Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 462 - 106: Settlements and Planning

Chapter 462: Chapter 106: Settlements and Planning

From the launch point of the flying vehicles to their destination, there were several hundred kilometers.

Near this several-hundred-kilometer flight route, there were three different Protector cities—all similar to Pine Eagle City with Gene Bank defense armed forces and high-level military officers stationed, as well as several Scientific Knight Orders that deeply cooperated with the Secluded Crane Knight Order.

These three cities were not in the middle of the flight path but rather closer to the air route.

In the center of the three cities, there were also several scattered settlements.

These settlements were similar to Recycling Station Town, formed spontaneously by people who didn’t want to live in the cities.

Typically, these settlements were formed by individuals who had mastered some production and living skills as well as martial arts and then voluntarily moved out of the city.

Due to the lack of government-provided infrastructure and public services from the old era, living conditions in the cities were much worse than in the wilderness—after all, the population density was too high, and there simply wasn’t enough area for solar panels.

This was under the premise that Benchmark Man, especially cyberized Benchmark Man, had very low requirements for "eating" and "excreting".

The only benefit of living in the city was the network signal and the primitive commerce. Here, it was easier to learn skills, download blueprints, and find various makers.

Once a person with such skills had gathered a certain population [the government’s standard was "a number of people who wouldn’t inbreed within at least three generations," usually tens of people], they could go to the government to report. After the government reviewed and confirmed that this person wasn’t "establishing an organization with strict rules" and didn’t violate the Dyson Principles, they would approve the request and notify everyone that the settlement was under the protection of human civilization and was one of the "Protected Areas." If someone caused significant harm to the group within that designated area, the government would certainly eradicate those who harmed them.

This "protection" was aimed at the area or group.

The individual protection of civilization within the settlement was unrelated.

If an area’s protection was revoked, the people within that area were still protected individuals. If another Protector harmed them during this time, their protection would also be revoked.

But that was just a revocation of protection.

As for whether they would be wiped out by a large army, it depended on the mood of the Protectors.

If a settlement suffered significant damage during the period it was declared a Protected Area, then the Protectors would certainly deploy their armies.

The reason for this was... a shortage of manpower.

Due to the Dyson Principles, the organization of the Protectors themselves would not be very high, and they were chronically short of manpower, unable to protect all humans within all regions.

Although theoretically they must extend the protection of civilization to everyone, in reality, they couldn’t do so and thus had to declare "priority protection" to some regions.

Of course, they also strongly advocated for residents to defend themselves.

Meanwhile, the people in these settlements would also accept some test missions from the Scientific Knight Orders—they could receive "modern crop" seedlings or fungal strains from the Scientific Knight Orders and grow them on their own. These crops were all formulated by the Scientific Knight Orders.

The term "Scientific Knight Order" here was not limited to "local Scientific Knight Orders", because some Knight Orders stationed in the city had no genetic-related research projects. However, through the Gene Bank defense organization, they could still receive "seed testing" missions from Scientific Knight Orders in other places.

If they didn’t accept missions, they could also buy crop seedlings from the Gene Bank defense forces—and to be fair, the prices were quite reasonable. If someone had been a low-ranking soldier for the Protectors, then these goods were almost given away for free.

And thus, a settlement was born.

Like all families, settlements had to pay the Gene Tax and raise babies provided as welfare to prevent the emergence of inbreeding degeneration.

This region was close to the Pacific Ocean and had a more humid climate. There were more fungi on the ground than around Pine Eagle City. Here, it was easier to raise crops.

As a result, the density of settlements was also greater than around Pine Eagle City.

However, Heroes had to consider avoiding settlement areas in their actions.

Things like the density of residents in the settlements were secondary, as Protectors wouldn’t carry out groundless massacres in settlements. But every resident in a settlement could potentially become the eyes of the Protectors. And for regular residents, Heroes couldn’t harm them directly.

Besides, if the Protectors weren’t aware that common people were near the Hero group, those ordinary people could also be injured by the explosion of missiles.

So, significant acts of chivalry also needed to steer clear of settlements a bit.

The operation location this time had to meet three conditions: "under the air route," "far from Protector Army," and "not close to settlements."

With such criteria, the options were limited.

The region chosen by the Arctic Heroes was near the Coast Mountains of the Pacific Ocean. The flying vehicle would have to navigate between several mountain peaks, cross the Coast Mountains, then reach the Rocky Mountains.

This place had complex terrain, where the Heroes could maximize their specialization in "Guerrilla Warfare." In this area, the numerical advantage of the Protector Army would be difficult to demonstrate.

According to conventional practices, this would be the time to deploy a group of Mobile Cavalry for search. With more than ten Mobile Cavalry coordinating, even those Martial Artists who could surpass a major threshold anytime would dare to confront them.

However, based on intelligence brought by Jader and Gaoqiao Ziyi, the Arctic Heroes believed that, conventionally speaking, a Mobile Cavalry squad encountering a Nameless Hero was courting death.

There were also some Burrow Dragons active in this place, making their actions much easier.

After several days of rest, Xiang Shan and Jader set out again, heading toward the Coast Mountains of the Pacific Ocean.

They would go there to the Burrowing Dragon Community to obtain the assistance of the Burrow Dragons.

They also intended to meet up with other Heroes participating in the operation.

"I’m telling you, Great Hero, this time besides me, there are several capable fellows. Although none are as strong as me, they can take on many combat tasks," Solo Kill King boasted while thumping his chest loudly.

"The most important is the Sniper," Xiang Shan said, "We must ensure to bring that thing down, yet avoid an explosion."

Those flying vehicles were rare machines that used synthetic fuel. If hit incorrectly, there might be an explosion, thwarting the entire effort.

Xiang Shan didn’t want to destroy the Scientific Knight Order’s specimens. He just wanted that small refrigerator.

"No problem," Solo Kill King said, "I can guarantee that Black Hand Master is the best Gunner in the Arctic."

At this very moment, Black Hand Master was on the run.