Life as a mercenary turned into a girl is a bit difficult

Although the air pollution index of the post-war world has dropped to a safe level in most areas on the surface over time, this does not mean that the air is completely pure.Due to the influence of factors such as the legacy of war and changes in the post-war world environment, interference dust in the air is one of the representatives. Although interference dust itself is non-toxic and harmless, it has always been the biggest influencer of signals in different bands and frequencies. .

This so-called interfering dust is much smaller than ordinary air particles, and its existence has always been a mystery.A more reliable inference is that a new type of weapon was developed by a certain pre-war country to interfere with the new sea of ​​communications. As the war expanded, it gradually spread to the world and extended into time and space. It was concentrated around the "abandoned city area where the war broke out most intensely" The characteristics of are an important basis for this inference.

Communication issues have always been a thorny issue for both the military and mercenaries in the New City. The individual communication equipment used by the standing army and mercenaries is too heavy or the communication distance is too short to meet combat needs, and Han Nianling The communication headset that comes out is in these two aspects.

And now the communication headset that Han Nianling took out was almost perfect for combat use in terms of size and communication distance. How could this not make the mercenaries excited? Even if they always go out alone, there is almost no need for individual communication. Equipment manager Hiiragi is also very interested in this communication headset.

Communication headsets and basic usage methods were soon taught to everyone. Simple usage methods do not require much time for specialized learning.

"Good thing, really good thing." Stroking the communication headset, which was still made of brand-new materials, Uncle Lin did not hesitate to praise him. At the same time, Si Ling and Xiao Liu were already taking care of one-sided calls. Compared with the 'equipment inspection' 'It's more like playing with new equipment. The crow fixed the communication headset in his hand and didn't know what he was thinking.

The data Han Nianling said should be true, and the sound quality in the communication is also much better. In any case, the base government's ability to achieve technological breakthroughs in individual soldier communication equipment is a great thing for the residents of the entire Newborn City. Good thing.

With everything ready, the six people also left the abandoned gas station on foot. Before they walked a few hundred meters, they saw the terrible road conditions in the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland.

A low wall formed by plant roots more than two meters high stretches across the road. Its main body is a thick tree trunk drilled out of a five-story office building on the left. The twisted branches break through the reinforced concrete wall. Natural plants and humans The picture of the cement of civilization entangled, twisted and squeezed looks shocking and strange.

This kind of works spawned by the post-war world is particularly common in the outer areas of the JD abandoned city nuclear wasteland. The abandoned city nuclear wasteland is of course also within the expansion range of the wildly growing flora.

"Wow... no matter how many times I see it, I still think... it's amazing." Xiao Liu sighed as he looked at the scene of the giant tree entangled with the office building.

"Xiao Liu, if you don't want to die, stay away from that kind of building. If it really collapses, no one can save you." Uncle Lin warned his nephew. Hearing Uncle Lin's words, Xiao Liu was frightened. Step back and put some distance between you and the office building.

What Uncle Lin said was not meant to scare people. The buildings in the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland have gone through wars and more than 100 years of corrosion. They may seem solid, but their load-bearing structures have actually reached their limits and are in danger of collapse at any time. .

Xiao Liu's expression suddenly changed when he heard Uncle Lin's words, and he immediately walked away from the building and returned to the team.

"The root system of this tree is very developed and the hardness is also very high." Si Ling knocked with the butt of his gun and heard a hard banging sound, "Climb over, it's too dangerous to walk from the dangerous buildings on both sides... Xiaoliu on ."

Si Ling leaned against the root of the tree as he spoke, and crossed his hands and fingers to make a platform for kicking. At Si Ling's signal, Xiao Liu took the lead and stepped on the root of the tree. The surface of the tree root was rough, and climbing was not difficult. When Xiao Liu climbed up Climbing to the top of the tree root, Hiei Jing followed closely and stepped up.

"Xiao Liu, give me a hand...Xiao Liu?"

Hiiragi stretched out his hand and called to Xiaoliu who had already reached the top. However, Xiaoliu did not respond to Hiiragi's call. Instead, he stared blankly at the other side of the tree roots. No matter how many times Hiiragi called, there was no response.

