Chapter 2
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Chapter 2 - The Netherworld Mercenaries
The peace of the morning was broken by the sound of engines. A vehicle passed through the wasteland like a whirlwind, kicking up the sand before stopping in the ruins with a screeching halt. The metal components speckled with rust gave out a weird creaking sound, which made people feel that it was going to fall apart in the next second, but also seemed like a dying monster struggling to breathe. Several copper pipes constantly trembled and spat out exhaust, forming black cloud at the back of the vehicle.
The scavengers had never seen a moving, metal monster like this.
One by one, they revealed expressions of surprise and shock.
The vehicle was rough and exaggerated. Random, messy components were connected to its rusty frame and it was covered with spikes, similar to an extremely uncooperative, metal hedgehog. Its four large wheels were dramatically placed, similar to great gears that bit into the ground. The front and rear bumpers were purposely made to be razor-sharp and could be consider for running into things rather than protecting the vehicle. The whole vehicle was dangerous and fierce-looking, just like the rough and wild wasteland.
Six monsters strode with large steps, speeding through the sandy land like flying. There were three each on either side of the vehicle.
The animals were like ancient ostriches, except for the fact that their feet were wide and sturdy and their bodies were strong and robust. Not only could they sprint through the sand as if they were flying, they could carry great loads. They were one of the perfect mounts for the wastelands.
The clothing that the six riders wore were weird. It was formed from a combination of metal, wood, leather, bone, rock and some other unknown materials, probably from assembling what they had collected to create a crude armor. Because of this, every one of them were different. The one with a missing arm even had a prosthetic arm with metal gears and a saw-toothed blade covered with nicks welded onto the end. The attire too were filled with the elements of the wastelands.
A rider of a big-footed bird leapt off his mount and opened the door of the vehicle in a respectful manner to let a big fatty out.
The big fatty wore a leather, sleeveless garment covered in engine oil stains with a rough armor similar to an exoskeleton on the outside, which strikingly resembled a metal spider grabbing onto him. He wore leather glove and currently had his hands on his wide hips, with two black, modified handguns hanging off them. The improvised, ancient, gunpowder weapons also bore the rough, primitive elements of the wastelands. However, they were direct symbols of power and privilege.
Weird attires, an exaggerated appearance, big-footed bird mounts and a fierce-looking vehicle—everything pointed towards their identity.
They were excavators!
“Fuck, finally found a group of scavengers.” The fatty lit a poor quality cigar and two streams of smokes blew out from his nose. He casually flipped up his round sunglass lenses and swept a squinted gaze through the shabby-clothed, bony scavengers, “Okay, let sir Sly Fox have a look to see how many lucky, pitiful creatures are here!”
In the current age of turmoil, a fatty was an extremely rare existence!
When he stood up with his body composed of fat and a weight close to one hundred and fifty kilograms, he was basically like a respectable king set up on high. He was also arrogant like a king, viewing the scavengers as different species like low-priced livestock waiting to be slaughtered.
The excavators were an important group in the wastelands who excavated ancient tools and materials from deep underground the ruins. Through some simple repairs and assembling, they would make useable weapons, thus creating their own force.
These people often used food and water to recruit the lowly scavengers, to get them excavate useful materials from the ancient times. As a result, the scavengers were not unfamiliar with the excavators.
“I’m willing to work!”
“I’ll work for a day! I only want half a piece of carrion!”
“I have more power! Choose me!”
The shabby clothed scavengers ran up one by one, forming a dense crowd. In order to be chosen by the excavators, they pushed and shove, which ended up turning into a brawl.
“Quiet, quiet. Dirty scavengers, I didn’t come to recruit you to do things. All of you shut up!”
The fatty draw his gun and pulled the trigger at the sky.
The modified gun was extremely crude and thunderous, which caused the scavengers to block their ears in pain. They immediately shut up and stared with gloom, despair and even some fear.
The fatty Sly Fox continued, “I possess accurate information that there is a group of slaughterers active nearby and that they can come here at any time. You understand what I’m saying?”
Panic immediately appeared in the scavenger’s numb eyes.
Slaughterers was synonym of terror. They were groups formed from mutants, savage and cruel. They liked to eat human flesh, and to the slaughterers, the scavengers were basically sheep stuck in a pen. In any place where slaughterers had passed through, it was definitely a calamity for the scavengers.
“If you fall into the hands of the slaughterers, you will definitely become livestock in a pen. Your flesh will be smoked and stored while your bones will be broken and grinded into ornaments. The pitiful fat on your bodies will be pressed into oil lamps.
The heartless words was like a chilly wind, causing the scavengers to all tremble.
The slaughterers were just like this. Wherever they had passes through, they would wipe out everything and leave no one behind.
Sly Fox began to announce his purpose, “Today, I came here to prepare several dozen of strong scavengers to for a group. We will give you weapons, for you to fight the slaughterers!”
The scavengers all took several steps back in retreat. No one dared to make a sound.
The slaughterers were known for their viciousness. Just which scavenger would dare to take the challenge?
