Chapter 138 The Earth’s Wastelands 11

Chapter 138 The Earth’s Wastelands 11

The shark coach slowly drove into a valley, where the ground sloped downward. Unknown plants grew along the path. They grew sparsely and looked ashy and wilted. No one tended to them, and they were like some kind of free-growing weeds.

At the end of the slope was a giant cave. The cave was large enough to allow a whole Titanic to sail through. This place had obvious signs of human expansion and strengthening; this was not something born out of nature. Thousands of metal scaffolding poles covered the rocks. Some were encased into the cliff face, while others were connected in midair, forming a complicated iron-web. Some tent-like objects decorated the web, and many workers in protective gear walked along the scaffolding. If Feng Bujue and Flashes of Sword could view this from afar, they would be impressed by this phenomenon.

When the shark coach neared the entrance, an outside communication came. A stranger’s voice asked, "This is the observation deck. Please identify yourself."

Hank, who sat in the driver’s seat, turned to toss Feng Bujue an inquisitive gaze. The latter merely shrugged and made a ’go ahead’ signal.

"Scavenger Team, number 24. I am the driver, Hank." Hank tried to keep his composure as he rattled off the rest. "We were ordered to leave the village this afternoon. The command was ’bow and arrow’."

Whenever a team departed from the Village of Heavenly Blessing, there would be a record, and when they left, they would be given a command code. When they returned, they would need to provide the corresponding command code before being given entry. If they could not give the command code and there was no entry, it could only mean that these people had escaped without order or were perhaps outsiders in disguise.

The man who communicated with them went silent for a while. He seemed to be checking the number and the order. Soon, the reply came, "The command is correct. Welcome back, team 24. Please enter the hangar that corresponds to your number. The supply members are already on the way."

The shark coach entered the cave successfully. They passed through a meandering tunnel to arrive at a large space. This was like a three-dimensional parking lot. The walls to the side were like a beehive, filled with hexagonal cubicles. With the aid of the autopilot, Hank drove the craft into one of the cubicles.

When the two players officially entered the Village of Heavenly Blessing, the system echoed in their ears.

"Yes," Hank replied. Since he was in the gear and there was a distance between them, the man had trouble seeing how nervous Hank actually was.

"How come two are missing?" the person asked as his gaze moved to Feng Bujue and Flashes of Sword.

"They died... When we were exploring the ruin of the ’outsider’, they were killed by monsters." Feng Bujue volunteered the answer, and he managed to make himself sound saddened.

"Did you bring back the bodies?" the man asked again.

Feng Bujue shook his head. "No, the three of us barely managed to escape that place. The monsters were ferocious. We were unable to stop and bring anything back with us."

The man was silent for a few seconds. "And your name is?"

"Jarvis," Feng Bujue replied before pointing at Hank and Flashes of Sword. "This is Hank, and that’s Joy."

Feng Bujue had already asked Hank about the names of the five members beforehand. Plus, he had made sure to confirm that the people in the Village of Heavenly Blessing all used English names and the document in the hands of these ’supply members’ before them only recorded the member’s names. Other details like skin color and appearance would not be recorded.

"Okay, understood." The man sighed as he left a few marks on the paper. "Phew... Another two deaths... This is a horrible day."

"Hmm..." Feng Bujue concurred. He realized that for these people, whenever people returned from outside, having one or two killed was commonplace.

The man paused for a while before adding, "Then... the amount of things salvaged is also zero, right?"