Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

But the scene before Helag could only be described as a natural disaster rather than a battlefield, even after a lifetime of military service.

It was in this environment that he saw a familiar yet unfamiliar figure slowly walking from the scorched earth in the distance toward his location.

He was familiar with the person because he was an old friend.

The reason for the unfamiliarity was that Helag had never seen the other party so badly injured.

With the shield and spear gone, the old armor finally shattered.

With one side of the antlers broken off, the half-broken bone mask no longer concealed his weathered face.

"...Bozokasti?"

"...General?"

[Main Text] Chernobog, Amidst the Ruins: I'm heading back home after finishing the second quest.

"No signal has been received from Chernobyl."

Rhodes Island's main ship remained near Lungmen, while the team heading to Chernobog consisted of vehicles provided by both Lungmen and Rhodes Island, transporting them to their destination while attempting to contact Chernobog along the way.

Because it was a mission that was authorized and did not require covert operations, and because the scope of this rescue was the entire city, the convoy of large transport vehicles had grown to more than dozens of vehicles.

Lungmen did not send any Guard Bureau personnel to Chernobog, because for the Guard Bureau, their primary task was still to ensure the safety of Lungmen. Therefore, the people who were transferred were mostly Lungmen's official exploration and rescue teams, as well as some armed personnel who appeared to be just basic security personnel.

Rhodes Island, on the other hand, nominally only dispatched a medical team and a communications team, as well as some "specialists" skilled in targeting large targets—that is, operators with expertise in demolition and mining. As for the commanders, it was the Doctor and Amiya, while Kal'tsit remained with the Rhodes Island to continue her sample research on the creature.

Thomas wasn't entirely sure which operators were specifically assigned, but he knew that Frostnova and Chen had changed their identities and codenames, along with a degree of disguise, and had been assigned to other teams. However, they weren't in the same vehicle, and he didn't know what Rhodes Island had done to get an Ursus wanted criminal and a Lungmen police chief involved in the rescue operation without being recognized.

However, Thomas didn't know the other two operators who were assigned to the same smaller transport vehicle as him at all.

These people all seem to be operatives who are skilled at destroying large obstacles during rescue missions and have a lot of experience in dealing with various dangerous materials. Despite their different professions, they have temporarily formed their own team here because of their commonalities.

The result, of course, was that this pairing of complete strangers filled the entire trip with awkward silences.

Although these operators have been on Rhodes Island for much longer than Thomas, that doesn't necessarily mean they know each other.

"Are there only three of us operators responsible for handling the obstacles?"

Tomat broke the silence that had lasted since he boarded the train with a single sentence.

At this moment, the engine noise and the vibrations caused by the slightly bumpy road seemed to subside, giving the three people in the carriage room room to communicate with each other.

Sitting opposite Tomat was a Caster woman with hair that was slightly grayer than Frostnova's. She wore a black sleeveless leather coat that tightly hugged her curvaceous body, but her bare arms revealed well-developed muscles. When she mentioned the sound of voices, she suddenly jumped up and twitched her ears twice, as if she was also looking for an opportunity to strike up a conversation with the two people traveling with her.

“No, there are other explosives engineers here, but they're not with us. The three of us can operate independently, while the others are in assigned groups,” Caster explained to Thomas in a swift manner. “By the way, I'm Brutal, a Rhodes Island Guard operator, and she is…”

"The Scavenger, a wandering mercenary with a long-term agreement with Rhodes Island."

As soon as the atrocities turned their gaze to a light purple-haired Zalak woman sitting in the far corner of the carriage, seemingly wanting to introduce her, she slightly raised her eyelids, said her code name, and introduced herself.

Then, she closed her eyes again, lowered her head, and began to remain silent as if resting. Her hands, clad in loose boxer gloves, were clasped in front of her black bra that revealed her heart cleavage. Her long, thin tail, resembling that of some kind of rodent, swayed slightly and rested on her fair thighs between her stockings and hot pants.

"There's no need for introductions; just complete the work outlined in the agreement."

The cleaner, who had been resting with his eyes closed, spoke in a tone that was far less humane than the violence he had committed.

"Tomat, a Rhodes Island reserve special operations operator, was also a former mercenary."

This introduction made the two men, who had only heard of him by name, pay more attention. However, the violent man opened his eyes wide without any attempt to hide it, while the cleaner only slightly raised his eyelids to take a closer look at this "young man" who claimed to be a colleague.

