Chapter 137: Dual Contaminated Zone (1)

Zeke walked over to where the new soldier had fallen with Ares. Cavendish and Galithe were already following behind them, trying their best to avoid stepping on monster corpses on the ground.

When they reached the spot he was pointing at, they instantly fell silent.

"Is this for real?" Galithe moved to stand close to the hole the size of a human. "Why... is there a contaminated zone in here?"

She had been a Guide for some time now. She’d seen a number of contaminated zones herself and knew the characteristics of a zone when she saw one. And that hole on the wall where only endless darkness could be seen was undoubtedly a contaminated zone!

"But how could this be possible?" Cavendish felt the same as the Guide from the Federation. "A contamination zone inside a contamination zone? Has there ever been a case like this in the past?"

"No, there isn’t."

As Zeke spoke, the expressions of the three veterans next to him grew much more solemn.

Ares also added, "I’ve seen hundreds of contaminated zones, and I’ve been inside one that moved constantly. But I’ve never heard of something like this."

"Cavendish, you do the scanning and reading of the outer ring of the zone," Zeke ordered the huge man.

Cavendish obediently followed his instructions and took the scanning devices from the two soldiers. He moved several steps closer to the unknown zone with extreme cautiousness. In one hand, he held the two devices. And in his other hand, he held an axe-like weapon. He had to do this to ensure that he’d be able to protect himself in case something suddenly popped out of that hole.

Zeke observed everything. No one said a word, already filled with tension. However, the more Cavendish got closer and closer to the unknown contaminated zone, Zeke sharply noticed that the devices in his subordinate’s hand were gradually increasing.

Beep, beep, beep!

The noise from the device made everyone’s muscles tense up.

This continued until the veteran soldier finally stopped just a few steps away from the zone, his hands stretched forward to take a more accurate reading of the zone.

Beep.

The scanning device finally stopped. The result should already show them how dangerous this zone was.

"What is it?" Ares asked.

While everyone waited, Cavendish did not turn around and get back to the team’s position. He stood frozen where he was, veins bulging into thick lines across his arms and neck. The grip he had on his weapon was so tight that they thought the handle would break under his strength.

"!!!"

Zeke narrowed his eyes. His power came out of his hand and quickly blocked in front of Cavendish. A hunched abyssal monster clad in a midnight-purple carapace and fringed with bioluminescent blue fins had come out of the hole.

If Zeke had not used his power, that thing could have taken half of Cavendish’s face in one fell swoop.

"Crrrck, crrukkk."

It made an alien sound as it opened its mouth. Long and razor-sharp teeth were revealed, biting into nothing.

Confused that it hadn’t tasted blood from its prey, it slithered over Zeke’s ability, taking bites out of thin air, eight hollowed eyes directed at Cavendish, whose face was just inches away from it.

"Tha—thanks, Sir."

Cavendish felt his heart settle down from its thunderous beating. He was so close to being mauled by that monster. Fortunately, he was saved before that happened.

But then, they saw a scene that brought them even more terror.

The creature made noises and continued to chew down. Zeke’s ability stood unfazed by its attack. But it seemed that its patience had run out as the creature suddenly banged its serpentine head against the invisible wall until its head exploded.

"That was terrifying," Ares commented.

Cavendish nodded his head in agreement. "Fortunately, the Admiral blocked it in time from eating me."

Monsters saw humans as delicious prey. But they could sense danger more sensitively than humans could. Thus, whenever humans entered a contaminated zone, it was like a battle to the fittest. When the monsters inside a Contaminated Zone sensed the balance of power was tipped against them, they rushed to escape and avoid humans.

Zeke paid attention more than the others. He also noticed some strange things. Although the creature had lunged at Cavendish, it didn’t react to anything else around it. Not even when it hit his power.

Stepping forward, Zeke took the devices from Cavendish’s hand and looked down at them.

A high threat level at sixty-five, and a mix of stronger potency of type 4 and type 5 miasma. That was double the trouble of what they were already facing.

He turned around to glance at his team. A deep frown appeared on his face.

They had entered the zone with twenty-one people. Yet, there were only seventeen people around.

"Where are the others?"

His question shocked everyone. They turned their heads to glance at each other, seeing realization settle into their faces as they also noticed that four of them weren’t there.

"Did they stay behind?" Galithe wondered.

It wasn’t the first time for new soldiers to feel more afraid once they were inside a Contaminated Zone and stay behind the team and wait for the veterans to finish the subjugation of the zone.

But—

"Zena and Johnny are among the four who aren’t here," Zeke said, turning down the notion. "The two of them are both A-rank Sentinels. The other two are a B-rank Sentinel and an A-rank Guide who are new soldiers who were appointed to this team last week."

Galithe was surprised that Zeke had accurately remembered who went missing from their team. She had never thought of remembering the faces and names of insignificant new soldiers who would die for the sake of protecting her inside the Contaminated Zones.

Only leaders who had empathy and compassion towards their subordinates could do this. And as far as she knew, these types of people could sacrifice their lives to save the weak. Truly admirable, but foolish people.

Why would anyone give up their own life for the sake of others to live?