Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva-Chapter 653 - 281: Galloping in the Dark
In the pitch-black desolate land, old, rusted rails wound forward toward the lightless horizon in the distance.
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"Whoosh—"
A fierce wind suddenly swept by, kicking up fragments of soil and pebbles beside the tracks, rolling them off into the distance.
In a world once engulfed in darkness, several blinking blue lights moved swiftly along the rails. The mechas, clad in pale-armored coatings with sharp angles and oppressively bent mechanic legs, rolled on the rails, their side wheels propelling the towering machines. Braving the intense wind pressure and resistance, they raced at high speed. As the track curved, the High Rank AI housed within continually calculated changes in gravity and angles, adjusting the mechas' centers of mass, allowing them to maintain full-speed progress.
[Signal from North Fourth District Safety Command Center received. Connect? Yes/No]
A display screen popped up in the cockpit, and shortly after, the 'Yes' option lit up, transitioning the display. Rows of text clearly emerged.
[Mission objective updated, hostage signal has disappeared, destination area 'T-894' is now designated as no-contact zone, there are no longer any federal legal residents within this area, safety lock on large weapons disengaged. You are authorized to kill any resistors encountered during this mission, based on the situation. Interpretation of this mission is sole authority of North Fourth District Safety Command Center, First Emergency Response Strategy Room, with A-3 level authorization received.]
After the display finished, a small map indicator appeared at the bottom of the screen with an area prominently marked in red, also featuring the caption, 'Purple Acacia Mining Company's Calcite Minefield No. 134'.
[Mission update received, B-28 squad approaching the destination.]
The screen then shut off, and the three towering mechas charged through the biting cold wind. The previously flashing blue indicator lights had turned red, and the mechas' back-mounted laser guns, which had been physically locked, now unlocked and began to pre-charge. The built-in energy indicators also gradually showed an increase from 0% to a ready-to-activate state of 65%.
At this moment, on the far other side of the pitch-black land, there stood two isolated floodlight towers casting their pale light on a gigantic mining pit, whose topography resembled that of a pressed mosquito coil, though its tall, straight, gray-yellow rock walls were far more majestic and imposing than any mosquito coil rim.
"It's all your fault! Look at the mess now, goddammit, the bastard's dead, and we've lost the only hostage, now we're all gonna die with you!"
Under the floodlights on the open ground, two people dressed in blue work clothes were fighting each other, their bodies covered in white dust with some dark red, dirty-looking bloodstains.
On one side of the struggling pair, there were five or six men also in blue work attire; some looked numb, some sat on the ground holding their heads, and others were banging on the wheels of a nearby parked truck, venting their fear and unease.
Tied and hanging from the giant mechanical excavating arm was a man in a suit, his head now unnaturally drooping, his body bearing numerous signs of beating, and viscous blood dripping from beneath his trouser legs.
If one pulled back their gaze, one could see an overturned Hover Car on the ground in the darkness. Its front end was smashed up, the body bore marks of having been struck by immense force, and the driver-cum-bodyguard was already dead. From his chest name tag, it was clear that he was a Transcendent of Sequence 4, but he must have been in the vehicle when the accident happened, unable to escape in time and was crushed to death inside, with many abilities left unutilized and motionless.
"How was I supposed to know he couldn't take a hit! Aren't all rich people supposed to carry Emergency Life-Sustaining Elixirs and devices? Turns out it's all bullshit!" The two grappling on the ground struggled, one with a bloody nose and swollen eyes, desperately grabbing the other's wrist, trying to suppress them and prevent further beating.
"You idiot! I knew I shouldn't have gone on this crazy adventure with you. While you'll be single forever with nobody wanting you, I have a wife and kids!" The middle-aged man being pinned down struggled and twisted, his breath stirring up the dust on the ground, then triggering another round of heart-wrenching coughing.
"Damn it!"
"Stop, stop, what do we do now? The boss's son is dead, he'll definitely not let us off the hook," the previously trembling and panic-stricken person finally regained his senses and spoke nervously.
"Hmph, that old man, he's over eighty and doesn't care about things anymore. He's probably lying in some fancy hospital with life support tubes," someone retorted.
"The boss's son, huh, this guy is the fourth in line and a complete waste of space. I bet his older brothers can't wait for him to die, one less person to share the inheritance with." These workers, as long-standing employees of the company, knew quite a bit about the inner workings, even though they were stationed in this remote desert.
"What to do, now you ask what to do? Why didn't I see you being so rational just now? This bastard is dead, we've lost our hostage, what else can we do? According to Federated Law, the death penalty is unavoidable. Even without the death penalty, do you think we could live peacefully in prison?"
"Dream on! If it were a regular case, no one would care about a prisoner, but we've killed an heir to the mining company. Just a word to the prison authorities from those people, and I guarantee you're in for a worse life than death in there."
"But, but, isn't there protection in Federated Law? I mean, wouldn't the prison police be afraid of being investigated if they did such things?"
"Law can control the police, but not the other people in prison. If you were in prison and someone told you that if you torment a certain person, you'd get a large sum of money or a rich reward after getting out, would you agree? The moment you hesitate, you should know that there will be people tempted by that." The frustrated man unleashed his rant in one go.
After listening to his explanation, the fragile man collapsed to the ground as if he had lost the ability to think, just staring blankly out at the dark world beyond the glowing lights.
"Is my life over now..."
Some among them thought of running away, but after sitting in the driver's seat of the truck, they let go, defeated.
In such an empty wilderness, where could they possibly escape to? Once day breaks, the satellites would quickly locate them, and without the status of legal Federated residents, they wouldn't know how to survive.
The strongest among these people was only a Sequence 3, utilizing a low-grade core template; their abilities were virtually only useful for work, offering little benefit in combat. To think they could confront the official violent authorities with this was a mere fantasy.
Just as these people lost hope, prepared to either wait for death or be captured and detained, the sound of helicopter blades came from the sky, followed by a rugged figure jumping down and landing in a half-kneel, then standing up.
Dressed in a grey-green jacket and worn-out jeans, with black hair and fluttering clothes, the man kicked over the oil drum in front of him. The steel, empty oil drum burst open instantly, split in two by the powerful gust of the man's kick, revealing the torn silver-white metal within.
This loud noise and display of power instantly drew the attention of everyone present. They looked at the man with his hands in his pockets, puzzled and alarmed. He removed his dust-proof sunglasses with ease, revealing a pair of black eyes that exuded an oppressive aura as if he were a legendary beast known as 'Dragon'.
"Hey, I think you guys must be in need of help."
Although the words were spoken with good intentions, everyone knew coming from such a person, that kindness would come at a steep price. And for people who had nothing left, the only thing they might be able to offer in return was the remnants of their own lives.
