Footsteps moved quickly in the darkness. The soldiers quickly moved between the walls while holding rifles. The soldiers movements showed their training as they had no unnecessary movements. They moved 100 metres and gathered behind a thick bulkhead.
âB team, weâve arrived in the strategy area.â
âAny enemy movement?
A mixed up voice was heard from the Nymphe. A blond soldier equipped with an infrared scope looked over the bulkhead and replied.
âSo far I donât see any strange movements.â
-Okay. Commence the work immediately. Finish the operation within 10 minutes and join us.
âUnderstood.â
The blond soldier answered and winked. The soldier who received the wink nodded and 3~4 soldiers put down a bag. A monitor the size of the palm of a hand spouted 4 spikes and fixed firmly to the ground while a bag full of mechanical parts were opened.
âWe have 10 minutes.â
âYes, just give me a moment.â
The blond soldier leaned back against the bulkhead and searched his pockets. He pulled out a crumpled cigarette before suddenly turning his head like he remembered something.
âHey, newbie. Do you want one?â
âNo, itâs okay.â
âYou should relax a little bit. You neck and back will become too stiff if you donât relax. Didnât I tell you? This is also a relaxing technique. It is good to be careful but you canât show all your skills if youâre too tense. So rest when you can.â
âYes.â
The person wearing a full helmet nodded. However the man still didnât take his eyes off the other side of the bulkhead.
âIâve finally arrived.â
The environment was pitch black. Even without the infrared scope, the enemies swarming hundreds of metres from where the soldiers were gathered could clearly be seen. The shadows swarmed like a group of ants that they would soon fight.
âHow on earthâŚâŚâ
A complicated sigh flowed from the manâs mouth. No matter how thorough his plans, unpredictable actions could happen that would cause adverse situation. At least that was his experience. But this time he didnât know if he was lucky or unlucky. There was only one thing he was certain of! But whether it was lucky or unlucky, he had no choice anymore.
âYes, this is my mission now. So I need to concentrate on survival. I have no choice but to wait for a good opportunity. I have to breakthrough somehow to do that!â
The man made a firm resolution. Suddenly a blue light flashed from the dark side.
âEh? A light? Heok! D-donât tell meâŚâŚ?â
It had only been 1 second since the man noticed the light. Then a streamlined object trailing smoke flew towards him! The blond man who was smoking noticed the smoke and cried out.
âIt is dangerous! Rocket!â
Kwa kwa kwa kw.a.n.g!
There was an eardrum shaking roar. Flames swept past the top of the bulkhead and caused it to melt. Urgency appeared on the head of the blond soldierâs face that had been deeply tanned.
âDammit, we were found?â
âB team! What is going on? Report on the situation!
âThose guys have detected us! We need support!â
âd.a.m.n, it canât be helped. Weâll move there soon so endure for a little while.
âUnderstood!â
The blond soldier turned his body to the opposite side while answering vigorously. Black shadows were quickly climbing over the held melted bulkhead.
âHeok! T-this fastâŚ..?â
âTheyâve also appeared here! Several of them seem to have hidden around here!â
âUgh, shoot! We must endure until the main forces get here!â
Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!
The blond soldier yelled with distress and fired over the bulkhead. But the enemiesâ movements were faster. They avoided the bullets and ran along the bulkhead towards the blond soldier. Sharp fangs with a horrible smell were about to be driven in the blond soldierâs neck!
Snap!
There was a ring and the enemy flew sideways as it was. .h.i.t. The soldier with the full helmet approached and asked.
âAre you alright?â
âN-newbie! Heok, it is dangerous!â
The blond soldierâs face turn pale white and he burst out screaming. Three shadows had appeared behind the rookie soldier. The man realized his situation thanks to the blond soldierâs reaction and turned. However, their movement was many times faster. The rookie couldnât respond before they covered him. And the man was rolled to the other side.
The blond soldier cried out with a desperate tone.
Cheolkeok, cheolkeok, cheolkeok! Pepepeng!
