“The radiation belt is an inevitable region between the regions,” Ansader withdrew his gaze and sighed.
“Since you wanted to go, I will talk to my old friend. However, you have to understand that once you have radiation disease, you will never be able to return.”
“I know,” Garen nodded.
“If you know it, then…”
“I have a personal business that I need to attend to and it can only be resolved at the radiation belt. Actually, I have been there once before,” Garen did not hide his intention.
“Is it?” Ansader naturally could find out the record of Garen leaving the region but he was pleased with the frankness of him.
He quickly wrote down the relevant approval documents and then sent a message to his old friend. There was a prompt reply after waiting for a short while.
“Alright, you can go now. It’s the inner courtyard mural area no. 13, Van Doe Manor.”
“Understood,” Garen nodded, stood to attention and turned around to leave.
“Let Fire Spirit in.”
The voice of Ansader came faintly from behind.
*********************************
Blackboard Region, East Fate City Emergency Action Center
In a black, dark base, numerous black buildings looked like black plates that had been inserted into the ground upside down. They had a unique design and stood up to several hundreds of meters in height.
At this time, various small, black spaceships with dimly sparkling sapphire-like lights were flying out of these plates continuously.
Black Mechs slowly rose from the ground, ready to storm the frontline.
At the bottom of the building, an outdoor balcony protruded from part of the building. Two young men in white uniforms were standing together at this moment.
“The Shining Mechs that were deployed by White Light have emerged in the battle zone. Their purpose is very obvious, charging straight into the radiation belt,” said a white long-haired man with glasses. He had a slender figure and a gentle temperament.
He was an emergency responder of the Blackboard Special Operation Team and a member of the team that was dedicated to assisting Red-Eyed Medero.
“What is the intention of Master Medero?” another woman with short red hair and a provocative look randomly asked as she stood by his side and scratched her short hair.
“If Master Phoebe can free up her hands and make a sudden attack while His Highness Red Whale and the other party’s Great Light Mech are wounded at the same time…” the man said in a low voice.
“Their purpose is very obvious. It is the forbidden core that escaped from the sewers,” the woman nodded. “So, Master Phoebe had already begun the chase. At the same time, most of our special teams have been dispatched. I was specifically left behind to exchange information and contact with you.”
“You all have a specific position of the core?” the man was stunned.
“There may be some clues,” the woman replied. “Three minutes ago, Master had contacted once saying that they would be arriving at the target location.”
“That’s great,” the man smiled.
************
Somewhere in the vast grasslands of the radiation belt
Jade-white shuttle-looking battleships slowly took off; some from the ground while some directly emerged from the underground.
Groups of flying spaceships like flew up like white bees from the ground and rushed out of the clouds. They flew straight towards the sky, appearing like an inverted rain.
Boom!
In the midst of such an overwhelming army, a jade-white humanoid Mech with horns slowly descended and looked up at the magnificent skies around him.
“Found the place where the core is. Boss asks you to go in person,” a voice came from behind the Mech.
“Understood. Boss was severely injured in the battle with Red Whale. Now is the time for us to shine,” Red Jade Horn Mech responded. It was a calm voice of a woman.
“Maria will send someone to assist you. Rest assured, with their traction light, you can always jump off and leave,” whispered that voice.
“Huh! These hypocritical people of the inner region only dare to move out in the name of our White Light,” Red Jade Horn sneered. Blue flames spewed out behind her and she flew into the distance.
“Twin Pole has already gone ahead. This time the problem should be easy to manage. Red Bud, you should go too. Be sure to stall the guys from Blackboard. The forbidden core must fall into our hands. Be careful not to be found out by Royal’s side. The motive of the people from Royal Academy is not that simple…” the voice whispered.
“Understood.” two white fighter jets took off slowly and chased after Red Jade Horn.
“If possible, kill all observers except for the core. The information must be contained and prevented from spreading out.”
*******************
Somewhere else on the grasslands of the radiation belt
In a grassy village that looked like a grey spot, an old and rusted large-size Mech stood in the center of the village. It was surrounded by a variety of shabby and crude-looking cabins and buildings. They were built in the simplest ways using obsolete cement.
Between the buildings, figures wearing dilapidated clothes came out one after another. There were men and women, young and old. All of them were all pale and they had rough skin. Some were leaning against their doors, watching the outsiders who were entering the village.
Some of them sat at the front door and kept grinding their knives. Their eyes followed the outsiders. Even the children who were playing were holding dead scorpions and dead snakes in their hands, their eyes staring at the team.
Clint and the group slowly followed the convoy and walked through the village, constantly feeling the hairs all over their bodies stand up as they were stared at by these people.
The entire convoy of more than a dozen people each looked relaxed. But beneath that, the atmosphere was much more nervous than usual, forming a condition in which the external appeared calm while the internal was on edge.
