The car jolted and stopped next to a tall courtyard wall, and looking at the heavily guarded appearance, the [Taran Raiders] knew that they had come to the right place.

Unbeknownst to him, however, the prison, known as the "Katnod", is notorious to the locals, and it is said that those who enter it will have to shed their skin even if they don't die.

For example, the young man with a hyena tattoo on his body who was caught with him got out of the car, and his legs were weak, so he almost didn't wet his pants.

Escorted by several guards, Taran passed through the towering courtyard gate, then went through numerous security checks, completed all the formalities of entering the shift room, and was finally placed in a small single room with no windows and only one bed.

After waiting in a private room for about ten minutes, a black-faced Willant came over and took him to the interrogation room next to him.

As soon as he entered, a bright light hit his face, and then a righteous voice came from the front.

"Tell me honestly! What are you here for? ”

Thinking that this interrogation was still strangely realistic, Taran blurted out.

"Tourist."

That calm and relaxed attitude made the two interrogators uncertain for a while, and their aggressive momentum couldn't help but be stunned.

The older guard coughed and sang in a slow, sloppy voice.

"I advise you to be honest, those accomplices of yours have already confessed. Even if you deny it, it doesn't make any sense, it is nothing more than to increase your own sentence. ”

Taran sighed in his heart.

They had already colluded on the forum, and he couldn't hold back his laughter when he heard this kind of.

As if sensing his disdain, the faces of the two Willant guards in charge of the interrogation turned unkind.

"I warn you to be serious!"

Taran slammed back unceremoniously.

"I also warn you that I am a citizen of the Alliance, and I came in with a certificate issued by Triumph City. Could it be that the Southern Army no longer takes his marshal seriously? ”

The air in the interrogation room fell silent, as if a feather could be heard clearly when it fell to the ground.

The older guard coughed, picked up the cup and pretended to drink. The young guard narrowed his eyes and clenched his hands into fists on the table.

"Say it again."

He didn't care if it was an Alliance or an alien in front of him, and whoever dared to doubt his loyalty, he would dare to slap that face.

Taran thought that the excitement was almost over, and it was time to get to the point, so he leaned back in his chair.

"Let's tell you the truth, there are quite a few Wilantes in the harbor of the Death Coast, and we have heard from them that there is a place called Harbor of Eternal Night at the southernmost point of the Great Desert, and we are going to go around with courtesy. As a result, I didn't expect you to be so hospitable, and you gave me a pair of handcuffs as soon as we met. ”

After a pause, he continued.

"Of course, I do have some personal purposes besides traveling, but it has nothing to do with other travelers, and it has nothing to do with you."

The old man who was drinking water had a glint in his eyes, and immediately put down the cup in his hand.

"Oh? What private purpose? ”

Taran spoke.

"I'm looking for an organization called the Enlightenment."

The young guard frowned.

“…… What is that? ”

Taran smiled, looking down on people.

"An organization of shelter dwellers active in the Great Desert...... But you're not a Vault dweller, and you don't understand even if I say it. ”

The look of contempt for people was so much in line with the Willant stereotype of the blue gopher that the young guard's fist was hard again.

But Taran didn't even look at him.

As the saying goes, a dog that bites doesn't bark.

What's more, he is a level 30 awakened person, even if he is handcuffed, he may not win or lose if he really moves.

The old guard frowned, muttered for a long time, and spoke slowly.

"What are you going to do with Enlightenment?"

Taran was straight to the point.

"I want to join them."

Old Guard: "Why? ”

Taran: "Disappointed. ”

The old guard gave him a surprised look.

"Disappointed?"

Taran nodded.

"That's right, I've had enough of the hypocrisy of the Alliance, why do we have to bring those stinky fish and shrimp with us to the New Era. We have inherited everything from the era of prosperity, we are the Federation of People, we are the new era...... Yet our managers want us to shed blood for a group of people we have never met. ”

"Frankly, I've been disappointed in the league and wanted to move somewhere else...... I heard that the Enlightenment Society was active in the Great Desert area, and that their purpose was more to my liking, so I came here. ”

He said these words without leaking, and his face was full of anger and dissatisfaction.

Both guards had surprised expressions on their faces, then one excited, the other thoughtful.

"I thought that the people in the alliance all shared the same brain with pigs, but I didn't expect that there were still sober guys. Friend, congratulations on giving up the darkness and turning to the light. The young guard smiled, and the resentment in his eyes turned to appreciation.

Taran smiled, but said nothing.

Not to mention that he said, the "we" in that also refers to the blue coat, you are a Wilante empathy for a woolen thread?

