The rain showed no signs of letting up.
On the edge of Forging City, in front of a forgotten small communication relay station, several specialized vehicles bearing the Bureau's emblem had just pulled over.
Heat rose from the engine hoods in the rain, only to be instantly torn away by the cold wind. The muddy ruts carved by the tires hadn't even had time to be washed smooth by the rain before they were filled with water of varying depths.
Large patches of paint had peeled off the exterior of the two-story building, revealing the mottled grey brickwork beneath. The signal tower on the roof was long since rusted through; raindrops struck the metal frame with a staccato rhythm, quickly pooling and trickling down the slanted supports in intermittent curtains of water.
The window glass remained intact but was caked in a thick layer of dust and mud from years of neglect. Rain whipped against them, leaving behind winding, distorted streaks.
“Team One, unload the supplies. Watch out for moisture!” a thick, authoritative voice boomed through the rain.
“We didn't bring any spare parts. Every piece of equipment must be operational for this mission. No mistakes.”
“Team Two, head into the station. Prioritize using the vehicle power supply to activate the internal computers.”
“Security, establish a defensive perimeter outside. Monitor the contamination levels at all times.”
“Copy that!”
The team of over a dozen people sprang into action, each component of the equipment beginning to function in its designated spot.
Members of Team One hauled sealed storage bins from the trunks, stacking them carefully under the rain shelter at the station's entrance before covering them with waterproof tarps.
Team Two members rushed into the station with mobile power units and cables to set up the connections.
The combat squad quickly deployed around the perimeter, with several members standing guard with rifles while others set up temporary cover at key points.
Every step of the process proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Observing a danger zone was a periodic task. The purpose was to confirm the internal conditions, collect data, and allow the Bureau to make accurate assessments of the current situation. Based on these dynamic updates, defensive measures could be deployed in the cities surrounding the danger zones.
Forging City was one of the few high-risk danger zones within Zhongzhou, making its observation missions the most frequent. The Bureau sent a team once a month.
Because it was so perilous, no one dared to lower their guard.
“Xiao Zhao, same as usual. Cut a separate screen for these coordinates,” Lin Mou, the observation team leader, instructed his subordinate after all the equipment had been moved into the station.
Zhao Wu looked up at his leader, who was staring toward Forging City.
Lin Mou's silhouette, cast against the curtain of rain, appeared somewhat lonely.
“Any questions?” Noticing his subordinate's delay, Lin Mou turned around with a frown, his gaze cold and sharp.
Zhao Wu hesitated for a moment before speaking. Having worked under Lin Mou for years, he understood the man to some extent. He didn't understand why Lin Mou had volunteered for this thankless job.
“Chief, if I may ask... why did you join this observation mission? The Bureau is currently conducting promotion evaluations. Leaving at a time like this makes it easy for others to snatch your chance at a promotion...”
Zhao Wu's voice trailed off as Lin Mou's gaze grew colder.
I really don't know what's so attractive about a danger zone. Are ruins contaminated for thirty years that nice to look at?
“What does it have to do with you? If you don't want to do it, there are plenty of others who will,” Lin Mou replied coldly, offering no explanation.
A leader didn't need to explain himself to a subordinate.
Zhao Wu swallowed hard, lowered his head, and scurried off to search for the coordinates, cursing the man in his heart as a pretentious prick...
What subordinate didn't secretly curse their boss?
Lin Mou didn't look at him again. He turned to watch the intensifying rain as it poured from the eaves, weaving a transparent curtain.
“Thirty years...”
Time really did fly.
He went up to the second floor. There, information collectors were setting up equipment—portable monitors, signal receivers, control terminals—and laying out cables to connect with the smart drones that had already been launched.
“System startup.”
As the indicator lights flickered to green one by one, the footage from the drones flying into the core of Forging City began to appear on the screens.
Grey ruins, cracked streets, toppled road signs, and a massive crater. Silence reigned everywhere.
At this stage, the mission was halfway complete. Forging City hadn't seen any major changes in thirty years.
All that remained was to wait for the drones to finish collecting data, confirm there were no anomalies, and head back to write the report.
However, Lin Mou remained meticulously stationed by the computers, eyes glued to the screens.
His seniority and ability were more than enough to get him into higher-level departments. Long ago, he had received promotion evaluation documents from within the Bureau. If he wanted, he could step into the Bureau's true inner circle at any time.
That was the position he had once dreamed of, yet he had personally rejected it. Now, he fixated solely on the Forging City danger zone, his gaze fixed on the core contamination area.
Everything was as quiet as ever. The screen showed nothing but a hazy world and the ruins that had remained silent for thirty years.
“Holy crap! Look! The drone caught a human figure!” a team member sitting at a monitor suddenly cried out, his voice filled with disbelief and horror.
Lin Mou instinctively turned his head, his vision locking onto that specific screen.
Against the backdrop of the grey ruins, a blurry human silhouette was indeed walking alone through Forging City.
“Zoom in!” Lin Mou stepped forward, bracing himself against the table, his voice trembling with suppressed excitement.
“My god, how can there be someone in an A-rank contamination zone?” someone blurted out.
“Shut up! Move the drone closer! I want to see exactly who that is!” Lin Mou ignored the reactions of those around him and continued to bark orders, his eyes fixed on the blurry figure on the screen.
“Understood.” The drone operator had intended to suggest that this was unwise.
Anything appearing in a high-risk danger zone was bound to be dangerous. Drones were fragile; what if it got damaged?
But on second thought, this was a direct verbal order from the leader. Even if it was unwise, what did it have to do with him?
He made sure to keep a record of everything anyway. Ever since he started working at the Bureau, he had been thrown under the bus so many times that he had developed the habit of recording everything.
If something went wrong, he could successfully shift the blame.
At some point, a culture of “infinite accountability” had emerged within the Bureau. It made people think of self-preservation and avoiding liability first, rather than solving the problem.
Rate on N.U.
