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墨書 Inktalez
More than twenty people rushed into the tent, bringing their backpacks.
Freyr chose a backpack to carry on his back. It was a military pack, uncomfortable as it pressed against his shoulders. The items inside were heavy, so he had to make a decision to remove some essentials—items like maps and compasses that could be easily carried, while leaving behind the bulkier items in the bag.
He thought this method was feasible, but when he opened the backpack, he was taken aback. At the top of the pack lay an ancient revolver adorned with a skull pattern. Freyr immediately recognized it as an Alchemical revolver, capable of penetrating ten centimeters of steel with a single bullet. Its power was undeniable.
The weapon's design was based on configurations used in mechs, a scaled-down blueprint allowing soldiers to carry it. Even without piloting the cumbersome mechs, they would have some means of self-defense against an Zerg invasion.
Clearly, such weapons were not mass-produced in this era; they were carried only by special forces equipped with the highest specifications. Most of these weapons originated from the Heavy Industry Zone, where the modifiers and engineers were extreme weapon enthusiasts with unconventional thinking. Thus, ordinary people could not comprehend how monstrous these modified weapons truly were.
“Hey! I have parts for an AK-47 here!”
Suddenly, someone nearby exclaimed in surprise. It seemed Freyr wasn’t the only one who noticed something unusual about his backpack. Turning around, he saw that many people had gathered behind him, astonished by the weapon parts laid out on the ground. They had bundled them together with plastic bags and aluminum boxes to prevent any pieces from getting lost.
“Really? I want to check mine too.”
Everyone busily bent down to rummage through their own backpacks.
They completely forgot about the time they had previously agreed upon.
Colonel Cousins did not make any move this time. Freyr sensed something amiss and stepped outside the tent. He looked around; there were no signs of people left on the few patches of land that hadn’t turned to sand outside the tent. The sandy areas showed no human footprints, and a gentle breeze could easily cover any tracks with sand. As far as the eye could see, there were only yellow grains of sand; visually and tactilely, everything felt uncomfortable in this extreme environment.
“Come out! There’s no one here!” Freyr shouted.
Some people inside the tent rushed out. As they emerged, they seemed confused about what had happened, still looking around casually as if searching for something. A few even shouted impatiently. After a while, they finally realized something was off; it seemed one person was missing. Colonel Cousins, who had been standing outside with a stopwatch just moments ago, was gone—like that sinister violent instructor who had broken a recruit's arm had never existed at all.
Everything now felt as if it had never happened; it resembled a story from a dream. They recalled a tale about a man living by a river who saw a peach floating by. He called his wife to catch it with a net. When they cut open the peach, they found a baby inside, releasing calamity at the same time and awakening a dark lord who ruled over the entire continent.
The story at this moment was quite similar to their current situation, as they could no longer predict what would happen next. Everything here was a first for most of them, much like the peach that had drifted ashore; if it hadn't been fished out by the old man, someone else would have done so. In that case, the Demon King family of the Ghost Clan would not dominate the entire continent. Although Freyr had read about the genealogy of the Zerg, he knew there were definitely some species that humanity was unaware of, such as the rare predators in the desert. These unknown uncertainties were highly tempting, as too many things could happen. They had already opened that peach, and its holder was also the key—Colonel Cousins had gone missing.
In the desert region where they found themselves, there were no iconic buildings or distinctive signs to help with navigation; the only useful tool was a compass.
“Where the hell is everyone?” someone suddenly cursed.
Freyr curled his lip and secured his revolver to his belt, sitting on the sand while gazing into the distance.
A person sat beside him, but felt as insubstantial as a gentle breeze until he smiled faintly, a hint of desolation in his laughter. It was then that Freyr realized someone was sitting next to him. He turned slightly and met a pair of hollow eyes staring back at him. The man’s lips curled into a chilling smile as he said, “Heh heh, it seems this matter has become quite serious.”
“Uh, what the hell?”
Freyr couldn’t react from his tense state upon seeing that terrifying face and those nearly unfocused pupils—like a mass of soulless eyes grinning with snow-white teeth in a ghostly manner—causing every hair on his body to stand on end.
