Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

"There don't seem to be any dangerous objects here. Even if we carry out blasting and clearing operations, it won't detonate anything else. The structure above is also very stable and won't cause a collapse. I have to say, the quality of Ursus's mobile city-state is quite good."

The scavenger leaned against the wall of the passageway separated from the ruins and spoke about the current situation he was observing.

"It's pretty good, at least much better quality than those buildings that have been reduced to ashes."

Although they still exist only because they are far from the center of the attack, Tomat still chimed in.

"Then you punched it through."

Upon hearing Thomas's words, the Scavenger raised a finger and pointed to the vertical channel he had initially created.

“You should have seen the look on that Custer’s face,” the Cleaner added expressionlessly. “It was like he was saying, ‘What am I doing here?’”

"At least they didn't make a big fuss and ask all sorts of questions."

Tomat walked toward the atrocities, partly to confirm the next course of action.

There were no people to be rescued on the ground, and all the survivors in the neighborhood were concentrated here. Whether to remove the rubble immediately or to provide follow-up treatment to some patients who were unable to move on the spot depended on the specific situation.

"This is Officer Boris from Chernobyl; he's the one who organized the evacuation of the residents."

The Ursus man, resembling a brown bear, was being introduced for his atrocities. Upon seeing Tomat, a rescuer, and still affected by the initial shock of their encounter, he removed his hat and, with some hesitation, thanked Tomat.

"Hello, thank you for your rescue efforts for the people of Chernobyl..."

“...Tomat.” Tomat turned his gaze away, avoiding eye contact with the grateful eyes. “Save your thanks for those who are truly helping you.”

"That's true, but... I'm really in a dilemma now. I've already seen the outside scenery through this young lady's photo..."

Despite trying to remain calm in his tone, the brown bear's clenched fists were trembling.

His pride as an Ursus police officer prevented him from losing his composure at a time like this.

"However, the people trapped here are basically at their physical and mental limits. If I tell them about this, I'm afraid..."

The initial hope of those trapped is to survive.

And when the goal of "survival" is fulfilled by the sudden appearance of a rescue team.

What they long for is to return to their original living environment.

But no one can continue to satisfy this need.

If they were to realize the reality, the huge psychological gap would likely destroy their last line of defense.

"Then let's treat and care for them underground for now, and let the Ursus rescue team come and calm them down."

The atrocities were proposed, while simultaneously slowing down the progress of clearing the rubble.

[Main Text] Chernobog, Amidst the Ruins: Chapter Eight - The Secret Letter

The survivors of the neighborhood and the Rhodes Island rescue team, now unable to rely on external light to tell time as they move through the neighborhood, are still using the clocks they carry to adjust their schedules to a more normal routine.

It was already noon when Tomat's squad discovered the survivors. Other operators had already set up harmless Originium lighting devices, as well as some temporary tents and sheds in the area to provide a better resting environment for the trapped people.

Although many people were lying in medical tents, receiving IV drips and resting, most of those who could move around normally chose to walk around in the bright environment, their faces showing a slightly anxious expression as they tried their best to wait for the arrival of the Ursus rescue team.

Several simple pot racks were set up in the underground space, with many fragrant and warm ingredients bubbling inside.

Not only did Tomat's team bring food, but the trapped people also added the little canned meat or vegetables they had left.

The supplies that were previously scarce are no longer a concern, since the rescue team has found them and they can be assured that they will have no worries about food for a period of time. So they might as well splurge and cook more of their favorite dishes.

“Miss Brutality…or should I call you Captain? Do you know what the situation is like with the other teams right now? They shouldn’t be fighting randomly, right? Before we came, Dr. Kal’tsit and the Doctor talked about a lot of things that might happen.”

The palm-sized metal bowl in Tomat's hand was filled to the brim with a thick, reddish-brown soup, in which soft, cooked potatoes and chunks of meat floated, looking incredibly tempting.

Instead of eating, he asked about the other teams' situations.

After serving the trapped Chernobogers and the rest of the rescue team, the cook, who was at the back of the line, added another spoonful to Tomat's ladle. He then glanced at the scattered but remarkably uniform Ursus crouching against the wall some distance away, before answering:

"There's nothing wrong at the moment. After discovering the survivors here, I contacted the doctor immediately. We seem to be the first team to find the survivors."

"Because the situation in other areas is similar to this one, the survivors can only be under thick rubble, and they don't have our 'digging efficiency', so we are the first."

The cleaner placed the clean, empty bowl into the large bin for recycling tableware next to the pot rack, and then said...

"I just checked the structure of the top floor, and there's no risk of collapse. This mobile city-state of Ursus is really sturdy!"

After hearing their explanation, Tomat nodded, then drank the soup in his bowl in one gulp, and then, like the cleaner, set out his cutlery.

So much so that upon witnessing this brutality, he instinctively scratched his head and asked:

"Hey? Aren't you going to eat anymore? I heard you have a big appetite, and this is only one bowl."

"Don't talk like I'll starve to death if I don't eat that much. I can eat the same amount as a normal person. I'm hungry because I have other energy expenditures."

Flying, high-intensity combat, using qi to enhance the body, or launching qi projectiles all consume his energy. Maintaining his combat power at a low level is also to prevent excessive consumption and the need to replenish large amounts of food daily. However, in the environment he was in before, he was rarely given the opportunity to replenish his energy.