There was a ringing sound and the head of a shadow on the man exploded. Half of the head flew away and the other two shadows bounced back from the shockwave. The newcomer in the centre slowly stood up. But he looked completely different from before. He was surrounded by an insect like armour. The black armour was the battle suit designed for s.p.a.ce pioneering. And the man wearing the battle suitâŚâŚ
The blond soldier laughed as he saw it.
âAlanâŚ..this b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you surprised me!â
He couldnât understand the sight unfolding before his eyes. It was evident that something was going on. And there was no doubt that Arkâs actions would have a profound impact. The problem was he wasnât sure if it was good or not. But there was one thing he was sure about. SomethingâŚ..there was something strange about the situation.
âNo, it canât be. It isnât necessary to think of this as something bad. Yes, itâs been good so far. The results seem to be good. There is evidence that Iâve received quite a bit of good luck. Now letâs calm down and think. I might be able to find some clues from the beginning to understand the situation.â
Ark pushed down his confusion and recalled some memories. It was approximately 3 hours ago.
Ark was lost in excitement. It was reasonable. He had travelled 100 km from Nabe towards the Nabe lake and searched for a while for Charem.
âI knew there was something when I heard about the prohibited area!â
He had sensed there was a relation after hearing Bak.u.mâs words. But he never imagined the process he would go through to find Charem. He had encountered a group of androids and thought he was going to die! Then he was swept away by a vortex! Once caught in the current of water, he was drawn towards a large propeller and almost turned into mincemeat! It took more than 10 days to reach this point! The result was excellent! Ark wasnât the type to dwell on the past.
âIf my search wasnât so precise then I wouldnât have found the Charenjok. My 10 day search wasnât useless. Yes, thatâs right. It is natural.â
He rationalized everything.
âAnyway, I understand almost all the surrounding circ.u.mstances.â
Ark looked at his Nympheâs screen. In fact, Ark couldnât understand the situation that occurred just now. It was natural. He was suddenly attacked by androids at the bottom of the lake, sucked into a black hole and driven towards a huge propeller. It was difficult to understand something that happened so suddenly. But all his doubts were resolved the moment he saw Charem on his Nymphe screen. He slid the Wire Camera through a gap in the pipe and saw a panoramic view of the city. Charem was a city floating in the clouds and surrounded by a transparent blue sphere! Charem was an aerial city in the clouds.
âYes, I was moved through a huge water tank. I thought it felt familiar and now I know. The water tank is a water facility. The black hole I was sucked into is a pipe that moves water from the northern lake to facilities in the city. The lobster androids that attacked me are the guards protecting the source of water.â
It was the reason the octopuses disappeared. The android lobsters were placed to protect the water source. The octopuses were probably caught the moment they entered. The octopuses bodies were then sucked into the filter tank, purified and turned into minerals for the drinking water. AnywayâŚ..that was the dreadful secret of the prohibited area.
âWhat about the quest received from Bak.u.m?â
The ending was slightly uncomfortable but werenât the octopuses already dead? However, he couldnât just say âthis is the last of the missing octopusesâ and hand over some mineral water. Anyway, Bak.u.m asked him to find what happened to the little octopuses and gave him compensation in advance so he should neatly clean up the quest.
âAbove allâŚâŚâ
Ark opened the quest information window.
<charem>-The goal of the quest have been changed.</charem>
<charem>Youâve received a secret mission from Marquis Martin and managed to sneak into Charem after a long investigation. But you canât be relieved just yet. It isnât an exaggeration to say that this is just the start of your mission and the real danger will begin now.</charem>
<charem>Your job is to transmit Charemâs GPS information to the galactic federation. But Charem is a city that constantly moves so the correct GPS information canât be acquired. So the GPS information needs to be continually transmitted from inside Charem. Like youâve already heard, the many layers of the shield is hiding Charem from the federationâs monitoring. The only way to transmit the GPS information outside is to connect to Charemâs communication antenna in their central control tower.</charem>