"Theresa, where are we now?"
"I think we should be in Columbia."
"I know that. We saw Columbia's pioneering outpost when we first landed."
Theresa rubbed her eyes. The wilderness stretched endlessly, crisscrossed by countless ravines.
A few hours earlier, just after Xing Chen and Theresa had set up Wandering's End, the crude host machine suddenly received a very blurry signal.
The two discussed it and decided to investigate the source of the signal. Due to signal distortion, Theresa could only roughly move the coordinates of Kazimierz's Dripwater Village to an approximate range.
After the journey to Dripwater Village concluded, Theresa's understanding of space deepened, and she gained new insights into her Originium Arts. Her threads could not only mend physical objects but even connect and control space.
Normally, she would need the continuity of civilization to gain such world-altering power, but now she could do it on her own.
Combining the power of computers and the "library," she could even move freely within areas covered by the signal and take items within the range of her Originium Arts.
As the spell concluded, the two discovered that a pioneering outpost built by the Columbia government was not far away.
Even more fortunately, there was a secret facility of Columbia agents within this pillar. Through the equipment inside, Xing Chen and Theresa determined the approximate location of Trimounts.
But the problem was that the wasteland was not flat, and Trimounts was often in transit.
The best way was still to find a team carrying a real-time communication terminal.
"Someone's coming. A large convoy, equipped with heavy vehicles, and... there are many of them."
Theresa lifted her ear from the ground. In the distance, a faint cloud of dust was visible on the horizon.
"But judging by their route, the convoy will pass through the canyon below us."
"The old trick," Theresa said, wrapping one arm around Xing Chen's waist and releasing threads from her other hand to entangle a distant boulder.
"Wait a minute, I always feel like something's not right—do ordinary wasteland convoys really need that many heavy vehicle escorts?"
Theresa initially thought nothing of it, but after Xing Chen's reminder, she suddenly realized that deploying such a large-scale convoy meant either a very important person or extremely valuable items.
And both of these could attract the attention of those with ill intentions.
"Theresa, look at the stones over there and over there."
"Okay, I'll look... Damn it, there are people. What do we do, Xing Chen? Wait for them to finish fighting, or help the convoy?"
After a brief thought, Xing Chen immediately had an idea, "Theresa, let's go to that stone behind us..."
...The armored vehicle drove on the rugged road, the violent bumps causing Jessica to occasionally press on her tail.
"Squad Leader, how far are we from Trimounts?"
"Almost there," the Squad Leader gave a common reply.
"Oh," Jessica tucked away her tail, her eyes involuntarily glancing at the box they were guarding. "Squad Leader, do you think this new type of weapon is really worth all the trouble we're going through to bring it back to the company?"
"You're also in charge of weapon testing, your judgment in this area shouldn't be much worse than mine," the Squad Leader opened the black safe, revealing a weapon made from discarded Originium Iron and industrial Originium slag. "The people from Tara said this weapon came from two Kazdel high-ranking officials, possibly their secret weapon. But I don't believe that—if they had such a weapon, why didn't they bring it out earlier? And that deceased Demon King never mentioned anything similar."
"Hmm, you're right," Jessica whispered in agreement, then took out her terminal and pulled up the structural scan sketch of the weapon. "'Outstanding weapon design, combined with a complete ignorance of modern Originium technology and industrial systems. It's hard to imagine both characteristics appearing in the same person.' Those were your exact words at the time."
"Yes, I believe that as long as we bring this weapon back to Blacksteel's headquarters, those technicians will quickly optimize it, further advancing the application of firearms on the continent..."
Before the Squad Leader could finish speaking, an anti-armor crossbow bolt pierced through the armored vehicle's armor, impaling its underbelly.
Jessica was about to operate the roof-mounted crossbow according to the combat manual, but the Squad Leader pulled her back forcefully.
Anyone here could have an accident, but Jessica could not. This was an order given to all of them individually before they joined this operation.
"Squad Leader,"
"Are you trying to die...?" The Squad Leader's voice was a bit weak, almost drowned out by the sound of arrows bouncing off the armor.
Jessica also reacted at this point; if she had poked her head out, she would have been shot into a pincushion the moment she lost her armor protection.
So she immediately pulled out a medical kit from inside the vehicle and began treating the Squad Leader.
"Advance immediately, break through their blockade." The Squad Leader gave the order based on experience.
Generally, in ambush battles on such terrain, the ambushing party would block both the way in and the way out. For vehicles, protection and maneuverability are better at the front than at the rear. If the number of ambushers at the front and rear is equal, breaking through the front blockade is easier.
"Sir, the road behind us isn't blocked." The communication caster received a message from the rear of the convoy and informed the Squad Leader.
"What did you say?" Jessica cut off the arrow shaft, and the Squad Leader directly pulled out the remaining arrowhead. "Then change formation and retreat immediately, with the lead vehicle acting as the rearguard."
Upon receiving the order, the entire convoy immediately began to retreat, pulling out of the encirclement in a short while.
The ambush commander had guessed that the Blacksteel convoy would try to break through to the front, so he had deliberately placed his main force there.
Of course, he had also deployed a certain number of troops at the rear. With the advantage of the terrain, it would be difficult for a convoy attacking in reverse to overcome them.
"Sir, what should we do?"
"Operation failed, prepare to retreat."
...Xing Chen and Theresa sat on a pile of Originium explosives, which were originally intended to blow up boulders to block the road.
Around them, numerous bodies lay scattered. These ambushers were well-equipped and well-trained, and they left no intelligence whatsoever.
Soon, the Blacksteel convoy, having escaped, reorganized its formation and dispatched personnel to investigate why the road behind them had not been blocked.
Due to the first commander's injury, command was transferred to the second commander, Jessica.
"Thank you very much for your assistance, otherwise we might have all been lost to these Red Mark mercenaries."
"Not at all, it was no trouble, don't mention it," Xing Chen shook the rich woman's hand. "Actually, we also have something we'd like your help with."
"Could you give us a ride to a certain place?"