You and the wastelanders are both in the basket of "stinky fish and rotten shrimp", and when will the Federation of People be worthy of you to inherit it.

Flatter yourself!

The old guard pondered for a long time, and then a smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he closed the notebook spread out on the table.

"Congratulations on finding the organization."

Boy!

The Southern Legion will really cooperate with the Enlightenment!

Taran was excited, but his face remained silent, and he whistled and said.

"So I've passed your test?"

The young guard gave his colleague a strange look, but the latter gave him a meaningful look, and then looked back at the man sitting across from the interrogation table.

"I can't do this kind of thing, but I can help you connect with someone who can."

"Then you'd better hurry up and still haven't changed your mind." Already eager to show off on the forum, Taran quietly threw down the sentence.

The older guard nodded, motioning for the guard standing beside Taran to lead him down.

There was silence in the interrogation room.

Hearing the sound of the door closing in the distance, the young guard looked at the old man and asked hurriedly.

"What the hell could that enlightenment be?"

The old guard replied nonchalantly as he sorted out the papers on the table.

"How do I know?"

The young guard frowned.

"And what do you mean by that?"

The old guard's face showed a scheming expression, and his eyes narrowed slightly, like a fox.

"It's because we don't know that we're going to figure out what that Enlightenment is through this guy...... In short, stabilize him first. ”

Hearing this, the young guard suddenly realized that he couldn't help but give a thumbs up in admiration.

A good one will be calculated!

High!

It's just too high!

Meanwhile, on the other side, Taran, who had returned to his cell, did not wait for the cell door to close, and sat down on the bed and fell asleep.

The guards who closed the door looked at him in surprise, called him twice, but saw no response, and then pursed his lips in disdain.

Are all the people in the Union pigs?

I can still sleep at this time.

At the same time, in the forum of the official website of "Wasteland Online" in another world, when everyone was discussing the frontline battle situation of the "Southern Barbarian Invasion" expansion, a post rushed to the front page of the forum like a twinkling meteor.

Taran Raider: "Irons! We, the Desert Legion, have infiltrated the Enlightenment!! ”

Tail: "Whoa! It's amazing! (ω)”

Siss: "Enlightenment Society...... It's such a distant name, and it always feels like the last time I heard it was two years ago. ”

Fang Chang: "It looks like the hidden mission has been triggered, come on." (squint)"

Desert Eagle: "? ”

Junichiro Laughkawa: "Really?!" ”

……

Just as Taran's post sank into the sea, an investigative report on the Alliance's spies was delivered to the desk of the Governor of Eternal Nightport, Ahui.

From beginning to end of the report, Yahui's brows furrowed slightly, and he looked at Willoughby, the chief commander of the garrison standing at his desk, and asked.

"This initiation will ...... What the hell is it? ”

He's been in the Eternal Night Harbor for fifteen years, and he's never heard of that name.

Willoughby, who was standing in front of him, also shook his head and said with a serious expression.

"I've gathered intelligence on the city of Avent and the city of Triumph, and there is very little information about this organization...... It is said to be related to Vault 0 and a document called Project Torch. ”

Yawei frowned.

"Vault 0? Project Torch? ”

Willoughby nodded slowly and continued in a serious tone.

"Behind these two things corresponds to a weapon that can restart the world, and it is said that the power of that thing can not only affect the outcome of one or two battles, but even directly rewrite an entire era."

This information comes primarily from the archives of Triumph City, and is included in the relevant entries of the Enlightenment.

Intriguingly, however, there are very few clues about Vault 0 and Project Torch.

There are two possibilities.

The people of Triumph City really don't have much information about these two things.

But it is not excluded that there is another possibility, that some great being does not want them to know these things.

Yahui's pupils contracted slightly, and countless possibilities flashed through his mind, and these countless possibilities all intersected at the same coordinate.

"This weapon is hidden in the desert......"

Willoughby looked intently at Mr. Governor and continued in a serious tone.

"It is reasonable to assume that at least the Enlightenment may know its whereabouts."

Getting up and walking to the office window, Yahui stared out at the thriving port.

Weapons that can rewrite entire eras......

It's hard to imagine what kind of weapons could destroy this thriving settlement in an instant.

He's not going to let that happen, though.

If anyone was going to do that, he wouldn't let that guy go.

This port is like his child, and he will never allow anyone to destroy it!

“…… What do you think? ”

Looking at Mr. Governor, who had his back to him, Willoughby said respectfully.

"Although there is no direct evidence, I am almost certain that the guy we just caught is a spy of the Alliance, and those thirty people who were blocked by us at the door of the hotel are his accomplices!"

