Steel steam and flame

It was a beautiful night sky. Cassia raised her head and looked at it for a long time. It was not until the surgeon's neck started to hurt that she closed the sky window that was blowing the wind. In the past few days, there have been more inspections on heavy trains. The speed of the train occasionally slows down, and soldiers with guns hanging on the roofs walk over one by one to check the safety of the entire train, which is measured in kilometers in length. .

The gray zone is coming, and this is the signal sent to Cassia and the others by the aura rising on the whole train.

During the day, the intensity of light coming in from the skylight is stronger, and the temperature increases unconsciously. None of the four people's systems are afraid of the cold, but the current air temperature can no longer be described as warm.

On the fourth day, the air blowing through the skylight no longer smelled the same. It was the smell of moist sea breeze that had been diluted over an extremely long distance. As the daylight hours lengthen, the train has definitely reached the edge of the gray area and will stop at the station soon.

On the morning of the fifth day, the slowdown of heavy trains started very early and lasted for a long time. The sun shines brightly when it comes out, so there is no self-consciousness about entering autumn. The humid hot air made the car very stuffy. Cassia and the others packed up a few things in advance and stuck their heads out of the skylight to check the situation. They didn't know if this was the terminal station, but they didn't wait. After finding the opportunity, they got off the train transporting goods smoothly.

Linna was carrying Silla on her back, Delya was holding a gun disguised as a package beside her, and she was walking on an uneven road with Cassia who was holding other things. The quality of the road beneath our feet was impeccable, but the power of artillery and bullets was more than what most ordinary concrete buildings could withstand. In a gray area where firepower is one of the synonyms of order, the situation of the road Cassia and the others are currently walking on should still be very optimistic.

After walking along the road for about an hour, sweating all over their bodies, they saw a small station-like building, where they paid more than three times the price to catch a shabby bus. It looks like a large truck converted into a passenger car. There is an extra layer on top, which is built by welding rusty steel strips, and then a layer of work-hardened iron plates is laid on it. It makes a bouncing sound when you step on it, as if everyone is wearing cheap clothes. High heel.

Passengers are on the lower level, with nearly sixty or seventy seats, only half of which are occupied. There are no passengers on it, half of it is used to store consigned goods, and the other half is used to set up three heavy machine guns that were removed from the tank. The gun was very old, as different as the current electric light and gas light. It was about to become a cultural relic on display in the museum. So much so that when Cassia saw them for the first time, he didn't recognize what models these firearms were.

It's been well maintained, shining with anti-rust oil and the sheen of steel. A bullet chain made of leather and iron was hung from one side of the gun body. Gaps have appeared in the leather, which has been used more frequently than Cassia imagined. Cassia is not optimistic about their actual firepower.

This converted passenger bus started alone, not followed by a convoy or other protective tanks. If one wanted to attack this bus, the fire array on the top floor with three heavy machine guns as the core and relying only on semi-curved bulletproof steel plates more than ten millimeters thick might not be of much practical significance.

There are three drivers, and there is another person who is considered a captain or a flight attendant. He is a man with a bald head. His head is sweating under the sun and reflects very bright light. Wearing a gray vest, a twisted scar on his neck, like a ferocious protruding rock, connected to his right chest. When he got in the car, he looked at Silla's feet many times, but remained silent. Maybe it was because he had never seen such a situation before.

Now he was sitting on a row of seats at the rear of the car, drinking cheap wine in his stomach for a long time, and looking at the dust rising from the bottom of the truck for a long time. He's big and has a smart head. Judging from the development of the hair on his body, he must be from the Far Sea Commonwealth, Cassia guessed. Through simple contact, this commander can speak three languages, most of which are simple and proficient, the language of the Empire, the language of the Flame Alliance and the language of the Far Sea Commonwealth. When he asked me to pay three times the fare, he said so in a rough imperial voice.

But looking at his current appearance and the station that is covered with a layer of dust all day long, even if the fare is three times, this business is not easy to do.

"There is no autumn or spring in the gray area. Most of these two seasons pass within a week." This modified bus did not have decent windows, let alone an air circulation system, and it was sweltering. Lina and Cassia sat in a row, while Silla and Delya sat in the seats behind them.

"The geographical location here is special. It is on the edge of the hot winds brought by the central ocean current belt that impact the rear continent." Linna said, "On the other side connecting your empire, there is also a huge gap. There is no mountain to block it, it is a plain. .The cold current that causes the Endless Sea can also arrive here every year. Hot and cold alternate regularly, and there is no comfortable weather at all throughout the year."

"But just get used to it, and you won't be staying here for a long time?"

"It won't take a few days to leave. It won't take that much time to deal with you and Silla."

"It doesn't take long. Making prosthetics is just a matter of fine-tuning the finished prototype. There are a lot of mechanics here because it's a gray area and there are fewer restrictions than in major countries. A lot. They all have their own difference engines and their performance is pretty good, so I don’t think it will take much time." Linna replied.

Cassia said "hmm" and was thinking about other things and did not answer Lina's words. Due to the sultry weather, Lina also pursed her lips and did not continue speaking. Silla fell asleep leaning against Delya in the back. Injuries to both feet are not easy to heal.

The speed of the bus was very fast, and after nearly three hours of wandering on the road, the shadow of the building complex finally appeared at the junction of the distorted horizon where the sun had weakened, and the buildings were mainly in yellow, gray, and white. The house gradually came into Cassia's eyes. The lonely car finally became angry. Some people began to pick up their luggage and stand up in advance, holding on to the car and squinting their eyes.

The journey went smoothly, and the car finally arrived at the building complex, which can be considered a good small town. Finally we saw the train station and the airport where the airship was parked. The price of tickets has dropped to twice the usual level. They checked the route and timetable, boarded the train at the renovated train station, and went to the nearest big city - Bolasberg City, an area famous for its trading of various minerals.

On the train, Cassia used a tactical knife to crush one of the three solid red mercury sticks, and obtained nearly twenty pieces of roughly the same size. Of the remaining two red mercury sticks, Cassia gave one to Lina and kept one for herself as a backup source of funds in the empire. After deciding to sell these fragments and deal with Lina and Silla's affairs, Cassia was ready to leave immediately. He has no plans to learn more about the gray area, and he may not have any plans for a long time in the future.

The whistle sounded alternately, and when Cassia opened her eyes from the train seat, it was almost dusk outside. The sun has not yet set, and the sunlight is fiery red, swaying in circles on the buildings outside the car window. It is as bright as the blood of a newborn baby. This is the case for the entire Bolasberg, a city soaked in red.