Chapter 13: The Strength of the Squad

A new day dawned, yet those gathered outside the ruins remained as aimless as a swarm of headless flies.

The teams led by the Defense Bureau’s expedition unit stood at the forefront, their faces etched with gravity as they gazed at the inscrutable ruins that refused to open. The remaining exploration squads scattered in small groups, forming a loose circle around the area. Each sent their own gifted individuals to assist and gather information; among them was Red, captain of the Grey Hawk Exploration Team.

Today, they would once again attempt every means to open the ruins.

The rest of the members remained at the camp, vigilant for any monsters that might appear nearby.

Gina—no, she ought to be called Ye Mi now—sat on the ground, carefully polishing her water flask. A cheerful male voice interrupted her task: “Hey, Gina, you didn’t sleep all night, yet you’re still so energetic?”

“Yes,” she replied, packing the now spotless flask into her backpack, and looked up at the man approaching. It was the same gifted patrolman from yesterday, Raj, who had nodded off during his shift.

She’d barely slept last night, volunteering to stand guard in Raj’s place. He was more than happy to oblige, and had retreated to his tent with yawns, falling asleep immediately.

Now, the tent behind them rustled, and a petite girl crawled out, having overheard their conversation. She immediately asked, “Has the door opened?”

“No,” Raj answered, and the girl’s face fell in disappointment. “How much longer must we wait? The captain is as unreliable as ever,” she muttered.

She settled beside Ye Mi, leaving only a hand’s breadth of space between them.

Raj, still wearing his perennial grin, handed her a nutrition bar. “Miss Keira, stop complaining. Eat something first.”

Then, as if performing a magic trick, he produced another bar for Ye Mi. “Gina, here’s yours.”

Ye Mi glanced at the bar—a staple for the city’s lower-class citizens. One bar each morning provided the minimum energy needed for the day, a product of capitalism that had erased the concept of midday breaks altogether.

She’d eaten it daily, even as a test subject taken by the Defense Bureau. It seemed she could never escape it; the fact she hadn’t vomited it up was testament to her endurance.

Reluctantly, Ye Mi took the nutrition bar and ate it with a sense of tragic valor.

Keira seemed uneasy with the silence. She nudged Ye Mi and asked, “Gina, what do you think is inside the alien ruins?”

Raj answered first, “Definitely aliens! Monsters! Maybe even spaceships! That’s how it is in movies.”

Keira shot him a disdainful look. “You’re hopeless.”

“Hmm…” Ye Mi actually pondered the question, then suddenly said, “Probably human exploration teams.”

A brief silence hung in the air.

Were they immune to her humor?

Ye Mi shook her head—no sense of taste, these people.

The topic drifted away, and Keira finished her nutrition bar, crumbs still clinging to her lips. She asked, “What do you think our chances are of making it out alive once we enter the ruins?”

Raj, usually all smiles, grew silent at her words.

It was a stark, even cruel question. They faced the unknown. It was possible the entire team would perish, yet there was also the chance they might strike it rich and never worry about survival again.

After all, they knew that Edge City had begun post-disaster repairs on the outskirts of District One. Perhaps, in a few years, everything would be better.

Humanity always needed hope to move forward.

The atmosphere thickened a bit, but no one shied away from the question.

Everyone venturing into the Light Wasteland did so for survival, yet, ironically, their pursuit of life had landed them in another mire.

Ye Mi understood this feeling. She herself hovered on the brink of life and death, perhaps in a state even worse than mere death.

Keira’s question prompted Ye Mi to consider matters from Gina’s perspective.

Raj was a D-class gifted individual, his ability healing-based. He could mend broken bones and accelerate wound healing, though for severe injuries such as organ damage, his power’s effect was negligible, and he could only treat one person at a time.

Still, his presence was valuable—every exploration team wanted a healer.

Gina’s power seemed almost designed to protect Raj. As a D+ class, she could conjure a sturdy barrier of water, enough to shield a squad and withstand several attacks from peers of the same rank.

So far, only their captain, Red, had managed to break her shield—and Red was already a C- class gifted individual.

His ability was closely tied to the Grey Hawk team’s name. He could transform into a grey hawk for about twenty minutes, granting flight and temporarily turning his legs into talons for powerful strikes.

The last member, Keira, was D-class, with telekinetic control. At present, she could only make her throwing knives stab a target four or five times at mid-range, so she typically assisted Red’s attacks.

All in all, it was a relatively mature and complete team.

Yet, in Ye Mi’s eyes, the Grey Hawk’s abilities ranked only as average among the squads venturing into the ruins.

When she awoke, she’d already noted that the Defense Bureau’s three five-person teams included a total of six members marked with pale green insignia.

That meant each Defense Bureau team had two C-class members.

A lavish lineup; in theory, these people should have already moved to District Three. But perhaps due to the importance of the alien ruins, the Defense Bureau had urgently recalled some personnel to explore this site.

Compared to these teams, the Grey Hawk squad was hardly outstanding.

Moreover, Ye Mi knew the Defense Bureau’s equipment was the best—an advantage over most ordinary exploration squads.

“Regardless…apart from any sudden dangers, we must be wary of the Defense Bureau’s teams,” Ye Mi cautioned.

It wasn’t out of pity for her teammates; she simply hoped they wouldn’t drag her down, at least until she figured out the situation with the ruins.

She knew well that the OC Company’s exploration squads were never benign.

If there really were no dangers, why wouldn’t they enter alone and claim everything for themselves? Why would they allow so many unaffiliated gifted individuals to share the spoils?

Clearly, they wanted disposable bodies to scout the path ahead.

As her words faded, a commotion echoed from the distant ruins. Human voices shouted from afar.