Chapter 374.1: Heart Of Steel

The flames that came from the barrel of the gun filled the sights of those present. 2 soldiers were torn to shreds instantly.

The roaring machine gun almost shattered Herrick's eardrums as he scrambled for cover behind a barricade. Just as he was about to return fire, he saw a fellow comrade torn apart by the claws of the white bear.

His flesh flew everywhere!

The giant white bear seemed as shocked by how strong it actually was. However, her shock couldn’t compare to the soldiers.

"Scatter!"

As Herrick watched 2 more comrades die under the machine gun fire, he furiously raised his gun and sprayed at the truck.

Pinging off the welded steel plates, only several sparks were produced.

Tail instinctively ducked, dodging the incoming bullets. Her hands held the machine gun steady as she aimed at the enemy.

Meanwhile, Sesame Paste who was seated at the driver’s position jumped when the bullets pelted the truck.

"Ah!"

She instinctively ducked under the steering wheel and slammed her foot into the accelerator.

Facing the oncoming truck and the impervious steel plate, Herrick fell into despair. It was especially when he saw the barrel of the machine gun aimed straight at him.

For a moment, his heart seemed to freeze.

Yet...

What ultimately caused him to lose consciousness wasn't a bullet to the head.

Instead, the truck slammed straight into his chest.

In the last moments before blacking out, he faintly heard a shout, even though it was something he couldn’t understand...

"Tail, leave one alive!"

"Roger that!"

...

Cold water splashed on his face and Herrick snapped awake to find himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"We’re reasonable people and we like to persuade others to surrender, so you'd better not make any rash moves." Sisi returned whatever he said back to him. However, he stared at her like she was the scariest monster he had seen.

She touched her chin with her left hand.

Am I that scary?

She was quite pleased with her game character, though.

"That scared me... We suddenly got a mission that you were in trouble, so we rushed over. We saw a lot of people shooting at you and Tail and I thought you were dead...” Sesame Paste described as she hopped off the truck.

"I was lucky and the vest stopped the bullets. Well... I broke a few ribs.” Sisi said nonchalantly.

Though she felt her injuries were probably more severe than just a few broken ribs. However, even with such serious injuries, she had already recovered close to 40 percent.

It was also the reason she chose to be of the constitution type. From the looks of it, she made the right choice!

The game's feature of blocking excessive pain, much like having an inherent tranquilizer and painkiller, was probably one of the most convenient things. Otherwise, no matter how high her attributes were stacked, enduring the pain would still be troublesome.

"No wonder! Hey, that line just now was super cool!" Tail said with sparking eyes.

Roshan looked at her with worry. "Are you really okay? You got shot so much..."

"I'm fine." Sisi smiled softly.

"Thanks to you guys coming in time, if I were alone, I might have been captured."

"Especially you, Roro, you were very brave!"

"What are you talking about? Seeing a friend in trouble, how could I possibly shrink back?" Lifting her hefty bear paw, the bashful Roshan scratched her head, staining her snow-white fur a blood-red.

The sentimental atmosphere became somewhat gruesome...

Just then, an untimely voice suddenly shifted the topic in a strange direction.

"Capture? They were going to capture you? Hehehehehe, will there be those scenes in those comics?" Tail’s eyes sparkled while staring at Sisi.

Sesame Paste looked puzzled. "Comics?"

Seeing the strange look in her eyes, Sisi sighed helplessly. "Tail, can you stop reading those things?!”

"HUH? How do you know I read them?! Did you install cameras in my home?"

"Ahem... You guys... Are a little weird...” Sesame Paste raised an eyebrow while staring at the duo.

Gunshots and chaos drew people nearby, and the first to arrive were Kariman and his guards.

Although the head of his guards strongly opposed intervening in the wastelanders' conflicts, remembering that he had just promised to protect these people a few minutes ago, he reluctantly led his men over.

But by the time he arrived, the fight was already over.

The wastelanders in black cloaks lay haphazardly on the ground. Most of them died gruesome deaths.

The machine gun mounted on the truck was no joke. The energy each shot possessed tore the limbs off those people, spraying flesh and blood everywhere.

Those like Kariman who never left the desert before felt their stomachs churning.

"What happened here..." The head guard with a goatee stepped forward and knelt down.

He extended his index finger toward one of the corpses' faces, his expression sinking. "People from the Army..."

On the wasteland, people of any skin and hair color can be found, but only those from the Army have a pronounced bridge on their nose.

There was a saying that they used ancient DNA, and another that they modified their genes to distinguish their noble lineage.

The Army...

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Kariman chewed over these words in his mind, a fire of hatred igniting in his eyes.

At that time, merchants, guards, and mercenaries who had stayed away began to return after gunfire was no longer heard.

Seeing the carnage, a merchant revealed a pained expression.

"Damn, what have you all done! My tents, my bags, my luggage... all ruined by you."

Looking at the truck parked next to the tents, several people holding guns gathered around.

"It's just a few tents..." Sisi tossed a few dinars on the ground. "Is that enough?"

The money clearly wasn't enough, and the merchant was about to say more but was quietly pulled back by his guard.

"Those young ladies are all awakeners. If it really came to a fight, we’ll probably suffer heavy losses.”

The merchant's face turned red, and he swallowed his anger. Grabbing the gold coins on the ground, he walked away silently.

Residents nearby watched from afar, enjoying the spectacle.

North of Katin Station, where merchants and travelers stayed, no one cared about a few wastelanders' deaths as long as bullets didn't fly into their homes.

However, such intense fighting hadn't occurred in many years.

As people discussed, an elderly man over fifty years old emerged from the crowd. His skin was dark, his face lined with age, though his frame was still robust.

The dozen or so men following him were dressed similarly, each carrying a revolver rifle on their backs.

After glancing at the bodies on the ground and the man lying there, he turned to Sisi and the others who were standing beside the giant bear. A frown appeared on his face as he spoke. "My name is Mudka, and I'm the village chief."

"I’m Sisi, and that’s Tail, Sesame Paste, and Roro,” Sisi introduced her companions, though she sensed the old man wasn't really interested in their names.

And indeed, the old man didn't ask where they came from but stated, "This is a safe zone. You've broken the rules here, and you need to compensate the villagers and livestock you've frightened."

Sisi responded expressionlessly, "Oh? Since it's a safe zone, why didn't I see you step in before they attacked?"

"I came over when I heard the gunshots. Regardless, driving a truck through the camp, running over tents and luggage, and firing a machine gun... That's too much."

Hearing his two-faced reply, Tail protested unhappily, "Hey, I didn't hurt any innocent people..."

Sisi cut off Tail's explanation. She stared down at the old man, and spoke deliberately slowly, "This is a matter between the New Alliance and the Army, are you sure you want to get involved?"

She could see the old man was trying to extort them.

If she hadn't thrown out those dinars earlier, they probably wouldn't be facing trouble like that.

Sure enough, when the old man heard that they came from the New Alliance, his attitude immediately changed.

His eyes, both cunning and ferocious, now showed clear apprehension and suspicion. He had certainly heard of the Alliance, as well as rumors from the east.

The suddenly rising New Alliance had blocked the southward march of the Bonechewer Clan, ending a year of chaos in the River Valley Province.

Before that, the towering giant wall of Boulder Town was the only beacon for hundreds of miles.

"... Are you with the New Alliance?"

Sisi didn’t bother messing around with him and replied, "Yes."

The old man's face stiffened slightly, as did the several men beside him.