“Trash, you’d rather wait for death than to gamble it?” The fatty looked at the scavengers indifferently before immediately calling out again, “For whoever who steps up by themselves, after defeating the slaughterers, I’ll take them away from here!”
“I’ll go!”
A badly-battered, skinny teenager ran across, flushed and panting.
It was no one else but Cloud Eagle!
It caused several of the bird-riders to laugh aloud. A kid in his teens called out that he wanted to go fight slaughterers? Seeing this, Sly Fox stared with his eyes wide and roared, “Can you even fucking lift a weapon? Piss off!”
“I’ll go and fight slaughterers!” Cloud Eagle gaze was resolute, “If I can return alive, you need to follow your promise and take me out of here!”
The fatty’s expression was weird, “Do you really want to leave here so much? Even more than your life?”
Cloud Eagle said, “I want to become an excavator. I don’t want to be hungry or bullied anymore.”
The riders laughed aloud again. Only ignorant children could say such immature words!
“To live in such an age of turmoil is uneasy, and to live with dignity is even more difficult than climbing the sky. You think becoming an excavator will prevent hunger and being bullied? What a joke!”
The fatty originally wanted to kick him away, but staring into the child’s dark eyes, for some reason, he said unexpectedly, “Okay, I’ll give you a chance. As long as you wipe out the slaughterers and return alive, I’ll give you the chance to join the Netherworld Mercenaries!”
“You’re really letting him join?”
“He’s only a lowly scavenger!”
“Shut up, it’s not like you’re any better! I’m the boss. What I say counts!” The fatty pulled the trigger at the sky again, “Now that a little kiddo dares to stand forward, what are you all scared of? I’ll give two pieces of bread and a bottle of water to those who go, and the ones that don’t go can taste bullets!”
To the scavengers, the most irresistible enticement was food and the most irresistible fear was death.
The method indeed was much more effective. The scavengers stepped up one after another. Sly Fox quickly gathered a suicide squad… uh no, a group unafraid of death!
The fatty yelled out loud, “I’ll first send a group in. The rest can wait here.”
“Kiddo, come here, get on the vehicle!”
Cloud Eagle was directly thrown into the passenger seat. The engines roared like a wild beast. Before he could even sit properly, he was pressed up against the seat by a force.
The vehicle that seemed to be patched together gave people a feeling that it could fall apart at any moment. However, as soon as it was started up, its speed was amazingly fast, immediately shooting off.
Most importantly, the vehicle did not have seat belts. The scavengers could only grab onto the door of the vehicle to prevent themselves from being thrown off.
The six riders each carried a scavenger. Turning their heads, the birds began running as they swung their big feet. The hedgehog-like, assembled vehicle was also full with people, crawling through over the bumpy surface as it created a dust storm. It swerved right and left to avoid obstructions, which jolted about and caused adrenaline to rush through the people within. Their hearts beat furiously as their blood flow quickened. It felt like as if the world was in upheaval.
Cloud Eagle felt anxious and excited. He did know whether it was due to the fear of the cruel slaughterers or an endless yearning for the world outside the camp. He shivered all over with every cell of his calling out.
He could not help but have a thought appear in his head.
Old man, are you seeing this?
I’ve left the camp!
Not long after the vehicle surged out of the ruins, the figures of a group of wanderers appeared ahead. The fatty did not avoid it, and instead sped up.
“Be careful!” Cloud Eagle called out aloud, “There’s people!”
The monster-like vehicle directly collided with the first person. The violent collision immediately knocked the person flying, while the sharp spikes directly sliced open the person’s gut. A great about of blood fell into the open care like rain, splattering all over Sly Fox. It had also covered Cloud Eagle’s entire face while pieces of flesh hung from the car.
“Ah, hahahaha!”
The fatty laughed crazily as he used the windscreen wipers. It wiped away the sticky blood on the windscreen, swishing from side to side. The feeling of bone breaking could be clearly felt from underneath by every corner of Cloud Eagle’s body.
The fatty displayed an expression of madness. He took a puff from his cigar before chasing down another person.
Knocked flying!
Run over!
“Feels good, really feels fucking good!”
The bird-riders caught up. They slaughtered the defenseless wanders like harvesting wheat, while one of they used a metal hook to drag a wanderer by the jaw. He ran through the wasteland like he was dragging a bag of trash, only leaving behind a bloody trail and flesh.
Chills ran down Cloud Eagle’s back. Confusion and rage appeared on his undeveloped face, “Why… why are you doing this?!”\
Scavengers also killed people.
It was a crazy act only done under great starvation and conducted for survival.
Excavator did not lack in food, pleasure or entertainment. Cloud Eagle did not understand the meaning of it!
“Haha, what has me being happy got to do with you?” The fatty spat forcefully, “Plus, what do you know? These are wanderer! When I kill them, I am making a contribution to the wasteland!”
The four major forces formed the wasteland; they were the scavengers, the excavators, the wanderers and the slaughters.
