Data Wasteland

A group of floating boats flew slowly over the endless sea. The propeller spins lazily, listlessly.

The cabin was full of people, but at the moment it was quiet, all in a daze, no one spoke. The sound of waves coming from below from time to time made it more and more silent.

On the largest floating boat, Xiang Caidie leaned in the corner, looking at the man on the sofa in a trance.

She didn't bother. Since coming back, the other party has been in this state. The whole team was also shrouded in a sad mood.

She could see that this group of people had lost a person who was very important to them.

Since she was a child, she followed Hua Beidou to fight in the north and south, and she was used to seeing life and death parting on the battlefield. Just because she was here, she understood that the best comfort at this time was not to bother and let them slowly digest the grief.

Looking at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window, Chen Xing was in a daze for a long time, suddenly grabbed the wine bottle on the coffee table, took a sip of wine, then leaned on the sofa and exhaled heavily.

Sigh in my heart.

Good people don't live long, and the scourge stays for thousands of years.

In this world, there is one less ironclad man, and one more careerist who cannibalize and lick blood.

The rhetoric of Zhitian swearing is still in my ears, but calm down, and all that is left is confusion-what does the mayor of a fringe town use to fight against the powerful existence in the dark.

The truth is that ideals are beautiful, and reality is very skinny. It's easy to speak boldly, but to do it is another matter.

In his thoughts, he took out the black pottery fragments made into pendants from his collar. A faint purple light flowed on the black gold pottery, exuding a mysterious and ancient atmosphere.

After several months of contact, his psychic energy has been able to fuse and communicate with the black pottery fragments. Although the intensity of resonance is still far from the original goblin skull, it has basically met the needs of exploring the undercurrents of time and space.

It is impossible for every undercurrent relic to resonate 100%. After all, there are only a small number of highly compatible ones. Seven or eight achievements are enough.

The desire to become stronger has never been so strong. He seems to have returned to his fledgling days and wanted to have his own place in the big city.

He couldn't wait to return to the ground, communicate the undercurrents of time and space, and search for the ancient and mysterious big urn.

Then he took out the old pocket watch Shade Sinclair gave him. The copper surface is pitted, mottled and old, full of traces of ancient years.

Open the surface cover, the surface glass has been broken, exposing the mechanical springs and gears inside.

Observe carefully, the three curved hands twisted together, the hour, minute, and second hands, pointing at three o'clock in the morning at the same time.

Perhaps this is a coincidence at the time of the damage, or it may be deliberately pointed to this point in time.

After a period of exploration, he found that this pocket watch was different from the general undercurrent relics. It is not so much an undercurrent relic, as it is a charging device, similar to a psionic shield exciter, or a psionic battery, etc.

If he tries to input psychic energy into the pocket watch, his psychic energy will be absorbed and transformed into the pocket watch's own energy.

Generally, there will be residual psychic energies inside the undercurrent relics, and if they resonate with these psychic energies, they can follow the flow of these psychic energies and enter the undercurrent of time and space.

But this concept does not exist in this pocket watch, but it will "reform" the imported psionic star sand to form a new and unknown energy body.

After being filled with psychic energy, it seems to be activated, releasing a mysterious energy that draws the user's perception.

Since Chen Xing did not absorb the black pottery urn, he did not try to accept the traction of the pocket watch. Although the pocket watch has many incomprehensible weirdness, Chen Xing believes that Xia De Sinclair will not lie to him. This pocket watch is the key to entering the shipwreck cemetery.

A few days later, the airship flew over the sea. After applying for the temporary right of airspace of the Gratam Tribe United Kingdom, it flew to the Central Wilderness via Dafangzhou and returned to the Ambergris River United Kingdom.

Chen Xing stayed for a few hours when he passed the White Elephant City. He went to Baita Academy to visit the people of Foyongqi University, and wanted to meet the world guardian Ramsden through the opposite side, and handed Tienuo's relics.