"So, the three of us can stay in Chernobog without following the main group?"

Thomas asked about the atrocities mentioned earlier.

The violence nodded, and the ears on its head twitched in response.

"Actually, it's not a privilege. Basically, each team has to operate separately because Chernobog is too big. We have fewer people because each of us has strong overall abilities, and together we are equivalent to a small team—that's what Amiya told me."

"Are you sure?" the cleaner asked after hearing the explanation. "They call it a rescue team, but there aren't even any basic support staff, let alone medical personnel. Besides, I'm better at the opposite of saving lives."

"Besides demolition, I'm also good at cooking and logistics."

"Besides demolition work, I can also treat injuries."

But a single sentence from both Atrocity and Tomat made the Cleaner close his eyes again with a look of suspicion.

Regardless of whether what they said is true or not.

This mission was inherently very unsuitable for her.

The Scavenger is indeed skilled at handling various dangerous items. Her intuition as a mercenary and her racial instincts allow her to quickly identify and deal with dangerous items in the ruins, which can be a great help in rescue work. However, this kind of task is ultimately contrary to her original professional interests.

More importantly, she hates teamwork.

Therefore, some people don't understand Tomat, who claims to have been a mercenary, as his words and actions seem very different from hers.

While acknowledging that there are all sorts of eccentric people in the industry, encountering another one here was truly unexpected.

"You're from Rembiton?"

The Scavengers had no intention of exchanging ideas with them, and it was clear that Tomat was now talking to the Violent about their respective hometowns.

"Yes, many Caster personnel are like that. Speaking of which, there was another Caster Rhodes Island operator who was skilled in demolition, but he is currently on duty back home, so he can't participate."

Bao Xing rested his chin on his hands, reminiscing about the scenery of his hometown full of mining machines, and his memories of being a miner active in various mining tasks.

"Now that this mission is over, I'll take a leave of absence and go back to my hometown for a visit."

"Don't say things like 'there's no going back' when it comes to risky missions."

The cleaner spoke to the confession of the atrocities.

[Main Text] Chernobog, Amidst the Ruins: Chapter Three - Can't a Warlock Be a Sorcerer with a Hammer?

"This city is worse than I imagined."

The roof of each transport vehicle could be opened to allow the people inside to look out, and when the communications informed them that they were approaching the Chernobog area—or the area affected by the natural disaster—most of them looked in that direction at that moment.

Although most people had seen what Chernobyl looked like before they set off and the post-disaster photos sent by drones, they still couldn't help but express their amazement when they witnessed the incredible sight firsthand, and tried to relive the disaster that had struck the place in their minds.

The “scope” of Chernobyl has expanded considerably because the large city-state, which consisted of multiple city blocks, has now been fragmented.

Centered on the core city, which is completely twisted and deformed and located at the very center of the terrain depression, there are several blocks scattered every few kilometers around, which were pushed away by the impact. On the ground, the tracks of giant tracks can even be seen moving across the land.

However, those were clearly not traces of active driving, but rather the result of a powerful impact.

Like the visible terrain depressions, the platform as a whole is distributed in concentric circles that radiate outwards, with the mobile platform being more severely damaged the closer it is to the center of the block.

However, even in the outermost city-states that the convoy could see, it was difficult to see any buildings still standing above them.

Almost all the buildings were covered with a twisted structure of molten metal that had solidified, and the large Originium clusters that should have been embedded in the buildings due to the initial Originium rain were nowhere to be seen.

"I can't hear anything..."

On the large transport vehicle leading the convoy, Amiya, standing at the top observation post, had her rabbit ears pressed tightly against her head by the airflow caused by the vehicle's movement. She brushed aside the strands of hair that were blocking her vision and tried her best to take in everything in front of her.

"What's wrong, Amiya?"

The Doctor, who was often the one Amiya was supposed to protect during these long-distance missions, also came to her side. As the first moving platform in the next block drew closer, he rested his chin, which wasn't exposed to the sunlight, on his hand, and asked about Amiya's condition, saying with considerable confusion:

"Strange, according to the data, a natural disaster of this scale should generate a large number of Originium clusters, just like the previous Originium rain. Obviously, the scale and power of this natural disaster far exceed the last one, but I haven't seen any Originium..."

