Chapter 8: Return

Boring and monotonous, two words that summed up their daily lives. Check the data feed and write reports. These two things were all they ever had to do. It was rare for anything consequential to ever happen, so rare that most of those working in this department had never heard of an alarm ever going off.

 

Every day was spent with leisure, filled with happy people that had no ambitions just enjoying the good pay and the benefits that the government provided.

 

A peaceful life.

 

A small crack occurred.

 

“Captain! Come take a look at this.”

 

“Unusual…”

 

The captain looked at the data feed, rubbing his chin.

 

“Right! It should stop now or it would crash against the Core Barrier.”

 

“It isn’t stopping…”

 

“Huuum… it’s speeding up, isn’t it Captain?”

 

Alarm!!!

 

Chaos. Everyone started running around like headless chickens. The data feed that always had green letters was filled with a river of red that quickly changed as the speeding object broke into the Core Barrier.

 

“Impossible… Captain! What should we do now?”

 

“Ahh…Something like that shouldn’t be able to even enter the Mid Barrier… activate the hologram and trace its path front the start.”

 

“Yes sir!”

 

Something had crashed into the Core Barrier but instead of exploding or being rebound, it breached into the Core of the Grand Formation, still at high speed with massive and chaotic Qi signatures.

 

“Captain! It's started slowing down!”

 

“It stopped!”

 

“Vice Captain! Don your armor, you will be going with me!”

 

“Put an emergence request for a Harvesters team! And prepare a draft report, I will be reviewing it after returning. Understood!”

 

“Yes sir!”

 

“Captain, do we really have to go? Why not just let them handle this?”

 

“Just because this place seems so useless do you think there are no procedures? We will have to take to look and send a report to the higher-ups.”

 

“But just think about it, sir! How could anything forcefully get into the barrier, the sensors must have malfunctioned.”

 

“It is possible but that does not matter. That was what was read by the sensory and we will have to investigate and report. It is possible to even receive summon.”

 

Having equipped their armor suits both step out and rush for the lift.

 

“A summon? But why? It is not a big deal, is it?”

 

“Sigh… even if you don’t actually plan to be stuck in this place at least understand what your job is and why it is important.”

 

Running on the emergency lane they were able to arrive at a massive opening. A tremendous amount of space that only a select few departments possessed in this space-starved settlement. Equipped with machinery that was as large as it was powerful, a symphony of moving mechanical cogs filled the space as that enormous power was used to transport colossal amounts of weight up and down to different floors of the settlement.

 

“I am telling you, captain, once my studies are finished I will become a seeker.”

 

“Sigh… focus on the task. It is also a good opportunity for you.”

 

“Yes!”

 

Dodging through the crowd, identity on display, they rushed into the emergency lift, a smaller one meant to transport a few people at high speed.

 

Destination: ground floor.

 

They felt light, and weightless for a moment. It was quiet and both were lost in thoughts, mentally preparing to brave the frozen hell that existed outside the safety of the settlement.

 

It did not even take a few minutes.

 

Stepping out, they sped up rushing through the emergency lane toward one of the exit gates.

 

A blocky building touching the ceiling of the ground level. It was suffocating, radiating an intensity and madness that was found in the Harvesters.

 

A chill crawled up their spines as soon as they stepped inside. It was quiet, filled with armored humans, all of them equipped with weapons. The duo became the center of attention but seeing the insignia on their armors they all simultaneously lost interest.

 

"The team?", Captain asked at the front desk.

 

"At exit gate. Receive location."

 

His armor processed the data, generating a virtual map.

 

"Thank you."

 

Vice-Captain followed his superior who exited the building with hurried steps and then with a burst, sped up toward the team of harvesters.

 

“Sir, I know it's stupid but can that signature be of a harvester?”

 

“That is stupid but who knows? At least I don’t know any that would survive with Qi that twisted.”

 

The exit gate also was a massive structure with some massive but many more small gates that allowed passage to the outside world. Their temporary comrades were easy to find with their locations already known. Greetings were concise and the Captain quickly addressed the mission objective.

 

“A high-intensity Qi signature was detected breaching the Core Barrier. Our goal is reconnaissance and investigation of the cause.”

 

“Affirmative.”

 

“Who will be the scout?”

 

Alert!

 

A request arrived in his armor for a communication channel.

 

“You sent the request?”

 

“Affirmative.”

 

Captain nodded, accepting the request.

 

A small gate opened, large enough to allow passage of an armored human. There were multiple gates one after another. Next would only open when the previous gate was closed and tightly sealed.

 

Finally, they stood in front of the final gate. On the other side existed a dark and frozen hell crawling with monsters. A literal hell where just breathing would kill a human.

 

SSssss

 

The drop was immediate.

 

“Cold!”

