"Riding my beloved little motorcycle, it'll never get stuck in traffic~"
Rein hummed a little tune as he sped across the wasteland for several hundred kilometers. There was no longer any sign of the imperial cavalry behind him.
It had to be said that although this Steam Motorcycle looked utterly bizarre, the riding experience was exceptionally good.
Its massive double-layered wheel, three meters in diameter, had an incredibly powerful balancing suspension system. While maintaining speed, it also gave this giant iron unicycle remarkable stability and safety across the wasteland's complex terrain.
Even on uneven ground, this thing could bounce along like a hoop rolling on the ground. The brilliance of its huge circular wheel design was that, as long as the rider kept his balance, it would never overturn.
The inner ring also had a balance seat that rapidly adjusted with gravity, keeping the rider's posture level at all times and ensuring that the trajectories of the two six-barreled firearms mounted on the vehicle would not stray too far from the target.
Of course, riding this Steam Locomotive placed considerable demands on the rider's physical fitness. Otherwise, those difficult acrobatic maneuvers alone could shake a person to pieces.
The Steam Locomotive raced across the boundless wasteland. Since coming to this world, Rein had never felt as relaxed and carefree as he did now.
The stifling oppression that had weighed on his heart for over a year was swept away by the fierce wind, becoming nothing more than passing clouds.
For the first time, he felt this mysterious new world offering him a friendly embrace.
Only with "freedom" could life truly hold something to look forward to.
But this was only the beginning.
Puff, puff, puff-puff.
The boiler abruptly fell silent.
After traveling several hundred kilometers, the motorcycle's Steam Boilers had gone out.
Rein had no choice but to stop and inspect it. The vehicle itself was in fine condition.
"So this Steam Motorcycle actually uses solid fuel?"
Only then did he discover that the motorcycle did not use oil, but a solid fuel called "High-Combustion Coal."
Compared to ordinary coal, the same volume of High-Combustion Coal could provide hundreds of times more combustion energy.
However, it was produced in tiny quantities and was a rare associated ore found within coal seams. Often, thousands of tons of ordinary coal had to be mined to obtain a single piece of High-Combustion Coal the size of a longan.
Back when Rein had been with the Weasel Bandit Group, he had seen the old men seize this stuff before.
A single piece was worth several thousand lisos, while high-purity pieces could fetch tens of thousands. It was an extremely expensive rare energy source.
This High-Combustion Coal was also a strategically controlled resource of the Oma Empire and the Sid Empire, rarely used for civilian purposes.
At that moment, the High-Combustion Coal in the Steam Locomotive's miniature boiler had been exhausted. Rein had no spare fuel, so he could only continue on foot.
Fortunately, the ten-cubic-meter space carried by the Mind Core was enough to fit the vehicle inside.
Otherwise, he would have had no choice but to abandon such a good thing in the wasteland.
Night fell, and the heavy fog that descended every evening arrived as expected, blanketing the entire Ice Ridge Wasteland.
The wasteland was at its most dangerous at night.
All kinds of nocturnal magical beasts began emerging from their nests to hunt across the wasteland.
Humans without the protection of a Mechanical City were the favorite prey of predatory magical beasts.
With dense fog compounded by darkness, visibility was extremely low. In some thicker patches of fog, one could not even see a hand in front of one's face.
To survive, the wasteland's magical beasts had evolved sharper senses of smell and hearing over countless millennia. They could keenly detect the scent and sounds of prey in the mist. Like assassins born with the ability to sneak, they would silently approach their prey, then suddenly pounce when it was completely unaware and bite off a wilderness traveler's neck.
"Surely no one would be bored enough to chase a small fry like me for hundreds of kilometers."
Rein stood atop a rise and observed the surroundings for quite a while, making sure the area was safe.
He did not dare violate the "night travel taboo" of the wilderness and instead prepared to set up a simple camp for the night.
Not to mention an Awakened like him who had just broken through the First Tier Gene Locks—even a Third Tier Demon Hunter would not want to travel alone through the fog at night.
There was a saying in this world: Great Terror lurked within the thick fog of night, and travelers from afar would lose their way and fall into the abyss.
Beyond the steel fortresses, everywhere was a hunting ground for magical beasts. They were the true rulers of the wasteland.