The scavengers belonged at the bottom. Scavengers could discover weapons through excavating ruins and learnt how to use tools and certain skills. After establishing their own force, they would turn into excavators.
Because scavengers drank highly-contaminated water and consumed mutant creatures over a long time, mutations would happen to them slowly under the horrible living conditions. Not only would their bodies mutate, it would also affect their intelligence and thought. As a result, most mutated humans would become violent and cruel like wild beasts. Those types of mutated humans stop being scavengers, turning into wanderers who wander the lands in search of food.
Once wanderers gather together and establish their own force, they would turn into forces of slaughterers. No matter if it were to scavengers or excavators, there would be a disaster wherever they passed through.
So just how many groups of scavengers, excavators, wanderers and slaughterers were there in the wastelands?
Too many.
Like in the ruins of the ancient city, there were many scavenger camps, as well as quite a few excavators and slaughterers.
Over twenty scavengers were delivered to a temporary base.
The structure was a weird pyramid which stood upside down, inserted into the ground, which seemed like a piece of ground had descended from the sky. It was extremely large and already mostly ruined. However, it was still distinguishable whether by design or patterning that it was not a product of human history, but had rather appeared suddenly.
An assembled vehicle was parked in the shadow of the inverted pyramid. It had a total of five wheels; the front two the smallest, the middle ones next while the back wheels stood half a human tall. On the wheels were various metal bars and coils, messily assembled. The car was bid and stood tall. It was extremely useful and seemed to be able to carry a lot of things. It seemed just like a huge, ugly lizard.
The fatty exited his vehicle and called out, “Mad Dog, why don’t you hurry up and come greet our little bait?"
The person called ‘Mad Dog’ stood beside the freight vehicle. Surprisingly, he was a great black man, one hundred and ninety centimeters tall. He was bald and on his vicious-looking face, it was basically covered with scars of different sizes. One of the scars seemed like someone had once split his face in half, with many marks of stitches remaining on his face.
He seemed sinister, fiendish and ugly!
Those words were basically coined for him!
Mad Dog’s status was quite high. However, his equipment was relatively simple without any type of gun. He only carried two short blades in leather casing on his waist, while he wore a leather armor piece covered in metal spikes. It mainly protected his chest and abdomen, while the muscles of his arms and shoulders remained exposed. He seemed to be carved cleanly out of obsidian.
The black man swept across the scavengers. He turned around and pulled off a chain without speaking a single word and opened the containers in the vehicle, “Choose it yourself.”
Before the scavengers, there was a great piles of different-sized weapons. There were spears, machetes, sledge hammers, axes and so on. Although they were all relatively rough cold weapons, it was already an extremely rare chance from the scavengers.
“Choose a suitable one. Whether you will be lucky enough to survive will all depend on it.” The fatty then said to Mad Dog, “Let them enjoy one dinner. They’ll never have such a chance again in their lives!”
The fatty did not plan on taking the scavenger’s feelings into considerations, so he just said it directly.
Dread flooded the eyes of the scavengers. They did not know what kind of brutality they would face next.
They then began choosing weapons. Although axes and machetes were powerful, Cloud Eagle did not possess the power to use it. In the end, he chose a short sword that was less than a meter in length. When Cloud Eagle’s hand came in contact with the hilt, the icy-cold feeling caused him to slowly feel a sliver of calmness.
He would accept whatever that would happen.
Even if there was just a sliver of hope, he needed to go for it. Cloud Eagle did not want to stay as a lowly scavenger forever and die pitifully and alone like the old man.
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Chapter 2 - The Netherworld Mercenaries
The peace of the morning was broken by the sound of engines. A vehicle passed through the wasteland like a whirlwind, kicking up the sand before stopping in the ruins with a screeching halt. The metal components speckled with rust gave out a weird creaking sound, which made people feel that it was going to fall apart in the next second, but also seemed like a dying monster struggling to breathe. Several copper pipes constantly trembled and spat out exhaust, forming black cloud at the back of the vehicle.
The scavengers had never seen a moving, metal monster like this.
One by one, they revealed expressions of surprise and shock.
The vehicle was rough and exaggerated. Random, messy components were connected to its rusty frame and it was covered with spikes, similar to an extremely uncooperative, metal hedgehog. Its four large wheels were dramatically placed, similar to great gears that bit into the ground. The front and rear bumpers were purposely made to be razor-sharp and could be consider for running into things rather than protecting the vehicle. The whole vehicle was dangerous and fierce-looking, just like the rough and wild wasteland.
Six monsters strode with large steps, speeding through the sandy land like flying. There were three each on either side of the vehicle.
The animals were like ancient ostriches, except for the fact that their feet were wide and sturdy and their bodies were strong and robust. Not only could they sprint through the sand as if they were flying, they could carry great loads. They were one of the perfect mounts for the wastelands.