But Buddha Yongqi told Chen Xing that Ramsden often went out to do errands, and Shenlong never saw the end, and he didn't even see him as a university student in a year. If you want to see the Guardian, you must stay in the White Tower Academy and wait for the opportunity.

The implication is that Chen Xing’s status is too low, or his importance to the world is too low. The guardian is the guardian of the world. There are many opportunities for him. It is impossible to arrange a meeting for him alone. He can only be with the Buddha. By Yong Qi's side, waiting for chance encounter.

Chen Xing still has a lot to do, and it is impossible to stay in Baita Academy. He wanted to entrust Fo Yongqi to transfer it, but he felt that it was not solemn enough. After all, it was Tienuo's dying account, and the prosthetic hand was not suitable for others.

After Chen Xingsi thought about it, let the matter go first, and then look for a chance to send it back. He must meet Ramsden himself and deliver it personally, so that he can be worthy of Tienuo's heart.

A person's natural skills can be studied and improved to make them a skill that others can learn and use. All common skills come from this way, including the energy storage shooting, charge shock, psionic compression and so on that Chen Xing learned.

The family skills of many large families are passed on to future generations by their ancestors by studying their own talent skills, such as the "Fire Dragon Wave" of the Yang family in Grayhorn City, and the "Ice Shield Technique" of the Moore family in Crow City.

Under normal circumstances, in order to maintain the family advantage, family skills will not be passed on. Tienuo possesses the two talents of huge body and copper wall and iron wall, but they are handed over to Ramsden and contributed to all mankind.

This kind of love and righteousness deserves to be received by Ramsden in person.

A few days later, the journey of ten thousand li finally came to an end.

Back in Beiqiao Town, looking at the familiar scenery, I felt like a world away.

One person is one world.

When I went, it was the world with Tieno, and when I came back, it was the world without Tieno.

Chen Xing hadn't figured out how to go next, nor how to settle the Leiguang regiment, so he left the troops in Beiqiao Town and repaired in place.

Beiqiao Town used to be the base camp of the Beiqiao Group. Now the core layer has been moved to Crow City along with Hua Beidou, and the Iron Sisters group has been stationed in the Great Sanctuary of Monitor Lizard City along with Yeyang and Bailiu. There are only regular troops left in Beiqiao Town, and many of the barracks are empty, just for the master group and the thunder light group.

Xiang Caidie said one thing to Chen Xing while on the airship. She said that they were going to disband the regular troops of the North Bridge Regiment, and if Chen Xing was interested, they could take over the troops.

After the establishment of the Great Sanctuary, the North Bridge regiment has turned from a mercenary regiment to a religious organization, and its main source of income has also been transformed from the combat income of the mercenary regiment to the commercial income of the Crow Market.

Originally, the core of the North Bridge regiment was the North Bridge branch of the Sisters of Steel in the red soil continent, but the state religions of the various principalities of the Ambergris River are the three major religions. They have no room for survival and can only exist in the form of a mercenary group. , While preaching sporadically.

The situation is different now. The Sisters of Steel has an official status in the Northern Alliance and can preach and develop in an open manner. But if you have a political status and become a regular army, you can't just go to war.

In this case, the original conventional army has become a tasteless existence. It costs a lot and is useless, so it can only be thrown in Beiqiao Town for food. Food is tasteless, but it is a pity to discard it.

"What are the conditions for taking over?" Chen Xing asked. There is no free lunch in the world, these words must be instructed by Hua Beidou. The regular troops in Beiqiao Town have more than two thousand people, which is twice the number of the master group plus the thunder light group, and the equipment is also the best. Not to mention floats, there are more than fifty Valkyrie mechas. No matter how good the relationship is, it is impossible to send him for free, right?

"Hua Po said..." Xiang Caidie hesitated and seemed embarrassed to raise money with Chen Xing. After all, the relationship between the two is here, and talking about money hurts feelings.

"Just say, you are you, Hua Beidou is Hua Beidou." Chen Xing said.

