If the Scrapyard was a garbage dump, then this intersection of the three factions was the garbage dump within the garbage dump. Or perhaps it would be more fitting to call it a graveyard.
The smell of motor oil and rust was mixed with the stench of blood, along with a nauseating hint of rot. Vaguely visible within the pitch-black soil were white bones breaking the surface, or the shattered fragments of blown-apart cybernetics. The useful parts of the dead had long since been disassembled, becoming "high-quality goods" in the hands of wasteland merchants.
"...."
Wende's brow furrowed slightly. Although he had anticipated the environment here, it was indeed a bit too foul.
Rather than calling it a junction of three factions, Wende preferred to call this area "No Man's Land." It felt as though at any second, a naked psycho wearing a mask would leap out from a nearby trash heap with bombs strapped to his body, wanting to take you down with him.
Just as they stepped out of the Survivor Base, they had witnessed a murder. Oh, no—it was just some Scavenger merchants stocking up on goods.
They had surrounded a group of people, then drugged them with various neurotoxins and anesthetics. This would preserve their bodies and cybernetics to the greatest extent possible. Of course, the main goal was to preserve the cybernetics; the radiation-corroded flesh was so bad that not even the mechanical hounds of the Scrapyard would eat it!
Well, in the end, he did intervene. He beat the Scavenger scum into scum, leaving a few of them alive to carry the captured people back to the Survivor Base. What happened next was none of his business. One shouldn't do unnecessary things.
"Let's wait for Himeko and the others here. I heard Stelle got a lot of intel, though I don't know how much of it will be useful."
Finding a relatively hidden and clean spot to sit, Wende scanned the surroundings to confirm no one else was there before speaking to Jingliu and Tingyun.
"Yes, whatever Benefactor says..."
Tingyun forced a smile and nodded obediently, her white fox ears twitching back and forth. They looked like they would feel very nice to the touch.
"What's wrong, Tingyun? You seem to have a lot on your mind today."
Noticing that something was clearly off with Tingyun, Wende asked directly.
"Er… It's nothing, really. I just didn't sleep well last night."
Shaking her head slightly, Tingyun indicated that she was fine.
"Could it be that leak March was talking about? But my room is right below March's, and Tingyun's is above mine. How come I didn't hear any dripping?" Wende asked, his face full of confusion.
He had slept very well that night, even reliving the scene in the cosmos from before in his dream. While it wasn't exactly a sweet dream, it was better than a nightmare.
"Er, Benefactor really doesn't know?" Tingyun looked at Wende suspiciously, her golden eyes filled with disbelief.
"Of course not. I even checked when I went back; there were no signs of any leaks at all," Wende said, shaking his head helplessly.
"Is… is that so? Then this little lady probably understands what happened."
Tingyun turned to look resentfully at Jingliu, who was gently stroking her own large ears, her tone carrying a hint of blame.
"Hm? Why is Tingyun looking at me?" Jingliu's lips curled into a smile, her eyes crinkling with amusement, as if Tingyun's resentful gaze wasn't directed at her at all.
"Sigh… Sister Jingliu, you should have told me next time…"
"Alright, alright. I definitely will next time."
"…?"
What are these two talking about?
Wende stared blankly at the two of them speaking in riddles.
---o---
After waiting for a long time, Himeko and the others arrived and successfully regrouped with Wende. After analyzing the situation of the three factions, the group made a decision: to enter the Cinder Gang's territory directly from here, as it was the fastest method.
As for the reaction of the Cinder Gang and the Scavengers, the brilliant strategist March 7th declared that as long as they ran fast enough, there would definitely be no problem!
After all, they had the detailed map from the masked merchant, and the location of the underground waterway was very clear. According to that "hacker" who had been taught a good lesson earlier, the Cinder Gang didn't seem to have built any significant defenses around the waterway.
Well… even if there were some defenses, couldn't Himeko just call down an orbital strike?
Thus, after a careful discussion about what formation to use to raid the Cinder Gang's camp, a plan was born: Jingliu, Wende, and Dan Heng would lead the charge, with Stelle bringing up the rear.
---o---
"WTF? What game is this? You can even play Star Rail within Star Rail? Did the planners from Honkai Impact 3rd move over to Star Rail? This… isn't this that 'shoot-shoot-shoot' game from the web game ads?!"
Sister Guoguo stared in horror at the "Raid the Cinder Gang" mini-game that had just popped up, her face a mask of disbelief.
On the screen, the Trailblazer started out holding a baseball bat, sprinting rapidly along a path in the Scrapyard. Every time they passed a Cinder Gang monster, they either smacked it with the bat or just dodged to the side and ignored it!
Every time you hit a monster, you lose health, but when you "pick up" Wende along the way, Wende heals you!
Picking up March gives you a shield, Dan Heng increases your movement speed, Jingliu increases your attack range, Tingyun restores your energy, and Himeko is the strongest item of all! She clears all the monsters on the screen instantly!
What is this? Temple Run?!
It's actually pretty fun…
"I thought that a direct raid on the Cinder Gang would just be a bunch of monsters blocking the way to forcibly extend the main story quest time, since that's what they've always done before… but I never expected this… It's actually pretty fun!"
This was a huge, pleasant surprise.
[Hiss… Logging in! Logging in! I wanna play too!]
[Oh no, she's having fun with it.]
[What is thiiis!]
[You guys are still watching the story, but I'm already on the game!]
"Hey? HEY?! Why is everyone leaving?! You're all going to play the game instead of watching me play, is that it!"
Watching the number of viewers in her stream plummet, Sister Guoguo instantly understood the true nature of these chaos agents. They were the real followers of Aha!
---o---
"Boss! Boss! This is bad! A group of people just stormed into our camp like a whirlwind! The brothers can't stop them at all, Boss!"
A muscular man burst into the Cinder Gang's headquarters tent, scrambling and crawling his way to the "Boss" sitting on the main seat. He hugged the small, white-socked foot and began to wail, his voice so miserable it was chilling.
"Get lost!"
A childish voice echoed angrily inside the tent, and a figure was promptly kicked straight out.
Nolan shook the long ahoge on top of his head, tossed aside the white sock that had been dirtied, and then a rumbling sound came from beneath him…
"Hmph, how dare they cause trouble in my Cinder Gang's territory! Men! Come with me and teach these bad guys a lesson!"
"Yes! Boss!"