Book 2 - Chapter 5.4 - Dream

Su’s injuries weren’t that severe to begin with, and after a night of rest, most of his body’s functions had recovered. As for the little bit that remained, he would only need six hours at most. For injuries that he needed several days to recover from before, he only needed a day or so now to completely recover. This was a benefit of the Black Dragonriders’ advanced medications. The only thing which seemed to be a bit of a hassle now was that the nutrient-filled liquids that were extremely effective for normal people weren’t particularly useful now for Su.

Su sat alone in the tent. He turned on the tactical tablet and carefully observed the terrain of this place. It was already noon, and it was close to winter. The sky was covered in thick clouds filled with radiation, and at three in the afternoon, the sky would already become completely black. The temperature already decreased to around negative five degrees. Fortunately, the wind that blew over was still quite dry, so it probably wouldn’t snow for the next two days. If it did snow, then traces of Blue Scorpion’s damaged tank might be completely buried.

Those living in the wilderness often prayed for it to not snow or rain. Rain and snow both possessed fatal levels of radiation, and it covered this great earth in an unforgiving baptism. The fine raindrops and snowflakes sealed up everything from the skies down to the earth like a net. They were even more deadly than the sunlight constantly covered by the clouds. If one was drenched in the rain for a long time, one’s body had a chance of developing mutated tissues.

The direction the damaged tank headed in was the northwestern direction, and roughly speaking, it should pass by a place that wasn’t too far from N958. Of course, there was a chance that it might change directions midway.

Su still decided to chase after them alone and see if he was lucky enough to stumble upon their forward operating base. However, before leaving, Su planned to have Li Gaolei bring some people with him a day later to wait at a position fifty kilometers away.

Was this the end of the lone wolf? This thought emerged in Su’s head as he packed for his departure within his own barracks.

He used half an hour to manage the things he was taking with him, and then he walked out from the camp. Driving a vehicle was normally the quickest route of advance, but Su’s stamina was far greater than an ordinary person’s. In the age of turmoil, almost all roads were damaged, so his running speed wouldn’t be much slower than that of an ordinary off-road vehicle’s. Another thing to consider was fuel. Fuel was extremely expensive, and the long journey would make it even more expensive, to the point where even the current Su wasn’t willing to use it.

When Su walked out from the camp, Li was currently leaning against a pile of ammunition boxes while tossing an alloy military knife around in a rather bored manner. Su smiled towards her before walking towards the distance.

“Hey, about that… leader!” Li shouted after Su, but she was clearly not used to this new title. “You are going to risk your life again?”

Su smiled and said, “How did it come to risking my life? I was just going to take a look to see where Blue Scorpion’s forward operating base was so that we aren’t caught completely unprepared next time. This is my line of profession. Don’t forget that I was a hunter before I entered the Black Dragonriders.”

Li scratched her maroon colored hair and said with a bit of difficulty, “Then, this… I won’t follow you. Even if I go, I probably can’t help you. I have to stay here. There are still some idiots under Kane who aren’t good at listening. I don’t want them to lose their lives in the next battle because of this.”

Su stood in front of Li and carefully looked at this stubborn girl before saying, “Seems like you truly grew up.”

Li released a snort and said, “Nonsense, I was already extremely mature before.”

Li truly did mature a bit. She was using her own way of sharing the burden.

Su laughed, feeling as if the sky had become a bit brighter. He gave Li a departing wave before turning around and leaving for the north.

Li suddenly shouted towards his retreating figure. “Hey! Remember to come back alive! If you don’t come back, it won’t be easy for us who became your subordinates in the future!”

Li’s final words seemed a bit excessive. Su turned around and gave her a signal of guaranteed success and said, “Relax! I won’t give you guys the chance to rely on someone else!”

“If only…” While watching Su’s figure disappear into the distance, Li muttered a few times to herself.

She suddenly felt a bit gloomy. Why did she have to be so worried about him? The hatred and humiliation from before hadn’t even been settled! Even if Su saved her, she didn’t feel that his reason for doing so was that pure. The wage Su gave her every month was only a hundred yuan. Even though Li wasn’t that sensitive towards money, she could still tell from the list of Black Dragonrider equipment that a hundred yuan seemed like it couldn’t really purchase anything. The little things she liked were, for example, dual-use tanks that possessed both air and land superiority, high speed transport vehicles that could temporarily float in the air and travel underground, or bombardment tanks that could cover an area with firepower. Even if a few zeros were removed from the ends of these things, it would still be more than a hundred yuan.

So why did she suddenly feel happy after hearing his final sentence? The more Li thought about it, the more depressed she became. Her left hand suddenly moved, and the military knife flew out with lightning speed, nailing itself into the edge of an ammunition chest more than ten meters away. The relatively heavier handle rotated another ninety degrees before stopping.

Kane stared rigidly at the military knife that was less than five centimeters from the tip of his nose, and sweat continuously poured out from his face. Even though he had experienced many life and death situations, this knife suddenly appeared in front of his eyes while he was listening attentively, so it produced an extremely intimidating effect.

Li walked over, and after pulling out the knife, she stared fiercely at Kane again before walking off.

As he watched Li’s tall and straight figure, Kane shook his head and said in a soft voice to himself, “With this mother dragon’s combat abilities, she would be more than enough even if she went to become a dragonrider. How could she have become a subordinate and only take a hundred yuan?”

Li who had originally walked far away turned and coldly said, “It makes this old woman happy! Why do you care?”

Kane’s face immediately became extremely brilliant. Only when Li’s retreating figure completely disappeared from his line of sight did he chuckle and say, “Even her Perception Domain ability isn’t low. En, she really does have the potential to be a mother dragon!”

When night descended, Su was still running along the wilderness. For him, the darkness was a friend instead of an enemy. Even at night, he could easily track the main battle tank’s whereabouts.

At this moment, the tactical tablet suddenly vibrated. Su took out the tablet, and after tapping lightly on it, Helen’s face appeared on top of the screen.

“Su, don’t look for Blue Scorpion’s forward operating base for now and wait for back-up. The results of the preliminary assessment of the Blue Scorpion mecha has already emerged. Their level of technology is higher than what we anticipated, and there are some key parts to their technology where we have not broken through yet.” Every time Helen’s pretty face appeared, it would always bring about a terrifying effect of impotence.

Su gradually slowed down his footsteps and stopped. He looked at the brightly lit city in the distant horizon and said, “Your news came a bit late. I believe I already found Blue Scorpion’s forward operating base.”