Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

However, Chernobog had previously taken a hit from a natural Originium rain while it was immobile, turning most of the residents who were injured but survived because they didn't have time to hide into infected. As for those who hid, most of them were hunted down and maliciously infected by the Reunion Movement. Therefore, most of the survivors in Chernobog are likely infected.

—It was precisely these issues that led Tomat to identify the “wrong target” more than once. For example, he mistook some infected creatures that had climbed onto the platform for the aura of the trapped people. They were also prioritizing eliminating the surface rather than immediately searching underground. So even if there was an aura below, Tomat did not say that he would go there.

The mobile block platform, temporarily numbered eleven, is the area where Tomat, Brutality, Scavengers, and a medical team are responsible for search and rescue. Since their main task is search and rescue rather than investigation, their team is actually much smaller than the other teams. Of course, the main reduction is in manpower for combat, which is also a grouping consideration made by the Doctor after taking into account overall strength.

The rock crab, its body gleaming with a metallic sheen, was violently swung around with a hammer and sent flying into the air. Its body then rapidly emitted light, expanded, and suddenly exploded.

As she effortlessly neutralized Tomat's misjudged aura with her violent Originium Arts, she asked the two behind her, "Hmm... good news or bad news, which do you want to hear?"

The medical team followed at a distance behind them, so they couldn't hear each other's conversations. They kept their distance when they saw the battle with the infected creatures to prevent injury, and they were also prepared to treat any of the three who were injured, but it didn't seem necessary.

"Bad news."

Both Tomat and Scavenger chose the latter.

"The bad news is that the situation in the entire neighborhood is not optimistic. Judging from the damage to the buildings, the chances of survival for those who were on the surface are extremely slim. Now, the only hope is that there are still people in the underground area, but all the entrances are buried, so it may take some effort..."

The neighborhood where Tomat and his group lived was not severely damaged. At least on the surface of this platform, buildings still stood, unlike those platforms closer to the center where the surface buildings had been completely destroyed.

But looking at the crumbling building, as someone who was very knowledgeable about explosives and Originium Arts related to explosives, she naturally understood that such an impact would mean that even if one were hiding inside the building, the chances of survival were slim.

"It really was an 'atrocity'..."

Tomat did not have the habit of revisiting battlefields he had been to.

But now he has stepped back in, and even participated in the rescue efforts.

This behavior—that people would never say anything nice after the truth was known—gave Tomat a somewhat complicated feeling, but he didn't dwell on what people who heard about it but didn't necessarily believe it would think.

For example, Frostnova, Chen, Kal'tsit, or the people from Penguin Logistics, Amiya and the Doctor also seem to have noticed.

They first watched as Tomat claimed to have been to Chernobyl, and then they learned about the news broadcast. Many of them realized that he was the one who had done it.

However, "knowing" and "experiencing" are two different experiences.

If someone claims to have killed someone, even if it's true, just knowing the information won't give the person in the know much of a sense of reality. Just like when Superintendent Chen knew about this, he should have expressed his disapproval of Tomat or even become his enemy based solely on the act itself.

Froststar could not accept such behavior, even if it happened in Chernobog.

However, apart from being shocked, they did not show any other behavior.

But when someone in the know is there on the scene, that's a different story.

The truth of "annihilating a city in a fit of rage" is right before our eyes, and it cannot be described by pale words like "bloody".

Thomas didn't think too much about it, after all, he knew what his actions meant—he knew it when he made the decision, which is why he actually did it.

"And the good news?"

After Thomas finished recounting the bad things about the atrocities, and seeing that the scavenger accompanying him didn't seem inclined to ask any questions, he took the initiative to ask.

"The good news is that the local residents learned that Chernobog was immobile, and they all hid underground before the natural disaster officially arrived. In addition, the Reunion Movement rioted above ground, so these residents should have remained hidden underground without coming out..."

She forced a smile—she knew it wasn't really good news.

“Even down there, you can’t have too much hope.” The cleaner said in a calm tone after hearing the news, dispelling the false good news. “I understand the hardships of living underground, and you should know them too.”