"After being exposed, he tried to change tactics and take a detour with our interrogators. It can be seen that he should have received a certain amount of anti-reconnaissance training. This man has something, but not much. ”

"The speculation of colleagues in the intelligence office is...... Our opponents may try to cooperate with the Enlightenment and get a weapon from them that could turn the tide of the battle. ”

Yawei thought for a long time, and suddenly spoke.

"That doesn't make sense, if this weapon is so important, even enough to change the outcome of the battle, why did he leak the clues of the Enlightenment to us?"

Willoughby smiled faintly and told his speculation.

"It's actually easy to understand, the Alliance is not ignorant of the Great Desert, but the information on Eternal Night Harbor is blank. Perhaps, it was some piece of information they had gathered in Pioneer City that pointed them to the southern part of the Great Desert, the southern industrial region of the Humanist Era, but they weren't sure if we had cooperated with the Enlightenment. ”

"In the words of the Alliance, this trick is called throwing stones and asking for directions. They deliberately release smoke bombs to test our reactions, and then make next decisions based on our reactions. ”

Yawei's pupils dilated slightly, and his expression gradually became serious.

"And what are your plans?"

"Count, count." Willoughby looked at him confidently, his eyes blazing, and said, "My subordinate is very clever, and he has sent false signals to the League's decoys, making them mistakenly believe that we have officially cooperated with the Enlightenment. ”

"I bet that the spy we were in prison must be as anxious as an ant on a hot pot at the moment, and he can't wait to get the news out right away."

"Once people are in a hurry, something will go wrong, and when the time comes, we can find the clues of the Enlightenment Society, and then find a way to get the 'Weapon Zero' in their hands!"

Facing those blazing eyes, Yawei pondered for a long time.

This plan is actually good, only one doubt makes him still have some concerns in his heart.

They didn't have direct evidence that the guy was indeed a spy for the Alliance.

Everything is just their speculation.

However, in line with the attitude of "I would rather believe what I have, not what I don't have", he still nodded.

Regardless of whether or not that legendary weapon that could turn the tide of battle actually exists, it doesn't hurt to give it a try......

"Do you have a specific plan?"

"Of course," with a smug smile on his lips, Willoughby took another document from his bosom and placed it lightly on his desk, "The project is codenamed 'Vespa', and I arranged for some agents from the intelligence office to buy a house in Blackwater Street and disguise it as a stronghold of the Enlightenment. ”

"We can package an initiation meeting, pretend that we're working together, and let them get the fox's tail out on their own!"

……

The commotion that took place in Blackwater Lane did not affect the calm of Eternal Night Harbor.

For the Willant colonists living in the port, it was like a smelly garbage can, and it was not uncommon for firefights to occur, and it was only strange that there would be no smell of gunpowder wafting out one day.

Taran's three henchmen hid in the city until dusk, and only hurried out of the city when the wind passed.

As for the sand sculpture and the laughing man, he followed him to the vicinity of the prison called "Katenod", and opened a room in the hotel with the identity bought on the black market.

In this frontier town full of soldiers, a war without gunpowder seems to have begun.

And so far, it seems that only the Enlightenment Society, which is at the center of the battlefield, has been kept in the dark for the time being......

The night is getting darker.

After reuniting with his family, Yarman arrived at the tavern in the port area as promised.

Because of the reunion after a long absence, his wife pestered him for a long time, so that his legs and stomach are still a little weak.

The moment the door opened, the scorching breath immediately came to the face with the noisy sound.

“…… Hahaha, Carver, you bastard is finally here! I thought you had really got a farm and went farming! ”

"Get out, Lao Tzu is not born to drive a tractor, or the driving feel of a tank suits me!"

"Which team are you assigned to? Or the Youth Army? ”

"The 60th armored 10,000 people, we are the second batch, and we will set off at the end of the month."

"Six-zero? Damn, how many people were mobilized this time? ”

"At least a million, haven't you read Triumph? This time it is estimated that it will come to Boda! ”

"Exciting, I hope to hit the home of the alliance."

"I just hope to get to the front soon, don't wait for us to go and not even have a chance to shoot."

The entire tavern was filled with soldiers.

Either they came back from the front, or they were ready to go to the front. The former mostly drank alone, while the latter usually drank in groups.

Although alcohol, which is also available at the front, is obviously not as enjoyable as an unlimited drink in the rear.

The Southern Army can't actually block the news from the front, and no one can cover the mouths of the Willants, not even the Willantes themselves.

But if the Alliance were counting on word-of-mouth frustration to crush their will to fight, it would be wishful thinking.

