Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Gobi Mirage, Machinery City

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Lin Ke’s voice, which sounded close to breaking down, resounded in the desert. The only thing that responded to him was the unfeeling sound of the wind.

“Little Treasure, has Gerbil really left?”

Treasure Hunter Rat sniffed about with great effort. It was hard to tell whether it was because Gerbil was already outside of its search range or that Gerbil didn’t carry any scent after it had turned into sand. In any case, it certainly couldn’t be found anymore.

Squeak, squeak.

Lin Ke’s heart felt cold and drafty. He finally knew what the so-called ‘problems may surface in the future’ meant now. He had great need of Gerbil’s abilities when traversing the Gobi, but it was all gone now! All gone!

Forbes, who was standing at the side, hadn’t sensed the hopeless atmosphere yet. He was still craning his neck and staring hard into the distance. He asked, “Boss, why hasn’t Gerbil come back yet? Is it too curious about the desert because it has only just been born?”

?

Spurt!

Listen! That was the sound of something stabbing into Lin Ke’s heart. “Forbes, let’s get ready to set off!” 1

Forbes was a little confused. “Boss, we’re not waiting for Gerbil to come back anymore?”

Lin Ke sounded disappointed as he replied, “To celebrate Gerbil’s birth, I’ve given it a big present.”

“When did you give it a present? How come I don’t know about it?” Upon seeing Lin Ke turning around, Forbes cast another few glances at the desert before he hastily followed after him and asked, “Boss, what did you give it?”

“Freedom…”

One could say that the pet’s escape this time was a lesson for Lin Ke. The materials’ compatibility rate was still a very important factor in the synthesis success rate. 6

After spending more than half an hour in the city ruins, Lin Ke didn’t plan on staying here any longer. Since the Wastelands Gang had issued a bounty on his head, who knew if the helicopter was already on the way here? There was no need to stay here any longer and waste time, which would only end up increasing the risks.

Lin Ke walked in front with the satellite phone in his hand while Forbes followed closely beside him with the backpack on his back.

Treasure Hunter Rat stood on Lin Ke’s shoulder with a serious demeanor like a little sentinel. It sniffed the wind blowing across the Gobi, carefully distinguishing the components and scents within it.

Lin Ke quickly got out of the awkward atmosphere caused by Gerbil’s escape and focused on his Stats interface.

After the synthesis, he had only 7 HP left, which wasn’t enough for him to synthesize other pets. Thus, Lin Ke decided to just level up instead.

[Leveling up from Level 1 to Level 2 will consume 400 EXP. Will you level up? Yes/No]

Yes! Lin Ke chose to level up without any hesitation. Both his Health Points and Energy Points made a full recovery.

Name: Lin Ke

Race: Human

Level: 2

EXP: 400

Class: N/A

Status: Slave

Health Points: 60/60

Energy Points: 40/40

Stats: Power (3), Agility (3), Endurance (6), Intelligence (4), Energy (2), Charm (1), Luck (1)

Latent Capacity Points: 3

Talent: N/A

Skills: N/A

Equipment: Sharp Dagger (White), Glock 17 Pistol (White), Bezos T1 Tactical Machine Pistol (White)

Special Abilities: Basic Driving (40%), Basic Marksmanship (11%)

Appraisal: You’re really a ‘lucky one.’

In Destiny, players gained three Latent Capacity Points with every level up. Players could allocate these Latent Capacity Points to any of the seven main attributes.

Power, Agility, Endurance, and Intelligence could be found in most games, so their functions need not be expounded on much.

They correspond to the player’s offensive power, movement and attack speed, Health Points, and Energy Points, respectively. Of the four attributes, Endurance and Intelligence had a ratio of 1:10 when converting to Health Points and Energy Points, respectively.

The Energy attribute represented the player’s affinity with energy. Having an Energy attribute of more than 5 points meant that the player was a so-called psychic in the game. Psychics could use and manipulate their energy to carry out attacks. The common psychics manipulated all sorts of elemental powers while the special ones could achieve things like psychokinesis, creating illusions, etc.

