Chapter 593 - Restricted Zone

The gunfire didn’t stop even after the first man died. After all, fights were common in the Lawless Civilization. The only resource the denizens of this place had in abundance was bullets.

“Quick, hide behind the Black Rose Squad!” Kerry shouted.

Bart and Akanzor ignored her commands until Han Wu told them to do so. The four automatons of the Black Rose Squad were forged from special alloys that made them impervious to bullets and were equipped with powerful weapons.

However, in Kerry’s eyes, there was no reason to continue the fight. Once the trio was shielded behind her Black Rose Squad, she ordered a retreat. All four automatons activated their thrusters.

Flames spewed from beneath their feet, and each automaton held onto one person in their swift escape from the chaotic street. The only things left behind were broken mechanical limbs and bullet casings, which only made the street look even more seedy than before.

Kerry ordered her automatons to land behind a small hill. None of them had been injured in the fight, but Han Wu and his guards finally grasped the bold attitudes of the locals. They had shot without warning!

“Han Wu, you now understand the situation in the Lawless Civilization. We’re still only at the outskirts, but the deeper we go, the trickier it’ll become. There’s still time to retreat if you want.”

Han Wu shook his head. “No, I want to delve deeper.”

“Alright.” Kerry shrugged. “But to prevent more accidents, you’ll need to hold something mechanical.”

An automaton took out several small devices from its backpack.

“These are spoils from the bodies just now,” Kerry said. “Choose as many as you want.”

Han Wu sifted through the random machinery. There was a revolver without bullets, a broken stopwatch, and something that looked like a matchbox. Han Wu took the matchbox and opened it up.

Kerry quickly slapped the matchbox away. It exploded in the distance.

“That’s a mini bomb with a rating of E. It’s not powerful, but it's very convenient to carry around,” she explained.

Han Wu nodded. The situation in this civilization was more complicated than he had expected. After the mishap with the explosive, Han Wu requested Kerry to pick out anything not too dangerous for him to wear.

Kerry went through the pile and gave him four objects. The ratings of mechanical objects were equivalent to the rank of a life form. Objects rated G were equivalent to Common life forms, F to Elite, E to Unique, D to Heroic, C to Lord, B to High Lord, A to King, S to Sage, SS to Earthsunder, SSS to Heavenrender, and finally X to World.

The four mechanical devices also had ratings assigned to them. The revolver was rated D and could fire off energy bullets. The energy source was shaped into the grip and could convert the friction from holding it into energy to form the bullets. It could also store six bullets at a time.

Han Wu thought it was weak.

The broken stopwatch was also rated D, and was actually a time bomb. It would explode three seconds after he pressed the dial. The explosion was average at best.

There was also a monocle with a cog frame. It was rated E and could be used like a telescope. Rotating the cog frame allowed the wearer to adjust the distance.

Finally, there was a pair of D-rated jet boots. It consumed energy to force air downward from the sole to either increase one’s jump power or achieve short-distance flight.

These four devices were useless to Han Wu, but without them, he would undoubtedly get shot at again.

Akanzor and Bart also wore several mechanical devices to blend in. Unfortunately, their weapons of choice stood out as they weren’t mechanical in nature, so they had to temporarily hide them in the internal storage of the automatons.

With that settled, they headed toward the closest town they could find—a much richer place compared to the border town they were in before.

Han Wu took in the proper houses and passing mechanical vessels.

Currency was an important resource in every civilization. Fortunately, Kerry was well-versed enough to quickly locate a recycling center. The place operated like a pawnshop, buying low and selling high for profit.

Kerry tossed the leftover devices from earlier onto the table for the boss to choose.

“You have six mini bombs with a D rating. I can’t tell if they can explode or not. I’ll give you 15 Enercoins for them at most.

“Four-wheeled shoes with an E rating.

Ew,

this one still smells of feet from the previous owner. Take it back. I don’t buy trash here.

“Hold on. Pretty lady, your revolver looks good. Do you want to sell it? I’ll pay you handsomely for it.”

After some negotiations, Han Wu and Kerry obtained 329 Enercoins as their initial capital. This was enough money for them to secure two rooms at the local lodgings as well as meals for two days.

But this wasn’t enough. They would undoubtedly need more Enercoins if they wanted information. Luckily, Kerry had some experience in navigating the Lawless Civilization and had a plan in mind. After resting for a night, they bought some food and left town.

Excessive mechanization had once led to a terrible plague in this civilization. This plague transformed a life form’s flesh into metal and gears. Although they managed to fight off the plague after hundreds of years, there were still seven special restricted zones in the Lawless Civilization that no life form could survive in.

It was said that each restricted zone held a sentient automaton God that could endlessly produce all manner of automatons and devices. While this was only hearsay, the seven restricted zones themselves did actually exist. Moreover, each zone contained a veritable army of automatons. Kerry’s idea was to head to the closest one and hunt those automatons for parts to sell for money.

Han Wu agreed to her proposal. It took them a day to reach the closest restricted zone. The name of this particular zone was the Steel Forest.

A thick metal wall circled the outer perimeter of this zone. Its purpose was twofold: to prevent life forms from entering and the automatons inside from escaping. Still, this didn’t stop people from entering to obtain automaton parts for money.

Han Wu and his small team were going hunting.