Because from the moment they complained, those losers had already been expelled from the ranks of the Wilantes.

On a speeding roller coaster, anyone who tries to hit the brakes is a traitor, and who cares what a traitor says? They just feel like they're more right.

In a sense, the predicament faced by the Wilantes and the Brahminats is similar.

It's like two sides of a mirror.

It's just that the war of the former has been going on for a century and a half, while the war of the latter has just begun.

Neither side knows how long it will take for the battle they want to fight to end, and it will take several generations for the obsession and hatred in their hearts to end.

It is precisely because of this that Yarman admires the man named Pangolin very much.

I heard that the guy was just a villager from a ravine in the river valley province, but the deafening roar alarmed Triumph City.

Hopefully, he will bring hope back from Triumph City.

I hope that day doesn't come too late......

In front of the bar at the bar, Yarman finds Kuruan, who has just gotten off work from customs.

The man in his early thirties had already drunk, and when he had changed out of his medal-bearing clothes, he looked just like the drunkards around him, if not more scruffy than them.

"Come and sit here." Seeing Yarman from the crowd at a glance, Kurorolu enthusiastically pulled out a chair for him, then grinned and looked at the bartender, "This is my new friend, bring me another beer." ”

"Thank you."

Yarman nodded politely and sat down next to the veteran, glancing around and smashing his tongue in surprise.

"This tavern has never been so lively."

"It's not what it used to be, and we're making war money," the bartender said as he put the cold beer on the bar and looked at Kuruan again, "Don't see it, I'm just talking casually, and I don't mean to mock you." ”

Kuruan smiled and waved his hand.

"I'm not that stingy, and I'll even wish you a prosperous business."

Looking at this free and easy cripple, Yarman thought it was funny, and smiled casually without asking.

"You've heard my story, can you tell me your story? I've always wondered what the situation is at the front. ”

Although he visited Borneo without much of it, he was mostly active in a few major ports and did not penetrate deep into the interior of the land.

Kuruan grinned, and the smile on his face became intriguing.

"It's a mess, my story is as worthless as a war report from the front, if you have to listen to it, just listen to it for fun, don't take it seriously, everything is still based on the story of the "Southern Army Victory Report".

"I was intrigued by stories that weren't mentioned in the newspapers, and those Bharats occasionally told me things that the Daily Survivor didn't mention." Yarman clinked glasses with him and encouraged him to continue.

Kuruan smiled faintly, his eyes lost to memory, and after a moment of thought, he continued.

“…… We had a skull corps in Rydpur County, and those guys' tanks were like corkscrews, and our tanks were blown up one after another, like this beer bottle cap. ”

As he spoke, he flicked the cap out with his thumb and into the trash can with unmistaken accuracy.

"And then?"

"Later? Of course we won, and though the price would be unacceptable to you, we have three thousand brothers who have neither been missing nor found," Kuruan smiled, and after a pause, he continued, "as for Gibson, he is still his captain, and I have been placed in this customs break. ”

Yarman fell silent.

He knew that the 3,000-odd people were there, in a prisoner of war camp on the outskirts of Port Kinggallen.

The League actually treated them well, I heard that they were paid for their work after the prisoner of war camp was built, and they were also protected by Union law, working eight hours a day.

Kuruan fell silent as well, taking a sip of his beer and slamming the empty bottle on the moldy wooden table.

"Maybe I'm too pessimistic, I feel that it is almost impossible to win on the frontal battlefield...... Unless there is some kind of weapon that can completely turn the tide of the war and wipe our opponents off the planet. ”

Yarman smiled bitterly.

"If there really were that kind of weapon, its very existence would be terrifying enough."

Kuruan grinned.

"Maybe there is? I heard that General Gurion had made a big bet and put some of his chips on something called the 'Death Potion'. ”

Smelling a hint of foreboding from the name, Yarman frowned slightly.

"Dead potions?"

Kuruan lowered his voice and said in a mysterious tone.

"That's right, a virus that only a certain group of people can infect, capable of systematically destroying our adversaries...... For example, those rat people, snake people, and so on. As for the others, at most, they will only become carriers of the virus, but they will not be affected by the virus. ”

There was a stunned look on Yarman's face.

"Is this really possible? I mean...... It really won't have the same effect on the Willantes? ”

Kuruan smiled.

"Who knows, some things are like battle reports from the front, half-truths and half-truths."

After a pause, he said with a smile again.

“…… Speaking of which, I've heard through the grapevine that this 'good thing' was actually made by a blue gopher. ”

——

(Thanks to the leader of "CaptPaterno" for the tip!! ）

(End of chapter)