"Hua Po said, say..." Xiang Caidie seemed to have made a lot of determination, and then said, "You can use your shares in Crow City to exchange it."

"This is great!" Chen Xing's shares in Crow Ruins don't have much at all, and the total value of the regular troops of the North Bridge regiment is nothing at all.

"It's just personnel and light weapons..." Xiang Caidie added embarrassedly.

Sure enough, it is an old fritters, how can it be a loss-making business. Not only does it not lose money, but it can also kill three birds with one stone. The dissolution of the mercenary group requires a severance payment, which is transferred to Chen just like the dissolution of the company and the dismissal of employees.

Xing directly saved this cost.

Replacing a bunch of cumbersomes that have lost their use value into real money is a profitable business no matter how you look at it.

But then again, the quality of the soldiers of the North Bridge regiment is relatively high, and they belong to the management of the regular army, and they are not at the same level as those from wild roads like the master regiment. These people followed Hua Beidou to fight in the North and South, and had rich combat experience, which was by no means comparable to ordinary mercenaries. With a little arms, you can go into a large-scale war.

But Chen Xing hadn't thought about the next step, and it was a bit too much to expand so many people at once. He promised to go back and think about it and give a reply later. Xiang Caidie is no problem here, she has been here for more than ten or twenty years, not bad for the past few months. She still has some feelings for this army, and doesn't want to disband it.

After temporarily settled down, Chen Xing ran to the underground training ground of Beiqiao Regiment, closed the door, and tried to communicate the undercurrent of time and space through the fragments of black pottery.

Jianyue Canglian and Xiang Caidie stood outside the door, protecting Chen Xing's law. The undercurrent of communication time and space is extremely dangerous, and someone must look after him, if something happens, he can help.

Of course, this kind of help is very limited, limited to small problems, and generally no one can solve big problems.

Chen Xing turned off the light and put himself in the dark, then took out the black pottery fragments, held his hands in his heart, closed his eyes, and focused all his attention on the fragments.

There was silence all around, and there was no sound. It is more than ten meters deep underground, and no outside sounds can come in. It is very suitable as a place for communication.

The pitch black is like thick ink, with only the faint purple light overflowing between the fingers.

In the psionic vision, countless hair-like psionic threads penetrate into the fingers and blend with the purple brilliance.

Letting go of his thoughts and following the guidance, Chen Xing gradually felt his body sinking slowly.

Consciousness penetrated the reinforced concrete under the feet, and fell into the darkness deep in the heels.

I don't know how long this situation lasted. Suddenly the body lightened, as if it had lost its weight, and it was light and fluttering, like a floating feather, floating in the endless void.

Suddenly a flash of golden light flashed in front of his eyes, the speed was extremely fast, vinegar, and flew around the body for a while, plunged into the endless darkness.

The trajectory of the light spot is beautiful and flexible, like swimming in the water and playing among the clouds.

Golden scale koi!

Chen Xing immediately caught up. This koi is a phantom of psychic energy remaining in the fragments of black pottery. In the years of endless wandering, the black pottery large urn absorbed the psychic particles in the undercurrent of time and space, and gradually formed an independent spiritual body, which was called the "artificial spirit".

The black pottery fragments contain part of the spirit of the vessel, and there is an invisible connection with the body. As long as you follow the spirit of the device, you can find the body of the black pottery urn.

Time passed quietly, Chen Xing chased the koi, and several hours passed in a blink of an eye. Compared with the previous undercurrent journey, this time the senses are clearer. He saw countless wrecks drifting in the dark.

Broken trees, cracked stones, broken buildings, only half of the statues, the reels of the carriages, the rusty broken swords, the dead bones of animals, the corpses of human beings...

It seems to be in a huge ocean of garbage, cruising and exploring among the wreckage of civilization. The unrecognizable position, drifting aimlessly, the only guide is a touch of golden light ahead, so that the soul will not be lost in the endless darkness.

