CHAPTER 1143: CHAPTER 881: CYBERPUNK ENVOY OPERATION

years later.

Xu Cheng piloted a Greyhound-class cargo shuttle machine, soaring over the forbidden zone. Her feet pressed on the pedals, her left hand fine-tuning the rudder, and her right hand gripping the joystick, cautiously and carefully controlling the aircraft.

She had to deliver cargo from Shangjing to Jialong Slope, the job of an envoy. Only the bravest people, like Xu Cheng, dared to move between different safe zones, passing through the vast forbidden zone.

Below was a vast fog, further down was an ominous and strange star shine, and below that was the turbulent sea.

Bubble was in the co-pilot seat, responsible for operating the scanner, monitoring any suspicious activities in the fog below, as the star shine monsters ground their teeth and drank blood, killing mercilessly.

A G2000 robot was at the weapon operation station, adjusting the rocket launcher and small machine guns, ensuring they had the chance to fight back if enemies appeared, at least firing a salvo before fleeing.

"Only 1 hour to reach Jialong Slope, but the distortion index of this sea area is 77%, overlapping with the ruins of Baraya City, where the monsters are likely to be active," Bubble checked the indicators on the navigation map, most of which were manually marked, as satellites were useless these days, relying on mercenaries and professional exploration companies’ markings.

"Guabu." Xu Cheng was indifferent; she knew how to fly.

Below came some eerie roars, deep and mournful like a lament, not a precursor of a hunt. Xu Cheng pondered, having heard that monsters were people who unfortunately died in the disaster six years ago, which surprised her. If the monsters were killed, wouldn’t it be like killing the deceased again? If the monsters could speak, could they recognize friends and family still in the world?

However, they must be very smart, with very human-like traits; otherwise, why would they roar before every attack?

"Here they come!" G2000 shouted excitedly; it was a new product from the Nestor Corporation, helping people overcome challenges in these toughest times. It fired a volley of bullets into the thick fog below, brass bullets striking the monster on the forehead, sparking explosions.

"Careful!" Bubble hurried to redraw the flight path.

"..." Xu Cheng pulled the joystick back, causing the shuttle machine to tilt swiftly, like a bird with agile wings, using high-speed airflow for motion, granting it a momentary acceleration.

After the monster’s roar, it crawled out of the fog. Xu Cheng glanced down quickly; the remains of Baraya City still glimmered underwater, the beautiful hotels, exquisite streets, and tall palm trees were well-preserved. Even some survivors lived there, but now the world folded severely, needing repatriation of flight paths to find a stable route to Baraya.

Along the way, monsters blocked the path; its massive whip-like tentacles slapped the air fiercely, taller and more brutal than any Ocean Descendant in the past, thanks to Xu Cheng’s pre-emptive acceleration, the whip only hit the air behind.

"Ahahaha!" G2000 shouted, unrestrained in battle, "Taste this!"

It drilled out of the shuttle machine bay, wielding a machine gun, firing a salvo at the grotesque star shine dragon monster below. The monster was enormous, with giant horns on its head; its roar spread across the sea surface, shimmering with resplendent colors all over. If it didn’t enjoy devouring lives, Xu Cheng would have liked to keep one.

The sound of the ocean, monster roars, engine roarings, and gunfire all buzzed in Xu Cheng’s ears. On her first voyage, she trembled like a wet puppy, but now she was accustomed, her expression unchanged.

She looked up and pressed a few buttons on the control panel, adjusting the engine output; leaving this sea area did require some precise techniques.

Boom!

She heard a huge metallic tearing sound, seemingly having hit something with the star shine dragon.

"Guabu?" Xu Cheng shouted. If their shuttle machine was destroyed, they were doomed.

"It’s fine! Our shuttle machine is fine! It just got hit by the star shine dragon!" Bubble left the seat, dashed to the edge of the shuttle machine, dragging back G2000’s two legs and half of its body.

Xu Cheng looked sorrowfully at the shattered synthetic human, it had cost 100 thousand funds, only bought for less than 2 months, not yet earning back the expense before it was wrecked. She should’ve lowered its combat aggressiveness further.

Bubble took over G2000’s post, rushing to the weapon control station; she dared not lean out like a synthetic human to fight but rather let the shuttle machine’s fire control system self-adjust its ammo consumption, maniacally attacking the star shine beast below.

"Roar—Roar—"

"Did you hear them?" Bubble turned, her expression anxious, green eyes filled with unease, "More monsters are coming!"

"Guabu." Xu Cheng lifted the joystick, raising the shuttle machine towards the sky.

"Not enough! Our machine is too heavy! It’s impossible to reach a safe altitude!" Bubble shouted.

Xu Cheng quickly pressed a few buttons on the control panel, entering AI control mode. The Greyhound AI took over the shuttle machine, continuing to ascend into the sky.

"Don’t you understand? Xu Cheng! It’s too heavy! We can’t fly any higher! The engines will break down!" Bubble shouted frantically.

"Guaba." Xu Cheng didn’t like speaking much. After the cataclysm, she was forced to live independently; her dad and Farosa had to exhaust their resources to solve this unprecedented disaster, confronting the eternal enemy dwelling in this world.

She wasn’t very happy, but she had to find ways to overcome the immediate challenge, one after another. At least she couldn’t lose face for her dad; she was Xu Cheng, an exceptional child.

She ignored Bubble’s shouting, dashed to the back, opened the cargo hold, and with force loosened the safety lever of two large containers, then operated the cargo hold panel, letting them drop out from the cargo hold opening.

"Roar!" The monsters below roared; they were diverse in appearance, vicious and powerful, with one large container hitting their heads, another getting bitten off, tons of grains and oil scattered on the sea surface.

"Ow!" A monster extended its tentacle, stabbing towards Xu Cheng.

