The mountains and forests in late autumn were a bit chilly, and in the middle of the night, dew trickled down the branches and leaves.
The guide huddled up and shivered with cold.
"I said, why don't you go back to the yacht and spend the night, it's warmer there."
Qi Meng decisively refused: "We can't go back, so we need to find a hidden place to warm ourselves by the fire."
"You zebra has water in your head! If you light a fire here, aren't you afraid of attracting unclean things?"
The guide was a dark-faced middle-aged man named Zhao Can. He spoke with a strong Chu accent. I don’t know whether it was due to a car accident or some other accident. His left arm became a prosthetic limb made of cheap titanium alloy. When he rolled up his sleeves, The light reflects and shines brightly like a mirror.
Qi Meng suspected that this person was also from the underground city, or at least from the upper space. Otherwise, he would not be engaged in such a difficult and dangerous illegal tour guide job, let alone bring people into this forbidden land.
"Tens of thousands of people died here before. The ruins of Tianxin City are nearby, and countless dead people are buried under the mountains and forests. Do you know the story of Meng Jiangnu crying at the Great Wall? It's almost the same as that. This is not the most terrifying... ··
Qi Meng began to pack his equipment and said dismissively:
"I'm not afraid of elves, ghosts, prehistoric beasts, or ancient evil gods. Humans are the scariest thing."
He picked up his equipment and climbed towards the opposite side of the mountain crest, stepping on fallen leaves. His dim figure quickly disappeared into the night.
Zhao Can hesitated, and the traveler shouted from the front: "If you go back halfway, I won't use the energy block for you."
The guide muttered a few words to the dark mountain forest, cursed and followed.
The two of them walked one behind the other in the dense forest. There was a thick layer of dead branches and leaves under their feet, which rustled when people walked on it.
The moonlight was bright, and the traveler's figure was like a ghost, swaying not far in front of Zhao Can. He quickened his pace and chased after him.
"What are you hiding from?"
Zhao Can was panting from exhaustion. The man walking in front would rather run to the barren mountains and wilderness in the middle of the night than return to the yacht. He was most likely a criminal wanted by the underground city.
[In view of the general environment,
Thinking of this, he regretted taking this job, but the reward given to him at the time was so generous that he had no time to hesitate. It was three units of energy blocks, enough for him and his family to survive for half a year.
"If you are really a fugitive, I advise you to surrender as soon as possible. Before you enter the restricted area, the swarms from the surrounding bases are already on their way. If they set their sights on the target, they will be killed directly."
Guide Zhao patiently explained to the client that as long as he surrendered immediately, his life could be saved. Of course, one or several organs might be removed and given to people in greater need. Guide Zhao repeatedly assured that they were all minor surgeries, and the technology of nanorobots in suturing wounds was perfect...
"What are you hiding from? Why don't you surrender?"
Qi Meng finally stopped, turned around, glared at Zhao Can, and said word by word:
"I'm waiting····"
Before he finished speaking, a strange sound came from the dense forest, and Qi Meng quickly waved his hand to signal Zhao Can not to make any noise.
The guide groaned and looked around. The next second, the buzzing sound of a swarm of bees sounded above the two of them. Qi Meng quickly rolled to the bushes aside and covered his body with a VolleBak jacket to prevent him from being heated by the drone. Imaging findings.
Dense rain of bullets poured down from the treetops like hailstones, hitting all creatures on the ground. The clicking sound of shooting instantly broke through the night forest. A wild boar that was awakened jumped up and jumped from Qi Meng's body. Jumping sideways, the tip of the boar's hoof almost flew past Qi Meng's head.
Qi Meng huddled motionless in the bushes, while the swarm of bees hovered above his head for a long time before gradually disappearing.
Qi Meng lay on the ground and glanced to the left and right. The guide who had been trying to persuade him just now was quietly lying in a pool of blood.
"It's time for me to go. Although we have only known each other for a day, I can see that you are a good guy."
together
Meng covered the body with dead leaves and prepared to go back and bring some tools, such as pickaxes, wrenches, nanorobots, etc. It was time for me to leave. "
A slightly hoarse voice sounded at this time:
"Number 857, you can't leave."
Following the sound, a figure walked out of the dense forest and walked quickly towards Qi Meng.
Qi Meng shrugged helplessly, took out a miniature electromagnetic shotgun from his backpack, and aimed the gun at the chasing bounty hunter.
"Chasing me from Nandu City here is more annoying than a swarm of bees. It's everywhere and you can't kill me. Aren't you tired?"
A bruised bounty hunter walked into the moonlight, carrying a slightly old bulletproof liquid armor on his back. He quickly looked around to make sure there were no other threats, and kept a safe distance from Qi Meng.
"I have no choice but to eat, Qi Meng. Now bounty hunters all over the country are chasing you. If I kill you, the Senate will give you fifty energy blocks, which is enough for Kunpeng to fly to Neptune, as well as everything in your backpack. Energy block... such a good deal, of course I have to do it."
There was another buzzing sound overhead, and dense bullets poured down. All the laser-guided armor-piercing projectiles hit the target, but failed to penetrate the outer defenses.
Sparks flew around Qi Meng.
He took two steps back and tapped the activation button of the exoskeleton system on his chest. The damaged armor was repaired. The thick and light armor instantly covered his whole body, and a long-lost sense of security flooded his body.
He said sarcastically: "Are the toys that Vine Company sells to you all such little toys?"
The hunter radios through the swarm and shouts to the target:
"Qi Meng, stop talking nonsense. You are running out of energy. Give up resistance. I promise to give you a happy ending. Just pull the trigger and it will vaporize instantly without any pain."
"Really? You've never died, how do you know there's no pain?"
The bounty hunter opened his armor, revealing a long metal wound on his prosthetic limb: "I chased the rebels in Jakarta the year before last - he should be your friend - a woman in the underground city, her heart was broken, and she was replaced A more powerful one."
The bounty hunter attempts to distract the target through dialogue.
"I had a near-death experience when I was having my organs replaced, so I know."
"So, it was you who killed Shi Yingning?"
The miniature electromagnetic shotgun is fully charged, and the tactile screen surrounding the gun body keeps changing its eyes following the owner's emotional fluctuations.
At this time, it instantly turned into a provocative dark red.
"You will soon know what real death feels like. I have killed three bounty hunters, and you are the fourth."