An object with smooth lines and full of technological sense drifts by. Chen Xing couldn't help being curious, and reached out to grab it.

It's a helmet with blocky, crystal-like modules inside.

Another object floated by and held it in his hand. It was an old coin with a humanoid creature with a lizard head printed on it.

Just as he was immersed in the novelty, his scalp was suddenly tingling, and a huge sense of crisis came.

In the boundless darkness, a hideous eye opened, and the scarlet light passed through countless spaces and swept across Chen Xing.

The tyrannical breath swept through like a flood, and the whole world became blood red.

What followed was the fear of the deep sea, Chen Xing's whole body was like falling into an ice cave, and his blood seemed to be frozen in an instant.

Wild and terrifying breath, but mixed with a familiar feeling. Chen Xing's pupils shrank suddenly!

Gluttony Lord!

The golden scale koi seemed to be frightened, fled among the wreckage, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Chen Xing was shocked, and when he looked back, it was dark and he couldn't see anything.

Don't say going back, there is no way even.

He couldn't help getting nervous. He just wanted to get stronger, but he didn't realize that there was an abyss brand on his body. Once he entered the undercurrent of time and space, he would be chased and killed by the gluttony lord.

How to do?

He was a little at a loss. He was just a novice, he was only exposed to the undercurrent of time and space for the second time, and when he encountered this kind of crisis, he didn't know how to deal with it.

He racked his brains to think, but for a long time, he didn't have a clue.

Time passed by minute by minute, and the coercion grew stronger and stronger, just as it was. He could feel that the gluttony monarch was approaching.

There is no retreat before, but there are chasing soldiers behind

He became increasingly anxious, his body trembling, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Roar!"

The dull roar exploded in his mind, and the pain came in, trance, blurred vision, double images, feeling the body tottering, as if he would faint at any time.

No, I can't faint!

If you faint, you will sink into the undercurrent forever, the body is still alive, but the spirit is dead.

He gritted his teeth, but his consciousness dissipated little by little, unable to stop it.

Just when he was about to be unable to hold on, he suddenly heard a crisp phoenix.

Like a sword unsheathed, cutting off the imprisonment, the sinking consciousness quickly awakened.

A little green light from far to near, fluttering with smart wings, flew around him, and then flew into the darkness.

Qingluan leads the way!

He swiftly followed, and swiftly shuttled between the wreckage, an unwilling roar came from behind, extremely angry, but powerless.

After a while, Chen Xing opened his eyes abruptly, sweat on his face and body. He knew that he had walked through the gate of ghosts. If it weren't for Qing Luan's rescue, he would have become a vegetable like Zhao Ruoxi back then.

Not even lost, but swallowed by the gluttonous monarch.

"call……"

He exhaled heavily, glanced at the black pottery fragments in his hand, and put it back into his clothes. As long as the brand exists for a day, he cannot communicate the undercurrents of time and space. The realm has been locked, at this moment he is like a bird locked in a cage, no matter how far he can fly out of the cage.

A huge sense of despair enveloped my heart, suffocating.

Leaving the training ground, he changed into old clothes, planning to go to the monitor lizard city to breathe.

In order to cover up, he changed into an old mercenary uniform and put on big sunglasses. After all, there are two people in the city who want his life. Although the other person is unlikely to run into the street, it's okay to be careful.

At midnight, he was walking on the edge of the river in Monitor Lizard City, thinking about it, but couldn't think of any way.

He is just a small person, he has no ability and no background, and he has to rely on himself for everything. At this moment, there is no way to the sky and nowhere to go.

Is it the only way to do this?

Is there no other way?

Despair, or despair, in addition to despair, there is only despair...

Before you know it, it's dawn.

He walked aimlessly on the street when the shop had just opened.

The waiter in the coffee shop took out the chair and started the day's business.

The owner of the florist took out the flower shelf and put out the delicate flower baskets one by one.

All white orchids, with a light fragrance.

