The next morning, just before sunrise, the group gathered near the gate. Tian was leaning against it, his expression as flat as usual.
Naomi, on the other hand, was bouncing on her heels with excitement, too eager to leave the base.
"Do you think we’re going on vacation or something?" Tian asked dryly.
Naomi rolled her eyes with a grin. "Why not? Just think of it like that! After being locked inside this base for months, I finally get to see the outside world again."
Tian scoffed. He found it ridiculous. The "outside world" she was so excited about was nothing but ruined lands crawling with monsters and criminals.
Ethan and Finn stood a little further back, looking awkward. Finn, especially, seemed nervous, probably still processing the fact that he had a chip inside his head.
Soon, Medeia and Lucian arrived in an armored van big enough to fit around twelve people.
Medeia popped her head out of the driver’s window with a playful grin. "Alright, hop into this beautiful tour van! If you behave, maybe we’ll stop and grab some martinis on the way."
"Martinis, my ass," Tian grumbled as he threw his bag into the back and took the seat right behind the driver.
Naomi slid into the seat beside him without hesitation, while Finn and Ethan quietly sat behind them.
Medeia peeked at Tian through the rearview mirror. "Oh, don’t pout like that. I know you’re happy to be coming along. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be here."
Tian clicked his tongue. "I’m only here because my idiot brother would get himself killed if he went instead."
Finn, who had been silent the whole time, finally found the courage to speak."H-how many days will it take to find the old scientists?" he asked carefully, glancing nervously at Medeia.
Medeia turned around, grinning as she shook the compass in her hand. "Three seconds."
[Activating Mystical Compass.]
[Destination: Sora Elowyn (The Military’s Former Researcher).]
[Activating teleportation to City C
Finn hadn’t even had the chance to reply to Medeia when a bright white light suddenly wrapped around the entire van, swallowing all of them inside it.
He quickly grabbed onto the seat, his heart racing as the world outside began to blur like a melting painting.
It felt like his body was being pulled in every direction by some invisible force. He wanted to scream, but before he could, everything suddenly stopped.
The scenery outside had completely changed.
Finn let out a heavy sigh, relieved he hadn’t been thrown straight into the afterlife to meet the demon.
Wait, no, the demon had been sitting in the car with him.
"Finn, you didn’t throw up, did you?" Medeia asked, glancing at him through the mirror.
"N-no! I’m fine!" he replied quickly, though he still felt a little dizzy.
Seeing that the young man was holding up just fine, Medeia turned her attention to the window, quietly taking in the view outside.
Unlike most cities that had turned into deserts or swamps, City C wasn’t too far gone. Sure, the asphalt roads were cracked, and most of the buildings were coated in thick layers of dust, but overall, it looked almost intact.
The buildings still stood strong, worn but sturdy, making them more than enough to be used as temporary shelters.
"How is this city still in such good shape?" Naomi pressed her face against the window, widening her eyes as she spotted something interesting. "Look at that! Even the trampoline in the backyard looks like it still works!"
Lucian calmly started the engine and drove slowly through the empty streets. "Yeah ... this is strange," he muttered. "I don’t see any monsters around here either."
Willowshade Village had never been attacked by monsters until Medeia arrived because the village was hidden between cliffs and deep ravines, making it hard for monsters to even notice it.
But this city? It didn’t have anything like that. No cliffs, no mountains, nothing special. It was just sitting out in the open like every other ruined city and, somehow, it was still standing.
What made it even creepier was how everything looked untouched, like the people had just vanished without warning, leaving everything behind without a single sign of a fight.
"Maybe this place just got lucky," Naomi shrugged. "We haven’t seen the whole world yet. Maybe not every city is wrecked."
"You don’t need to visit every city to figure this out," Lucian replied calmly. "Just using common sense is enough."
The car instantly went quiet. Even Medeia blinked, caught off guard. She didn’t expect Lucian to throw out such a sharp comment, sounding like he wanted to call someone stupid without actually saying it.
Well ... that was kind of hot.
Medeia cleared her throat, trying to lighten the mood. "Alright, let’s not worry about that right now," she said. "We need to focus on finding the researchers."
"Is the compass showing where they are?" Lucian asked, his voice softening a little when he spoke to her.
Medeia nodded. "Yeah, it’s showing me the way."
A soft glow came from the compass, projecting a 3D hologram of City C. Everyone’s eyes quickly landed on a blinking red dot, marking a single location.
It was a church, sitting right in the heart of the city.
"Why do people always choose to hide in churches?!" Medeia huffed. "There are so many better places, and yet they always pick the church."
Ethan calmly answered, "Well, it’s actually not a bad choice."
He pointed out the obvious. The church had strong walls, built to last hundreds of years. It stood in a good spot for watching the area, and it was tall enough to work as a lookout.
Moreover, churches were usually big inside and had more space and facilities than most normal buildings.
Tian, leaning back against his seat, spoke quietly. "You’re overthinking it. Sometimes, people go to churches simply because ... it makes them feel closer to hope." His voice was soft. "That’s all."
Finn scoffed. "Hope? What hope? Does that even exist in a world ?"