The clothing that the six riders wore were weird. It was formed from a combination of metal, wood, leather, bone, rock and some other unknown materials, probably from assembling what they had collected to create a crude armor. Because of this, every one of them were different. The one with a missing arm even had a prosthetic arm with metal gears and a saw-toothed blade covered with nicks welded onto the end. The attire too were filled with the elements of the wastelands.
A rider of a big-footed bird leapt off his mount and opened the door of the vehicle in a respectful manner to let a big fatty out.
The big fatty wore a leather, sleeveless garment covered in engine oil stains with a rough armor similar to an exoskeleton on the outside, which strikingly resembled a metal spider grabbing onto him. He wore leather glove and currently had his hands on his wide hips, with two black, modified handguns hanging off them. The improvised, ancient, gunpowder weapons also bore the rough, primitive elements of the wastelands. However, they were direct symbols of power and privilege.
Weird attires, an exaggerated appearance, big-footed bird mounts and a fierce-looking vehicle—everything pointed towards their identity.
They were excavators!
“Fuck, finally found a group of scavengers.” The fatty lit a poor quality cigar and two streams of smokes blew out from his nose. He casually flipped up his round sunglass lenses and swept a squinted gaze through the shabby-clothed, bony scavengers, “Okay, let sir Sly Fox have a look to see how many lucky, pitiful creatures are here!”
In the current age of turmoil, a fatty was an extremely rare existence!
When he stood up with his body composed of fat and a weight close to one hundred and fifty kilograms, he was basically like a respectable king set up on high. He was also arrogant like a king, viewing the scavengers as different species like low-priced livestock waiting to be slaughtered.
The excavators were an important group in the wastelands who excavated ancient tools and materials from deep underground the ruins. Through some simple repairs and assembling, they would make useable weapons, thus creating their own force.
These people often used food and water to recruit the lowly scavengers, to get them excavate useful materials from the ancient times. As a result, the scavengers were not unfamiliar with the excavators.
“I’m willing to work!”
“I’ll work for a day! I only want half a piece of carrion!”
“I have more power! Choose me!”
The shabby clothed scavengers ran up one by one, forming a dense crowd. In order to be chosen by the excavators, they pushed and shove, which ended up turning into a brawl.
“Quiet, quiet. Dirty scavengers, I didn’t come to recruit you to do things. All of you shut up!”
The fatty draw his gun and pulled the trigger at the sky.
The modified gun was extremely crude and thunderous, which caused the scavengers to block their ears in pain. They immediately shut up and stared with gloom, despair and even some fear.
The fatty Sly Fox continued, “I possess accurate information that there is a group of slaughterers active nearby and that they can come here at any time. You understand what I’m saying?”
Panic immediately appeared in the scavenger’s numb eyes.
Slaughterers was synonym of terror. They were groups formed from mutants, savage and cruel. They liked to eat human flesh, and to the slaughterers, the scavengers were basically sheep stuck in a pen. In any place where slaughterers had passed through, it was definitely a calamity for the scavengers.
“If you fall into the hands of the slaughterers, you will definitely become livestock in a pen. Your flesh will be smoked and stored while your bones will be broken and grinded into ornaments. The pitiful fat on your bodies will be pressed into oil lamps.
The heartless words was like a chilly wind, causing the scavengers to all tremble.
The slaughterers were just like this. Wherever they had passes through, they would wipe out everything and leave no one behind.
Sly Fox began to announce his purpose, “Today, I came here to prepare several dozen of strong scavengers to for a group. We will give you weapons, for you to fight the slaughterers!”
The scavengers all took several steps back in retreat. No one dared to make a sound.
The slaughterers were known for their viciousness. Just which scavenger would dare to take the challenge?
“Trash, you’d rather wait for death than to gamble it?” The fatty looked at the scavengers indifferently before immediately calling out again, “For whoever who steps up by themselves, after defeating the slaughterers, I’ll take them away from here!”
“I’ll go!”
A badly-battered, skinny teenager ran across, flushed and panting.
It was no one else but Cloud Eagle!
It caused several of the bird-riders to laugh aloud. A kid in his teens called out that he wanted to go fight slaughterers? Seeing this, Sly Fox stared with his eyes wide and roared, “Can you even fucking lift a weapon? Piss off!”
“I’ll go and fight slaughterers!” Cloud Eagle gaze was resolute, “If I can return alive, you need to follow your promise and take me out of here!”
The fatty’s expression was weird, “Do you really want to leave here so much? Even more than your life?”
Cloud Eagle said, “I want to become an excavator. I don’t want to be hungry or bullied anymore.”
The riders laughed aloud again. Only ignorant children could say such immature words!
“To live in such an age of turmoil is uneasy, and to live with dignity is even more difficult than climbing the sky. You think becoming an excavator will prevent hunger and being bullied? What a joke!”
The fatty originally wanted to kick him away, but staring into the child’s dark eyes, for some reason, he said unexpectedly, “Okay, I’ll give you a chance. As long as you wipe out the slaughterers and return alive, I’ll give you the chance to join the Netherworld Mercenaries!”
“You’re really letting him join?”
“He’s only a lowly scavenger!”