"Xiao Liu! Pull the stone up quickly. Although it's not heavy, the next one is still waiting..."

"hiss--!!!"

The next second, just on the other side of the tree roots, a low roar from deep in the throat made everyone freeze. That sound was obviously not something that humans could make. In other words... on the other side of the tree roots was a One, or even multiple mutant beasts!

No way, Hiiragi Jing also felt a sense of disbelief. They shouldn't be carrying it like this, right? They had just entered the outer area of ​​​​the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland and they encountered mutant beasts? !

Chapter 15 The growing crisis

The constant low roars made everyone's atmosphere suddenly tense. However, a subtle feeling surged out of Hiiragi's heart, making her vaguely feel that there seemed to be only threats and fears in the voice, rather than a precursor to launching an attack. .

"Don't act rashly!"

This feeling was unprecedented, but under the premise that the sound of gunfire might cause other troubles and a fight should be avoided as much as possible, Hiiragi still subconsciously shouted.

But Xiaoliu, who seemed to be stunned by the scene in front of him, didn't seem to hear Hiiragi's voice at all. He stared at something in his sight, and quickly reached out to the C-112 submachine gun behind him. It was foreseeable that if Xiaoliu was allowed to Pulling the trigger of this gun without a sound suppressor may make them a little more threatening when they first enter the nuclear wasteland of JD Abandoned City.

Seeing this, Hiiragi kicked hard, trying to climb up to stop Xiaolin's actions, but her sudden exertion ignored that what was supporting her below was not a fixed call. Si Ling had no time to prepare and was almost thrown to the ground by this kick. Hiiragi fell forward and suddenly lost his fulcrum. He could only hold onto the rough surface of the bark with both hands and cling to half of his body on the edge of the tree roots. It was still difficult to stop Xiao Liu's actions.

At this moment, Hiiragi suddenly felt someone supporting her under her buttocks. With the fulcrum of strength, Hiiragi immediately took advantage of her dexterity, turned over and climbed up to the root of the tree, and rushed in front of Xiao Liu's aim and pulled the trigger. Close the safety above the grasp in one second.

"What are you doing……"

"Lower your gun and don't do anything threatening."

Hiiragi stretched out her hand and pressed the muzzle of Xiao Liu's gun. She didn't care about Xiao Liu's surprise and dissatisfaction, but looked at the target that Xiao Liu was planning to shoot. It was a mutated creature the size of a domestic dog, with messy brown-black hair. The lower two glowing green eyes stared at each other as closely as they did, and the wide-open mouth showed two sharp and huge incisors in a menacing manner. There were still pieces of meat and blood clots left between the yellowed incisors.

A seemingly ordinary mutated creature made Hiiragi break into cold sweat at the first sight. She knew this mutated creature. Its scientific name in the post-war world is "Black Rat". The name is a combination of the color of its fur and the species. The black The skin can't even block a pistol bullet. It doesn't seem to have anything special except for its tenacious vitality. Because it lives in a dirty environment all year round, the body is so polluted that it is not worth hunting. However, hiring a slightly experienced person Everyone knows that the truly terrifying thing is not the individual black rat, but the group behind it.

The appearance of a black rat means that there must be a huge black rat group within 500 meters nearby, and the number of black rat groups will not be less than a hundred, and what Hiiragi and the others have to do is not to anger them. , these black rats make a living by scavenging. Unless they are short of food or are provoked, they usually will not take the initiative to attack.

Sure enough, after the black rat roared intimidatingly at this side, after noticing that Hiiragi Jing and Xiaoliu didn't make any other movements, it took a few steps back, then turned around and quickly rushed into the street. Quickly disappeared among the ruins.

Seeing that the black rat had no intention of attacking, Hiei Jing breathed a sigh of relief. However, before she could finish her breath, a faint "squeak" came from the distance, causing her breathing to stop suddenly, and became more and more serious. Nearby, the dense noise was like being near a honeycomb. Not only her, but also the expressions of several other people who had just climbed up also changed. They all knew what this meant.

