[Forbes has become your servant]
Lin Ke patted Forbes on the shoulder and said, "Okay, can we continue on our journey now?"
Forbes hurriedly nodded and followed Lin Ke contentedly.
Squawk… squawk… squawk
Before the two of them could take a few steps, Sand Condor passed by from low altitude, bringing the latest news to Lin Ke—the machinery fanatics were right on their trail, following their shoe prints.
"They just started pursuing us. It's a bit slower than I expected. Okay, got it. Sand Condor, conceal yourself properly by flying at high altitude. I will reach out to you if necessary."
Sand Condor quietly flew into the sky and disappeared into the night.
Forbes was a little flustered, and his face was full of self-blame. However, his dark skin blended into the night perfectly. It was difficult for Lin Ke to see this expression.
Lin Ke had long anticipated that the believers of Machinery Holy Cult would be on their tail.
After all, such a big trap had been triggered. There were even shoe prints next to it. Moreover, they were just two people; only fools would not give chase.
They would be better off if they were barefoot. However, they were wearing the Wasteland Gang mercenaries' military boots. The soles' patterns were clearly identifiable. They were most likely regarded as members of the Wastelands Gang.
Although both the Machinery Holy Cult and the Wastelands Gang were powerful forces, there was friction between them, and they didn't deal with each other.
Suddenly, two people from the Wastelands Gang were found going deep into the hinterland tonight. For these enthusiastic followers who dreamt of raising their status every day, this was no less than a lottery prize from the heavens.
As long as they could catch these two from the Wastelands Gang, they would be deemed as having made great contributions to the cult and would be able to set foot into Machinery City.
From a lowly follower that had been toiling and patrolling all day to being able to soar into the Machinery City. Let alone a machinery fanatic, even Lin Ke himself would have given chase!
Lin Ke already thought of this when he was 'pulling out the carrot' earlier. Therefore, he already made preparations. He took out the satellite phone. After pressing a few buttons, it produced a string of coordinates.
(300, 236, 467)
These coordinates were the coordinates of Weeping Valley, the end of Machinery Holy Cult's sphere of influence, also the destination of Lin Ke's journey.
It was okay if this group of machinery fanatics gave up after chasing for a while. If they did not…
Lin Ke guaranteed that they would not be able to walk out of Weeping Valley alive.
"Boss, should we walk faster? Machinery Holy Cult is chasing us…"
Lin Ke was not flustered. Instead, he asked, "Were all the buckets filled when we passed the Grand Canal just now?"
"All filled. Don't worry, Boss."
"Open your backpack now. Eat and drink whatever you want."
When Forbes heard this, his legs trembled, and he almost knelt down. He said tearfully, "Boss, do you intend to let me have a good meal so that I will not have any regrets and not be a starving ghost after I die?"
Lin Ke shook his head helplessly. This fellow does not eat much but thinks a lot. "If you are not interested in eating, give them to me!"
Forbes smiled when he heard those words, revealing his shiny front teeth. He quickly took out the beef, energy bar, compressed biscuits, and water from his backpack. He served Lin Ke with all his heart and gave him whatever he wanted.
"Okay, keep a little bit of drinking water. The rest is yours. You are to eat everything within an hour!"
Upon hearing this, Forbes opened his mouth and was completely stunned. There is so much food, enough to last me three days if I were to eat frugally. I have to finish everything now?
"What's the matter? Are you disobeying my first order?"
"I'll eat!" Although Forbes could not understand the reasoning behind the order, it did not prevent him from executing it.
After Forbes had finished eating, Lin Ke gradually began to speed up.
After crossing Goria Grand Canal, Weeping Valley was not far away.
They could replenish energy by eating and drinking; it would also reduce their carry load.
If they hurried, they could reach Weeping Valley at two or three in the morning.
Lin Ke knew Machinery Holy Cult very well. For machinery fanatics, be it their body implanted microchips or exoskeleton armors, these were crudely added to their bodies to enhance their combat effectiveness. There were no improvements in terms of speed.
When it came to speed, it was considered pretty good if they could keep pace with the lightly-loaded Lin Ke.
Lin Ke also had the help of Sand Condor's 'eagle eyes' and Treasure Hunter Rat's 'metal detection' as insurance. They monitored the machinery fanatics' every move. This was what Lin Ke was counting on.
The machinery fanatics followed the shoe prints with their faint light.
"The shoe prints are evenly spaced. They probably do not know about us!"
The fanatics had excitement in their voices. As long as they sped up their pace, they would surely catch up with the Wastelands Gang agents.
"They actually went deep into the hinterland. These two agents must have a special mission. We shall capture them alive and bring them back for torture and interrogation. It will definitely be a great achievement if we can pry out their sinister plans from their mouths!