“Shut up, it’s not like you’re any better! I’m the boss. What I say counts!” The fatty pulled the trigger at the sky again, “Now that a little kiddo dares to stand forward, what are you all scared of? I’ll give two pieces of bread and a bottle of water to those who go, and the ones that don’t go can taste bullets!”
To the scavengers, the most irresistible enticement was food and the most irresistible fear was death.
The method indeed was much more effective. The scavengers stepped up one after another. Sly Fox quickly gathered a suicide squad… uh no, a group unafraid of death!
The fatty yelled out loud, “I’ll first send a group in. The rest can wait here.”
“Kiddo, come here, get on the vehicle!”
Cloud Eagle was directly thrown into the passenger seat. The engines roared like a wild beast. Before he could even sit properly, he was pressed up against the seat by a force.
The vehicle that seemed to be patched together gave people a feeling that it could fall apart at any moment. However, as soon as it was started up, its speed was amazingly fast, immediately shooting off.
Most importantly, the vehicle did not have seat belts. The scavengers could only grab onto the door of the vehicle to prevent themselves from being thrown off.
The six riders each carried a scavenger. Turning their heads, the birds began running as they swung their big feet. The hedgehog-like, assembled vehicle was also full with people, crawling through over the bumpy surface as it created a dust storm. It swerved right and left to avoid obstructions, which jolted about and caused adrenaline to rush through the people within. Their hearts beat furiously as their blood flow quickened. It felt like as if the world was in upheaval.
Cloud Eagle felt anxious and excited. He did know whether it was due to the fear of the cruel slaughterers or an endless yearning for the world outside the camp. He shivered all over with every cell of his calling out.
He could not help but have a thought appear in his head.
Old man, are you seeing this?
I’ve left the camp!
Not long after the vehicle surged out of the ruins, the figures of a group of wanderers appeared ahead. The fatty did not avoid it, and instead sped up.
“Be careful!” Cloud Eagle called out aloud, “There’s people!”
The monster-like vehicle directly collided with the first person. The violent collision immediately knocked the person flying, while the sharp spikes directly sliced open the person’s gut. A great about of blood fell into the open care like rain, splattering all over Sly Fox. It had also covered Cloud Eagle’s entire face while pieces of flesh hung from the car.
“Ah, hahahaha!”
The fatty laughed crazily as he used the windscreen wipers. It wiped away the sticky blood on the windscreen, swishing from side to side. The feeling of bone breaking could be clearly felt from underneath by every corner of Cloud Eagle’s body.
The fatty displayed an expression of madness. He took a puff from his cigar before chasing down another person.
Knocked flying!
Run over!
“Feels good, really feels fucking good!”
The bird-riders caught up. They slaughtered the defenseless wanders like harvesting wheat, while one of they used a metal hook to drag a wanderer by the jaw. He ran through the wasteland like he was dragging a bag of trash, only leaving behind a bloody trail and flesh.
Chills ran down Cloud Eagle’s back. Confusion and rage appeared on his undeveloped face, “Why… why are you doing this?!”\
Scavengers also killed people.
It was a crazy act only done under great starvation and conducted for survival.
Excavator did not lack in food, pleasure or entertainment. Cloud Eagle did not understand the meaning of it!
“Haha, what has me being happy got to do with you?” The fatty spat forcefully, “Plus, what do you know? These are wanderer! When I kill them, I am making a contribution to the wasteland!”
The four major forces formed the wasteland; they were the scavengers, the excavators, the wanderers and the slaughters.
The scavengers belonged at the bottom. Scavengers could discover weapons through excavating ruins and learnt how to use tools and certain skills. After establishing their own force, they would turn into excavators.
Because scavengers drank highly-contaminated water and consumed mutant creatures over a long time, mutations would happen to them slowly under the horrible living conditions. Not only would their bodies mutate, it would also affect their intelligence and thought. As a result, most mutated humans would become violent and cruel like wild beasts. Those types of mutated humans stop being scavengers, turning into wanderers who wander the lands in search of food.
Once wanderers gather together and establish their own force, they would turn into forces of slaughterers. No matter if it were to scavengers or excavators, there would be a disaster wherever they passed through.
So just how many groups of scavengers, excavators, wanderers and slaughterers were there in the wastelands?
Too many.
Like in the ruins of the ancient city, there were many scavenger camps, as well as quite a few excavators and slaughterers.
Over twenty scavengers were delivered to a temporary base.
The structure was a weird pyramid which stood upside down, inserted into the ground, which seemed like a piece of ground had descended from the sky. It was extremely large and already mostly ruined. However, it was still distinguishable whether by design or patterning that it was not a product of human history, but had rather appeared suddenly.
An assembled vehicle was parked in the shadow of the inverted pyramid. It had a total of five wheels; the front two the smallest, the middle ones next while the back wheels stood half a human tall. On the wheels were various metal bars and coils, messily assembled. The car was bid and stood tall. It was extremely useful and seemed to be able to carry a lot of things. It seemed just like a huge, ugly lizard.
