Chapter 74: Sentinel Model 1 Portable Exoskeleton
Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Sentinel Model 1 Portable Exoskeleton
"My gun won’t be so kind to anyone who disobeys orders or retreats from battle."
Unlike the refined and gentle Hawkins, Li Wei didn’t mince his words at all.
The moment he finished speaking, the previously quiet scene erupted into a commotion.
Lies won’t hurt you; the truth is a sharp knife.
With those words, Li Wei had ripped away many people’s fig leaves.
In truth, many in the crowd planned to simply muddle through, hoping to snag some of the spoils at the end without putting in any real effort.
Now that their intentions had been laid bare, many felt as though they’d been stripped naked and thrown into the middle of a crowd.
"This guy’s way too harsh! We’re just hired help. You can’t seriously expect us to throw our lives away for a few Silver Coins, can you?"
"Exactly! He wants us to sell our lives for 10 Silver Coins? That’s insane!"
"They say the loot in the shelter will be split evenly, but who knows what’s even left inside? So many years have passed since the Cataclysm. What if it’s empty? We’d be working for nothing!"
"It’s a classic case of high risk and low reward. Only an idiot would take this job."
...
Li Wei had no patience for their chatter.
He pointed his finger at the ones who had just been complaining.
"You... you... you... and you. Get out of here, and shut your mouths."
The men he singled out were natural troublemakers. Hearing themselves called out, one of them immediately retorted.
"We’re not joining your damn mission, but this isn’t your territory. What right do you have to make us—"
However, he never got to finish his sentence.
Li Wei snatched the man who was just speaking, grabbing him as easily as a chick, and hurled him more than ten meters away.
The move looked effortless, but Li Wei had in fact used his full strength.
The man rolled several times across the ground before finally stopping. It was unclear if the impact had killed him; his body lay limp and motionless.
At the sight of this, the once-complaining crowd fell deathly silent.
They hadn’t expected Li Wei to be so ruthless, to strike without a moment’s hesitation and show absolutely no mercy.
Xisuo and Simon exchanged a look, and both saw the solemn expression in the other’s eyes.
’So strong!!’
Li Wei had been at least ten meters away from the man who had spoken.
And yet, Li Wei had thrown him out in less than half a second. His speed was absurdly fast.
Xisuo couldn’t even imagine how a machine over three meters tall could possess such agility.
However, they quickly composed themselves.
After all, they had no intention of starting a conflict. Instead, they wanted to use this opportunity to make contact with people from the Academy.
If they could connect with someone from the Academy, they might have a chance to solve the problems with their bodies.
Moreover, they noticed that Hawkins hadn’t tried to stop Li Wei. In fact, he was smiling.
Evidently, Hawkins fully approved of Li Wei’s actions.
This caused them to see Hawkins in a new light.
It now seemed this gentle, scholarly researcher was not as simple as he appeared.
’This Li Wei must be the one playing the bad cop.’
After Li Wei made an example of the man, the dissenters immediately fell silent.
After all, even the October Town guards present said nothing. It was obvious these people from the Academy had already come to an understanding with October Town’s mayor.
Seeing that the scene had quieted down again, Li Wei nodded with satisfaction.
"I know some of you are here for the Academy’s reputation, and some of you are here for the spoils."
"But regardless of your motives, now that you’ve joined this team, you must obey the rules."
"Otherwise, don’t blame us for being merciless."
Li Wei’s gaze swept across each person in the crowd, his voice filled with menace.
"Of course, as long as you obey the rules, we won’t treat you poorly."
"The ten Silver Coins for each of you is just the base payment."
"Any spoils found inside the shelter will be distributed according to value."
"In addition, we will have extra rewards for anyone who performs exceptionally during the mission."
As he spoke, he returned to his massive motorcycle. He pressed a button, and a large drawer popped out from the bike’s left side.
Li Wei reached in and pulled out a rectangular silver briefcase.
Seeing the briefcase, many of the more knowledgeable members of the crowd began to whisper, expressions of disbelief on their faces.
Li Wei placed the briefcase on the ground.
He then glanced around and beckoned to the mercenary closest to him.
"You, come here."
The mercenary pointed at his own nose in confusion.
"Me?"
Li Wei nodded.
"Yes, come here."
Though the man was a little scared, his curiosity won out over his fear. After getting Li’s confirmation, he immediately scurried over.
Li Wei pointed to a red button on the silver case.
"Press the red button, then don’t move."
The man did as instructed and pressed the red button.
Several beams of red infrared light scanned over the man’s body.
The next moment, the silver case emitted a whir of mechanical gears.
The silver case instantly broke apart into dozens of pieces of all shapes and sizes. As if they had a mind of their own, the parts flew rapidly toward the mercenary and began to affix themselves to his body.
In just a few tens of seconds, the silver case had assembled itself into a partial exoskeleton.
Although it looked somewhat crude, with very thin armor in key places, it couldn’t compare at all to the exoskeleton Hawkins wore. As for external weapons, it had none.
However, regardless of its shortcomings, there was no denying the fact that it was, truly and completely, a set of exoskeleton armor.
Everyone present subconsciously swallowed, their eyes filled with intense craving.
An exoskeleton, even the junkiest one, was a priceless treasure in the wasteland.
After all, such equipment could drastically improve the wearer’s chances of survival.
In a dangerous place like the wasteland, survivability was more important than anything else.
"This is a Sentinel-1, a portable model exoskeleton manufactured by the Academy."
Li Wei pointed to the exoskeleton on the mercenary and said with a deadpan expression.
"The top performer on this exploration mission will receive this exoskeleton."
"As for the rest of you, if you perform well, we will also consider giving out additional rewards."
Hearing Li Wei’s words, many in the crowd began to stir, eager to act.
Although the Sentinel-1 was a portable model, it was still part of the Sentinel series of exoskeletons.
While this type of exoskeleton couldn’t grant its wearer superhuman strength, it could significantly increase their chances of survival.
Running speed, jumping ability, and overall agility would all be massively enhanced.
In a dangerous place like the wasteland, an exoskeleton like this was even more valuable than some powerful weapons.