Chapter 8.2 - Holding Your Hand
The robust man’s hair and thick beard were both a bit grizzled, looking like he was a bit aged. The tattoos on his robust arms had also become a bit blurry over the passage of time. He only wore a black leather vest, exposing his muscles outside. There was more or less some flaunting and intimidation intended. His eyes narrowed, landing on the terrifyingly large and strange rifle on Su’s back. The gun’s metal flickered with an indistinct radiance that seemed to be constantly reminding him that this was not something of the same generation as the machine gun in his hands.
Even though the people that got off the off-road vehicles were surrounded and even pointed at by guns, not the slightest bit of nervousness could be seen from their faces, and instead, there seemed to almost be some pity. The corner of the robust man’s eyes twitched. His many years of experience told him that he had gotten a whiff of danger.
He leapt off the motorbike and stood steadily on the ground. Even though his body was enormous and gave off the impression that his movements would be sluggish, in a physical scuffle, his two levels of dexterity would teach any fella that dared to look down on him a deep lesson. Of course, the group they were currently surrounding might be an exception to this.
“Hey, youngsters, relax a bit. Lower all of your guns!” He shouted.
The patrolling riders unwillingly lowered their weapons. It wasn’t because of some other reasons, but because of fear. In front of Su and his subordinates, these fellas who treated human life like grass didn’t feel the slightest bit of safety.
The robust man hung the light machine gun on his back and walked up to Su. He waved his empty hands, indicating that he didn’t mean any hostility. Then, he said, “Youngster, I’m Jack. You can call me Sickle Jack! Don’t worry, these youngsters are just a bit too nervous. They are all actually good young lads.”
Seeing Jack reach over his hand, after some hesitation, Su also extended out his right hand. After shaking it, he said, “I’m Su.”
“Su?” Jack shrugged his shoulder and said, “What a rare name, but it doesn’t sound bad. Regardless, I welcome you to Sinking Blade’s terrain!”
The two hands separated after clasping together for a few seconds. Jack added a bit of strength, but he found that no matter how much force he used, Su’s soft and satiny skin was still like a bottomless sea without any reaction. He immediately decided not to add any more force, not daring to use his own two levels of power. If he did that, he didn’t know whether or not the extremely beautiful young man in front of him would see that as a sign of hostility.
Su’s attire was extremely strange. Underneath his combat jacket were tightly binded bandages. From this distance, Jack could clearly see the details of that two meter long strange rifle in Su’s hands, and this made him even more sure that this was an energy rifle that transcended their level of technology by an entire era. As for its power, he had no intentions of testing it out.
“Few people come from that direction. In fact, it has already been an entire year since anyone has arrived from the east. That is a true uninhabited area. Of course, for you guys, it isn’t a problem. Then now, what can I help you all with.” Jack’s attitude seemed like that of talking with an old friend of many years.
Su muttered to himself for a bit, and then said, “Actually, we are a small group of mercenaries. Right now, we need food, water, and a quiet room. It would be best if we got some intelligence on the nearby surroundings as well.”
The corners of Jack’s eyes jumped. He laughed loudly, and with a calm appearance, said, “Everything you want can be found in our Sinking Blade! I recommend that you look around in Midnight City. Since you all are mercenaries, there will be enough money making opportunities there. If you head west for another fifty kilometers or so, you will find our Midnight City. I will bring you guys over. Those energetic fellas in Midnight City tend to get into misunderstandings with outsiders.”
Su laughed, not choosing to refuse Jack’s suggestion.
Only after he saw Su and his subordinates get on their off-road vehicles did Jack turn around towards his own motorbike. A rather young and tall male followed behind Jack and asked softly, “Leader, these fellas seem like they are quite the fat sheep, why don’t we…”
Jack gave him an indifferent look and slowly said, “No matter how much money it is, you have to be alive to use it.”
When that tall and strong young man received Jack’s seemingly extremely well tempered look, his body involuntarily trembled, and then he took a step back!
The nickname Jack gave Su couldn’t be considered wrong. However, he left out two words: Blood Sucking Sickle Jack.
The vehicle fleet started up again. This time, the two off-road vehicles were escorted by three motorbikes. Jack had someone head to Midnight City ahead of time to carry out a report. Meanwhile, he drove a motorcycle himself, travelling together with Su’s off road vehicles while chatting with him like old friends.
Sinking Blade was an organization similar to a company. It was led by a joint committee of five individuals, ranked by strength and contributions, and they would be voted on every three years. This organization’s general headquarters was located precisely in Midnight City. Midnight City was a large city with a population of several tens of thousands of people. Due to its existence at the heart of several great powers, it was widely known as a place of entertainment and trade. Midnight City had a small scale nuclear power plant as its main supply of energy, its own water purifying system, and what shocked Su the most was that Sinking Blade actually had a large-scale indoor farm! In addition to having enough food and water for its several tens of thousands of residents, they still had a large amount to sell. Midnight City used these two essential goods to exchange for weapons, medicine, and mineral resources with its neighbors.
To occupy so many eye-reddening resources yet not fall under its surrounding powers naturally meant that Sinking Blade possessed enough intimidating military strength. From what Su had seen so far, Sinking Blade’s small patrol team’s equipmentment wasn’t all that bad, and their firepower alone far surpassed that of the previous Roxland Company. Even though Jack and the others only had one or two levels of ability, with a complete set of equipment, their comprehensive strength was actually quite decent. Even if they were in the Black Dragonriders, within their ordinary soldiers, they could still be considered an elite armed force.
From Jack and the others’ bodies, Su could smell a dense bloodiness. It was clear that every member of this small group was a veteran that had slaughtered many people before. This was probably what Jack meant by ‘young lads’.
Fifty kilometers wasn’t a long distance. In less than an hour, a city appeared in their field of view.