Chapter 4: Alert

Walking in the flourishing forest of this tropical paradise gave Belle a not-so-good feeling. She extremely hated sweats and all the annoying insects.

"Are we there yet?". Belle was tired.

"Almost there". Elena viewed the cyber map. Then she looked at her friend. Belle seemed exhausted. So she suggested an idea. "There's a stream close to here, we could rest there for a few minutes"

"Good idea". Luminous agreed. "But beware of the outbreak monsters, they could be waiting for us in these luxuriant bushes". She still remembered the sudden attack.

If Elena didn't alert right away, their team might have lost at least one person due to the slow reacting speed. And Luminous's power is usually not for doing combat. About Belle, let's not talk about her potential.

Approaching the stream, everyone could feel the cool fresh air. Even though this moment was not a good time to let their guard down, nonetheless, Belle instantly ran to the current and gulped the water.

"Ah, I'm alive!"

Belle felt pleased.

"Only 10 minutes". Luminous stared at Belle's lazy face. "The soldiers could be in danger".

"Fine". Belle wanted to take a nap. But Luminous was right so she can only compromise.

While her teammates were resting, Elena wandered in the area.

Unexpectedly, she found a strange-looking footprint on the muddy ground. "What is this?". The moment when she got closed to have a better sight, she heard Belle's screaming.

"AAAAHHHHH"

Luminous was trying to reach the fruit on the tree, Belle's squeal scared the fuck out of her.

"WHAT?!". Luminous uttered, turning around. She thought Belle was just being afraid of some kind of wild bug. Nevertheless, she was wrong.

"Look!". Belle was terrified. She pointed her finger toward the upstream.

"What's wrong?!". At that time, when everyone was frozen, Elena just came back from the reconnaissance. She tried to return as fast as possible. Anyone could see a trail of wind blades that she had left behind.

"A soldier's head". Luminous spoke up.

Belle saw a soldier's head in the shallow upstream. His eyes were wide-open. He must have seen something terrifying before dying.

Belle threw up immediately. She couldn't believe that she drank the infected water.

"Let's go now! I think something bad happened with the base!". Luminous picked up the food bag.

"I don't feel so well". Belle had never seen something this brutal.

"I'll carry you". Elena sprinted to Belle and lifted her up. "Luminous, follow me!". After giving the cyber map back to Luminous, Elena promptly rode away with the air.

"Did she just memorize the way to the base? What a brilliant survivalist!". Luminous admired Elena's good memory.

On their way to the base, the closer that they got, the bloodier the path was. Belle had to cover her eyes so the purging feeling would stop and Elena was dead silent toward these barbaric scenes.

At last, they finally set foot on the military zone of Palawan Island. The scenery was unspeakable. The walls and the ground were painted with blood and flesh.

Belle was surprised by her ally's calm expression. "Luminous, are you not scared of these things?".

"I've passed that age of time, A-grade missions were worse". Luminous replied casually.

"How about you, Elena? What's your feeling about this?". Luminous was quite interested in Elena's point of view and thoughts about this.

"I am not afraid of these, I am afraid of the creatures behind all of these violent acts". Elena couldn't imagine what type of monster she's dealing with.

"Based on the large scratch on the black metal wall and the footprints on the ground, I can say that it must be 3219". Luminous had made her prediction.

3219 is the code name for this monster type. Its kind is classified as 'the lurking monster'. With the ability to mimic sounds and shapeshifting creatures, 3219 is one of the most disruptive monsters to deal with. No one would be able to identify a 3219 from a normal person without a good understanding of that one's personality or a specialized utility.

"It seems like the entrance is lock". Elena tried entering the code number for this base, but the machine wasn't responding.

"Stand aside". Luminous moved forward. She placed her hand on the cold surface, a bright light had shone from her hand. A few seconds later, the door had been unlocked.

"Wow, fabulous". Elena was fascinated by her supernatural power.

"Thank you". Luminous received praise nicely.

The inside scenery was just as bloody as the outside scenery. Everyone wasn't sure if anybody's still alive.

"Be ready". Luminous stared at Belle with serious eyes. "We could die at any moment".

"Okay, got it". Belle harnessed the crystal power in her hands, she's now prepared to fight.

About Elena, she slowly stepped inside, leading the path. Her hands were next to the throwing knives.

The cold atmosphere coming from the air conditioners and the raw scene gave everyone anxiety and stressful pressures.

Belle was so anxious that she barely made any noise while roaming.

"Stop!". Elena whispered. She felt a sudden movement of the air like something or someone was trying to move placidly.

"What happened?". Luminous tried to keep her voice as low as possible.

"Are you guys ready to fight?". Elena didn't want to play passively. She wanted to attack the enemy when it least expected.

"Sure, what's the plan?". Belle asked carefully.

"I'll jump out, trying to take it down, if I fail, you guys assist me". Elena explained briefly. "Just it".

"Okay, let's do it". Belle was ready.

"I have no complaints". Luminous also saw that wasn't a bad idea.

"1"

As Elena counted, Luminous and Belle started to hear the footsteps louder and louder like it was approaching them.

"2"

Luminous held her fists tightly.

"3"

Elena hastened past by its sight, the shadow falling back because of the sudden action.

"Air Trap!". Elena used her power to push it against the metal wall and locked it in the slashing wind sphere.

"She caught it successfully!". Luminous was surprised one more time. Elena did everything smoothly in a professional way.

"I'll guard here, you should come help Storm". Belle called out her crystal sword.

Luminous gained on the being. The closer she got, the clearer the view was. She saw a man in a soldier suit.

"A human?"

"Don't release him yet!"

Elena was about to dispel the air prison, but then Luminous stopped her.

"That could be 3219". Luminous reminded Elena.

"Please don't hurt me!". The soldier looked at Luminous with a terror in his eyes.

"What's the mission code?". Luminous questioned him with heavy pressure. She summoned a golden dagger from her hand.

"419 FWB". The soldier answered without hesitation.

"Alright, he's a human". Luminous dispelled the golden dagger.

"Phew". Elena let him go. She breathed out a long sigh.

"I'm Jericho, the commander of this base". The soldier man introduced himself.