He sat down near the flower shop and ordered a cup of strong coffee. No sugar, no milk, I hope the bitter coffee and the fragrance of orchids can bring him a hint of clarity and inspiration.

However, he sat for the whole morning, but he still didn't have any clues.

Unless there is a miracle, in his situation, he can only hide back to Lanhua Town and linger until Qin Wu comes to him.

To live so suffocated, it's better to die.

"It seems that there is only one way left." Chen Xing said to himself.

Another way is to join the army of the kingdom and make contributions. After gaining the status, use the power of the kingdom to fight against the gluttonous monarch!

It seems that there is only this way.

"Miss Su, come to buy flowers again today, welcome."

"Well, there are important guests for dinner. I want to buy some orchids and put them on the table."

"Oh, Miss Su, you really know the goods. Our orchids are the best in Monitor City."

The woman's voice is soft and gentle, reserved but polite, and very familiar to her ears.

Chen Xing turned his head subconsciously, and a beautiful shadow came into his eyes in the afternoon sun.

She wore a white suspender dress, revealing a pair of lotus root shoulders, and her white porcelain skin seemed to glow.

Bright eyes and white teeth, fresh and pleasant, just like a female student who just walked out of campus.

He couldn't help but his eyes widened, and to make sure that he was not mistaken, he subconsciously took off his sunglasses.

In an instant, he seemed to have returned to that summer afternoon.

The girl sits at the piano, her silhouette is slender and graceful, her look is pious and serious, and her graceful movement jumps out of her elf-like fingertips.

Everything is so beautiful.

In high school, he once secretly liked a girl, but because of the gap between family and grades, he only dared to look at it from a distance and bury this love in his lost youth.

Later, he met a girl. Although they were of different origins, they had the same temperament, which made him dream, and for the first time he had the idea of ​​returning to a peaceful life.

A job with a low salary but enough to live, a small but stable nest, and a gentle and pleasant wife who is not too bright in mind.

But fate let them pass by and become each other's guests.

Looking back, the other party also recognized him and opened his eyes wide.

"Mr. Mercenary!" The light waves in the beautiful eyes, shining brightly.

Chen Xing stood up subconsciously, his attention was attracted by the girl in front of him, and he didn't even notice the coffee and chair overturned.

The two looked at each other. Time flies, like a white horse passing by. Even in the past few years, the love hidden deep in memory is awakened at the moment of eye contact.

"Su..."

Before Chen Xinglai could call out the other party's name, a figure suddenly broke into the line of sight.

It came very suddenly, as if you were enjoying a beautiful landscape oil painting. Suddenly a knife flew in and inserted it in the middle of the oil painting.

A slender and powerful arm hugged the slender waist.

In an instant, Chen Xing's world was like a broken glass window. With a bang, it shattered into a piece of glass slag.

The man is very handsome, with deep and bright eyes, well-defined facial contours, and a perfect body. He is long and well-proportioned, with a head of more than 1.85 meters. The face is gentle and elegant, but there is a kind of coldness that refuses to be thousands of miles away. At first glance, there is a feeling of dragon and phoenix among people, as if there are no shortcomings in him, and people can't help being embarrassed.

"Xuefei, have you bought the flowers? We should go back." The man's voice was calm and soft, full of pampering flavor.

"Not yet." Su Xuefei looked at the man next to her, with a happy smile on her face, "Gatto, I met a friend."

"Is this gentleman?" The man looked at Chen Xing.

"Yeah!" Su Xuefei nodded and introduced to Chen Xing, "Mr. Chen Xing, this is my boyfriend, Ricardo."

Chen Xing felt a little rusty in his neck and nodded hard.

His heart is so sore, his first love in the past, but today is leaning in the arms of others. The sadness and weakness, as well as the indescribable embarrassment, made him want to turn around and leave immediately.

I don't know why, his feet seem to be filled with lead, and he can't move a step.

"Gatto, this is Mr. Chen Xing, he is a very good person."