The fatty exited his vehicle and called out, “Mad Dog, why don’t you hurry up and come greet our little bait?"
The person called ‘Mad Dog’ stood beside the freight vehicle. Surprisingly, he was a great black man, one hundred and ninety centimeters tall. He was bald and on his vicious-looking face, it was basically covered with scars of different sizes. One of the scars seemed like someone had once split his face in half, with many marks of stitches remaining on his face.
He seemed sinister, fiendish and ugly!
Those words were basically coined for him!
Mad Dog’s status was quite high. However, his equipment was relatively simple without any type of gun. He only carried two short blades in leather casing on his waist, while he wore a leather armor piece covered in metal spikes. It mainly protected his chest and abdomen, while the muscles of his arms and shoulders remained exposed. He seemed to be carved cleanly out of obsidian.
The black man swept across the scavengers. He turned around and pulled off a chain without speaking a single word and opened the containers in the vehicle, “Choose it yourself.”
Before the scavengers, there was a great piles of different-sized weapons. There were spears, machetes, sledge hammers, axes and so on. Although they were all relatively rough cold weapons, it was already an extremely rare chance from the scavengers.
“Choose a suitable one. Whether you will be lucky enough to survive will all depend on it.” The fatty then said to Mad Dog, “Let them enjoy one dinner. They’ll never have such a chance again in their lives!”
The fatty did not plan on taking the scavenger’s feelings into considerations, so he just said it directly.
Dread flooded the eyes of the scavengers. They did not know what kind of brutality they would face next.
They then began choosing weapons. Although axes and machetes were powerful, Cloud Eagle did not possess the power to use it. In the end, he chose a short sword that was less than a meter in length. When Cloud Eagle’s hand came in contact with the hilt, the icy-cold feeling caused him to slowly feel a sliver of calmness.
He would accept whatever that would happen.
Even if there was just a sliver of hope, he needed to go for it. Cloud Eagle did not want to stay as a lowly scavenger forever and die pitifully and alone like the old man.
Chapter 2 - The Netherworld MercenariesThe peace of the morning was broken by the sound of engines. A vehicle passed through the wasteland like a whirlwind, kicking up the sand before stopping in the ruins with a screeching halt. The metal components speckled with rust gave out a weird creaking sound, which made people feel that it was going to fall apart in the next second, but also seemed like a dying monster struggling to breathe. Several copper pipes constantly trembled and spat out exhaust, forming black cloud at the back of the vehicle.The scavengers had never seen a moving, metal monster like this.One by one, they revealed expressions of surprise and shock.The vehicle was rough and exaggerated. Random, messy components were connected to its rusty frame and it was covered with spikes, similar to an extremely uncooperative, metal hedgehog. Its four large wheels were dramatically placed, similar to great gears that bit into the ground. The front and rear bumpers were purposely made to be razor-sharp and could be consider for running into things rather than protecting the vehicle. The whole vehicle was dangerous and fierce-looking, just like the rough and wild wasteland.Six monsters strode with large steps, speeding through the sandy land like flying. There were three each on either side of the vehicle.The animals were like ancient ostriches, except for the fact that their feet were wide and sturdy and their bodies were strong and robust. Not only could they sprint through the sand as if they were flying, they could carry great loads. They were one of the perfect mounts for the wastelands.The clothing that the six riders wore were weird. It was formed from a combination of metal, wood, leather, bone, rock and some other unknown materials, probably from assembling what they had collected to create a crude armor. Because of this, every one of them were different. The one with a missing arm even had a prosthetic arm with metal gears and a saw-toothed blade covered with nicks welded onto the end. The attire too were filled with the elements of the wastelands.A rider of a big-footed bird leapt off his mount and opened the door of the vehicle in a respectful manner to let a big fatty out.The big fatty wore a leather, sleeveless garment covered in engine oil stains with a rough armor similar to an exoskeleton on the outside, which strikingly resembled a metal spider grabbing onto him. He wore leather glove and currently had his hands on his wide hips, with two black, modified handguns hanging off them. The improvised, ancient, gunpowder weapons also bore the rough, primitive elements of the wastelands. However, they were direct symbols of power and privilege.Weird attires, an exaggerated appearance, big-footed bird mounts and a fierce-looking vehicleeverything pointed towards their identity.They were excavators!Fuck, finally found a group of scavengers. The fatty lit a poor quality cigar and two streams of smokes blew out from his nose. He casually flipped up his round sunglass lenses and swept a squinted gaze through the shabby-clothed, bony scavengers, Okay, let sir Sly Fox have a look to see how many lucky, pitiful creatures are here!In the current age of turmoil, a fatty was an extremely rare existence!When he stood up with his body composed of fat and a weight close to one hundred and fifty kilograms, he was basically like a respectable king set up on high. He was also arrogant like a king, viewing the scavengers as different species like low-priced livestock waiting to be slaughtered.The excavators were an important group in the wastelands who excavated ancient tools and materials from deep underground the