Wide-area destruction unrelated to Originium – Although the Doctor had someone in mind, neither Kal'tsit nor Chen mentioned Thomas's trip to Chernobog to the Doctor, so he only listed him as a possible candidate and did not think about it further.

After all, although Kal'tsit or other high-ranking Rhodes Island officials rarely bring up matters related to that operator, the Doctor still understands the consensus of "not delving into it."

"Hmm...it's nothing." Amiya shook her head to hide her surprise at not being able to sense any emotional fluctuations from the ruins of Chernobog. She then said, "Now that they're in sight, we should start preparing to climb onto the platform and begin the rescue. I'll leave the task of assigning the operators to the Doctor."

Although personally participating in the Chernobog rescue operation was not something the Doctor had expected, he was temporarily appointed to lead the team and, along the way, used the reconnaissance information transmitted by drones to help the Rhodes Island rescue team arrange an action plan.

Based on footage from the drone, there appears to be no survivor settlement on the surface of Chernobog, and no survivors have been spotted in action.

This is not good news, because several days have passed since the disaster occurred, and if no one is seen on the surface, it likely means that no one survived in the entire area.

However, considering the intricate underground passages within Chernobog—that is, within the mobile city-state—things aren't entirely hopeless.

“Our team and the Lungmen team are heading to Chernobog from the south, while the Ursus team is from the north, so we are also starting from the southern region of Chernobog, which is centered around the core city.”

The plan was to divide the work in half so that each party would not interfere with the others. However, this was only the initial investigation plan. Later, there would be times when the three parties would meet. Since most of the mobile blocks were damaged and could not be identified from the outside, and could not issue identification codes, the doctor assigned temporary numbers to each of the scattered mobile blocks on the spot to facilitate the allocation of investigation tasks to their teams.

"Since the survivors are likely to be in the underground area, the rescue teams will try to find the entrances and exits after landing on the assigned platforms, while the disaster environmental survey personnel will remain on the surface to conduct environmental surveys."

The doctor used a walkie-talkie to give concise instructions to the captains of each squad, ensuring that both first-timers and veterans understood their respective tasks immediately.

The atrocities that were reported in another transport vehicle only realized they were the captains of the three-man squad when the Doctor notified all the operators.

She pointed to herself in surprise, then looked at Tomat and the Scavenger, who hadn't made much of a statement.

"Huh? The captain sent me?"

"It's probably because you're the most senior Rhodes Island operator among us."

To pass the time along the way, even though the Scavenger had no intention of engaging in conversation, Thomas still chatted with the Violent for quite a while, and naturally learned that this woman from Rembito, Cartes, had considerable experience in Rhodes Island.

"And even if I were made captain, I wouldn't be interested," the Cleaner added.

"Ah... then please take care of me. I'm not very good at leading teams. I've only led mining teams before when I was mining."

The weapon of atrocities—a long-handled hammer capable of unleashing Originium Arts.

Although it is closer in principle to a staff, Violence prefers to simply swing it and destroy any target she hits.

After all, in her view, there wasn't much difference between using a staff to cast spells and killing an enemy and directly smashing the opponent with a hammer.

Since other operators can use their staffs to hit people, why can't she?

However, the destructive power of the weapon of violence meant that she should not have any other teammates around her during the battle, because the debris kicked up by the explosion could not distinguish between friend and foe, which resulted in her lack of experience in leading a team on the battlefield.

But the lone mercenary scavenger wielding an exaggeratedly large giant sword—the Scavenger.

And there's Tomat, a warrior who can single-handedly carry out squad operations.

They're about the same in terms of experience leading teams.

Rather than saying that the team reduced its manpower because it was capable enough, it was more like they crammed several lone operatives together.

[Main Text] Chernobog, Above the Ruins: Chapter Four: The Shortest Distance Between Two Points is a Straight Line

Putting aside the fact that the aura of ordinary people is not particularly strong or special, even if you throw a person into the wilderness or a herd of beasts, you may not be able to accurately sense them. In Terra, due to the influence of Originium in the bodies of most creatures, their auras are even weaker than those of ordinary creatures that Tomat has seen. So unless the aura has a unique characteristic or is relatively close to him, it is very difficult for him to pinpoint its exact location and situation.

Regardless of strength, the aura of non-infected individuals is generally stronger than that of the infected. Chernobog, a city in Ursus that is one of the most repressive to the infected, should have more non-infected individuals. Rescuing them should be a piece of cake for Thomas, given his ability to sense auras.