"This achievement will be so great they will definitely have to give us another reward apart from allowing us to enter Machinery City!"
The excitement of these people was beyond words. They were already picturing the enviable eyes of others when they set foot into Machinery City.
The machinery fanatics were now like donkeys with a carrot hanging in front of them. They knew that their target was right in front. Thus, they kept on charging forward.
"Quick, look! What is this?"
Mars was at the front, responsible for the scouting module. He suddenly came across a few package wrappings beside the footprints.
When he picked them up, he realized these were the wrappings for compressed biscuits and energy bars specially manufactured by the Wastelands Gang.
This discovery was like injecting an energy booster into the five of them. "Sure enough, it is indeed Wastelands Gang agents who are in a hurry. They are even eating in the middle of the night to replenish their energy. It must be a long journey for them, and they must have an important mission to complete!"
"Quick, let's speed up our pace!" Mars folded and kept the package wrappers. These would become the evidence in their quest to pursue the Wastelands Gang agents and thwart their sinister plans.
"This is already my limit. You can charge ahead since you have a lighter load. However, remember to ensure a linkage distance of 200 meters." The captain of the team wore exoskeleton armor. Although his special mechanized structure allowed him to carry a load many times his weight, it had no other benefits. Sprinting was absolutely impossible for him.
The basic microchips focused on joint operations; each person in the team was responsible for a specific module.
Within a 200-meter range, the five basic microchips that had different functions would exchange data using a unifying algorithm, forming an integrated core capable of processing offensive and defensive scenarios. It would then provide assistance and optimized solutions to these fanatics.
"Okay, let's move ahead to check out the situation first." Mars—who was in charge of scouting—and the assaulter stepped forward. They pulled away from the team and accelerated their pursuit.
The two followed the footprints and rushed to the front, keeping an exact 200 meters from the troops behind.
Mars pursued all the way. He saw the footprints' pace on the Gobi gradually increasing and hurriedly relayed this information to the rear.
…
Squeak, squeak! Treasure Hunter Rat sensed the metallic aura and immediately informed Lin Ke.
Lin Ke reached out and rubbed Treasure Hunter Rat's little head. He was composed and even had a smile on his face.
"Boss, are the people from Machinery Holy Cult here?"
Forbes had become smarter now. He knew that something was happening whenever Treasure Hunter Rat or Sand Condor spoke.
"Don't worry. They are still one kilometer away. Moreover, this is already their limit."
Little Treasure only detected two auras, indicating that only the two fanatics with light equipment went to the front. Since they had a lighter load, they were able to quicken their pace. However, this was all they could do. Although the basic microchips improved their capabilities, it also had drawbacks.
The five were like ants on a rope. No matter what, they dared not leave the 200-meter data transmission range, which virtually reduced their mobility.
This situation was indeed what Lin Ke had expected. The two at the front 'hid and appeared' intermittently but could not close the gap further. They remained stuck one kilometer away.
The temperature in the Gobi gradually decreased in the middle of the night, but Lin Ke and Forbes only felt a little cold.
The previous meal provided them with a lot of energy, enough to support them in traveling long distances and resisting the cold.
On the other hand, a large portion of the five fanatics' enthusiasm had been extinguished by the chill. They were panting hard as they followed behind.
"Why are these two people still continuing their journey north? Are they going to Weeping Valley?"
"What do these people of the Wastelands Gang plan to do when they get to Sand City? Are they going to ally with Sand City to do something?"
As soon as they thought of this, Mars and his other teammate had a bad feeling.
"Maybe they are going to defect."
"Regardless of what they are up to, we can pry the secret out of their mouths as long as they are captured. The more we pry out of their mouths, the better our promotions!"
The two parties had stayed about one kilometer apart from each other.
Lin Ke looked at the coordinates on the satellite phone and saw that they were getting closer to the designated location.
Under the starlight from the starry sky, a dark valley could vaguely be seen in the distance, covering half of the Milky Way over the horizon. The shape of the valley was outlined by the starlight in the background.
Lin Ke looked at Weeping Valley and couldn't help grinning. "Here's the stage for our performance!"
Although Weeping Valley was not an instance [1. A special area in computer games that generates a new copy of the location for each group, or for a certain number of players, that enters the area.], it was a place which Lin Ke knew by heart.
If one simply regarded this place as the boundary between two forces, that would be too simple.
"Forbes, hurry up. We can get rid of them once we reach Weeping Valley!"
Forbes was already exhausted, but his eyes lit up when he heard this. He gasped and asked, "Boss, will they stop chasing us when we reach Weeping Valley?"
Lin Ke shook his head. He loaded the Glock pistol in his hand. "No, I will kill them all once we reach Weeping Valley!"