The convoy traveled along the highway, and the emblem of the blue irises blooming on the armored car indicated that these vehicles were from the Council.
No one would dare defy the will of the Kingdom Parliant to challenge the vehicles for the Blockade Bodies, the effectiveness of which was unknown—even if the Blockade Body being transported was snatched from the hands of the Fermi Research Institute.
Knight rid Fenny slouched in her seat with her legs crossed, resting in the back row. She held a gunblade in one hand and in the other, a journal she had picked up from the corpse of a Fermi researcher.
"Do you think this operation ans that the higher-ups have decided to officially fall out with the Institute?"
Sitting opposite her was the man in charge of assisting her, Captain Wengska of the ard mobility team. He had a sinister look, a scar on his mouth, a face crossed with hard lines, and ford a stark contrast with the beautiful and dignified Knight rid Fenny.
"Do not question the Council."
rid raised her slender index finger, which was wrapped in a blue-purple glove, to her delicate pink lips. Her purple eyes blinked with a sly twinkle, but her tone remained serious:
"After all, the Fermi Research Institute prioritizes ’human welfare as the foremost priority.’ They have great prestige among the general populace, especially among ordinary citizens. Many rely on the Alige they extracted from Blockade Bodies to make a living. Although their research sotis defies human ethics, whether to settle the score once and for all is still a matter for the Council to discuss and deliberate before coming to a determination."
"In other words, the Council also highly values the economic benefits of Alige?"
"Since 80 years ago, our world began to change drastically. Technological advancents surged forward, utilizing trains, cargo ships, aircraft, and the internet—all of this was made possible thanks to Alige, a clean, efficient, all-purpose perfect resource."
rid glanced outside the window where, on both sides of the highway, there were people lugging their families along in hardship. They were ragged and covered with nauseating purple blotches, clearly refugees forced to flee their hos.
"The Void Fallen Zone is expanding again. How pitiful... Their holands have been eroded away just like that."
Captain Wengska sighed:
"It’s a pity no one can save them. With railroads inoperable and airships too expensive, all they can do is walk away. But fortunately, just 400 kiloters and they can reach the safety zones of the Kingdom. But what then? How will they survive? With more and more refugees, even the brothels aren’t short-staffed... How will they provide for themselves..."
rid did not speak. She reached in, opened her ceramic breastplate, loosened her armored suit, and from the soft lining, she pulled out a pocket watch and gently flicked it open—inside, instead of regular hour, minute, and second hands, were three slender, curved little snakes, twined around each other like gears in sothing mysterious.
"Enrique is getting close."
She stared quietly out of the window. The once clear sky turned in an instant as if a drop of ink had spread, darkening with a grayish haze. Thick gray clouds raced freely across the sky, swiftly dimming the sunlight.
"...Substance Rain is coming."
She murmured softly.
The next mont, clear rainwater suddenly began to fall.
Drip-drop, drip-drop...
The bodies of the ragged refugees were quickly drenched, and rain slid down their exposed skin, carrying away clumps of rotting flesh. Their bodies began to lt away slowly like candles.
Click-click-click...
The sound of the Geiger counter in the vehicle kept ringing, but the passengers inside remained indifferent; they were accustod to these things, and as long as the rain did not touch them, there would be no problem.
The refugees, heads down and spines bent, struggled to move forward, only to fall one by one to the battering rain.
First, their skin flaked off bit by bit, then, like peeling an eggshell, layers of fat and flesh were torn away. The yellow, tender fat, eroded by the rain, degraded like butter. Then, bit by bit, the flesh turned to powder, and the black, grayish ash mixed with the rainwater, becoming turbid and cascading down, leaving behind a trail of bloody, fleshly sludge.
Skeleton after skeleton collapsed into puddles and was finally swallowed up by the storm, disappearing from sight.
The people inside the vehicle watched the scene unfold in silence, not uttering a word. With just an umbrella, a raincoat, they could all avoid this damage.
But they would never offer these to those people.
All property belongs to the Kingdom Parliant, and only the Parliant has the authority to decide who gets the supply of goods.
Knight rid closed up her pocket watch and turned to Captain Wengska, asking:
"Have you ever been to Grey Mist Forest? It’s the last frontline against the Void."
"I’ve only seen it from a distance once... A tide of grey mist obscured views for thousands of miles along the border. The Fermi Research Institute has long been stationed there, collecting and capturing Blockade Bodies that crawl out."
Wengska said superficially.
"It’s generally believed that the dangerous Blockade Bodies all co from the corruption of the Void. And all the safe Blockade Bodies co from behind the Grey Mist Forest, or from places different than the Void. Those things are considered safe, without any corruption from the Void."
rid said:
"But the Blockade Body we received this ti is different. It fell from the sky without any signs of Void’s corrosion, truly an astonishing discovery. I believe this is why the Council has decided to intervene in this containnt."
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