ruins. Through some simple repairs and assembling, they would make useable weapons, thus creating their own force.These people often used food and water to recruit the lowly scavengers, to get them excavate useful materials from the ancient times. As a result, the scavengers were not unfamiliar with the excavators.I'm willing to work!I'll work for a day! I only want half a piece of carrion!I have more power! Choose me!The shabby clothed scavengers ran up one by one, forming a dense crowd. In order to be chosen by the excavators, they pushed and shove, which ended up turning into a brawl.Quiet, quiet. Dirty scavengers, I didn't come to recruit you to do things. All of you shut up!The fatty draw his gun and pulled the trigger at the sky.The modified gun was extremely crude and thunderous, which caused the scavengers to block their ears in pain. They immediately shut up and stared with gloom, despair and even some fear.The fatty Sly Fox continued, I possess accurate information that there is a group of slaughterers active nearby and that they can come here at any time. You understand what I'm saying?Panic immediately appeared in the scavenger's numb eyes.Slaughterers was synonym of terror. They were groups formed from mutants, savage and cruel. They liked to eat human flesh, and to the slaughterers, the scavengers were basically sheep stuck in a pen. In any place where slaughterers had passed through, it was definitely a calamity for the scavengers.If you fall into the hands of the slaughterers, you will definitely become livestock in a pen. Your flesh will be smoked and stored while your bones will be broken and grinded into ornaments. The pitiful fat on your bodies will be pressed into oil lamps.The heartless words was like a chilly wind, causing the scavengers to all tremble.The slaughterers were just like this. Wherever they had passes through, they would wipe out everything and leave no one behind.Sly Fox began to announce his purpose, Today, I came here to prepare several dozen of strong scavengers to for a group. We will give you weapons, for you to fight the slaughterers!The scavengers all took several steps back in retreat. No one dared to make a sound.The slaughterers were known for their viciousness. Just which scavenger would dare to take the challenge?Trash, you'd rather wait for death than to gamble it? The fatty looked at the scavengers indifferently before immediately calling out again, For whoever who steps up by themselves, after defeating the slaughterers, I'll take them away from here!I'll go!A badly-battered, skinny teenager ran across, flushed and panting.It was no one else but Cloud Eagle!It caused several of the bird-riders to laugh aloud. A kid in his teens called out that he wanted to go fight slaughterers? Seeing this, Sly Fox stared with his eyes wide and roared, Can you even fucking lift a weapon? Piss off!I'll go and fight slaughterers! Cloud Eagle gaze was resolute, If I can return alive, you need to follow your promise and take me out of here!The fatty's expression was weird, Do you really want to leave here so much? Even more than your life?Cloud Eagle said, I want to become an excavator. I don't want to be hungry or bullied anymore.The riders laughed aloud again. Only ignorant children could say such immature words!To live in such an age of turmoil is uneasy, and to live with dignity is even more difficult than climbing the sky. You think becoming an excavator will prevent hunger and being bullied? What a joke!The fatty originally wanted to kick him away, but staring into the child's dark eyes, for some reason, he said unexpectedly, Okay, I'll give you a chance. As long as you wipe out the slaughterers and return alive, I'll give you the chance to join the Netherworld Mercenaries!You're really letting him join?He's only a lowly scavenger!Shut up, it's not like you're any better! I'm the boss. What I say counts! The fatty pulled the trigger at the sky again, Now that a little kiddo dares to stand forward, what are you all scared of? I'll give two pieces of bread and a bottle of water to those who go, and the ones that don't go can taste bullets!To the scavengers, the most irresistible enticement was food and the most irresistible fear was death.The method indeed was much more effective. The scavengers stepped up one after another. Sly Fox quickly gathered a suicide squad uh no, a group unafraid of death!The fatty yelled out loud, I'll first send a group in. The rest can wait here.Kiddo, come here, get on the vehicle!Cloud Eagle was directly thrown into the passenger seat. The engines roared like a wild beast. Before he could even sit properly, he was pressed up against the seat by a force.The vehicle that seemed to be patched together gave people a feeling that it could fall apart at any moment. However, as soon as it was started up, its speed was amazingly fast, immediately shooting off.Most importantly, the vehicle did not have seat belts. The scavengers could only grab onto the door of the vehicle to prevent themselves from being thrown off.The six riders each carried a scavenger. Turning their heads, the birds began running as they swung their big feet. The hedgehog-like, assembled vehicle was also full with people, crawling through over the bumpy surface as it created a dust storm. It swerved right and left to avoid obstructions, which jolted about and caused adrenaline to rush through the people within. Their hearts beat furiously as their blood flow quickened. It felt like as if the world was in upheaval.Cloud Eagle felt anxious and excited. He did know whether it was due to the fear of the cruel slaughterers or an endless yearning for the world outside the camp. He shivered all over with every cell of his calling out.He could not help but have a thought appear in his head.Old man, are you seeing this?I've left the camp!Not long after the vehicle surged out of the ruins, the figures of a group of wanderers appeared ahead. The fatty did not avoid it, and instead sped