The next day, the weather was nice.
In the outer city square of the Glory City, thousands of steam locomotives are packed and ready to go.
There are ghoul-level mechanical cities, war elephant-level mechanical cities, as well as various large and small strange-shaped troop carriers, individual motorcycles, flea trucks, and engineering vehicles.
The roar of steam boilers is endless; billowing white smoke rises into the sky, blocking out the sun; tall chimneys stand staggered, looking like a steel forest.
The national war call has been issued. Within three days, hundreds of thousands of wilderness hunters will set off from the city to conquer the "Forest of Ashes". The hunting feast has begun.
... .
Early in the morning, Ren arrived at the meeting point scheduled with Carl and his grandson outside the city.
From a distance, he saw Karl standing in front of a very strange-looking steam car, twisting some parts.
Renn walked over and his eyes fell on the steam car unconsciously.
This is not the usual four-wheeled, boxy steam car.
It has five rows of wheels, the largest one in the middle is two meters long, which seems to be responsible for stabilizing the body and providing power; the front and rear wheels are slightly smaller, probably for controlling direction and balance.
It has wheels, but it also has four thick mechanical legs, as well as a decorative big-eared dog-face hood and dog tail.
Well.
The overall shape looks like a large dachshund six to seven meters long!
Although this car does not look very stylish in appearance, if you look closely, you will feel that there are mysteries everywhere and it is full of technology. It is completely different from the ordinary steam cars on the street. This is more like a "concept car" with cutting-edge technology.
Ren caressed the car body and exclaimed: "Karl, you designed this steam car? It looks very functional."
Designing the shape of a dachshund is probably only Carl's childlike style.
"yes."
Karl seemed quite satisfied with his work, and pointed to some designs on the car and said: "Grandpa can't bear violent bumps, otherwise it will shock the brain and cause fainting, so this car has a lot of additional shock-absorbing designs. There is a special suspension system. And those mechanical legs are designed to cope with complex terrain and ensure stability throughout the entire journey... "
"oh?"
After saying this, Renn looked intently in the direction of Karl's finger.
Looking through the iron sheet that was not completely wrapped, he discovered that the internal structure of the sausage steam car was very magical. The five rows of wheels were not as simple as they appeared on the outside. They are all linked to a very sophisticated suspension and damping system. The large and small brass gears are intertwined and look very complicated. No matter in terms of function, material, or structure, it is very different from ordinary motorcycles.
After Karl introduced this, he couldn't help but said: "Brother Ren, let me tell you... Even though my 'sausage number' is very small, many of the technologies on the car are unique and top-notch on the market. Technology. Any bearing or valve component can be patented!"
"Dachshund number?"
Ren's eyes twitched, with an expression that was indeed true, and he praised again: "Karl's mechanical skills are naturally very powerful."
Tust was lying in the cab taking a nap when he was awakened by the sound of voices.
He waved the mechanical arm covered with gloves and said hello to Ren: "Boy Ren, you're here."
Ren smiled and waved to the old man, "Grandpa Tust, good morning."
... .
Renn helped Carl hang some instruments that could not fit into the storage ring on the back of the "Dachshund".
Not long after, an announcement came on the radio (don't ask, it's the steam black technology speaker).
"The hunters heading to the 'Plague Swamp' will be ready to leave in a quarter of an hour! Follow the 'Glorious 13' Mechanical City, and don't wait until it's too late..."
"The hunters heading to the 'Red Stone Canyon' will be ready to leave in a quarter of an hour! Follow the 'Glory No. 25' and 'Glorious No. 33' Mechanical City, and don't wait until it's too late..."
"The hunters heading to the 'Karna Poison Miasma Wetland' will be ready to leave in a quarter of an hour! Follow the 'Glorious No. 19' Mechanical City, don't wait until it's too late..."
"..."
Guangbo continued to echo in the army gathered in the square outside the city.
This time, the Hunters were led by the City of Glory, which also sent dozens of "Ghoul-level" and seven or eight "War Elephant-level" mechanical cities to accompany the group.
These giant war castles are the greatest guarantee for land reclamation.
Destroying a barbaric civilization is not as simple and crude as just hunting for wilderness, it requires some necessary strategies.
Each mechanical city will arrive at its intended destination, build a camp, and form a large encirclement of the "Forest of Ashes", slowly encroaching on it.
In the end, they gathered into a legion to look after each other and overwhelm everything.
These mechanical cities are also the logistics support base for the hunters.
Provide necessary places for land reclamation...field hospitals, equipment supplies, and logistics support offices for machinery maintenance.
... .
The mission that Ren and the others received was to go to the "Plague Swamp" and participate in the construction of the base.
The capable lie hunters had already set out yesterday. They were given tasks such as "evacuating dangers", "paving roads and building bridges", "drawing maps", "hunting monsters", "installing communication base stations" and "setting up sentries". . . frontline missions like that.