Countless terrifying creatures lurked in the dark fog: Jackalmen, human-faced ghost spiders, earth brown bears, and drakes.
Rein had learned basic wilderness survival skills in the New Recruit Training Corps. He knew that "fire" was the best means of driving away the fog and most nocturnal magical beasts.
He set up a temporary camp, then gathered some dry shrubs and lit a bonfire beside it.
The silent wasteland night was terrifyingly quiet.
The firelight gave Rein his only comfort, its warmth driving away the damp, heavy fog.
He ate some dry rations, then estimated the next day's route and destination. "The nearest large human settlement should be Snow Eagle Fortress. It's at least another thousand kilometers 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 a hundred thousand.
Three months earlier, the Weasel Gang had passed near it. Rein had noted down its approximate coordinates for his escape.
But the cities in this world were all mobile, never staying in one place, so he was not certain that city was still where it had been.
Because operating a Steam Machinery City required vast amounts of energy—coal!
On the Ice Ridge Wasteland, long-distance energy transport routes were easily attacked by bandit groups and magical beasts.
Therefore, human cities were always located near resource sites: coal mines, timber, salt, and various metal mining areas.
Where there were resources, there were human settlements.
Once resources were depleted, cities would relocate like shepherds, searching for the next resource-rich region in which to settle.
"If everything goes smoothly, it'll still take at least five days to get there. I just hope I can make it through these next few nights safely."
Beside the bonfire, the blazing flames illuminated a resolute face.
Rein chewed on black bread as he planned out his future "new life."
Only after finding a human settlement could he plan his next steps.
Now that he had escaped the bandit group and regained his freedom, he intended to first find a human settlement, spend some money to forge a new identity, and start over.
There were also several matters he needed to resolve as soon as possible.
The Bloodline Worms inside his body remained a hidden danger. He wanted to find some Senior Doctors and figure out a way to eliminate the problem completely.
And the translation of the Monkel Script needed to be put on the agenda as well. Now that he had advanced to the Transcendent level, he also urgently needed a good Gene Origin Power Cultivation Method.
As for the map Baron Morin had left behind leading to the Airship Wreckage, there was no need to consider it for the time being. Based on the circumstances described in Morin's diary, Rein felt that he would need to at least break through the Second Tier Gene Locks before he had the ability to protect himself and consider exploring it.
The night was quiet to the point of terror.
After thinking for a moment, Rein took out the Storage Ring from his pocket again.
It was the one he had obtained by killing Piscis today.
After looking through it, he found another rich haul!
Potion masters really were among the wealthiest people around.
Although the things inside this Storage Ring did not look as valuable as those Baron Morin had left behind, Piscis had spent three years with the bandit group and had accumulated many strange materials and treasures.
For example, this collection before him.
It was the work of Primo, the Oma Empire's sole master-level blacksmith.
"This is an exquisite surgical instrument set hand-forged by Master Primo of the Oma Imperial Capital?"
Rein did not look at the potion formulas. Instead, his gaze was immediately drawn to the dazzlingly silver set of exquisite surgical instruments.
There were scalpels of all sizes, vascular clamps, tweezers, steel saws—more than a hundred pieces in total.
Every instrument handle was engraved with exquisite recessed patterns, along with Master Primo's initials.
These were said to be the finest surgical instruments in existence, forged from mithril and Hesem alloy with craftsmanship as perfect as that of artwork.
He remembered that Morin's diary had mentioned wishing for such a "luxury" set of surgical instruments, yet even as a baron, Morin had never managed to buy one. Piscis had actually kept a whole set?
It was probably stolen loot.
"I'm going to be a doctor later anyway. This set seems quite handy."
Rein played with them for a while and found it hard to put them down.
The instruments bore enchantment inscriptions for toughness and sharpness. They were exceptionally sturdy and sharp.
At the very least, if he used one of these scalpels to perform a Throat Cut on an enemy, he would not have to worry about the blade snapping.
And that was not the only surprise.
At that moment, Rein discovered that Piscis's Storage Ring even contained a metal exoskeleton Steam Machinery Power Arm!
"Ah, good stuff!"
Thanks to "Grandpa Buffalo" for the 1,000 coins, and to the two readers "Mu-Zhen-Mu" for their tips. Thank you~
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