123: Chapter 123 Flying Away from the City
The two stayed in the base lounge until the sky turned completely dark.
Zhen Lu reassembled the fragments of the electronic map he had copied from the terminal in his mind, then slowly hand-drew it on paper with a pen.
The pen was an old ballpoint pen found in the lounge drawer, and the paper was the back of a blank form torn from the captain's desk.
He clearly drew out the main roads, river markers, the relative positions of Gray Bone Town and Spine City, and the route heading south, marking reference points for several key intersections on the side before pushing the paper in front of Shen Yue.
"Keep this one safe. In case we get separated, you will be able to find your way."
Shen Yue took it, looked down at it for a moment, then folded the paper and put it into the inner pocket of her tactical vest.
"What about you?"
"I have a backup in my head."
Zhen Lu stood up, "Let's go."
The two left the lounge, crossed the base courtyard, and walked straight out of the main gate.
The guard was leaning against the sentry box smoking, took one look at them, and didn't ask anything.
It was free time now, and team members didn't need to report when entering or leaving the base.
After moving some distance away from the base, Zhen Lu stopped, and the two arrived at the corner of a wall.
There were no pedestrians on the street nearby, and the halos of a few streetlights swayed slightly in the night breeze.
He spread out his psychokinesis, enveloping both of them, and a translucent force field converged from all directions, isolating them from external optical reflections and sound transmission.
Camouflage activated simultaneously, blending them into the night.
"Let's go," he said.
His psychokinesis surged forth, carrying both of them as they flew toward the top of the city wall, preparing to skim over it.
When they flew to a high point, Shen Yue looked back.
Spine City was brightly lit at night; various neon signs and street lighting wove together into a warm yellow web of light. Traffic moved slowly on the main roads, and huge electronic advertising screens embedded on the outer walls of several high-rise buildings were scrolling advertisements for the acquisition of some kind of Mutant Beast material.
The entire city was like a pearl embedded in the gray wasteland, completely different from the grim atmosphere seen from the armored vehicle during the day.
The city had recovered very well, looking nothing like a wasteland reconstruction.
Zhen Lu did not stop; he adjusted his direction slightly and continued to fly outward with Shen Yue.
The city wall quickly receded, and the sea of light within the city gradually shrank into a bright spot in the distance.
The wilderness ahead spread out under the night sky into an endless dark gray, and in the direction of Gray Bone Town, only a few sporadic, faint lights flickered in the distance.
They arrived at the outskirts of Gray Bone Town, and Zhen Lu slowly retracted his psychokinesis, their figures reappearing in the night.
Given Zhen Lu's psychokinetic strength, he couldn't keep flying with Shen Yue, so the two needed to get a means of transport in Gray Bone Town.
They were still wearing the dark gray combat armor of the Iron Shield Mercenary Group, with their firearms strapped to their backs, though they weren't wearing helmets.
The night wind blew by; Zhen Lu stretched his neck, and Shen Yue tucked her hair, which had been blown loose by the wind, behind her ear.
The two walked side by side along the muddy road that had been repeatedly crushed by tires, heading into the town.
Most of the buildings in the town were hidden in darkness; only a few low houses had faint light shining from their windows, all of which were flickering, warm-yellow flame light. As they got closer, they could smell a faint scent of burning fuel, like oil lamps.
An oil lamp made from an old glass bottle hung at the entrance of an Iron Skin shack, its wick burned black. An old man sat under the lamp whittling wood; he looked up at the two mercenaries in combat armor, then lowered his head to continue his work.
The town's night was very quiet, and one could hear the occasional howl of unknown beasts from the distant wilderness.
Zhen Lu walked half a step ahead of Shen Yue, and neither of them spoke, just walking forward along the town's main road.
During the day, they had learned that there was a place to rent vehicles in town, and at this time, it shouldn't be too late, so it should still be open.
