"Quite far."
Looking at the coordinates displayed on his phone, Long Hua i
s currently situated at the far back of the group.
Qing Yue is positioned in front of him, while Ye Chen leads them as vanguard, should they encounter anything of danger.
Other than the threat of Immortals, the secondary threats that the denizens of this world are made to deal with are the foreign animals that are transported into this world by the Gears of Descension.
Compared to domestic animals that can be seen in zoos and can be kept as pets, animals that dwell in the wastelands are completely foreign to this world.
These animals are beasts that were originally a part of whatever world the Immortals have originated from, and this means that they are far stronger in strength.
At this point, almost all the wildlife that were originally a part of this world have gone extinct or are kept in zoos for protection.
"Roads' quite uneven. Work on your balance, this is the sort of terrain you can expect to walk on in the frontlines. Sometimes a slip there can cause you to fall into a bottomless crater."
"Is it really that bad?"
Out of curiosity, Qing Yue asks, and towards her question—
"It is. Life in the double or triple digits are lost daily over there. Almost 50 percent of it doesn't involve receiving an actual attack from an Immortal, but just from minor issues that accumulated over time."
The common soldier may be fodder on the frontlines, but that doesn't mean that they should be treated as such.
On the battlefield, these soldiers are kept as far away as possible from the main areas of conflict, where Sinners are made to take charge of.
"I've been meaning to ask, but… Captain, why did you decide to stay an additional year in that hellhole?"
Coming to a stop, Ye Chen looks back at Long Hua with an odd smile.
"That's something that's a bit more private, second lieutenant."
"Very well then."
Continuing to trudge along, the group eventually finds the computer terminal that they were looking for.
Surrounded by a ring of rubble is a machine with a box shaped base that is stapled into the earth through spikes.
Extending from the center of the box is a round tower with a complex set of antennas mounted onto its flat head.
A small monitor with a keyboard is attached to the tower's side.
Wrapping around the entire machine is an orange energy dome, which is produced by the miniature barrier devices that surround the terminal.
"Bingo."
Approaching the large computer terminal, Ye Chen directs his phone towards it, and taps the screen twice causing the barrier devices to deactivate.
"Right, come along, and see how it's done. Eventually, every one of you need to learn how to do it."
In a snappy manner, Ye Chen demonstrates the procedures to Long Hua and Qing Yue on how to read the monitor's data, and how to retrieve and replace the recording chip.
Once that is done, they rearm the barrier devices prior to departing from the site.
"What happens if during the patrol an unexpected attack causes us to lose the chip?"
"Nothing much that we can do. Pay may get cut here and there, but shit happens, and if more shit happens because of it, well… They might try to direct some heavy responsibilities our way. That's why it's important to make some notes if possible."
"Heavy responsibilities such as… An instant ticket to the frontlines?"
"That can definitely happen."
As Ye Chen and Qing Yue continue to converse, Long Hua abruptly halts his footsteps.
(He picked it up faster than me?)
Momentarily, Ye Chen does the same, while Qing Yue remains oblivious to the situation.
"Wha-?"
"Shhh."
Looking around the area, both Long Hua and Ye Chen had a solemn expression on their faces, and reading the tension filled mood, Qing Yue does the same at the realization that something dangerous might be nearby.
(It's fast. Probably some sort of four-legged beast.)
(Seems to weight quite a bit judging by the sound…)
As the sound of the beast's heavy footsteps draw closer and closer to the three, the louder it becomes, and—
*Thud!* leaping over a tall pile of rubble, a four-legged beast lands a few meters in front of Ye Chen.
Its outward appearance resembles that of a lion due to the dense mane growing around its neck and upper body.
However, what separates this foreign beast from an ordinary lion, would have to be the fact that it is doubled in size with a single horn protruding from its forehead—along with its twin saber styled fangs.
"Well, I suppose, this is a good chance to see how you two handle yourselves in battle."
Having said this, Ye Chen takes a few steps back, while Long Hua advances to the front.
(Well, the CEO said that she has a solution for me. So, I guess showing my Relic is fine.)
Just as Long Hua thought of summoning his Relic—
"Charge Bai Hu!"
*Grawr!* following a beast's roar, a white shadow leaps pass Long Hua, and continues to charge towards the one-horned lion.
This second beast is a white tiger that is a bit over two meters in height, and over four meters in length. The black stripes that should be on its body are replaced with black cloud patterns, making it clear that this was not an animal that was born naturally into this world.
As the two beasts roared at one another, it was the white tiger that managed to land a hit in first.
(So, this is one of the things that her pouch can summon?)
Looking at Qing Yue's right hand, Ye Chen sees a blue drawstring pouch embroidered with the figure of a carp with multicolored scales.
*Grawr!* as the one-horned lion raises a fierce roar, it shoulder tackles the white tiger aside, and makes a straight line charge towards Qing Yue with bloodshot eyes.
(It's able to tell that killing the summoner would be easier than dealing with the summoned.)
(Now then…)
Directing his eyes at Long Hua, who has moved himself in front of Qing Yue, Ye Chen sees two pale white ribbons emerging from the top of the former's jacket.
Rather quickly, these ribbons solidify their forms into white-scaled serpents.
"Step to the side a bit."
"I-I got it…"
Heeding to Long Hua's words, Qing Yue distances herself from the incoming beast's line of charge along with Ye Chen.
"…"
*Grawr!* as the one-horned lion pounces towards him, Long Hua shifts his body to the left to avoid being crushed, and upon the beast's heavy landing—
(Hm?)
Narrowing his eyes, Ye Chen focuses on the sight of Long Hua delivering a palm strike that sinks into the beast's neck in one swift motion.
Simultaneously, the twin serpents rush forth and sink their fangs into the beast's flesh.
Venomous poison is injected into the beast's body in less than the time it would take for a person to blink their eyes.
"…"
*Thud. Thud. Thud… Thud!* as the beast takes another three steps forward in a sluggish manner, it ceases to move entirely, prior to falling onto its side with blood flowing out of its maw.