"What are you doing standing still! Get down!"

Uncle Lin lowered his voice and lowered his body at the same time. His other hand did not forget to press down Xiaoliu who seemed to be still in a daze. Before that, several other people also got down in unison to make themselves naked here. Use several surfaces to reduce your presence as much as possible to avoid being noticed.

In the blink of an eye, the source of the annoying squeaking sound appeared in their sight - the black rats.

Large swaths of black rats were walking out of the ruins of buildings on the right side of their sight like a black tide, crossing the street to the left. Their black bodies almost covered the entire street, and the closest distance to them was less than 100 meters away. meters, and watching such a shocking scene at close range made everyone afraid to express their anger.

Fortunately, the black rats were busy with their journey and did not show the slightest interest in the few humans. Half a minute later, the black rats gradually disappeared through the noisy and chaotic sounds, and the place was restored to deathly silence.

Although it was only half a minute, it felt like an extremely long time to everyone. It took a while before they recovered from the shock just now.

"I'm afraid... there are three hundred to five hundred of them..." Uncle Lin stood up slowly and licked his dry lips, "This is the first time I have seen such a large-scale black rat migration in so many years. What happened just now? One should be a sentinel exploring the path of the black rat group. It releases pheromones along the way that only black rats can receive. In this way, it leads the group forward. If Xiao Liu really fired a gun just now, we might have Big trouble.”

As he spoke, he patted Xiaoliu's head, while Xiaoliu squatted aside with his head in his arms. After seeing the huge group of black rats, he obviously realized the serious consequences of his mistake just now. .

"Shitou, how did you notice just now? Do you know the habits of black rats very well?" Si Ling stared at Hiiragi Jing with gleaming eyes. He was very curious about Hiiragi Jing's performance just now.

"Well..." Hiiragi pondered for a moment. It was really hard to answer Si Ling's question. Even she thought it was just an illusion at that moment, but it was impossible to say that she was driven by an illusion. It was probably an accident. In the end, she could only shake her head helplessly, "I didn't know there would be such a large group of black rats passing by. The reason why I stopped them was just... intuition."

"Tch." Crow snorted. He obviously didn't believe Hiiragi Jing's statement. Not only him, but others also thought Hiiragi Jing's statement was just a way to deal with it. However, no one asked any more. Everyone on the wall Mercenaries traveling abroad must have a skill that surpasses others, which can even play a life-saving role at critical moments. According to the unwritten rules among mercenaries, it is not convenient for them to continue asking.

"But it's not winter when food is scarce, and I haven't heard of any information about high-risk monsters appearing nearby. Wouldn't such a large-scale migration of black rats be a bit abnormal, if they enter the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland at this time..." Uncle Lin looked at Han Nianling as he spoke, leaving half of his unsaid words in his mouth, but everyone understood what he meant.

"Keep moving forward. The action plan for collecting information in the outer city remains unchanged." Han Nianling gave the order without hesitation. Since the employer had spoken, the mercenaries naturally chose to accept it. They jumped off the tree trunks one by one and continued along the current road. Han Nianling, who was at the end of the team, inadvertently glanced at Hiiragi Jing in the team, with a hint of suspicion in his indifferent eyes...

The swarm of black rats just now was undoubtedly a warning before they entered the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland. Everyone was also deeply aware that what they saw was just the tip of the iceberg in the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland, where the real danger lurked. In the deepest part of the nuclear wasteland of the abandoned city, the luck of near misses will not always favor them.

This made everyone move extremely cautiously. The six people maintained a parallel formation, led by Uncle Lin who had the best firepower and the most experience. They were on the left and right so that they could provide firepower assistance in emergencies at any time, while Xiaoliu and Hiiragi Jing were responsible for the safety of Han Nianling's employer, one behind the other.

"We have entered Area 06, everyone cheer up."

As they went deeper, the surrounding building ruins gradually increased. The tall buildings and the rich dust content in the air blocked large areas of sunlight. Looking above their heads, they could only see dim clouds and mist, making it impossible to judge with the naked eye. The specific position of the sun.

