Chapter 23 Chapter 23: Fire Moth-53 Type Amphibious Armored Vehicle
Chapter 23: Fire Moth-53 Type Amphibious Armored Vehicle
"No... it's not about the money..."
Hedley quickly waved his hands. Did he dare accept this money? Even if he had the guts to take it, he wouldn't have the life to spend it!
"Hmm?"
Kevin stopped his intention to construct Originium and silently stared at him, making Hedley break out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly added,
"I mean, we can take you there for free."
Kevin fell silent. After a long while, he finally managed to utter a sentence:
"You... are really mercenaries?"
"Genuine article! Leave the guiding to us. Please rest assured, sir. However, our teammates have some physical issues and can't travel south on foot. Our vehicle also had a little... uh... accident just now."
Hedley glanced at their now-silent vehicle and couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed.
"But it shouldn't be a big problem. Please give us half a day to repair it."
He explained, not daring to let Kevin think they were deliberately making excuses.
As he spoke, Hedley went to the back seat, opened the door, and took out a repair kit to show he wasn't lying.
"No need."
Kevin spoke up to stop him, causing Hedley's movements to freeze. Did this mean they weren't needed anymore?
As mercenaries who valued practicality, no one knew the fate of useless things better than them.
"That car... doesn't need repairing. Drive this one."
"But not every vehicle can..."
Gallop across the wilderness...?
Hedley turned around, wanting to remind Kevin of this principle, and then witnessed a scene like a divine miracle.
Blue fluorescence and data streams dissipated like dreamlike threads. A pitch-black "steel behemoth" quietly appeared on the sandy ground, its solemn and majestic streamlined body pressing four tracks into the sand.
A cold black coating all over, windows flashing with blue data from time to time, unique near-spherical wheels, even the exhaust ports were of a style Hedley had never seen before.
When this sci-fi-esque vehicle appeared, it formed an extremely sharp contrast with the surrounding desolate and dilapidated environment.
"Is this... Originium Arts?"
Hedley felt his understanding was being challenged.
If even something like this could be explained by Originium Arts, it would be far too forced.
"You don't need to delve into its origins."
Kevin shook his head. He had no need to explain to Hedley.
"So, what exactly is this? Columbia's latest technology?!"
"Car."
Kevin's expression unchanged, he softly uttered a single word.
"You call this a car? Then..."
What is my piece of junk?
Hedley stared blankly at his own vehicle: the wild and rugged model, the exterior modifications with no aesthetic reference, the half-shattered headlight, even the seats were hard seats scavenged from abandoned factories.
Overall, it had a distinct post-apocalyptic style.
But possessing such a vehicle already made them among the top of Sarkaz mercenaries. So, Hedley had been quite proud of his vehicle before.
Yes, before.
"If you're asking for its name, then it should be the Fire Moth-53 Type Amphibious Armored Vehicle."
[Kevin] had once possessed Void Archives for a period of time. Most of its information and knowledge had been transcribed by Gray Serpent into a certain imaginary space in data form.
And Kevin happened to know the location of that imaginary space. At least after that core condensed, he could already connect to that imaginary space and gather knowledge from it.
As for why he didn't take it out earlier...
"Kevin, you..."
Pozëmka hesitated to speak because she had a slightly offensive guess in her mind.
"Hmm, I forgot."
As he spoke, he nodded somewhat stiffly, then fell silent.
Only after traveling for over ten days did he realize he could construct vehicles and such... it was really embarrassing to admit.
But expecting an "old man" who rarely used such transportation to remember immediately wasn't very realistic either.
"With all due respect... you two, some vehicles might not be very suitable for Kazdel's terrain."
Hedley interrupted the awkward atmosphere between the two, speaking somewhat awkwardly.
"No need to worry. Given her design style, the initial estimated conditions for this model were certainly more extreme than your place here."
Kevin was clearly confident in "her" talent.
"Oh my, this car of yours is quite good-looking. But, aren't there any combat positions or the like?"
W quite curiously touched the armored vehicle's smooth body, tapping it from time to time, pressing her ear against the body—not hearing any echo at all.