up.Be careful! Cloud Eagle called out aloud, There's people!The monster-like vehicle directly collided with the first person. The violent collision immediately knocked the person flying, while the sharp spikes directly sliced open the person's gut. A great about of blood fell into the open care like rain, splattering all over Sly Fox. It had also covered Cloud Eagle's entire face while pieces of flesh hung from the car.Ah, hahahaha!The fatty laughed crazily as he used the windscreen wipers. It wiped away the sticky blood on the windscreen, swishing from side to side. The feeling of bone breaking could be clearly felt from underneath by every corner of Cloud Eagle's body.The fatty displayed an expression of madness. He took a puff from his cigar before chasing down another person.Knocked flying!Run over!Feels good, really feels fucking good!The bird-riders caught up. They slaughtered the defenseless wanders like harvesting wheat, while one of they used a metal hook to drag a wanderer by the jaw. He ran through the wasteland like he was dragging a bag of trash, only leaving behind a bloody trail and flesh.Chills ran down Cloud Eagle's back. Confusion and rage appeared on his undeveloped face, Why why are you doing this?!\Scavengers also killed people.It was a crazy act only done under great starvation and conducted for survival.Excavator did not lack in food, pleasure or entertainment. Cloud Eagle did not understand the meaning of it!Haha, what has me being happy got to do with you? The fatty spat forcefully, Plus, what do you know? These are wanderer! When I kill them, I am making a contribution to the wasteland!The four major forces formed the wasteland; they were the scavengers, the excavators, the wanderers and the slaughters.The scavengers belonged at the bottom. Scavengers could discover weapons through excavating ruins and learnt how to use tools and certain skills. After establishing their own force, they would turn into excavators.Because scavengers drank highly-contaminated water and consumed mutant creatures over a long time, mutations would happen to them slowly under the horrible living conditions. Not only would their bodies mutate, it would also affect their intelligence and thought. As a result, most mutated humans would become violent and cruel like wild beasts. Those types of mutated humans stop being scavengers, turning into wanderers who wander the lands in search of food.Once wanderers gather together and establish their own force, they would turn into forces of slaughterers. No matter if it were to scavengers or excavators, there would be a disaster wherever they passed through.So just how many groups of scavengers, excavators, wanderers and slaughterers were there in the wastelands?Too many.Like in the ruins of the ancient city, there were many scavenger camps, as well as quite a few excavators and slaughterers.Over twenty scavengers were delivered to a temporary base.The structure was a weird pyramid which stood upside down, inserted into the ground, which seemed like a piece of ground had descended from the sky. It was extremely large and already mostly ruined. However, it was still distinguishable whether by design or patterning that it was not a product of human history, but had rather appeared suddenly.An assembled vehicle was parked in the shadow of the inverted pyramid. It had a total of five wheels; the front two the smallest, the middle ones next while the back wheels stood half a human tall. On the wheels were various metal bars and coils, messily assembled. The car was bid and stood tall. It was extremely useful and seemed to be able to carry a lot of things. It seemed just like a huge, ugly lizard.The fatty exited his vehicle and called out, Mad Dog, why don't you hurry up and come greet our little bait?"The person called Mad Dog' stood beside the freight vehicle. Surprisingly, he was a great black man, one hundred and ninety centimeters tall. He was bald and on his vicious-looking face, it was basically covered with scars of different sizes. One of the scars seemed like someone had once split his face in half, with many marks of stitches remaining on his face.He seemed sinister, fiendish and ugly!Those words were basically coined for him!Mad Dog's status was quite high. However, his equipment was relatively simple without any type of gun. He only carried two short blades in leather casing on his waist, while he wore a leather armor piece covered in metal spikes. It mainly protected his chest and abdomen, while the muscles of his arms and shoulders remained exposed. He seemed to be carved cleanly out of obsidian.The black man swept across the scavengers. He turned around and pulled off a chain without speaking a single word and opened the containers in the vehicle, Choose it yourself.Before the scavengers, there was a great piles of different-sized weapons. There were spears, machetes, sledge hammers, axes and so on. Although they were all relatively rough cold weapons, it was already an extremely rare chance from the scavengers.Choose a suitable one. Whether you will be lucky enough to survive will all depend on it. The fatty then said to Mad Dog, Let them enjoy one dinner. They'll never have such a chance again in their lives!The fatty did not plan on taking the scavenger's feelings into considerations, so he just said it directly.Dread flooded the eyes of the scavengers. They did not know what kind of brutality they would face next.They then began choosing weapons. Although axes and machetes were powerful, Cloud Eagle did not possess the power to use it. In the end, he chose a short sword that was less than a meter in length. When Cloud Eagle's hand came in contact with the hilt, the icy-cold feeling caused him to slowly feel a sliver of calmness.He would accept whatever that would happen.Even if there was just a sliver of hope, he needed to go for it. Cloud Eagle did not want to stay as a lowly scavenger forever and die pitifully and alone like the old man.