Normally, the underground area of ​​Chernobyl is not used to escape disasters. They rely on advance disaster intelligence and then move the city to escape. They hurriedly retreat underground, so they naturally lack supplies. Electricity, food, and drinking water, even if there are some reserves, or if some people do not have time to enter, it is unlikely to meet their needs.

The Reunion Movement's occupation will deter them from venturing out, and the subsequent collapse will cut off their path to survival.

While working at Rembit, Violence learned about the dangers faced by miners who, after being taken down into the mines, became trapped for various reasons.

As mercenaries, the scavengers often spend a considerable amount of time in the untouched underground for various reasons.

But now they are a group of ordinary people trapped in the dark and resource-poor underground of Chernobog—no one knows what will happen there.

"Wait a moment."

Thomas noticed an important clue in the violence's words.

When the atrocities were directed at Tomat, she had already reached the entrance to what appeared to be an underground transportation station, except that the entrance had been buried by the collapsed roof of the passageway.

"So, if there are any survivors here, they shouldn't be infected?"

"Tomat asked."

"That's how it is in theory... what's wrong?"

Asking about whether someone is infected at this time makes it seem to Violence that Tomat, like most operators, has his own reservations or principles regarding this sensitive issue.

However, Tomat did not say anything more, but paced back and forth in front of the ruins, observing the collapsed area from various angles.

If they are not infected.

Their aura would be slightly stronger than that of the infected, rather than being confused with infected creatures.

In other words, the faint presence of the underground area was not due to the fact that they were infected.

—It's not because they were so weak they were on their last legs.

"Nothing much."

Thomas leaped from the collapsed depression at the entrance onto the ground, pointed to the soles of his feet, and continued to ask:

"The entrance is buried, but where I'm standing right now, isn't there a passageway directly underneath?"

The entire passage slopes downwards into the ground, but the entrance is blocked. Marking the entire passage from the ground reveals it to be a straight line.

However, the farther away from the entrance, the greater the vertical distance to the passage, and the thicker the building layers.

"Yes, oh, Mr. Thomas, what is this...?"

Atrocities and Scavengers watched as Tomat raised his right shoulder and raised his fist, while his left hand stretched out like a marker pointing to the ground.

"Open the shortest possible route."

As he spoke, he landed a punch on the ground covered with rubble.

[Main Text] Chernobog, Above the Ruins: Chapter Five - From the Sky

Even before the natural disaster fully arrived, Chernobog was already mired in a degree of chaos and suspicion.

All of this stemmed from rumors that had leaked from who-knows-where—the messengers of natural disasters had sensed signs of an impending catastrophe, yet the city showed no inclination to move.

Then another "rumor" was spread without anyone noticing: the core power zone of Chernobog had been tampered with, and the city could not move.

Generally speaking, in Ursus, a country where even social management is militarized, spreading such remarks is almost equivalent to the serious crime of "disrupting morale." However, due to the new energy supply brought by the unknown ancient ruins "sarcophagus," Chernobog is already wavering on the border of Ursus.

The mayor was clearly having ulterior motives, and his subordinates—the Ursus military and police—were more concerned with keeping their jobs than with these rumors.

Because the mayor is also a nobleman from Ursus, otherwise he wouldn't be able to become mayor. In his "territory," which is Chernobog, it's just a matter of a word to label those gossipy subordinates as "infected" and send them to dig for stones in the abandoned mines.

They knew that if the higher-ups said you were infected, then you definitely were, since a significant number of them had done similar things to the citizens who had wronged them.

Therefore, the military and police only need to continue patrolling, compiling lists, and beating infected or suspected infected individuals as usual.

It was in this atmosphere that rumors were allowed to spread unchecked.

This is not only due to malicious individuals stirring things up, but also to civilian disaster observers who have noticed the seriousness of the situation through subtle clues in the surrounding environment.

Unable to leave the city-state, people looted and vandalized various neighborhoods in an attempt to hoard supplies, and even those who had no real need for the goods joined in, causing the situation to escalate.

Those eager to escape gathered at the mobile platform section on the edge of Chernobog and spontaneously fought for control of it. Some escaped and took control of the platform as it moved to the surrounding area.

Only then did the military and police begin to move out and try to quell the riots—using their batons and riot guns.

