Even though Liam had posed it as a choice, Make felt as if he did not have a choice in the matter. Mainly because this was a place that was Liam's control and he was Mark's benefactor.
Also, Mark owed Liam his life and as much as he hated it, he had no other choice than to comply with him for the time being. His debt needed to be repaid right now.
"Fine, but will I undertake this mission alone?" Mark asked, his voice cautious and he saw the other let out a small smile of victory.
"No, of course, you will not. In fact, take the brat you brought with you as a backup. Would that be ok?" Ah, now Mark saw what the catch was. Group all external factors into one place so that they don't affect the main scenario.
That was clever of Liam to do so, but Mark was not sure that Luna would appreciate his brother being separated from him in such a way. He did not foresee any world where this would be possible at all.
"Would Luna be ok with this? Isn't he a little hot-tempered for that?" Mark had read the character profile after the last few close-ups with the main team and now he knew more about them than any natural resident of this world.
Luna's profile clearly said that he was prone to anger fits as well as irrational decision making. If it was the current Luna then it would have been a different case but this was the future protagonist and highly explosive.
Mark was not confident he would survive if he became a target for his anger or became at odds with him. He would like to keep his neutral position.
"I suppose he could be a problem but I'll try to reason it out with him. But you do make a good point so be prepared to go solo if it doesn't work out" Mark knew this was a possible outcome but hearing it just made it worse somehow.
Still, he agreed with a happy smile and left the area. Back inside his room, he looked at the coordinates for his mission and fed it into his own map. They beeped with recognition and the area opened up.
His map showed much more detail than Liam's. In fact, Mark would bet his whole life that his system was more advanced than Liam to the point of being different altogether. But how that was possible when Liam had been the one to give it to him, he was not sure.
But if he had to theorise, he would say that it was due to the metallic pattern on his body. It had been unresponsive till now but it was beginning to tingle after he had that experience with the light pillar.
But this time he would not be foolish enough to experiment with it. He had learned his lesson.
The rest of the time was spent making arrangements as well as studying the ins and outs of the place he was going to visit. It was almost like a nuclear power plant but without the radioactive part in the mix.
The material kept there had been dormant for years and had almost withered to the point of being non-reactive.
The mission parameters were not clear to him, just to retrieve the briefcase and a sample of the material being kept before destroying the place. At this point, the monsters' attacks were already a prominent problem and their knowledge was spreading through the masses.
Mass panic would spread all around and the world would stagnant into its present time of chaos. Mark was thankful he did not have to be a personal viewer of such a time with his own eyes.
"Let's go Kuro. Let's earn our keep" Mark whispered as he exited the room. The kitten followed behind him with his swinging tale. Nearing the office area, Mark could hear the arguments going on around the area.
"-can't allow him to be in danger. Alan stays here" Luan was almost shouting at this point and his voice sounded genuinely dark. Mark felt comforted that it was not aimed at him.
"You can't always keep him sheltered. Sooner or later he will have to join to defend himself and he's good - you saw it with your own eyes. He is better than your whole team combined and combined with Dr Mark's medical expertise, he's safer than all of you combined" Liam's voice was calm and sounded far too persuasive.
But Luan did not look like he was falling for that trap at all. The rage was too much for his mind to be taken over by such flowery worlds. Mark wonders how worse the situation would get if Luna got to know that he was a vet and not a human doctor.
"I'll be alright brother, you know I will. You said no significant deaths take place from the time you came back from so I probably won't die on this mission. Most I'll have are some injured and you also said Mark was not present in your time but have him now. It'll go even better" Alan was trying his best and from his words, it was clear that Luna had shared some parts of the truth with him.
But not the whole truth.
"That's the problem - him. He's too much a loose cannon for things to go smoothly. You should keep your distance from him too since he's a danger to everyone here. There is no way I can allow you to go with him unsupervised" That seemed to irritate the protagonist even more.
Mark felt those words stab him, his face getting whiter than before. Was that what people thought about him? That he was a problem to be dealt with? What had he done wrong exactly? Lived past his death which was not even his own idea in the first place?
"Don't talk like that about him. Mark is great and he's really helpful. He kept me alive and even taught me things you did not want to and I want to help him out in the mission. I will help him out with or without your agreement" there was a growl at those words which sent the child down Mark's back but he held his ground.
"Let it go, Luna, this will happen with or without your help. It's best you prepare for your side of the mission if you don't want to lose your team" there was a helpless sight but the feeling of danger somehow seemed to be increasing in the atmosphere.
Luna turned around, only to be met with Mark and Kuro who growled at the other. Narrowed and piercing eyes looked at Mark in disdain.
"Fine, take me, brother, with you but if something happened to him then don't expect to live past another day" the younger huffed past Mark and even bumped into his side. Mark felt his anger and he wanted to empathise with him.
But he was too wrung out to do so and he only looked back at the guy who bumped into him and left in an angry rage.
"Sorry about my brother Mark, he's just being overprotective. Apparently, we got separated in the future so he's being careful that it does not happen. I can take care of myself alright and I also have you, don't I?" Mark could only agree.
"Good, you arrived at the perfect time. Now, I'll tell you the main problem of this mission. The inside areas are not equally safe everywhere. Areas marked as 2,7,9 are highly volatile so try to avoid them. Also, take extra climbing and protective supplies with you" Liam provided them with the bare minimum explanation before they were out.
Mark tried to calm down his fast-beating heart but it would not stop for some reason and he had a really bad feeling about this overall mission. Maybe he should go alone this time?
He opened his system screen and saw the expectant message.
______________________
Mission objective: Retrieve the safe and the sample
Parameters: Can't leave the designed area once you enter or the mission would fail
Failure penalty: World difficulty raised by 1, monster mutation start
Time: 2 days once you enter the designed area
______________________
It sounded really simple on paper but Mark was not so sure about it actually being that simple. Why did he feel this dreadful feeling before this mission?
"Mark, will we be taking the HMMWV?" Liam asked. It was not like they had any other choice in the matter at all since they were not provided any transportation.
It stood in the garage section and Mark wondered who brought it there for them. But it did not matter because their mission was what they needed to focus on. The car was in excellent condition and it looked worked on.
The tires and the front part looked as if it had been replaced and the engine made a healthy noise for the vehicle.
Mark took one last look at the place before he started the car and they were out. The world looked no different than when they had been there before but they both knew that the world had changed beyond their imagination.
The drive was short and uneventful. They encountered nothing on the way and the city they passed was deserted. Mark took the time to fill his inventory before they were off again.
Due to all the emptiness, their destination soon came into their view. The nuclear power plant was here, right in front of their eyes.