wasteland warriors behind him immediately started moving, packing up and preparing to leave.
"To activate this thing, a special energy source is required."
Rogge explained to Jiang Xia:
"I don't know how to activate it in your world, but here, it requires a certain frequency of discharge of batteries in series, and that's a big one.
We did it with great effort and stayed in our oasis camp.
We must take the star array there first."
"All right."
Jiang Xia frowned. He felt something was wrong, so he responded. Then, he heard Rogge say slowly:
“But here comes a small problem.
Two days ago, that place was occupied by the robots of the Eternal Life Society.
The shot you just made was very powerful. Even without the fire control system's assisted aiming, you were able to shoot through the hunter's battery pack with one shot. You are also a trained soldier.
So I'm asking for your help, to help us take it back and drive them out."
"How do you know I've been trained?"
Jiang Xia's heart skipped a beat, and he calmly retorted:
"In my world, I am a scholar, with weak bones and muscles, lack of energy and blood, and I just had a serious illness, so I can't even tie a chicken.
The shot just now was just a blind cat catching a dead mouse."
"It's okay. We don't need you to fight."
Rogge waved his hand indifferently and said to Jiang Xia:
"All we need is for you to sneak into the camp and take down the defensive turrets there, and we'll do the rest."
"I like weapons, but I love peace more."
Jiang Xia refused decisively. This situation was obviously not what he wanted to see. This Rogge was also a wonderful person. All the previous preparations were for the present.
It was obvious that he was planning to fight Jiang Xia to death.
"I can return your weapons to you, and I can help you, but forget about infiltration. I have never learned stealth, and I am not a soldier."
He said something, waved the revolver in his hand, and said:
“There’s no need to talk about repaying anything.
But I like this gun very much. Consider it my reward for saving you. I'll keep it. Is that okay with you?"
Rogge looked calm. He picked up a pulse rifle from behind Jiang Xia, turned on the safety, and said to Jiang Xia with a touch of regret:
"You have good taste. This gun is a souvenir my grandfather left me. Even though it is a gunpowder weapon, it has long been out of date with this fucking era."
"What do you know?"
Jiang Xia snorted, played with the gun in his hand, and said:
"A place filled with gunpowder is a man's romantic place."
"I can give you the gun, but you have to help!"
Rogge looked back at the temple and said:
"There are only so many Black Hand fighters left. We have no chance of winning. If we can't take back the oasis, it's useless to get the stone tablet.
As for stealth.
You don't need to know it, and I'm not asking you to die.
The scale of the sandstorm will seriously interfere with the optical tactical information modules of those robots, forcing them to capture targets using thermal, infrared, information frequency bands and other methods.
We have thermal shielding suits that will keep you from being thermally imaged and draw attention to you from the periphery.”
The old soldier looked Jiang Xia up and down, and said in a more serious tone:
“The most important thing is that you don’t have a single chip in your body.
The robots' information frequency band capture is of no use to you. As long as you don't appear in their field of vision in a swaggering manner, they will not be able to detect you.
You are much safer in this desert than we are."
He looked at Jiang Xia and stretched out his hand towards him, one hand holding a gun and the other hand empty.
He said:
“Wastelanders never talk about friendship. Trust is a luxury in this fucked up land. Everyone talks about interests, so we talk about interests.
Outsider, you will either continue to wander in the desert.
Or fight us back.
I won't force you, but in this situation, cooperation is in both our interests.
You told Su before that you are a businessman.
We hired you.
Whatever compensation you want, as long as we can provide it, you can ask for it."
Jiang Xia took a look at the pulse rifle in Rogge's hand. The shape of this thing was very similar to the standard SCAR assault rifle he was familiar with, and it was also equipped with a grenade launcher.
But the muzzle is not a primer for firing projectiles, but a probe shape like a ray gun. The grenade launcher is also very unique in shape.
But what is loaded inside is physical ammunition.
He took the gun, looked it over seriously, pulled the safety, and with the crisp sound of the probe resetting, the internal pulse energy started and an indicator light on the gun handle lit up.
"This firepower is not enough."
Jiang Xia raised his head and said to Rogge and the group of wasteland warriors behind him:
"I need a tactical goggle, a set of above-standard body armor, preferably with desert camouflage, a few more magazines, and the thing you used before, which looks like a plasma grenade.
I want six.”
He pointed at Su who was standing on the side, moved his finger downward, and said:
"This boy has a nice pair of boots. They are very convenient for walking in the desert. Mechanical prostheses should not have foot odor, right?"
Su didn't understand what Jiang Xia was saying.
But looking at his actions, you can guess that something is wrong.
Rogge waved his hand and said something to Su, who reluctantly took off his boots, revealing his mechanical body, and handed the odorless shoes to Jiang Xia.
The thin and dark young man obeyed the order very well. He just glared at Jiang Xia, then turned around and continued to treat his companion's injuries.
Lao Jiang didn't care. He quickly put on his boots and tightened the zipper and ropes.
He pulled out his pistol again, opened the magazine with a swish, took out the bullet, loaded it back, and finally put it back in place skillfully, tore open his sleeve, and wiped the barrel with a rag.
"You still say you are powerless?"
The leader of the Wasteland Black Hand Society looked at this scene and said:
“Although I know that the life of every space explorer is complicated, I am still very curious, what exactly do you do?
You told me that you are a scholar.
But you said you were a businessman..."
Before he could finish his question, he was interrupted by Jiang Xia.
The thin man, whose hair was cut unevenly by himself, raised his head and seemed to have made up his mind. His eyes became clearer and sharper.
He said to Roger bluntly:
"I can cooperate and help, but we have to be frank first!
I don't trust you and you don't trust me.
Don't mention things like trust and interests anymore, as only children believe in those things. Along the way, explain clearly the situation here and your current predicament.
We just met by chance, there is no friendship to speak of, we have to reveal our true colors to each other so that we can continue to cooperate."
Jiang Xia wiped the revolver in his hand, and seemed to have returned to the familiar but long-lost life. He replied softly in a tone full of complex emotions:
"As for my identity, I did not lie to you. I was indeed a businessman."
"The kind that sells death."