Ricardo, the eagle owl on the dragon's back!

How could Chen Xing have never heard of the top four military geniuses in the Red Earth Continent.

"How are you..."

A night of melancholy, coupled with the sudden change in front of him, Chen Xing's mind was a bit unable to turn, and he was confused, and subconsciously reached out his hand to the other party. This was a subconscious action out of politeness, and didn't think too much.

"Yeah." Ricardo took a look at Chen Xing. Probably his mercenary uniform was too old. Ricardo just nodded, and did not reach out.

Chen Xing's hand froze in the air.

One is a well-known figure, the other is a little-known mercenary. The status gap is not a star or a half, how could the other party shake hands with him.

Seeing Chen Xing's embarrassment, Su Xuefei's heart felt a little pain, and she pushed Ricardo away, and stepped forward to hold Chen Xing's hand with both hands. "Mr. Mercenary, how have you been here?"

Ricardo seemed surprised, but there was no other expression on his face.

"Also, it's okay," Chen Xing replied.

At this moment, several young men and women came up from behind.

"Hey, isn't the one in front of Mr. Li?" "I didn't expect Mrs. Li to be so leisurely and go out to go shopping with his girlfriend."

These people are all handsome men and beauties, with extraordinary clothes and compelling aristocracy. At first glance, they can tell that they are the sons of the rich and powerful in the Dragon City.

Chen Xing's face was dull, and Chen Xing, who was wearing an old mercenary uniform, compared with them, just like a dog on the street.

"It's really an honor for us to meet Brother Jiatu here." "The day after tomorrow's father holds a reception, Master Li must show his face." "Go and go, Master Li must accompany his girlfriend, so we can participate in whatever we have time. Yes?"

"Hahaha, Brother Gatto, you are the sword of our Northern Alliance. You can't indulge in sensuality and plaything..." "Look at what you said, our Lord Li is in good health, and there are no seven or eight girlfriends. problem."

This group of people chatted with Ricardo on their own, and Chen Xing looked like a transparent person in their eyes.

Not only Chen Xing, but Su Xuefei also saw it in their eyes, like air bubbles, and there was teasing both inside and outside of the words.

"Okay, okay, don't laugh at me." Ricardo clasped his fists, asking for mercy.

"How dare you, I'm a joke, Lord Li, I don't dare to give us a hundred guts." "Everyone is just kidding, Lord Li, don't mind."

"We have great respect for Brother Jiatu in our hearts. If we talk about the young talents of the monitor lizard city, Brother Jiatu is definitely the leader among us. Whether we are in formation or writing poetry, all are models of our generation. ..."

The crowd gathered around Ricardo, and the two ignored people smiled at each other.

After a long time, with the embrace of the young dignitaries, Ricardo left with Su Xuefei.

Su Xuefei didn't speak, but looked back at Chen Xing several times, with a trace of unspeakable reluctance hidden in her eyes, but she did not dare to look more to let others notice.

Watching the crowd leave, Chen Xing sat down in despair. The power in his body seemed to be drained, and there was no gleam in his eyes.

In his status, to join the army of the kingdom is to take everyone to do cannon fodder.

The ancestors were struck by iron, and it was extremely difficult to have a place in the giant lizard city.

After a long time, Chen Xing thumped the tabletop and exhaled heavily.

"Ok……"

"It seems that there is only this way to go..."

He seemed to have made up some kind of determination, and his eyes showed firmness and determination.

He is going to use his life as a bargaining chip to gamble on a chance.

An opportunity to change your destiny!

Rather than live humble, it's better to have a vigorous one.

Unsuccessful, you will become benevolent!

He walked steadily, from Commercial Street to the city center, and then through the Parade Square, step by step to the Red Castle.

"The king's city is heavy, it is forbidden to pass!"

In front of the castle, on the moat bridge, guards crossed their spears to prevent Chen Xing from moving forward.

"I'm Chen Xing, please see the Devil Princess!"