 

Vice-Captain uttered causing everyone to stare at him and then at his superior. It was basics of basics to keep quiet outside.

 

[Do you want to die!! No oral communication haven’t you been taught that!]

 

[Sorry Captain! It is my first time venturing outside.]

 

[Fuuu…No word. Communicate through built-in communication tools even then only if necessary… Remain in the center, and observe now.]

 

[Apologies.]

 

The captain said in the public communication channel.

 

[Affirmative, but if repeated he will be left behind.]

 

[Do you understand?]

 

[Sorry sir! Yes sir!]

 

A silence dropped over the group as they slowly moved away from the towering settlement.

 

Taktaktaktaktak

 

Frozen shards propelled by the winds shattered after colliding with the armor.

 

[Coordinates:....]

 

[Affirmative. Accelerate.]

 

With a small buzz followed by a burst of power they quickly gained speed.

 

It was nearly dark but not the pitch-black darkness that existed outside the barrier. High-intensity lights illuminated the Core of the Grand Formation making it possible to see, even if just barely. It was enough to understand any sign language.

 

Frozen hills dominated the landscape as did forests of tall pillars. Hidden in them were monsters.

 

Stealth had been discarded in favor of speed. The timing was very important, if they arrived late, their destination would be packed with monstrosities that inhabited these lands. Then it would be impossible to investigate the source of those abnormal readings.

 

***

 

[Incoming North-East]

 

Harvesters spread out creating a formation with the Captain and the Vice Captain in the center, protected. They took out two different types of weaponry. Vanguards that were equipped with melee weaponry to engage the monsters at close range and the rearguards who equipped their rifles.

 

With a small buzz, the rifles came alive sucking the Qi of their wielders.

 

Centipede-like bodies were covered in plates of hardened material, a size that made humans look like dwarfs. Ominous click clack reverberated as the monsters rushed for an assault.

 

Sssss

Sssss

Sssss

Sssss

 

Almost inaudible blasts of compressed Qi burst through the nozzles.

 

Monster spread out. All of them dodged the first volley but the next quickly followed. Qi shields shimmered, shaking as some of the Qi bullets struck the targets.

 

They had been separated.

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Some of the vanguards slowly moved out of the formation making monsters unable to regroup, others were on the lookout for any unsuspecting variable that may pop up.

 

[Close in.]

 

Their weapons looked like toys in front of the massive bodies but as Qi flowed in them, their sizes and shapes morphed into something suitable to damage the monsters.

 

Bullets rained down. Sometimes they dodged and evaded but other times they were hit. Bullets pierced the weakened barriers that covered their bodies. The rain of bullets grew harsher when the vanguard finally closed in, restricting their movements and allowing the bullets to hit.

 

One after another, their appendages were targeted and their movement capabilities were further compromised.

 

Blooming open like the petals of a flower, layer after layer unwarped exposing rows of sharp teeth and a barbed tongue.

 

Ckkkkkiccck!!

Ckkkkkiccck!!

Ckkkkkiccck!!

 

With joy the monsters attack the vanguards, their tongues shooting out, their bodies propelled forward with delight at the food coming towards them.

 

Sssss

Sssss

Sssss

Sssss

 

Another volley. Rear appendages exploded as powerful shots exploded at the joints. Monster at the forefront lost balance, their tounges missed only to be cut off by the vanguard that aggressively advanced.

 

Pressure, pressure, and pressure. The vanguard kept interrupting while the rearguard kept controlling.

 

Attacked from up close, attacked from afar, the group of monsters was quickly dismantled.

 

[Acclerate.]

 

[How further?]

 

[Coordinates, Captain]

 

[Coordinates:....]

 

[1 kilometer.]

 

[Affirmative. Select shortest path.]

 

[Affirmative.]

 

The scout sped ahead of the group surveying and matching the coordinates and then choosing a path.

 

***

 

Monster encounters started becoming common, an indication that they were on right track.

 

[Acclerate by 20]

 

Howls. Sharp, deep, muted, loud. All types of roars filled the air and dread draped over both of them.

 

[Sii..r, will we be ok?]

 

[Sush… keep quiet and follow diligently if you want to be.]

 

There were not just 10 or 20 but hundreds of howls echoed in the air. They did not have the ability to fight them, the team of harvesters knew their limit which was why they had to arrive first.

 

They sped up moving through a forest of frozen pillars of ice.

 

[Still scared? This is dangerous, especially for your first time but you wanted to become a researcher right? This will be a valuable experience.]

 

[As you say, sir.]

 

Qi in the air became chaotic and twisted. They were near now. The scout further corrected the directions.

 

A maze. Pillars, some thin and tall, others wide and small, and of all sizes in between existed in the forest, an ideal place to get ambushed. Without the captain constantly giving updated coordinates they would have gotten lost.

