"A portal has been detected at area B section 7. One soul beast confirmed." An agent stated while working on the big screen. The area map was shown, and multiple icons appeared on the side that showed different squad names.
"Who are the nearest squads in the area?" Zou Junjie, the base Commander of Defense, spoke. His eyebrows scrunched up while looking at the red dot on the screen.
"Viper Squad, sir."
"Request Mobilization."
The base agent sent a request to the Viper's agent. The Viper Squad immediately went to the affected area as fast as possible to prevent further damages.
Upon the Viper Squad's arrival, they saw Feng Bo's group running away from the scene.
"Why are you here? This place is off-limits to civilians," Wei Chen, the squad's Marksman, spoke while staring at the group with disappointment.
"A combatant! Help us! There's a Raider!" Feng Bo yelled and pointed at the area where a vast gray smoke could be seen.
"Chen, stay here and protect them. The rest come with me," Fu Tian, the captain of Viper Squad, sprinted towards the soul beast's location with the rest of his group tailing behind him.
When they arrived at the area, they saw a dead soul beast with its head smashed to pieces and a vast crater surrounding the body.
Fu Tian pressed the device on his ear and called their agent to update about the situation.
"The battle is over. Someone already killed the Raider," Fu Tian stated. His eyes squinted upon looking at the impact shown at the scene.
"They really trashed that Raider to pieces. For sure, it's the work of a high-rank squad," Kang Tao, the squad's Fighter, laughed and poked the soul beast using his spear.
"Lei Ya, check what squad came here first."
["Let's see. There's no other squads activity in the area, and we are the first one to arrive."] Lei Ya, the squad's agent, stated on the other line.
"Understood," Fu Tian ended the call, turned to Kang Tao, and passed the information.
"Huh, what's going on? Who the hell did that?" Kang Tao scratched his head and followed Fu Tian, who had left the scene.
"Don't ask me. I don't know."
Fu Tian's gaze hardened. He doesn't like unanswered questions on his mind. Especially when it involves the Raiders.
*****
"I don't believe that. A normal trained human cannot kill a Raider without a Soul item," Shun spoke firmly and showed the bracelet he used earlier.
"Oh, that's the vessel for your weapons?" Yami asked and took the bracelet to examine it closer.
"The combatants were given these vessels to activate their chosen power and weapons. This is called a Soul. Basically, giving us an artificial body to protect our original one," Shun explained. He took Yami's hand and pointed at his ring.
"Is this your Soul vessel too?"
Yami stared at Shun for a couple of seconds before giving back his bracelet and continued walking. They left the forbidden area minutes ago and were now in the street market.
The night was slowly approaching, and Yami needed to find shelter and food to survive, but Shun kept on bugging him for answers.
"Ying!" Shun yelled, and some people who passed by stared at him but didn't care.
[!QUEST]
[BUILD TRUST]
[DESCRIPTION: TELL SHUN ABOUT YOUR IDENTITY.]
[REWARD: SECOND PART OF PLAYER ONE'S LETTER.]
[FAILURE: QUEST CANCELLED.]
Yami stopped walking and sighed. He was still determined to keep his real identity safe and hidden; he planned to abandon the quest but saw the reward.
'Hong's letter!' Yami's eyes widen with the thought that he would be able to read the letter's second part.
Yami turned back to Shun and smiled. "Sure, I can tell about myself, but first, treat me with some good food. I'm hungry."
Shun nodded his head in agreement and brought Yami to the nearest restaurant in the market and sat at the far end for privacy.
They both ordered Tonkatsu as their dinner, and it didn't take long before their food arrived.
"Thanks for the meal."
Yami immediately ate his food since he had been hungry for hours while Shun took his time staring at Yami, waiting for his explanation.
"First, how can I trust you, Shun?" Yami stated and looked at Shun's eyes to check if he was trustworthy or not.
"Whatever you say here will remain safe. You can trust me," Shun looked back at Yami to show sincerity.
"Okay."
Yami put down his fork and wiped his mouth.
"I came here using a virtual reality device, and somehow, my missing sister has been in this world. I need to find her and bring her back home," Yami stated the truth, and he saw the confusion drawn on Shun's face.
"Virtual reality device? What is that?" Shun asked while trying to register Yami's words in his head.
"Doesn't matter, but you can think of it as a portal. I'm what you call a Raider."
"What!?" Shun yelled in disbelief and knocked his chair back when he stood up instantly. He can't believe that Yami was a Raider.
A few customers around looked at him, and Shun immediately asked forgiveness and went back to his seat.
"What a cute reaction," Yami chuckled and went back to eat his food.
"What do you mean that you're a Raider? That ugly thing you killed earlier is a Raider," Shun whispered to prevent other people from hearing their conversation.
Yami shook his head. "That thing is a Soul Beast, and it has a name. I came from planet Earth, and this isn't even my real appearance, but don't get me wrong, I'm not related to those beasts nor call them here. My world is quite normal with advanced technology."
Shun was stunned and could not speak. His brain was still processing the information he had gotten from Yami.
"You work as a combatant, but you don't know about that stuff?" Yami tilted his head and finished the last bite of the Tonkatsu.
"I've never heard anything like that. It sounds nonsense!"