Unexpectedly, the man brushed his forehead and said calmly, “I’m not a ghost; I’m human. Freyr, even though I can’t see, I’ve become familiar with your brainwave consciousness while in the vehicle. Now I finally get to meet you. Although I can’t see with my eyes, I can still sense your anxiety. You must be feeling quite frustrated right now.”
Freyr looked at the boy in confusion and waved his hand in front of his eyes. To his surprise, the man suddenly grabbed his outstretched hand and said, “Stop playing around. My eyes are indeed blind; I was born this way and there’s no cure.”
“Nono Stiddy?” Freyr asked in bewilderment.
“Yeah, it’s me, Freyr. You must be scared seeing me like this, but don’t worry; you’ll get used to it. Besides, we’ll be comrades sharing life and death from now on. Let’s look out for each other,” Nosty said.
Freyr felt quite awkward at that moment. He clapped his hands together and said, “So what do we do now? We’re essentially trapped in this desert with only a bit of food and relying on a map and compass to get us out. That’s absolutely impossible.”
“Well, it’s not entirely impossible. Do you remember my specialty? I’m a precog. I secretly buried myself within Cousins’ memories to find a clue: this environment becomes extremely terrifying at night. Also, this isn’t inland; there’s no way an inland area could have such a vast desert. Even human mining operations wouldn’t be able to create such extensive desertification. This is not ordinary desertification but an exacerbated phenomenon due to elemental depletion. This phenomenon will expand; it’s beyond what human technology can reach.”
Freyr touched his forehead and said, "Um, you're really complicated. I don't understand. Let's talk about how to escape the desert instead."
Nosty curled a lock of hair on his forehead with his fingers and smiled as he explained, "It's simple. Just head north for twenty kilometers and find an oasis before nightfall. Once night falls, this place becomes an absolute danger zone. Do you know why we have weapons? It's because they fear we won't be able to protect ourselves, so they gave us these weapons. But even these modified weapons are not very effective against predators. So while we can still move, we should go as far as we can. The oasis is marked on the map we have, and it will guide us there."
Freyr, still puzzled, asked again, "Are you really blind? How do you know about the map's indications?"
"I am undoubtedly blind," Nosty replied. "But I am also a Telepath. The brainwaves of any person are eternally unchanged, and there is a one in ten million chance they won't repeat. As long as I remember these laws, I can find the original source. As for how I know about the map—well, I got the clues from Cousins' mind. He told me about it. A person can lie with their mouth, but their heart cannot deceive itself. Hehe, I just need to look at the memory fragments in his mind to find the answer."
At that moment, Freyr silently unfolded the map in his hands and indeed saw a marked point at the top of it. Nearby were drawn some strange skulls, and these markings were present along the main roads. However, there was one section that was not marked at all. Freyr thought perhaps this road could be attempted; if it weren't an urgent situation, he decided against risking a venture into the danger zone—predators' abilities couldn't simply be overcome with weapons.
Freyr quietly folded the map and placed it in his jacket pocket before swiftly taking out a compass and adjusting it. He then whispered, "There is a path we can take, but it will take more time. The other routes might save some time but come with greater risks."
Nosty nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, that's right. That path is rugged on one side but lacks predator tracking on the other side; it's an area where predators cannot survive due to poor living conditions. However, it's not a place we must try to go through. If we carefully adjust our approach and combine our weapons—over twenty of us—even if it costs us something, it's not impossible to exit through another route while still being able to protect ourselves for a short time. I prefer not to dwell on the terrifying possibilities of this place once night falls."
After Nosty responded, Freyr turned to look at some people around them who had begun to step into the sand towards their target point. "Oh? There's one thing you haven't noticed: do they really believe what we say?"
"This is a test for us; they have no choice but to believe us now," Nosty replied. "If we don't unite at this moment, we won't be able to cope and survive together. Perhaps they can already track our movements by the scent in the air; this vast expanse is all sand, and they have an incredibly strong ability to track moisture. They would stop at nothing to pursue and attack Same Kind for flowing liquids."
As Nosty spoke and brushed aside his bangs with a sigh of resignation, suddenly a roar erupted from behind them followed by a series of sharp cries.
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