 

***

 

A trail of destruction. Toppled pillars created a path to what had caused it all. This path was filled with an intense Qi signature that was picked up even by their armor.

 

[Destination?]

 

Captain checked the equipment and then started leading. 

 

[Yes it is.]

 

The group moved quickly, all having equipped melee weaponry, even those in the rearguard. They had to remain concealed for as long as possible.

 

***

 

End of the path. Lights switched on allowing them to see a pillar with cracks all over it. Something had collided with such power despite the destruction that had already been wrecked.

 

A corpse. A corpse that was frozen in a solid block of ice. A corpse with no arms or legs, no stomach, and even the right side of the chest having been torn off, they could see the torn chuck stuck inside the pillar. Its face had no jaws and the eye sockets had been pierced by the ice. Not a single scrap of skin was present on the body that would have looked more like a pile of bones if not for the muscles lining them. It was a traumatizing state but something was even more horrifying.

 

What should undoubtedly have been a corpse was still alive despite the wretched and agonizing state.

 

The device grasped in his had vibrated, awakening the Captain out of his stupor. He stepped closer and started operating the device.

 

[Vice-captain, seal its leaking Qi and pick him up.]

 

[But…yes sir.]

 

[Objective is complete, we will be returning.]

 

[Affirmative.]

 

[Select return route.]

 

[Affirmative.]

 

Scout nodded and checked the map data saved in the armor allowing him to prepare a return route.

 

The journey back was slow, precise, and cautious. There was no need to take any risks with the mission completed. It did not help that even more monsters had arrived in the brief moment that they had taken to retrieve the body.

 

A single fight and they would alert everything in the vicinity of their presence.

 

***

 

Scout signaled and the rest followed, walking into a relatively open space with fewer pillars. They were exposed but the alternative was taking a considerably longer path that would consume much more time and required traveling an even greater distance.

 

Both of the paths were dangerous and thus leader choose the shorter one not liking how the difficulty of remaining hidden kept increasing.

 

Scout moved ahead, checking the path, ensuring that it was safe, and then allowing others to follow.

 

Vice-Captain moved behind the captain, carrying the frozen body. It radiated an intense chill that overcame even the insolation and temperature maintenance mechanism of the armor. Suddenly the captain stopped quickly signing others to do the same.

 

He was looking in the direction his device had suddenly pointed. He, like others, froze except the vice-captain that started trembling.

 

A spherical body with many tentacles extending out. A being made purely of ice, it crept, quietly, to the extent that scout had been unable to find it. Its tentacles had stopped mid-air, static.

 

A specter. Dread gripped their hearts. Nothing escaped their senses, they may act like they were oblivious but any Harvester that had survived the outside knew.

 

Fingers changed in a blur, changing from one sign to another as the leader quickly communicated with his team.

 

None of them moved, any movement, any disturbance in the Qi they would be killed. That moment stretched out.

 

I-Distract-3VG-RestRG-SimultanitousAttack-Sign

 

The tentacles accelerated.

 

The leader lunged with weapons in both hands, deflecting some of the incoming attacks and redirecting others to strike the pillars.

 

Three of the harvesters rushed to help in fending off the swarm of tentacles that attacked from left and right, up and front.

 

With a buzz, the rifles charged their owners waiting for the sign.

 

The storm of attacks suddenly gained intensity. Two of the three were thrown back, crashing into the pillars while the last tried to stop the onslaught that tried to finish them off. The leader exploded with sudden strength, Qi enhancing his body, fending the attacks with two powerful sweeps.

 

Grabbing, he yanked the tentacles.

 

Creak…creak…creak

 

Three bounced back rushing in and protecting their leader who stopped the specter. It was just for a moment.

 

The specter thrashed but the leader was flooding all of his Qi into his body and armor all to secure these few moments. All to make an opportunity for his comrades.

 

[You two, stop them retreating.]

 

He could no longer stop but it was okay. Strength drained out but not immediately, with a burst of speed he jumped in, his twin swords cleaving and cutting through the tentacles as they tried to attack the rear guard.

 

He observed the battlefield. Most of the tentacles had successfully been engaged.

 

[Fire!!]

 

Sssss

Sssss

Sssss

Sssss

 

Tentacles were forcefully retracted, warping around the core all in hopes to protect but the Qi bullets traced an arc, hitting the tentacles instead, not allowing the opportunity to protect the core.

 

His strength had mostly drained out. Mostly.

 

His swords cleaved, tried to cleave but got stuck but he had done his job.

 

Another volley of concentrated fire, right at the center. Broken ice collided with the leader's armor. 

 

He yanked out the swords from the cracked core and then proceed to slice it until he found the core. Picking it up, he placed it in a space specifically for these cores.

 

[Acclerate! Surrounded soon!]

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