"Don’t burp!" Xu Cheng released the Repulsion Barrier, intercepting the tentacle of the monster in mid-air!

Xu Cheng quickly returned and forcefully shut the cargo bay door.

After discarding 2 large containers, the Greyhound shuttle machine lightened considerably, its ascent speed significantly increased, instantly dodging the monster groups below, heading high towards Jialong Slope on a directed cruise.

"Ha... ha... ha..." Bubble was still shaken, looking down at the increasingly distant group of monsters.

"Guabu." Xu Cheng sat back at the shuttle machine cockpit, regained control of it. She liked manually handling her machine. Just like Dad enjoyed personally dealing with technological products, AI could temporarily take over, but could never replace Xu Cheng.

"So...so amazing... Xu Cheng, you’re really impressive..." Bubble leaned back, resting against the cushion, eyes closed, still shaken.

Xu Cheng was cool and didn’t speak.

Encountering such a large swarm of monsters was rare, but not impossible, as anything could happen in the forbidden zone. Only the most daring scavengers would go in to fetch advanced Cyber Era technology—one Laser Three Eyed Gun or one Gauss Sniper Rifle could exchange for quite a lot of supplies. Sometimes, they might also meet survivors inside the forbidden zone, most of whom had been infected by radiant dust, gradually transforming into shimmering monsters.

Xu Cheng lowered the Shuttle Machine, approaching Jialong Slope, and docked at the massive port.

Bubble could talk, so she went down to converse with people. The envoy office manager at the port, Zhou Zhen, was a rigid person who, like most of those earning a living at Jialong Slope, adhered strictly to the law and regarded discipline as everything.

"We’re 2 boxes short." He said.

"We were attacked on the way here, as you know, there’s no way around it." Bubble was actually not very articulate, but for Xu Cheng, she had to step up and face all kinds of people.

"It’s different from what’s listed on the goods manifest, the postman has to pay to make up the difference, this is Jialong Slope’s legal requirement." Zhou Zhen said.

"How much?" Bubble asked nervously.

"4 tons of goods, total price 80,000, must be paid within 7 days. Until paid off, the Shuttle Machine will be held here." Zhou Zhen said.

"..." Bubble pursed her lips, helplessly returning.

Xu Cheng sat in his seat, watching through the window as Bubble talked to Zhou Zhen, motionless.

"We have to pay 80,000, we signed the envoy contract, Jialong Slope’s laws are extraordinarily unyielding." Bubble said dejectedly.

"Gua-gigi." Xu Cheng handed his cash card to Bubble.

"A total of 12,000, it’s still not enough..." Bubble shook her head.

Xu Cheng hugged Bubble, held her hand as they went down, and pulled closed the Shuttle Machine door. Zhou Zhen went over and fitted the Shuttle Machine with an electronic lock, only top-level hackers could break it and steal it.

"Before gathering the money, there’s no way to get the Shuttle Machine back." Bubble looked at Xu Cheng, who saw his Shuttle Machine being locked and his expression seemed like someone about to cry all night.

"Bubu..." Xu Cheng pointed to the bar next to the astronaut airport.

They arrived at the bar, the bar manager wasn’t there today, nor were there any people speaking, so Bubble could only order a big glass of milk for Xu Cheng and a big glass of orange juice for herself. She didn’t even dare to order food because resources were scarce, only envoys could transfer between various secure zones, so everything was expensive.

"Did you bring a weapon?" Bubble turned her head to see some intimidating transformed and mutated gang members entering the bar, immediately becoming alert. Some people even younger than them served as bar attendants to greet them. Population decreased sharply today, employing children was not uncommon.

"Gua-ye." Xu Cheng patted her bulging pilot jacket, underneath was her Mini Black Blade.

"Huh..." Bubble only had an iron rod and a pistol, she hoped she’d never have to use them in her life.

Those gang members at Jialong Slope belonged to the Cold Bay Seven Groups, accustomed to lingering around the edges of the law, they profited from grey businesses. Their envoys secretly traded stamps, implants, and mutagens, accumulating considerable wealth and resources, having significant influence in the port area.

"Ah..." Bubble shivered, "How about we register on the New World Mechanism’s network system and find work?"

Xu Cheng nodded.

Bubble sent out a message saying they were an unbeatable envoy duo, willing to deliver any courier.

She drank the orange juice in frustration, pondering whether to give up envoy work and seek more stable work.

However, Xu Cheng never studied properly, had no qualifications, only knew how to fly a plane. Bubble only graduated high school. Most importantly, Xu Cheng was determined not to be a parasite, not to be an idle second-generation, already resolved to be self-reliant. She had to persist in flying planes to sustain her life.

Buzz—

The screen flashed a new conversation notification at the bottom right, Bubble widened her eyes, quickly sat up straight, and opened the message.

"Can you fly to the Taixi Continent?" A mysterious person sent a message.

Seeing the sender, Bubble jumped in shock, the ID was hidden, but the profile showed extremely high credibility. In the New World Mechanism network, mercenaries, hackers, envoys, and assassins would highly rate qualified employers, it somewhat represented trustworthiness.

"Yes." Bubble swiftly sent the message back, "We’re really confident in envoy work!"

"Can you also handle very complex postal routes?" The mysterious person asked.

"No problem." Bubble nodded. Xu Cheng was a genius at flying planes, no matter how complex the route was, it wouldn’t be an issue.

"This job carries extreme risk, you must pass through many monster nests and must compete with other envoys, pirates, and companies, you won’t mind, right?" The mysterious person continued.

"No problem, approximately how much is the reward?" Bubble asked.

"100 million."

Bubble shivered, turned to look at Xu Cheng.

"Okay." Xu Cheng took Bubble’s phone and replied.