Piscis's Collection

"Riding my beloved little motorcycle, it will never... get stuck in traffic."

Rein hummed a little tune as he galloped across the wilderness for hundreds of kilometers, no Imperial cavalry in sight behind him.

He had to admit, while the steam motorcycle looked bizarre, its user experience was exceptionally good.

Its three-meter diameter, double-layered large wheels possessed an incredible balance and suspension system. This ensured speed while allowing the single-wheeled iron behemoth to maintain high stability and safety on the complex terrain of the wilderness.

Even on uneven ground, this contraption could roll like a "hoop," with its large circular wheels designed to bounce along. As long as the rider maintained balance, it would never tip over.

Furthermore, the inner ring featured a gravity-adjusting balance seat that kept the rider's posture consistently level. This also ensured that the two six-barreled Gatling guns mounted on the motorcycle wouldn't deviate too much from their target.

Of course, riding this kind of steam motorcycle placed high demands on the rider's physical fitness. Otherwise, even moderately difficult acrobatic maneuvers could easily dislocate a person's joints.

The steam motorcycle sped across the boundless wilderness. Never since Rein's transmigration had he felt as relaxed and free as he did now.

The depression that had been weighing on his heart for over a year was blown away by the strong winds, vanishing like smoke.

For the first time, he felt this mysterious new world extending a friendly embrace to him.

With "freedom," life truly began to hold anticipation.

However, this was merely the beginning.

Put-put-put-put.

The boiler's sound abruptly stopped.

After riding for several hundred kilometers, the motorcycle's steam boiler had run out of fuel.

Rein had to stop and check it. The vehicle was in good condition.

"Steam motorcycles use solid fuel?"

He finally realized that this motorcycle didn't use fuel but a solid fuel called "High-Combustion Coal."

Compared to ordinary coal, "High-Combustion Coal" could provide hundreds of times more burning energy for the same volume.

However, its output was scarce, being a rare associated mineral found within coal seams. Typically, only one dragon's eye-sized piece of "High-Combustion Coal" could be mined from thousands of tons of ordinary coal.

When Rein was part of the "Weasel Bandit Group," he had seen older members manage to acquire this substance.

A single piece was worth several thousand Sols, with higher purity pieces fetching tens of thousands. It was an extremely expensive and rare energy source.

This "High-Combustion Coal" was also a strategic resource officially controlled by the Oma and Sid Empires, rarely used for civilian purposes.

And at this very moment, the "High-Combustion Coal" in the steam motorcycle's miniature boiler had been depleted. Rein had no spare fuel, so he had to dismount and walk.

Fortunately, the ten cubic meters of space carried by the "Smart Brain" was more than enough to store this motorcycle.

Otherwise, he would have been forced to abandon this valuable item in the wilderness.

Night fell, and the inevitable nightly fog arrived as scheduled, enveloping the entire Ice Ridge Wilderness.

The wilderness at night was the most dangerous time.

Various nocturnal beasts began to emerge from their lairs, hunting in the wilderness.

Humans without the protection of Mechanical City were the preferred prey of these beasts.

With the thick fog and darkness, visibility was extremely low. In some patches of dense fog, one couldn't see their hand in front of their face.

For the sake of survival, the beasts of the wilderness had evolved incredibly acute senses of smell and hearing over millions of years. They could keenly detect the scent and sounds of prey within the mist. They were like natural stealth assassins, silently approaching their prey before erupting and biting off the necks of wilderness travelers when they were least expecting it.

"I doubt anyone would be bored enough to chase me for hundreds of kilometers just to catch a small fry like me."

Rein stood on a high ridge, observing for a while and confirming the vicinity was safe.

He didn't dare to violate the "night travel taboo" of the wilderness and instead prepared to set up a simple camp for the night.

Let alone him, an "Awakened" who had just broken through the first tier of Gene Locks, even a third-tier "Demon Hunter" would be reluctant to travel alone in the mist at night.

A saying circulated in this world: "Great terror lurks within the dense night fog; travelers from afar will lose their way and fall into the abyss."

Outside the steel castles, the land was perpetually the hunting ground of beasts; they were the true masters of the wilderness.

The dark mist concealed countless terrifying creatures: Gnolls, Man-faced Ghost Spiders, Great Earth Bears, Earth Dragons...