“Anyone in the village may take your life at any time. Everyone wants a better life, better food, better water and more beautiful women. These are the guarantee and the premium resources for a village to continue to prosper,” one of the big sisters named Wu Dan whispered to Clint and Baylon, explaining some information to be kept in mind.
“What do their need of resources have anything to do with us?” Clint asked innocently.
“Because it is lawless in the radiation belt. The strong are respected, and whatever you want requires power. This kind of power does not rely solely on capability but also here,” Big Sister pointed to her own head.
Looking at the crowd with their staring eyes filled with defensiveness and greed, Clint’s heart felt unbearably oppressed.
If he had not come out and had a look in person, he would not have thought that there was such a cruel world outside of the region.
“If there really is no food, even human flesh is often eaten. As such, the population is not just a good use of labor and reproduction tool but also as food stocks,” big sister Wu Dan said lightly. “So even if you guys have nothing and are going to starve to death, you must be careful of a good-hearted person who offers you a meal. This is because your flesh and bones may be viewed as resources in their eyes.”
Baylon covered her mouth, feeling nauseous.
Clint also felt repulsed, goosebumps raising all over his body.
“This is the radiation belt. For many years, there have not been any changes regardless of which planet it is,” Red Moon’s voice sounded in his mind. “Human lives are worthless in the radiation belt. Every day, many people will be killed or wounded; killed for revenge, for love, for no reason, or out of loathing. The ordinary people here who are powerless are at risk of death at all times. You guys must be careful. As the activator of the forbidden imprint, the biggest drawback is that without the Mech, you are just an ordinary person and you cannot use Willpower,” he cautioned.
“Isn’t there still strength?” Clint tightened his fist.
“It’s useless. No one will fight with you on the front. Here, just a bit of poison could knock you to the ground. Poison is the most abundant thing in the radiation belt,” Red Moon said coldly.
Looking at these villagers’ eyes, Clint suddenly felt a fear of solitary and helplessness. Unconsciously, he clung to Baylon’s little hand and the two were walking closer and closer to each other.
Wu Dan smiled slightly at the sight of this and did not say anything more. The original second team leader had died on this trip. However, she had not expected to acquire two little guys coming from the region. It was a pleasant surprise. If she could get all kinds of useful knowledge and intelligence about the inside of the region from them as much as possible, then it would also be of a great help to the team.
The convoy had now slowly driven to the front of a cabin with a dome. Wu Dan got out of the car, took out the key and jiggled it in her hand.
“Let’s go. Everybody check the equipment. All those that need to be modified, report them to me!” she raised her voice.
Woo-hoo!!
Everyone in the convoy cheered. The fatigue they felt on the way had suddenly been reduced by half.
“Come, let’s go and have a drink together,” the yellow-bearded uncle patted Clint and Baylon on the shoulder and laughed.
“We… We don’t drink…” Clint’s face reddened and he waved his hand. Baylon hid behind him and didn’t dare to speak up.
“How can you not know how to drink?! Men who do not drink are simply wimps plus idiots!” the yellow bearded uncle chuckled, “Let’s go, let’s go. Come and accompany uncle, I have a good drink!”
“But we really don’t know…”
“How would you know if you don’t drink at all?!”
Clint was dragged into the cabin by Yellow Beard and two other young people.
The cabin looked small from the outside but on the inside, there was an underground passage in the middle of the room. Looking down on the stone steps below, music and laughter could be heard coming out from beneath. It was bustling with noise.
The yellow-bearded uncle tugged Clint and went below.
“Seeing you two guys reminds me of my nephew, who also didn’t know how to drink. But in the end? He also loved this stuff after drinking just a few times!”
“This thing called wine… people who don’t drink can’t understand that kind of feeling. This is the only thing that you can rely on to truly relax and rest in this kind of place,” Yellow Beard brought the two and the rest of the convoy into the underground hall.
Red and green lights shone in the hall. It was a freak dance show with all kinds of beautifully and gorgeously dressed women and bizarrely dressed people everywhere. Some were doing fire-breathing performances; some had fist-sized holes in their earlobes and looked terrifying; some had the word ‘scum’ carved on their faces and weren’t bothered by it. They mocked and jeered at others loudly.
The group of people pushed through the crowd and sat down at the bar. Big Sister was nowhere to be seen. Some of the other team members swarmed in and before long, they had blended into the crowd and were having fun wildly.
Soon, there were only three people, the yellow-bearded uncle, Clint and Baylon.
“Now that we’ve arrived here, we can have a good rest. This is a desert hotel. No one is allowed to start a private fight here. Otherwise, you won’t be giving face to the managing gang of this territory. If you don’t give face to the territory gang, you won’t be able to do anything.”
Pap!
“Same old,” the bartender placed two bright orange-yellow-colored drinks in front of the three of them heavily, nodded at Yellow Beard and turned to handle the other guests.
“Come, drink!” Yellow Beard took one of the mugs and gulped down a big mouthful.