There were four main categories for job classes in Destiny-Martial Arts-type, Supernatural Ability-type, Mechanical-type, and the Mystery-type.

Several more concrete classes were under these four main categories. A player could also learn a sub-class when they reached Level 20. As such, there were a lot of combinations and ways to play the game.

However, if one were to talk about the most crucial element in the game, it would no doubt be the EXP bar.

Not only could EXP be used to increase a player’s level, but it could also be used to raise skill levels, special ability levels, and even pet levels.

These would be further explained in the future. Back to Lin Ke for now.

After advancing to Level 2, Lin Ke gained three allocable Latent Capacity Points. However, after some consideration, he decided not to allocate them to any of his attributes.

“For now, having a full Health bar and Energy bar is enough for the escape. The three Latent Capacity Points may be a lifesaver during critical moments.”

Firstly, by saving the three Latent Capacity Points, he could use them as a trump card.

Secondly, Lin Ke had also received a cheating device upon his rebirth. At the moment, he hadn’t decided on his main job class category yet, so he decided not to allocate his points rashly.

Lin Ke exited the Stats interface. Every ten minutes, he would take out the satellite phone to check his GPS coordinates and adjust his direction.

Traveling in the Gobi that stretched as far as the eye could see was rather boring, not to mention that they were even escaping on their own two legs.

As a result, Lin Ke ended up using this period of time to deepen his understanding of Forbes. “Forbes, how were you captured?”

“Our tribe used to live in the desert. Later, the Wastelands Gang swept through the desert and took over the tribe, and all the tribesmen were sent to the slave camps. Boss, our tribe actually also used to have psychics in the beginning. It was just that we were outnumbered. One psychic might be able to protect the tribe, but only death awaited even someone like that when faced against the Wastelands Gang’s firepower that numbered hundreds and thousands.

Forbes’s voice turned downcast as he spoke.

Once upon a time, psychics were the symbol of a tribe’s strength. Every tribe took pride in being able to give birth to psychics.

However, when the Wastelands Gang’s steel and iron torrents came and engulfed everything, the psychics that had once been their pride had either died in battle while defending the tribes or bought over by the Wastelands Gang’s promise of riches, turning against their own just before the war.

“How did you turn from a coolie into a kitchen helper? Didn’t the mercenaries say anything when you’re so fat?” With a body size like that of Forbes, probably nobody would believe him even if he said that he didn’t steal any food.

Forbes smiled in embarrassment and held his hand to his head as he replied, “To be honest, I only sneaked a couple of small bites in the beginning and wouldn’t have been discovered at all. But one time, I was simply too hungry, so I stole and ate a chicken drumstick at night. In the end, as luck would have it, someone discovered me, so…”

“What happened?”

“I was dragged out by the mercenaries, tied to a cross, and left out in the sun in the desert for two days and two nights. They only gave me water so that I wouldn’t die, but didn’t give me any food. Later on, they untied me and made me eat a few kilograms of sand. It was only then that they let me off.”

Forbes patted his firm and solid stomach and said, “I wasn’t fat in the past, either. But ever since I ate the sand and my stomach ached for days, it started swelling slowly. My body also became unbearably swollen.”

Lin Ke fell into silence after hearing his story.

Starved for two days and force-fed a few kilograms of sand, resulting in gut and intestinal obstruction and bloating, and in turn, a swollen and distended body…

Those bastards! After a moment, Lin Ke said in consolation, “It’ll be fine once we reach Sand City. We can buy an enhancing serum on the black market when we reach the city. We’ll be able to discharge all the sand in your body after that.”

“Boss, how much does the enhancing serum cost?”

“$10,000 per tube.”

Forbes’s eyes flew wide open, and he took in a sharp gasp of air. “That’s so expensive! God knows when we’ll be able to save up that amount of money?”

“What was your job back in the tribe?”