Turning past a row of Iron Skin shacks, there was a slightly larger concrete bungalow ahead with bright light shining from inside. An Iron Skin sign hung at the doorway, and the light from oil lamps shone out through the cracks in the windows, while noisy laughter and the crisp sound of playing cards hitting the tabletop came from within.
Zhen Lu pushed open the door.
Several oil lamps were lit in the room, making it very bright.
A dozen or so people were gathered around a large wooden table playing cards, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, with banknotes and a few pieces of gray steel scattered on the table.
The air was mixed with the smoke of low-quality tobacco and the sour smell of sweat.
The sound of the door opening made a few people turn their heads to look, their gazes sweeping over Zhen Lu and Shen Yue.
A person who looked like the manager stood up from the card table, about forty years old, with a very thin face and wearing an old leather jacket, and walked to the door.
He sized the two up, didn't ask much, and stepped aside to let them in.
"We want to rent a vehicle to go a long distance. How do you charge?"
Zhen Lu asked directly.
Just as the manager was about to answer, someone from the card table spoke up first.
It was a burly man sitting at the corner of the table, with two old scars across his face and a cigarette in his mouth. His eyes circled Shen Yue unreservedly, and then he threw his cards onto the table.
"How come a chick from a mercenary group ran to the town to rent a car? Can't stay in the city anymore, huh?"
Another bald man next to him also laughed, propping his elbows on the table, "Little lady, are you looking for a place to have some fun?"
Then the two laughed unscrupulously.
Shen Yue didn't pay them any mind and didn't even look at them.
Zhen Lu just looked into the manager's eyes.
The manager turned around and glanced at the two men, said nothing more, and pushed open another door to the side, tilting his head toward Zhen Lu. "Let's talk outside."
The three went out, and the manager closed the door behind him, cutting off the laughter and the sound of cards from inside the room.
In the hallway, there was only one oil lamp hanging on the wall, and the light was dim.
"Don't bother with that bunch; they are all hunters in the town, living by hunting Mutant Beasts, and they get foul-mouthed when they drink too much."
The manager leaned against the wall, tracing a few lines on the gray wall with his finger. "Since you want to go a long distance, I have a vehicle with an off-road chassis here; it's a bit old, but it was just serviced. You need to pay a three-day deposit in advance; return the car when the time is up, and renewals are calculated separately."
Zhen Lu and Shen Yue pooled all the banknotes the captain had given them during the day, and it was just enough.
The manager took the money and led them around to a simple carport behind the house, lifted a piece of tarpaulin, and revealed a gray-green off-road vehicle.
The car body had many scratches and dents, the tire treads were still quite deep, and the chassis was indeed much higher than the modified vehicles common in town.
The manager threw the keys to Zhen Lu and placed two buckets of water by the trunk.
"The gas is full, and the water is in the trunk. Even if the car breaks down, you have to bring it back; if it's lost, you'll need to pay compensation."
"No problem."
Zhen Lu pulled open the car door, Shen Yue got into the passenger seat from the other side.
Starting the vehicle, the engine sputtered, gave a low roar, and settled into an idle.
The two drove off, following the muddy main road of Gray Bone Town toward the outskirts of town.
The manager returned to the room, and the scarred burly man at the card table slammed his cards onto the table. "What was the background of those two people just now?"
The manager sat back in his seat, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. "They should be from a mercenary group in the city. They just rented a car and said they were going a long distance."
"Going a long distance?" The scarred man and the bald man exchanged a glance, and the corners of their mouths slowly curled up.
He pushed his chair back, stood up, walked two steps toward the door, and looked back to give a wink to a few people in the corner. "I'm going out for some air."
The other few people also stood up one after another; some said they were going to relieve themselves, others said they were going home to get something, and they followed him out in twos and threes.
After the door closed, the sound of cards continued in the room for a few rounds, but the atmosphere was already different from before.
The manager lowered his head to drink tea, as if he saw it all.