As if they had been waiting for this opportunity, the infected, who had been hiding in the shadows, put on masks, picked up weapons, and, led by many infected criminals on the Ursus wanted list, launched a swift and devastating attack on them.

This even includes the old Ursus Shield Guard and the rumored Yeti army.

Then, a natural disaster struck.

"what!!!"

From the darkness came a girl's startled cry, followed by a relaxed panting sound.

"call..."

The dim light from the Originium spotlights couldn't create a very large, bright area in the darkness, and there wasn't a single person in this tiny area either.

After all, this device, which is just a crude lighting device installed on a low iron frame, has not undergone any filtering process. The light produced by using Originium as an energy source can still be harmful to people.

Normally, it is only used in mines where there is no need to worry about pollution. Now, it has created a dark place here that no one dares to approach, and it is regarded only as a marker for estimating direction in the dark.

Although it was pitch black all around, the presence of a light source caused the slightly smooth objects around it to reflect the light, so that people could see their own hands even in complete darkness.

It is vaguely visible that this appears to be an underground transportation station.

There were boxes piled up on the platform, and some bulging sleeping bags were scattered haphazardly on the ground.

A gigantic figure—more like a wild beast than a human—stood upright, its voice hoarse and weary, and crouched down in front of one of the sleeping bags, the spot where the earlier exclamation had come from, asking, "What's wrong, Zoya?"

“It’s alright, Dad…” In the dim light, one could see that it was a red-eyed Ursus girl with long gray hair. She shook her head and coughed softly twice, continuing in a hoarse voice, “It’s just… a nightmare.”

"Don't be afraid, Zoya." The huge figure gradually became clearer; it was a burly brown bear with no human features whatsoever. It placed its thick bear paws on the shoulders of the girl called Zoya. "It's still early; continue to rest for a while."

The brown bear picked up the military cap with the Ursus insignia next to Zoya's sleeping bag, put it on his head, and continued:

"Today, Dad will continue clearing the rocks that suddenly collapsed. You can help take care of the injured people. Try to rest as much as possible now."

This brown bear is a local police officer in Ursus. When the Reunion Movement fully emerged and began besieging the neighborhood under his jurisdiction, he rallied the residents and his colleagues in the area to defend themselves while retreating to a nearby underground platform, thus protecting some people from harm.

He then applied to go to a middle school to handle some matters, reportedly because the Reunion Movement had imprisoned the students.

However, the overwhelming Reunion Movement would not let him slip away under their noses. They were on the defensive and were weakened by repeated attacks. After all, no matter how good the Ursus police were at dealing with infected people, they had only ever faced people who dared not resist. Now that the other side had taken up arms and had a numerical advantage, it was impossible for them to win.

During a conflict that nearly cost them their lives, the Reunion Movement personnel who were attacking suddenly withdrew, as if something had happened to the commander. It was during this brief moment that the falling Originium rain collapsed the entrance to the underground platform, trapping the people inside.

And a few days later, a huge tremor suddenly occurred, and those who had already suffered losses in the battle were injured as a result.

In reality, there weren't many colleagues and residents he mobilized, which meant that the supplies prepared in advance were quite plentiful. However, after more than half a month, some of the supplies, especially drinking water, were almost gone. In addition, there were injured people here, so the overall situation was not optimistic.

Their only stroke of luck was that they arrived underground early enough to avoid being infected by the Originium rain.

“But the previous tremors made the landslide worse, and there’s only one exit; the other road is blocked…” Zoya didn’t go back to sleep as her father had told her to, but continued to ask in a slightly uneasy tone, “Can we really leave here before we run out of supplies?”

Given the potentially worse external circumstances, it would be difficult for her to remain optimistic.

Because if her father hadn't made her leave the boarding school and return home early, she didn't know what kind of hellish scene she would have seen. And her father—she didn't want him to have to continue to the perilous Peterheim High School after she was dug out.

There might still be masked thugs roaming outside, or exposed Originium clusters that could turn someone into the lowest of the low in Ursus at any time.

Or something even worse.

"Don't worry, daughter. Even if there are greater risks outside, whether as a soldier of Ursus, a husband, or a father, I will get you out of this situation..."