Chapter 18 - A brief rest

Observing the few remaining Compass Beasts, and seeing their calmness as though their lives were not threatened at all, Dadles sighed in relief. "Fortunately, many still remain and were not eaten or ran away."

They would inevitably get lost on the way to the surface without a guide like the Compass Beast. The tunnel they were traversing was not oneway after all.

It was part of many other tunnels, like a maze with several entrances and few exits. The spiral pattern on the wall and circular shape of the tunnel was a clear reminder that it was dug up by Giant Earth Worms. Only they could create such passage deep underground tunnels leading to the surface.

Like a curse from god due to their great advantage, Giant Earth Worms could hardly reproduce and has a long maturity period, or they might have already pierced the entire continent into a sieve, causing disasters and tragedies.

Mother nature has had imposed a strict restriction on their reproduction and turned them into androgynous.

When they reached a certain age, regardless of strength, they would die like a firework under the night sky, extinguished into blazing bloody flames, leaving only several flesh body parts. And these body parts would take time to regenerate, several would completely fade and nourished the land while some would be able to completely regenerate into a new giant earthworm of finger size. Burrow underground and continue to grow until it was their time. Such a life cycle of never-ending reincarnation was simply terrifying for sentient beings. A life without directions.

At the moment, Dadles felt cursed for encountering a Giant Earth Worm on the way, at the same time, blessed as he invited a strong person to escort his caravan.

Dadles has never been so close to death before as he was always in the city base, busy dealing with business affairs assigned to him by the corporation, making sure that nothing would go wrong as his promotion lies on his performance.

Strong people were everywhere after all, but people with the ability to manage the businesses or intellectual talent and technical field could hardly be seen. Thus, most organizations valued them more than the strong men with heads full of thoughts about getting stronger.

And if Dadles ever has a business outside the city base, he would hire someone else to do it to avoid endangering his own life. This time, Dadles felt the malice of the world for weak people like himself.

Now, he was considering whether he would strengthen himself through technology or hired some strong and loyal bodyguards for his safety. Both could give him peace of mind and could be easily accomplished as he has money to spend.

But after spending some brain cells, he excluded the thought of hiring a strong bodyguard, for he knew that strong people are not so easy to hire. They were not subservient and has their own pride and arrogance.

'I think, I'll have to buy some battle suit to protect myself...' Dadles thought.

Feeling insecure, Dadles contacted Reid with a trembling tone. "Reid, can you lead the convoy until we arrive at the Darius Kingdom territory? I will double, no triple the reward!"

"It is not on the contract, but I can take on this offer. However, I don`t want Credits. Change my reward to Beast Core instead."

Reid felt his employer's fear so he replied to ease Dadles' anxious spirit. "Thank you, Reid. Really thank you! I will give you an amount with equal value!"

"Your welcome. You're my employer. An additional demand is not prohibited. Also, the Compass Beasts needed rest and were already hungry. So I suggest we stop for a while." Reid said after he felt that the movement speed of the Compass Beasts became slower.

"You can arrange it as you please. I have confidence in you." Dadles gave his consent.

"Very well. Then, I'll inform everyone." Reid hung up and changed the frequency of his communicator where his voice could be broadcast. "Everyone, let`s take a few hours of rest to regain our lost stamina. We will set off immediately once the Compass Beasts recovered."

Being notified by Reid, the convoy stopped advancing and several people set up a camp together. Most of them took a nap as it was the best way to revitalize their tired mind.

Due to the fixed oxygen content in the air and closed space, setting a campfire was tantamount to suicide. As flames need oxygen to burn, it would eat away all the oxygen and smoke would fill the air.

And without oxygen, the journey ends in death through suffocation. It is one of common knowledge for hunters living in the wild, half of their lives. Yet, people who died of such common mistakes always appear as they underestimated nature.

Therefore, the entire convoy did not use fire, but the headlight of the vehicles to illuminate their surroundings or solar lamps. Energy-efficient, green, and friendly.

Now, Reid was only waiting for the five presence he sensed before to appear and attack them. He was quite certain that those people were the culprit of their bad luck.

A Winged Rat was an omnivore but preferred to dig mushrooms to fill its stomach than tear flesh meats, while Giant Earth Worms never stayed in one place. Encountering them was much more than winning in the lottery.

And so, Reid was sure that the bad luck they encountered was designed by them. Their traps were clever and powerful, and could easily annihilate the entire convoy if not for his existence. They came prepared and they even predicted through calculation which route the convoy would go.

Although Reid could look for them himself, he preferred to wait for them to come to him instead. It is much better as it saved him time and effort in searching for them.

Not far away ahead from the convoy, five men rendezvous in a silent manner that their steps did not make a sound or left a mark. The one with a temperament of a leader glanced at the other four people.

After some deep considerations, he spoke.

With a deep sigh, the leader said. "I intend to give up the task. Who of you opposed?"

The other four people made eye contact before speaking out their opinion. Such simple movement revealed their truest intention.

"I'll just follow what the captain wants to do." A thin man said without expression.

Another person followed the twit. "I agree. That man can manipulate thousands of tons of boulders and smashed the swarm of beasts and indirectly causing a cave-in."

"Right! Right! With our strength, we might not even be able to touch the hem of his clothes if we really confront him." This one nodded like a chicken pecking on rice.

The last person coughed, hiding his embarrassment as he thought that running away was shameful. "I also agree. The reward of the mission is really good, but I still need my life to spend it!"

The leader sighed, relieved that they all have the same thoughts. "Then, let's retreat. I will contact Mr. Xiang as we came to the surface."

The poker-faced man raised his hand slightly and said. "Since we've determined to abandon the task, then why don't we just wait here to hitch a ride with them?"

The leader glared at the thin man and pointedly said. "Are you an idiot? We laid traps for them to die. Even if there is no direct conflict they will still be suspicious of us! One wrong move and we will be executed by that man!"

The other three men glared at the thin man and commented angrily.

"Stop talking nonsense! We haven't lived enough yet!"

"Yes! Life is so wonderful! I'm still young to die here!"

"If you want to court lady death, don't drag us with you!"

The thin man shrunk his head and whispered. "Why be so fierce suddenly? I'm just making suggestions..."

After the discussion, the five of them did not linger in place any longer and decisively left, heading towards the surface.