“I was a pallbearer. My dad and I, as well as a few relatives, offered burial services. We earned only $200 to $300 a month. I’m afraid I won’t ever be able to afford a $10,000 enhancing serum in my entire lifetime…” Forbes sounded disheartened. $10,000 was an astronomical sum of money to him. Even if he spent his whole life trying, he wouldn’t be able to earn that much.

“That’s not necessarily true. Unlike tribes like yours, where it’s hard to get news, and the location is inaccessible, there are a lot of opportunities, as well as ways to earn money, in Sand City.”

The two of them chatted as they walked. At sunset, they found a huge Gobi rock.

Lin Ke and Forbes plucked out some withered tree branches nearby and lit a campfire. Wrapped in flax clothing, they curled up and passed the first night since Lin Ke transmigrated into the game.

The next morning, Lin Ke felt something shaking his face left and right. When he opened his eyes, he realized that Treasure Hunter Rat was working hard to use its two little paws to shake his head and wake him up.

Lin Ke rubbed his sleepy, half-closed eyes and glanced at Forbes, who was snoring and sleeping deeply on the ground.

“Little Treasure, wake him up.”

After receiving orders, Treasure Hunter Rat took a couple of steps, jumped onto Forbes, and bounced about on him, treating his stomach like a trampoline.

When Forbes didn’t react even after it bounced for a while, Treasure Hunter Rat ran to his collar, spread its legs apart, and bent down into a solid full squat. Then, it clutched its two little paws into fists and…

Atatatatata! 1

A flurry of punches landed on Forbes’s face like a heavy downpour, causing the fat on his cheeks to tremble wildly under the little fists’ ‘bombardment.’ 6

( ¯e(# ¯) 2

Forbes woke up from his dreams in shock at once, howling as he clutched his face.

After the two humans and one rodent replenished their energy slightly, Lin Ke took a glance at the one liter of clean water that they had left, and then at the numerical data on the satellite phone.

“We covered 20 kilometers in half a day yesterday. We’ll strive to cover 50 kilometers today. If nothing goes wrong, we’ll reach Goria Grand Canal by this afternoon. We’ll do some recharging when we reach the Grand Canal, find somewhere to rest after that, and persevere and walk for another day tomorrow. Once we cross Weeping Valley, we’ll enter Sand City’s borders. We’ll be safe at that time.” 2

Upon hearing Lin Ke’s words, Forbes’s eyes turned bright and shiny, twinkling with hope and agitation.

By next evening at the latest, he would be able to bid farewell to the Strong Winds Desert and the Desolate Gobi forever.

He would be free soon!

Lin Ke was also full of confidence. As long as they could cross the hurdle that was Goria Grand Canal and replenish their supplies today, the journey after that would be a lot safer.

Although the whole stretch from Desolate Gobi all the way to Weeping Valley was Machinery Holy Cult’s territory, the Machinery Holy Cult’s activity range was mostly centered at the south of Goria Grand Canal. They rarely patrolled past the Grand Canal.

The stretch from Weeping Valley to the Grand Canal was more like a buffer zone.

Although 42 years had already passed since the Day of Reckoning, be it Sand City or the Machinery Holy Cult, both were forces that were only born after the Day of Reckoning.

They had accumulated some power, but they were still far from being able to engage in large-scale warfare.

After the Day of Reckoning, the original status quo had been completely overturned, and new forces had gradually emerged.

What had accompanied it was an ideology reformation. Philosophies on the future and destiny of humans, coupled with the birth of psychics, had led to an endless stream of many different extremist ideologies that gained a lot of support from people.

The Machinery Holy Cult was exactly an organization like that. They believed that the merging of humans and machinery was the path to evolution in the future. 4

Low-level armored soldiers relied on the microchips implanted in their bodies to battle. Slightly higher-level soldiers were modified humans, where their physical bodies had been integrated with machinery. The highest-level mechanical reincarnation plan retained only the human brain while all other parts of the body were changed to replaceable mechanical components. As long as the brain was alive, mechanical immortality would be realized.

