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墨書 Inktalez
However, height shouldn't be an issue; swimming is nothing to fear, after all, most people become Hunters only after passing through rigorous selection processes.
If someone can't even swim, such a glaring flaw would be targeted right from the start, leaving them with no chance to enter the second round of selection.
But things wouldn't get worse. Once the vehicle was secured and covered with some camouflage, it blended seamlessly with the surrounding natural colors. To avoid making it too hard to spot later, some warning markers had to be placed around it without drawing attention from others, so that they wouldn't think there was something unusual nearby. Placing a wooden stick would be too obvious, so instead, a few scattered stones were laid down to create a disordered appearance that could confuse onlookers.
This was actually a common code for detection, one that only Freyr could decipher. Of course, with some training, others might also pick up on the clues. However, for non-intelligent creatures, this method might not serve as a warning at all since stones are a perfectly normal part of nature.
After finishing the task at hand, it felt as if nothing had been said earlier. Looking down, Freyr quickly took out another rope and tied a bowline knot. He then slowly lowered it down from his waist belt as several people descended from the tower one by one. When the last person landed in the pool of water, Freyr shook his hand and pulled the rope back in, stowing it away in his Waterproof Backpack for future use.
"Be careful; don't swallow any water. It's still not very safe here. We need to find some wood; maybe we can float on the surface. That would give us much better visibility. How's everyone doing? Nosty, where are you? Perhaps this was truly a mistake bringing you along; you really shouldn't have come. It's not too late; you could wait for us in the vehicle where there's enough food stored to last you for a month or so," he said. They didn't plan to stay for a month before returning; problems had already arisen from the start of this mission, giving them a more direct view of their journey ahead. Staying for half a month was the bare minimum; given the safety mission added on top of that, they definitely wouldn't make it back in time. The only option left was to extend their time here. The costs associated with that extension could be deducted from the Reward Points of a Hunter Team at the soldier level, which saved them some trouble.
"I'm here; I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I still don't want to go back; up there I was alone too. Just don't leave me behind in that place—I'll feel anxious without anyone around me, especially since I'm more afraid of what terrifying things we might confront later on. So I've decided to stick with you guys," Nosty replied.
"Although you don't need to worry about my safety or anything like that—if danger comes your way, you can ignore me—but you must leave me a gun and a grenade so I can handle things my own way when the time comes. That's my resolution." Nosty shook his head and forced a smile; his voice sounded hoarse as if he had just dunked his head into icy water.
Though the pool was indeed cold, moving around helped him quickly adapt to the temperature, though his heart might have been struggling a bit.
So he needed to shiver to let his heart stretch out; once fully acclimated, even being naked wouldn’t make him fear snow or rain anymore.
"Alright then, take good care of yourself. Xiong Tai, come over here and help him out. Make sure to keep him safe if anything happens," Freyr said as he scanned the surroundings and noticed Xiong Tai splashing around playfully in the water; otherwise, he would have looked for someone else to keep an eye on Nosty. After all, Nosty's current behavior clearly indicated he wasn't too exhausted, so having such an energetic companion look after him made Freyr feel much more at ease.
The situation before them was somewhat unique; Xiong Tai suddenly leaped over like a whale playing in water, splashing up a large amount of water that caused nearby swimmers to fall into deeper areas. It took them quite some time to resurface from below, their breaths appearing somewhat disheveled.
"Hey, are you still playing around at a time like this? Did you understand what I just said? If you did, then hurry up and take action," Freyr said, looking at him with disapproval. After all, Xiong Tai was indeed quite stubborn. Whether you scolded him or pleaded with him, it wouldn't affect his mindset at all. He simply lived for himself, indifferent to how others fared; that was just his nature.
"Yes, yes, I got it, Commander. Let's get moving, Commander," Xiong Tai replied. Having someone like him in the team might be a burden after all. To be honest, he hadn't really thought through the decision to recruit him.
Once the matters at hand were settled, they continued deeper into the Mission Center to explore further.
The situation here was actually quite good. After traveling for a while, it seemed they could finally step onto solid ground ahead. Once they reached the shore, they appeared a bit unaccustomed to it. However, thinking about having to swim back later made them realize that they might find the return journey on land somewhat strange.
Xiong Tai remained calm throughout the journey and encountered no unexpected events. Upon reaching the shore, the first thing to do was take out dry clothes from the Waterproof Backpack. He stuffed the wet clothes into the backpack and planned to change back into them when it was time to swim again.
After everyone else ensured their body temperatures didn't drop too low and managed to start a fire to warm themselves up, they ate a little something before setting off again.
They arrived at a deep area surrounded by mountains; the central space was rather awkwardly arranged.
The layout of the Dragon Spitting Pearl from the Ancient One didn't seem like it was formed naturally.
Some areas felt forced together, creating an uncomfortable sense of dissonance. The appearance was quite odd and awkward; however, these mountains were not something that could be moved by human effort. Each stone was sealed off, with no signs of being broken open or marked.
"This should be our destination. It doesn't look special at all right now. We’ve looked around and nothing has happened. Once we gather evidence, we can leave without making a fuss about reporting them," Mackey said with a smile.
"Um, no. I think something is off here; we need to examine it closely. Everyone should be careful not to touch anything; there might still be traps nearby," Freyr immediately countered this idea. He noticed Ross frowning, indicating that something unusual might have occurred here.
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