"Stop, I want to collect data here..." Arriving at a crossroads, Han Nianling looked at the electronic map hanging on the back of his hand to confirm their current location. This is on the edge of Area 06. It was necessary to start her work in the nuclear wasteland of JD Abandoned City.

As Han Nianling walked towards the center of the intersection with her black suitcase, the other mercenaries immediately dispersed around with understanding, with Han Nianling as the center to warn of possible dangers nearby.

While on alert, Hiei Jing also looked in the direction of Han Nianling from time to time. She really wanted to know whether Han Nianling's work was related to the so-called witch or the military operation in the dream. If this could be confirmed, then this A trip to the JD abandoned city and nuclear wasteland is bound to be an important step closer to the truth.

Han Nianling took out a tripod from a black suitcase and placed it in the center of the intersection, then took out an instrument like a rangefinder and placed it on the tripod while adjusting the direction the instrument faced. Take a pen and write something in the notebook.

After about a few minutes, Han Nianling seemed to have completed the work, and then put everything into the black suitcase...

"The things here are done, come and gather and go to the next location."

Han Nianling's voice came clearly from the earphones without any noise, which once again proved the technical nature of the communication earphones.

The regrouped mercenary team continued to move deeper into 06. Along the way, Han Nianling conducted data collection work three times, each time lasting about 3 minutes, and each time repeated a single work content. Hiiragi secretly observed Han Nianling's face changed, hoping to get clues from it, but there was no flaw in Han Nianling's indifferent face, making it impossible to guess what the other person was thinking.

"Turn south at the next intersection and head towards Area 04A."

Area 06 is a narrow area northwest of the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland. The most connected area is Area 04A. This sentence cheered up Hiiragi Jing's spirit a little. Anyway, what they are walking through now is where the witch tyrant entered in the dream. The route to Area 01A of the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland, Hiiragi Jing became more and more certain that Han Nianling’s purpose of coming to the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland this time was closely related to the witch.

'Di di di di di di di di di di di di! ! ! '

At this moment, a series of rapid electronic sounds came from Uncle Lin, who was at the front of the team. To be precise, it was the pollution alarm he hung on his shoulder strap.

This finger-sized gadget made of plastic is a must-have tool for every outsider who leaves the city walls. It may seem inconspicuous but is extremely important. As its name suggests, its only function is to build in The sensor will sound an alarm and flash a red light.

It's not a big deal when the alarm sounds. You just need to take protective measures such as wearing a gas mask. However, there is a big problem with the place where it sounds. The problem is so big that everyone once suspected that the alarm was on Uncle Lin's body. A malfunction occurred.

However, everyone's alarms sounded one after another, and they realized that every breath of air seemed to be gradually burning in their chests before they believed that they had entered a contaminated area.

Everyone put on the gas masks that had been hung around their necks, and Hiiragi immediately installed a canister. However, everyone's doubts and uneasiness were not relieved. Instead, with the first fresh breath, they put on the masks. The comparison of the breathing before and after further highlights the seriousness of the pollution.

"Why... is this happening?" Si Ling's voice sounded in the headphones, and his doubts were also everyone's doubts, "This is obviously Area 06..."

Yes, according to experience, Area 06 is a peripheral area, and the level of pollution is not enough to require wearing a gas mask. However, the reality has subverted everyone's understanding of Area 06. The sharp electronic alarm sounds one after another are piercing. It penetrates everyone's eardrums and brings down an atmosphere of silence and weirdness, which means only one thing: the expansion of the contaminated area in the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland.

Chapter No.16 Anomalies in the Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland

The contaminated area did not shrink with the passage of time, but instead expanded outward uncharacteristically. At least at this time, the continuous beeps from the sirens were proving to them that the area they were now in had been included in the contaminated area. within the range.

Without protective measures, the air mixed with various pollutants will corrode the human respiratory system bit by bit. The mortality rate of death on the spot is not high, but it is very likely to cause cancer or mutations that are characteristic of the post-war world. Diseases, if you are infected with the former, you can survive for a while, but if you are unfortunate enough to be infected with the latter, it will really be worse than death.