Therefore, to avoid this, it is wise to eat a large amount of food at once or reduce physical activity when conditions permit.

Now, naturally, it's because "conditions don't allow it," plus we made arrangements before departure.

And Tomat didn't want to eat all the relief food for these people.

"Um... could I have another bowl?"

A slightly timid voice rang out from the side, interrupting the conversation between the three people.

That was Zoya, whose complexion had improved considerably—the daughter of Officer Ursus the Brown Bear.

"Sure, eat as much as you want, but remember to chew slowly. Eating too much after a long period of hunger will put a strain on your body."

The violent act, with the cheerful smile he usually showed to young staff members and patients, greatly reduced the awkwardness of Zoya asking for another serving of food.

"Um... thank you."

The large bowl, brimming with food, was handed back to Zoya. She nodded her thanks, but instead of leaving immediately after receiving the food to join the Ursus people squatting by the wall, she ate nearby.

"You're welcome. We'll be here for a while now, and the time we spend together won't be too long or too short, until your country's rescue team arrives."

The tyrant looked at the sensible Ursus girl, moved a little closer, and gently rubbed her head while she was drinking her soup.

Zoya trembled slightly as she was being touched, but made no other move to resist. After abruptly withdrawing her hand, she looked towards Tomat and suddenly asked:

"When you said 'fight' before, did you mean those people from the Reunion Movement? Are they... still active in the upper echelons?"

Her young voice tried hard to remain calm, but her downcast gaze couldn't hide the worry in her heart.

"No wonder he's a policeman's child? He has very sharp ears. But the Reunion Movement is no longer a problem."

Seeing that the other person was asking him a question, Tomat explained it to him in a way that was meant to reassure him.

"It's something else, nothing to worry about. Just wait patiently for your countrymen to come and rescue you."

They couldn't possibly tell Zoya anything too in-depth—especially since the Ursus rescue team was probably more concerned about Talulah, the leader of the culprit organization, than they were about to become.

They might even fight each other over this person whose fate is unknown.

However, even if conflicts did break out elsewhere because of this incident, Tomat and his team had no need to go to provide support. After all, their top priority was protecting the survivors, and the other teams had already been informed of the risks of the trip before setting off and had made ample preparations.

Leaving aside the team sent by Lungmen, Rhodes Island, even without Tomat, does not mean they have no effective combat force.

Even if the opponents are sent by Ursus, they should be able to deal with these adversaries disguised as rescue teams.

After all, they couldn't openly send a large number of troops with high combat capabilities under the guise of rescue.

—That's how it should be.

"Wait a minute, I have a message coming in... is it garbled text?"

Thomas carries a communication device that is standard issue for Rhodes Island operators. It has basic information sending and receiving functions, and because it is a dedicated line, communications from outside the internal staff usually do not enter.

Most people also choose to communicate directly by voice rather than text messages.

Unless there are special circumstances.

"The sender... this language is Ursus, right? But there's no note."

Even the violent and the cleaners could only judge the language of the sender's name based on experience, but they were stumped because it was not their area of ​​expertise, let alone figure out the specific meaning of the garbled text.

"The sender's name is 'Patriot Throat'... I've seen the garbled text in military books before... it seems to be some kind of encrypted communication..."

While the three were looking at the strange message that appeared on Tomat's communicator, Zoya, who hadn't left yet, spoke up about what she had read.

[Main Text] Chernobog, Amidst Ruins: Chapter Nine - Isolation

"Hey...look closely, isn't the signal strength almost zero?"

While looking at the unclear message on the screen with a sense of confusion, Tomat also noticed that the signal bar had changed to a "prohibited" symbol.

"No, I sent a report to the doctor before."

As he spoke, having confirmed that he could send messages underground, he took out his communicator and, like the cleaner beside him, frowned as he looked at the screen where there was no signal.

Although the signal may be affected by being underground or deep in an Originium environment, since this operation is also a rescue operation based on the premise of "increased concentration of Originium in the air after a natural disaster", the communicators they carry are naturally specially made for this environment.

Not to mention that there wasn't actually a high level of Originium here at all—it was all detonated or blown away.

In other words, the current signal anomaly is not caused by natural factors.

"...Deliberate signal interference? Someone wants to isolate the scattered groups, or prevent them from transmitting information. That's not a good thing."

The scavenger glanced at Zoya, who was still standing beside the three of them, trying to remain calm and listening attentively to their conversation, and shared his assessment of the situation based on his experience as a mercenary.

"But who would do that? And why?"

The tyranny stared at the vertical passage that Tomat had created not far away. That passage, the only connection to the outside world, made it easy for her to be on guard against any unusual events nearby. While pondering the possible scenarios in her mind, she clenched her fists, ready to take the explosive hammer off her back at any moment.

"Hmm..." Tomat looked thoughtful, and then many people and things floated through his mind—

"There are plenty of reasons, aren't there? Rather, it's not that these things happening is inevitable?"

For example, Frostnova and her Yeti squad, who were wanted criminals in Ursus, joined forces in Lungmen and Rhodes Island.

For example, the destroyed Reunion Movement and its remnants may expose Ursus's collusion with them.

For example, "Talulah," which Chen mentioned earlier, may become a target of contention.

Even Tomat, who possessed information about the giant ape.

All of these could become reasons for various strange occurrences in the ruins of Chernobog.

Although almost everyone was informed of the risk of conflict before departure, most people did not actually understand the deeper reasons behind it.