Chapter 225
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Chapter 225: Prioritizing Urgency
"This box contains samples collected twenty years ago from the forest in the west. We haven’t opened it due to a lack of proper equipment, so you can inspect it first and decide whether to take it back.
"These are some notes I’ve recorded over the years. As I’ve grown older, my memory isn’t as sharp, so I had to write them down. I never intended to share them with others, so they might appear a bit messy.
"I should also have an identity badge, but I can’t seem to find it. It might have been lost along the way; my memory is a bit hazy."
Ink Drench nodded slightly, indicating she understood.
"One more thing, when I was on missions, my son was only ten years old, but he already had superpowers.
"His ability isn’t strong; I hope he listened well and didn’t try to overreach.
"His name is Zhang Wangyang. Do you know him?"
"I know him; his codename is ‘Obscure.’ He’s currently working in logistics, safe and sound."
Zhang Tong smiled and sighed, leaning back in his chair as Ink Drench raised her finger slightly:
"Logistics is good, logistics is good…"
The room fell silent once more, as they glanced at several lifeless bodies that exhibited plant-like features, somewhat gray and withered. Beast Pack was the first to suppress their grief and asked:
“Captain, what should we do now…?”
Ink Drench didn’t turn back, rhythmically tapping her fingers on the table:
"How long does it take to walk from here to the camp?"
"If we don’t take anything into account, three minutes."
"Alright, take these things and evacuate. My ability will activate in three minutes."
She gently tapped the table, the intervals precisely one second apart.
Hearing this, the others instinctively shivered. They packed the box and notebooks, took some identification items from each other, and then, led by Shuijing, who took the lead, they opened the door and headed toward the camp.
The guard at the entrance wanted to ask something but was intimidated by Beast Pack’s fierce presence.
They returned to the camp, gazing distantly towards the square where many outsiders were still waiting for news. Unfortunately, perhaps even they didn’t know what they truly consisted of.
A few seconds later, an invisible force enveloped the entire Marsh Settlement, dimming the sky slightly.
Under the unseen power, one by one, the so-called "humans" silently fell to the ground, while the remaining lives seemed unaffected.
Death descended upon the settlement. Amidst the panic and helplessness of the crowd, Ink Drench walked out of the room expressionlessly, stepping toward the camp.
Watching the people fall in the distance, Ink Drench’s teammates understood what had happened.
As they saw their Captain approach with a calm demeanor, they instinctively swallowed hard.
"Captain, how come you…"
Shuijing understood what had happened but couldn’t fully grasp it; he was the only one brave enough to ask the question directly.
“Pack up the supplies. Our exploration is over.”
“No more going forward?”
“No need. We’ve already gathered plenty. We shouldn’t be greedy; that would be irresponsible.”
The group silently began to pack their things when suddenly, the person with bipolar disorder set aside his tasks and looked at the Captain:
"Captain, I recall… two squads headed towards the forest west of Hope City from different directions…"
"Yes, we must hurry to rescue them…"
Shuijing’s words faltered as he met Ink Drench’s gaze.
For some inexplicable reason, the remainder of his sentence lodged in his throat, neither spoken nor swallowed.
"I said, return to Hope City."
Ink Drench reiterated her command.
"I am aware of the two squads in the western forest, and some of you may be friends with them, but what does that matter?
"Who can locate them? Who can confirm their current safety? If we are powerless to act, then we must regroup and await the next opportunity for exploration."
The group fell silent. After inspecting their exploration equipment and the items gifted by Zhang Tong, they glanced back at the desolate Marsh Settlement and commenced their journey back to Hope City.
Standing on the flat boat formed from mercury, Ink Drench gazed into the distance, her thoughts anything but tranquil.
She harbored as many questions as the others, but as Captain, she could not chase excitement or gamble her teammates’ lives on uncertain outcomes.
They needed to hasten their return. If the Marsh Settlement conducted its mysterious ceremony every night, and if certain unknown entities could indeed sense it, then yesterday’s destruction might have already alerted them.
A new beast tide could very well be on the horizon.
Observing the occasional bubbles on the water’s surface, Ink Drench began to connect the unreasonable aspects of the Marsh Settlement with her own deductions.
For a settlement like the Marsh Settlement, devoid of any air defense capabilities, a powerful Third Level extraordinary beast could easily feast here, yet why had they not faced any attacks over the years?
According to Zhang Tong and the others, it was due to their proximity to Hope City, and Third Level extraordinary beasts always moved with large groups, naturally overlooking this insignificant place in favor of larger settlements like Hope City.
But in hindsight, there might be another explanation.
If the Supreme Will had decreed to overlook this settlement, and if extraordinary beasts of a certain strength had discerned its peculiarities, they would naturally choose to bypass it.
Another highly suspicious aspect was the crops consumed by the group.
If the so-called survivors had never existed, where did the crops they ingested originate?
If the answer lay in the disguise of mycelium, that would be one thing, but if not, it would indeed be chilling…
At this thought, Ink Drench’s fists clenched slightly. The mercury beneath the group’s feet, unaware of the situation, nonetheless paddled vigorously, attempting to accelerate, resembling a beached fish striving to return to the Sea.
—
North of Hope City, one hundred and fifty kilometers away.
The five individuals visible and one person and a cat concealed in the shadows were now astonished by the strange sight before them.
A metal pillar, dozens of meters high, was slanted in the ground, the dirt in front slightly raised from the impact, while a deep ravine had been plowed behind it.
The main body of the metal pillar rested on an anomalous tree that had already taken the shape of a ‘Y.’
Though much time had passed and plants and decay had buried most traces, the alteration in terrain still indicated the immense shock this area once endured.
Looking at the gray-white metal shell and streamlined form, along with the obvious shape of the nozzle at the back, Lin Qingliu, far away in Hope City, exclaimed after a brief moment of surprise:
"A rocket!"