When she first became a mercenary, Hiiragi saw a patient infected with a mutated disease. It was one of the most unforgettable scenes for her so far: the huge and deformed breasts were as big as a basketball. , each rib was squeezed to the point of deformation and exposed under a thin layer of skin. This was the result of the continuous expansion of the mutated lung lobes, and it was showing a jet black color.

The infected person's mouth was wide open and his face was distorted. His nose, tears and saliva had all dried up. The only way to tell that he was still alive was the faint sound. Hiiragi didn't know what happened to the infected person later. , because the infected person had already been carried away before he recovered from the strong vomiting.

Even if they put on gas masks now, this does not mean that the crisis has been resolved, especially if they want to continue the mission. This sudden abnormality has put a real problem in front of them-their filters. The poison canister can support them until the mission is completed.

Calculating the consumption of canisters from Area 06 was beyond everyone's imagination. Faced with this situation, the original expectations must not be used as evidence. The time and scope of their activities in the contaminated area were much less than expected.

"I have extra canisters in my suitcase, and they are the latest universal type, which is enough for us."

"But... Employer, just now there was a migration of black rats, and now the contaminated area is spreading. Judging from these abnormal situations... Should we report it to the base government first?" Uncle Lin expressed his concerns, What he said was not wrong. All abnormalities should be treated with caution, especially in the nuclear wasteland of the abandoned city. Without this mentality, he would not have survived as a mercenary to this day.

When Uncle Lin finished speaking, all the mercenaries turned their attention to Han Nianling. Not only Uncle Lin, they more or less had this idea. Knowing how to deal with the fear of the unknown is the most basic thing to survive. conditions, so they need to wait for the employer’s decision.

Han Nianling was not surprised, but looked at Uncle Lin quietly and said: "If anyone wants to leave, just leave. I will not stop them. Those who leave can go to the First Life City Observation Post, which is at the exit. The waiting researcher will arrange a car to take the person back to the Newborn City... As for the reward, it can be paid in half."

Han Nianling's words caused quite a stir in the hearts of every mercenary. Abandoning the mission midway was tantamount to violating the commission. It would be fine if he was not held accountable. I didn't expect that Han Nianling would be so generous and still pay the reward. , although the reward was halved, the reward was still considerable, and in comparison, they paid nothing at all.

Many people were moved, but no one showed it on their faces. They were all waiting patiently for the next sentence. Since there are promises to those who quit, there are also rewards for those who persist. As expected, Han Nianling's next sentence was tight. Then he said: "If you continue to complete the mission, not only will the reward be doubled, but I can also use my authority to win an officer position above the commander of the standing army. How about everyone?"

Han Nianling's last words set off an explosion in the hearts of the mercenaries. Even Hiiragi Jing, who had other agendas and was the most indifferent to commission rewards, was extremely surprised by this generous promise.

Despite the fact that the mercenaries in the Newborn City tend to be sarcastic and sarcastic towards the soldiers of the standing army whenever they have time, in fact most of the mercenaries have the mentality of "all grapes that cannot be eaten are sour". China is quite envious of soldiers in the standing army: the standard equipment issued by the military, the right to live in inner cities, the basic guarantee of health and medical centers, and the basic salary they receive every month...that is not what makes mercenaries jealous.

It's just that they were not selected for various reasons. Speaking of which, most of the people who chose to become mercenaries were basically eliminated people who were unwilling to live a humble life but were unable to join the standing army. Perhaps mercenaries with senior qualifications like Uncle Lin would be interested in the standing army. The soldier felt disdainful, but Han Nianling moved out of the position of captain or above, which immediately attracted him.

However, this is not the focus of Higgin Jing's attention. Compared with the rewards promised by Han Nianling, what she cares most about is Han Nianling's purpose. She did not hesitate to spend a lot of money on five temporarily recruited mercenaries to win over her purpose. What is it?Why did you avoid reporting to the Newborn City Base Government on the anomalies in the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland?What existence is there in this JD abandoned city and nuclear wasteland that she values ​​so much?