At the same time, the Machinery Holy Cult had also developed bioenergy technology, where a normal human’s bioenergy could be converted into electricity and used as an electricity supply. All the normal humans that they captured were stuffed into a nutrient fluid vessel and would become part of a gigantic battery, sinking into a dream that they thought was real until their very last bit of energy was wrung out of them. 5

Perhaps it was because they were about to escape the Gobi desert, but Lin Ke and Forbes were a lot lighter on their feet today. In fact, they didn’t even sit and rest for lunch. They found time to eat a bit of food on the way instead.

“Alright, we’ll start walking toward true north now. In another 20 kilometers, we’ll reach Goria Grand Canal.” After Lin Ke spoke, he touched the bandolier through his clothes and said, “Little Treasure, time to come out and work!”

Treasure Hunter Rat stretched in an empty pocket of the bandolier before lazily climbing out from Lin Ke’s clothes, its mouth slightly ajar as it yawned.

They were going to reach the Grand Canal very soon. Lin Ke didn’t wish to meet with any trouble.

Treasure Hunter Rat had been on guard duty the whole time during the previous night and hadn’t slept, so Lin Ke had allowed the little fellow to sleep and rest a little in the morning.

Even a human would be lethargic and muddle-headed after staying up for a night, much less a rodent in its infancy stage.

“Have you rested enough? If you have, then it’s time to work properly from now on.”

Treasure Hunter Rat squeaked a couple of times and patted its chest, indicating that Lin Ke could leave everything to it.

The Grand Canal cut across the whole Desolate Gobi, but rapid currents and heavy security were in every area-except for one. Only this area in the canal’s middle-upper reach in the northwest had a protrusion where currents were slow due to terrain reasons during the digging process. Adding to the fact that this area was located in the canal’s middle-upper reaches, the number of patrolling Machinery Holy Cult soldiers here was the lowest as well.

In the past, players crossed the Grand Canal by wading across this area when they couldn’t afford helicopter rides or cars.

Lin Ke naturally wasn’t an exception. Although it had been six years, he still remembered the coordinates (232, 093, 723) clearly.

After using the satellite phone to adjust their direction, Lin Ke brought Forbes along with him and headed true north.

Lin Ke chatted casually with Forbes while holding the satellite phone in one hand to check the coordinates, as well as to let it charge via solar power.

At this moment, Treasure Hunter Rat, who was on his shoulder, suddenly started to squeak frantically.

When Lin Ke raised his head and looked into the distance, he suddenly saw a mechanical city at the end of the Gobi. It was currently moving slowly at the end of the horizon.

When Forbes noticed that Lin Ke had stopped in his tracks, he looked toward where Lin Ke was looking and also saw the massive structure at the end of the horizon.

A city fully constructed out of metal was actually, slowly but visibly, moving forward.

Under the roasting of the scorching sun, steam rose from the ground at the end of the Gobi. The area in the extreme far distance looked as if it was distorted.

The mechanical city ‘danced’ amid the distortion caused by the steam and moved quietly in the distance.

“That’s a mirage in the Gobi, right? I’ve finally seen it today!” Forbes broke into a grin. He had heard of mirages when he was in the desert, but he had never seen one before. Little did he imagine that he would actually see one during his great escape. Not just that, it was even one that actually moved.

How rare!

In contrast, Lin Ke-who was standing beside him-fixedly stared at the distant scene with a stern expression. It was only after a long while that he finally said, “That’s not a mirage. That’s the Machinery Holy Cult’s core-Machinery City!”

“What? That’s Machinery City?” The scorching sun was obviously burning hot, yet Forbes felt a chill all around him. “But how can a city move, Boss? That must be a mirage, right?”

Lin Ke put away the satellite phone and took out the pistol from his bandolier. With a serious countenance, he replied, “It’s precisely because it moves that it must be the real Machinery City. The Machinery Holy Cult’s greatest attainment-Machinery City-a city that moves.”

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