"W."
Hedley facepalmed helplessly. His squad was full of problem children; he was somewhat used to it himself.
"Of course there are."
Kevin snapped his fingers.
Click!
Under the astonished gazes of the four "country bumpkins," the armored vehicle's roof split into individual modules, then reassembled.
Several lifted modules quickly formed small fortresses that could accommodate one person each. The sides still had shooting ports and venting hatches that could be opened at any time. At the very center position, the dark, thick cannon barrel made W's eyes light up.
She was already getting eager to try. This vehicle tempted her like a devil; every inch of her flesh and blood seemed to urge her to go try it immediately.
Such an exaggerated caliber! How powerful a bomb would it need to be worthy of it?
"Get in."
They had already delayed for a long time. Kevin glanced at the increasingly high sun and spoke up.
"You drive?"
Kevin asked Hedley since he needed to give directions. Moreover, from what he knew, these mercenaries often had their own information channels, making inquiries more convenient.
"I'll do it! I'll do it!"
W pushed Hedley's big face away and said in a somewhat negotiating tone:
"But, before driving, can I fire one shot?"
She pointed expectantly at the mounted cannon barrel on the roof.
"Fine."
"Woohoo!"
Having obtained Kevin's permission, W was like a child who had received a beloved gift. She eagerly opened the car door and climbed in.
Soon after, her face appeared from the transparent small window, wearing an excited, somewhat morbid smile.
Under Kevin's reminder, everyone moved away a bit.
"Where should I blow up~"
She moved the observation scope with great interest, selecting a target. She quickly settled on a small hillside.
"Let's have some fun!"
She fiercely pressed the button on the firing handle.
Boom—!
W inside the small fortress shook all over. Although the iron walls mixed with Honkai steel absorbed most of the recoil force generated by the shell firing, a small portion was still transmitted to the user.
This was intentionally retained by the designer. In her words:
"Only by feeling the recoil do you know you're firing artillery! It's my ingenious design! Making their destruction wonderfully splendid!"
The fired shell drew a beautiful arc in mid-air before landing on that small hill!
Boom!
Sky-high flames instantly swallowed the entire hill in the blink of an eye. Tremors like an earthquake transmitted underfoot, stunning Hedley and his group.
Perhaps due to the designer's special design, the firework shape from the shell explosion actually somewhat resembled a smiling face sticking out its tongue—a bit comical.
——————
[Event - The Design Process of Fire Moth-53 Type Amphibious Armored Vehicle]
"Ms. Vill-V, I believe I've reiterated many times: what we need is a design blueprint for an all-terrain armored vehicle, not your oversized magic toy proposal!"
"Hmm? Didn't I do as you requested? Or... are amphibious armored vehicles not good enough for you anymore? Need something added? Space travel? Quantum traversal? Or perhaps imaginary walking?"
"No, you know that's not what I mean. I mean it's combat equipment... it doesn't need so many 'surprises'..."
"Hey now, a life without surprises is a failed life. Even in combat, occasional embellishments are needed. Why don't you all ever understand this principle?"
"If Ms. Vill-V always acts like this, the workshop's budget—"
"Stop! I'll change it, okay? Stop threatening my budget all day."
"Hmm, thank you for your trouble, Ms. Vill-V."
.......
"A perfect design, Ms. Vill-V. Your talent is always so astonishing."
"A soulless work. Boring."
(The inspection personnel automatically ignored Vill-V's latter sentence.)
"Then, its naming?"
"The Reversed Land-Sea-Air Spiral Combat Vehicle—how about that?"
"......"
"Tsk, I knew it. You guys pick one randomly."
"Then let's call it Fire Moth-53 Type Amphibious Armored Vehicle."
"Whatever."
After the researchers left.
"If I can't modify the armored vehicle, modifying the shell design shouldn't be under their control either. It doesn't affect power anyway. Heheh, I'll record it as matching ammunition into Void Archives later."
"Hmm, that's settled then!"
vill v intentionally leaving flaws like that is such bitch energy