Rein had learned wilderness survival basics in the new recruit training group. He knew that "fire" was the best means to dispel fog and most nocturnal beasts.

He set up a temporary camp, then gathered some dry shrubs and lit a bonfire beside the camp.

The quiet wilderness night was eerily silent.

The firelight offered Rein the only solace, its warmth dispelling the damp, thick fog.

He ate some dry rations, then estimated his journey and destination for the next day: "The nearest large human settlement should be 'Snow Eagle Fortress,' at least another thousand kilometers to the east. I hope it's still there and hasn't moved."

Rein prayed.

"Snow Eagle Fortress" was a small city with a population of over 100,000.

Three months ago, the "Weasel Gang" had passed near there, and Rein had noted its approximate coordinates for his escape route.

However, cities in this world were mobile and nomadic, so he wasn't sure if the city was still in its original location.

This was because the operation of the steam mechanical cities required massive amounts of energy—coal!

In the Ice Ridge Wilderness, long-distance energy transport lines were easily attacked by bandit groups and beasts.

Therefore, human cities are always located near resource points, such as coal mines, timber, salt, and various metal mining areas.

Human settlements only appear where there are resources.

When resources are depleted, cities migrate, like shepherds, searching for the next resource-rich area to settle.

"If everything goes smoothly, it will take at least five more days to get there. I hope these next few nights will pass peacefully."

Beside the campfire, the blazing flames illuminated a resolute face.

Rein chewed on a piece of black bread, contemplating his future "new life."

He could only plan his next steps after finding a human settlement.

Now that he had escaped the Weasel Bandit Group and regained his freedom, he intended to find a human settlement, spend some money to forge a new identity, and start a new life.

Moreover, he had a few things that needed to be resolved as soon as possible.

The "Bloodline Worms" inside him were a constant threat, and he wanted to find a Senior Doctor to help him solve this problem thoroughly.

In addition, the translation of the 'Monkel Script' also needed to be put on the agenda. Now that he had advanced to the extraordinary level, he urgently needed a good gene source cultivation method.

As for the map to the airship wreckage left by Baron Morin, he didn't need to consider it for the time being. Based on the situation described in Morin's diary, Rein felt that he needed to break through at least the second-tier Gene Locks to have self-preservation abilities before considering exploring it.

The night was eerily quiet.

After thinking for a moment, Rein took out the Storage Ring from his pocket.

This was the one he had obtained from killing Piscis today.

Looking at it, it was another great harvest!

Alchemists were indeed one of the most affluent groups of people.

Although the items in this Storage Ring didn't look as valuable as those left by Baron Morin, Piscis had been with the Weasel Bandit Group for three years and had accumulated many rare and strange materials and treasures.

For example, this collection in front of him.

The work of "Primo," the only Grandmaster blacksmith in the Oma Empire.

"Is this a finely crafted surgical set handcrafted by 'Master Primo' from the Oma Imperial Capital?"

Rein's eyes were immediately drawn to the set of gleaming, finely crafted surgical instruments, rather than the potion recipes.

Various types of scalpels, hemostatic forceps, tweezers, bone saws... hundreds of them in total.

Each instrument had exquisite intaglio patterns carved on its handle, along with "Master Primo's" initials.

These were the legendary top-tier surgical instruments, forged from mithril and Haisem alloy, possessing perfect craftsmanship at an artistic level.

He remembered that Morin's diary had once mentioned his wish for such a set of "luxury" surgical instruments, but even as a baron, he had never managed to buy one. And Piscis actually had a set in his collection?

It was probably stolen goods.

"Since I'm going to be a doctor in the future, this set of tools seems quite handy."

Rein played with it for a bit, finding it hard to put down.

The instruments had enchantments of [Toughness] and [Sharpness], with high strength and sharpness.

At the very least, when using these scalpels to perform a [Throat Cut] on an enemy, he wouldn't have to worry about the blade breaking.

And the surprises didn't stop there.

At this moment, Rein discovered that Piscis's Storage Ring also contained a set of steam-powered mechanical Power Arms for a metal exoskeleton!

"Whoa, nice find!"

Thanks to 'Grandpa Buffalo' for the 1000 coins, and to the two book friends 'Mu-Zhen-Mu' for their reward support. Thank you~