The risk is high, but the corresponding contribution point rewards are also very impressive.
Doctors, mechanics, businessmen, and some soy sauce guys like Renn all just started to follow the Machinery City today.
The speed is slow and the pay is low, but the good news is that it is safe.
All in all, those who could fight went to the front lines to clear wasteland and hunt for treasures, while the novices and bastards worked as logistics troops in the Machinery City.
... .
Assemble and set off in a mighty way.
Mechanical City opened the road in front, and its huge tracks dug deep ravines.
Hundreds of odd-shaped small personnel carriers followed on the flat road behind the Machinery City, stretching for several kilometers.
Those "ghoul-level" mechanical cities like small county towns can accommodate at least several thousand people, but Ren and the others are not qualified to go up.
It is the private property of the five major families in the City of Glory. Only the forces that are friendly with them and the "Mage Group" who are the city lord's land reclamation corps are allowed to live there.
It doesn't matter to Ren, the car is quite comfortable.
Anyway, in the wasteland, when such a large army goes out to fight, there are very few evil beasts without eyes to attack.
Even if there were, they would be sieved by the various artillery and sniper rifles on the Mechanical City before they even got close.
Not to mention, although Carl's "dachshund" shape is not that cool, the shock absorption is really powerful. That subtle vibration would not cause any vibration even if you put a glass of water in the car. This is a level of comfort that no other steam locomotive can imagine.
This would be like any other steam locomotive. Not to mention the complicated road conditions, it drives like a "bumper car", but the sudden vibration of the boiler can shake people out of their bodies after a long distance.
Because of this, Ren was able to meditate and practice normally on the motorcycle and learn medical knowledge.
... .
There has been no large-scale fighting yet, and the doctors are very busy.
But as a mechanic, Carl has been busy since the start.
The Mechanical Corps went on an expedition, and every day locomotives broke down and needed to be repaired.
Carl seems to have always been short of money because his grandfather needs top-notch life potions every week to stay alive. That kind of medicine is not cheap, each one costs several million. Over the years, this is a terrible expense.
At first, Wren didn't understand why Carl and his grandfather were living so hard.
Obviously they have mastered a lot of cutting-edge mechanical technologies, and they have also invented some cutting-edge mechanical technologies that can make a lot of money once they apply for patents.
Only later did he hear about Tust's experiences when he was young, and he realized that the old man didn't apply for a patent because he was frustrated with the machinists' association that had expelled him.
As for high-end patents, only the top rich and powerful can afford them, but Tust hates the top rich and powerful!
This stubbornness made Tust rather let his skills be buried with him than sell them to the dirty powerful people who had hurt him.
Therefore, the money earned by a machinery repair shop that was originally quite profitable, excluding pharmaceutical expenses, is only enough for food and clothing.
As for Carl's grandfather Tuster's condition, Renne also carefully examined it.
His "Gang Thread" can warm and stimulate muscle growth, which is originally a very symptomatic method for muscle atrophy caused by paralysis. But the unknown toxin in Tust's body is very troublesome. Even if the Gangxian temperature training stimulates muscle growth, it will soon return to its original state.
Just like a computer virus, if you don't kill it, you will be infected again soon.
Without addressing that toxin, there is simply no cure.
The toxin that even teacher Irubek can't do anything about means that this is a disease that the entire medical community has no solution for the time being, and Renn is naturally helpless. You can only configure [Golden Liquid] regularly to ensure Tust's basic life support.
... .
There was not much to do during the trip, and Wren meditated almost twenty-four hours a day.
Twenty times the time in the dream gave him a lot of time to digest knowledge.
The amount of knowledge mastered in one month is equivalent to several years for others.
Progress is rapid.
He also took advantage of the time on the road to read through the research materials and medical records left by Ilubek.
Only now did he understand that Ilubek seemed to have expected that he would be caught a long time ago. So he had already arranged a study plan for Renne.
Among the information left behind was the teaching syllabus of the instructor of the Royal Medical College... Where to start with potions, read those books from the shallower to the deeper, and where to start practicing.
Organized and very detailed.
Looking at the prompts, many of which were obviously fresh handwriting, Renn also realized the teacher's good intentions.
The old man really cared about his apprentice.
With these study outlines, he doesn't have to be like a headless fly not knowing where to start, he can just study everything step by step.
Of course, there are also the "Secret Essences of the Six Fighting Styles", and the skills of hard training in dreams are gradually introduced.
... ..
Just like that, more than a month later.
Renn and the others followed the [Glory 13] Mechanical City to the predetermined location - "Plague Swamp".
This is a large swamp area in the south of the "Forest of Ashes", a notoriously high-danger zone.
Their mission is to establish a base on the edge of the swamp to provide logistical support for the hunters.