All of Hiiragi's questions pointed to the truth about the nuclear wasteland in the abandoned city of JD, which made her heart rate speed up slightly. She strongly believed that this was related to her experience in the dream.

Han Nianling's words were very convincing, and after just a few seconds of thinking, the mercenaries made a collective decision to continue the mission.

Perhaps the next journey carries extremely high risks, but Han Nianling's promise to his employer is worth all the efforts. This is exactly how mercenaries have always survived, and even if the contaminated area expands, they are still The location is still in the outer area, even if there is danger, it will not be impossible to deal with...

The mercenary team stopped hesitating and continued to move deeper, just like when they first entered the nuclear wasteland of JD Abandoned City. There was no difference except wearing gas masks and goggles.

The team that shuttled through the ruins of precarious buildings was still moving forward. During the 13-minute journey, Han Nianling completed the recording of five more locations. As before, what she did was to use the tool like a rangefinder. Take it out and play with it in an open area for a while, then write down the data.

Not only Hiiragi Jing, but also other people in the team are also curious about this...

"Hey, what do you think this Researcher Han is doing?"

"I don't know, she's always mysterious."

Si Ling and Xiao Liu once again took advantage of their free time on guard duty to get together and discuss in a low voice. They had discussed this issue several times along the way, but no solution was found.

"Stone, do you know anything?"

If I knew anything, I wouldn't have guessed until now... Hiiragi Jing could only shake his head in confusion at the problems he faced when he was dragged into the discussion.

"Because my previous work was involved, I heard it was related to dark energy, and the same goes for that instrument..."

And at this moment, the crow, who had been very low-key when they first met, suddenly spoke, and his first sentence made a question that made Hiiragi and the three of them extremely interested. vocabulary.

“What is dark energy?”

Xiaoliu is not shy about showing his thirst for knowledge.

Crow glanced at Xiaoliu and then at Hiiragi Jing. It could be seen that after such a long time, this person was still brooding about what happened in the garage lounge, but he continued.

"I don't know what it is specifically. I only know that it is a special energy generated by the post-war environment. This power is the driving force behind the creation of this world."

The man behind the scenes?Isn't it pollution?

This is a novel statement, but I don't know if this is really information obtained through special channels as the mercenary named Crow said, or if it is just something made up for temporary self-satisfaction.

"Hey! You guys, come here quickly, there's something going on!"

Uncle Lin's voice suddenly came from the communication headset. Everyone, including Han Nianling who was debugging the equipment, stopped moving. Despite everyone's nonchalant behavior, everyone actually raised their alertness to the extreme. After hearing After Uncle Lin's shout, they immediately reacted and rushed in the direction of Uncle Lin's patrol.

Soon they arrived at Uncle Lin's location, an entrance to a half-collapsed office building. Uncle Lin looked at the other people arriving with a solemn expression. He stepped aside slightly and showed the scene behind him in front of several people. In front of you.

"these are……"

Hiei Jing's brows suddenly furrowed, and she saw a tragic scene in the lobby of the office building behind Uncle Lin. Dark red blood was splattered everywhere, on the floor, walls, and ceiling chandeliers. It was stained with blood, and pieces of blood-stained clothing were torn everywhere. The bullet casings and craters on the ground were traces of the battle here.

"I didn't go in to check, but it looks like it was left by a few unlucky people. The monsters used this place as a 'restaurant.' The blood hasn't dried yet, so it should have been left there not long ago."

Uncle Lin was observing everyone's faces as he spoke. He couldn't help but feel a little surprised when he saw Han Nianling's indifferent expression. He didn't expect that this female researcher, who looked frail but beautiful, had a normal expression. It seemed that this employer was not simple. .

"Xiao Liu, you are responsible for the safety of your employer outside, and the others will go in with me to eliminate the danger. Is that okay?"

Uncle Lin, who has the most seniority and the best equipment, is essentially the default commander of this mercenary team. After hearing his words, the three of them also obeyed the arrangement. After receiving unanimous consent, Uncle Lin took the lead in breaking into the lobby of the office building. Inside, the other three people also passed through the door one after another.