Chapter 171
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Chapter 171: Everything is Normal
On the afternoon of the second day, after a long and grueling journey, the tall grass finally towered above everyone’s heads.
The northern expanse of Hope City stretched out like an endless sea of tall grass. By noon, the only one who could still clearly discern direction was Captain, hovering in the middle of the sky.
“This way, everyone. Stay close and don’t get separated.”
“Understood.”
The monotonous, unchanging landscape seemed to wear on everyone’s minds.
The superpowered individuals pushed through the soft grass, feeling as though they had stumbled into an endless, suffocating swamp.
The initial excitement had long since faded, especially for Bomb Man, who would much rather face extraordinary beasts in combat than wade through this endless grass.
At least a fight wouldn’t leave him feeling so drowsy.
After several more hours, the dry, yellow grass seemed to stop growing, finally leveling off at around two meters tall.
It was an awkward height—just tall enough to be oppressive, yet still offering a faint glimmer of hope for progress.
“Captain, I think we might be off course.”
Vine called up from below.
Nian glanced at the setting sun, then assessed the team’s position.
“We’re on track. Your sense of direction might just be a little off.”
As night fell once more, even the usually composed Captain seemed weighed down by the journey.
It wasn’t fear that troubled him, but the growing unease of having made no significant progress halfway through their mission. He couldn’t help but feel the weight of responsibility pressing heavily on his shoulders.
“Potatoes again tonight?”
“Captain, I actually think they’re pretty good. Why do the councilors always hoard stuff like this?”
Sands’ question hung in the air, leaving the team in an uneasy silence.
Even Vine, who often rubbed shoulders with the councilors, couldn’t quite make sense of it.
The land in Hope City was valuable, but not entirely barren. Yet, the staple diet for millions consisted of nothing more than nutritional paste made from insects and extraordinary beasts.
The food that should have been shared by all had become a luxury, a fact that was hard to swallow without resentment.
Nian didn’t respond directly. Instead, he tapped lightly on the chest of his combat suit, a subtle reminder of the listening device still active there.
The team endured another dull dinner. Tonight, Bomb Man and Vine were on watch.
“I’ll take the first half of the night, and you can handle the second. That way, you can make breakfast. Sound good?”
“Fine by me.”
“Potatoes again tomorrow?”
“I don’t mind.”
After a brief exchange, the team settled back into silence, the tall grass swaying gently around them.
—
【Year 52 of the New Era, September 17, Day Three outside the city. The exploration team remains intact, alert, and in good spirits. Everything is normal. We will continue north.】
The warm sunlight of early autumn filtered through the grass, casting a gentle glow on everyone’s faces.
After a peaceful night, Captain Nian, who had taken the second half of the night watch, was jotting down notes for the new day. He showed little sign of fatigue and appeared remarkably refreshed.
Bomb Man, waking from his sleep, packed his sleeping bag, while Vine used the lingering embers of the campfire to warm the sealed nutritional paste.
It wouldn’t improve the taste, but at least it would be warmer.
“Three servings; don’t just heat yours.”
“Come on, buddy, you’re a superpowered individual who can create flames. Do you really need someone else to heat your food?”
“If I do it myself, it’ll just burn. Don’t you have any common sense?”
“Nope.”
Vine and Bomb Man exchanged their usual banter as the nutritional paste slowly warmed in the pile of ashes.
—
“Captain worked hard all day; I’ve never seen his abilities stretched for so long… so you get what I mean, right?”
As evening fell, Bomb Man placed a hand on Vine’s shoulder, who was shaping the ground to create a safety zone.
Vine adjusted his hands slightly,
“Of course, I get it. It’s just the two of us on watch, right? We’ve done this before.”
“The team can manage without me, but not without the Captain. Otherwise, none of us would make it back.”
“Alright, I’ll take the second half of the night, and you can take the first half.
It works out since the campfire will die down by then; I’ll just rekindle it.”
The two discussed their night watch plan, and Captain Nian had no objections.
It was already the third day, and the entire team was still alive. What more could they ask for?
Now, the only goal was to head north, north, and continue north.
As the moon hung high in the night sky, Vine, who had been patrolling the perimeter of the safety zone, finally woke Bomb Man.
“Your turn! I’m about to collapse from exhaustion.”
“Why are you so weak…”
“What do you know? Creating a safety zone in this tall grass is exhausting.”
“Fine, I won’t argue. Just go get some sleep.”
Soon, soft, rhythmic snores emerged from Vine’s sleeping bag. Energized from the first half of the night, Bomb Man endured the watch with boredom, occasionally tossing fireballs into the endless distance.
Time crept by, and the moon rose higher in the sky.
In the deepest darkness just before dawn, the campfire silently went out.
—
“Scrape, scrape, scrape.”
The rhythmic scraping sound woke Nian.
He slowly opened his eyes and saw his teammate Vine using a small knife to scrape a black stick.
Sparks flew from his scraping, landing on the fire starters below.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t ask, Captain. The electric igniter we got is busted; now I’m stuck using the backup flint attached to it.”
“Will that even work?”
“It should. Ancient humans made fire this way; I can’t be worse than them.”
“True. And don’t forget my share of the nutritional paste.”
“Got it.”
Nian slowly crawled out of his sleeping bag, his mind gradually clearing.
Today was the fourth day outside the city, and continuing to explore Hope City to the north was their mission.
Though the tall grass seemed unremarkable, there had to be something worth studying within it.
Looking at the rising sun in the east, Nian floated to the middle of the sky to confirm his team’s position, preparing to move forward after breakfast.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
As he floated in midair, he suddenly felt something hard pressing against his chest. He reached into his combat suit and quickly found his hard-shell notebook, opening to the page with a pen tucked inside.
Memories seemed to stir, and he quickly began to write:
【Year 52 of the New Era, Day Four, alive, fully aware, everything is normal, continue north.】
