Chapter : 694

"Good eye, Luna," Naomi praised softly. She signaled the team to shift left. "Watch your step, everyone. Keep your bubbles active."

Risa walked in the center of the formation. The sweet pink-haired healer hugged her brown teddy bear. She gripped her glowing white shard tightly in her other hand.

The walk was difficult for her. She was a nature mage. She could feel the lingering pain of the poisoned earth. The dead soil radiated a sad, toxic energy. It made her chest ache. It made her hands tremble.

But Risa did not panic. The warm holy energy from the shard kept her erratic mana stable. It acted like a comforting anchor. She breathed slowly. She focused on the clean smell inside her bubble.

Sayma walked right next to Risa. The intelligent Vice-Captain never left her side. Sayma pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. She held her neat notebook. She constantly checked Risa's condition.

Sayma decided to use logic to distract the scared healer.

"Did you know, Risa," Sayma stated politely. She clicked her silver pen. "The molecular structure of this toxic mist is highly fascinating. It contains trace amounts of vaporized Solurius crystals. The radiation alters the color spectrum of the sky. It reflects yellow light waves while absorbing blue light waves."

Risa looked at Sayma. She blinked her bright green eyes. "Really? That sounds very complicated."

"It is a basic optical illusion caused by particulate matter," Sayma explained smoothly. She smiled a very small, comforting smile. "The math behind the light refraction is quite beautiful. I can show you the equations later. We can calculate the exact density of the fog together."

Risa smiled a tiny, brave smile. "I am not very good at math, Sayma. But I would like to try."

Sayma's distraction worked flawlessly. Risa stopped thinking about the dead earth. She thought about numbers instead. Her shoulders relaxed. Her magic remained quiet.

Ken Eliot walked at the very back of the group. He dragged his cheap shoes on the dirt. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff. He drooped his shoulders as far as they could possibly go. He wore his navy blue sweatpants and untucked white shirt. He looked out of place in the deadly wasteland.

He held a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. He reached inside. He pulled out a chip. He popped it into his mouth. Crunch. Crunch.

Ken watched the yellow mist hit the glowing white bubbles. He watched the mist bounce off the holy energy. He ran the situation through his flawless video game logic.

"This is like a shield durability mechanic," Ken analyzed casually in his mind. He chewed his salty chip. "We have a passive buff active. The holy bubble grants complete immunity to poison damage. But in most games, the shield eventually runs out of energy. The durability meter drops to zero. Then you start taking massive damage. I really hope these glowing rocks have infinite battery life. If the battery dies, I will be very upset. I do not want to melt."

This book's chapters are posted by the author on their official page (this copy is not one of them).

Ira walked right next to him. Her pale face showed zero emotion. Her robotic blue eyes scanned the rear perimeter.

"Your chewing is extremely loud, Ken," Ira noted flatly. "It produces an irregular auditory signature. It masks the ambient sounds of the environment. We might miss an approaching threat."

"Crunching is an essential part of the snacking experience, Ira," Ken argued lazily. He tossed another chip into his mouth. "The crunch provides mental satisfaction. It boosts my morale. High morale is crucial for survival. I am basically buffing the entire team right now."

Ira stared at him blankly. She did not understand his strange logic. She just turned her head back to the mist.

They walked for a very long time. The landscape did not change. It was just endless cracked dirt and swirling yellow fog. There were no buildings. There were no animals. It felt like walking across a dead, empty planet.

Suddenly, Luna stopped walking.

She held her hand high in the air. She made a closed fist. It was the silent military signal to halt.

The entire 13th Unit stopped moving immediately. They stood perfectly still. They did not make a sound.

Naomi tightened her grip on her silver daggers. Her green eyes narrowed. She looked at Luna.

"What is it, Luna?" Naomi whispered softly. "Do you see a mutant? Do you see the master thief?"

Luna shook her head slowly. She kept her eyes focused straight ahead. She lowered her hand.

"No," Luna answered quietly. "I do not see a monster. But I hear something. Listen very closely."

The group stayed silent. They strained their ears. They listened to the toxic wind.

At first, they only heard the soft hissing of the mist hitting their bubbles. But then, a new sound emerged from the thick fog.

It was a mechanical sound. It was a low, rhythmic thumping noise. Thump. Thump. Thump. It sounded like a massive heartbeat made of metal and gears. It echoed deeply through the ground. The vibrations traveled up through their boots.

Princess Iris walked to the front of the formation. She stood next to Naomi. Her violet eyes searched the yellow mist.

"That sounds like heavy machinery," Princess Iris stated softly. She looked very confused. "But that is impossible. This entire zone was abandoned decades ago."

"Let us move forward slowly," Naomi suggested. "Keep your bubbles tight. Be ready for an ambush."

The team resumed their walk. They moved much slower this time. They stepped very carefully. The rhythmic thumping sound grew louder and louder. Thump. Thump. Thump. The ground vibrated constantly.

The yellow-gray mist slowly began to part. The wind shifted direction. The fog cleared just enough to reveal a massive silhouette in the distance.

The 13th Unit stopped again. Their jaws dropped open in shock.

A gigantic structure towered over the cracked earth. It was an old Solurius mining rig. The rig was made of thick, rusted iron beams. It looked like a massive, ugly metal skeleton reaching into the toxic sky.

But the mining rig was not dead. It was not abandoned.

The rig was active.

Bright industrial lights shined from the metal scaffolding. The lights cut through the yellow fog like sharp knives. Massive steel gears turned rapidly. Loud grinding noises filled the air. Thick plumes of dark black smoke puffed from a large exhaust pipe at the very top. The entire machine vibrated with immense, operational power.

Zinia crossed her muscular arms. The strong earth mage stared at the machine. She looked bewildered.

"This makes zero sense," Zinia declared loudly. "The Solurius disaster happened thirty years ago. The empire ordered a total shutdown. They evacuated the entire region. That mining rig should be a pile of rusted junk."

Sayma pushed her glasses up violently. She clicked her pen very fast. She opened her notebook. Her mind raced with calculations.

"A machine of that scale requires continuous maintenance," Sayma analyzed politely but urgently. "It requires fresh fuel. It requires active operators. It cannot run automatically for decades. This confirms the Emperor's secondary objective."