At dusk, when the sun had not yet completely set, its residual light penetrated the radiation clouds, casting an eerie frosty blue hue on both the mountains and the ruins.
The Snow Peak Mountains undulated continuously, surrounding a broad lake shaped like a crowing rooster. Severe radiation and heavy metal pollution had turned the originally crystal-clear surface of the lake into patches of vibrant colors. Oily layers of bacteria, a fist-thick, were sliced open by the blast of fighter jets passing overhead as the squadron of the Four Heavenly Kings swept over the water toward the mountains, eventually landing on a decaying runway at the foot of the hills.
"They've arrived."
The man with white short hair, speaking with a Moscow accent, hummed through his nose while holding a military binoculars.
