As the wind rushed past his face, Emir remained perched on his bike...
The weapon that he had just recently bought lay discarded in the wasteland.
He allowed the bike to steer on its own while he purchased the routes and information package for Fading Haven.
His decision to target this ruin boiled down to two clear factors.
Firstly, its imposing size and formidable monsters made it an ideal choice.
Secondly, the active isolation barrier surrounding it would block all external signals, making it far more challenging for the Gold Leaf family to locate Aria.
This Fading Haven represented the forr glory of a once-thriving residential area.
It was also called by another na, Nysandra's Haven, due to rumors of a ghost-like woman appearing at random places throughout the ruin.
They theorized that a legendary figure nad Nysandra once lived in this area, known for her compassionate nature, much like a guiding star for the people now haunting the place that was once her ho.
But Emir scoffed at that notion, knowing that she was nothing more than an AI manager.
And while she might truly be the Nysandra of the past, she was nothing but a replica of who she was, her only purpose to protect and guard that ruin from hunters like him who would steal their riches.
However, his purpose in visiting this ruin was not for that; he only wished to have a private talk with the lass shoved in his rucksack.
The one who kept waking up to only go back to sleep, unable to handle the pain and shock her body was experiencing.
While Emir broke her bones as cleanly as possible, it was still extrely painful, and he knew that, as he went through that process for three whole days, his body was broken, sliced, pierced, and electrocuted.
So he understood how long she had before death consud her, not worrying about it in the least.
-
Many minutes later, he finally reached the ruin.
One of the only ones that had overgrown trees, sprouting from the ground below and reaching sky high, covering the area in their shades.
This ruin was under the managent of the UEF, so it was built upon, making it seem like a clean mishmash of a forest combined with the industrial.
There was no need to park his bike, as the ruin demanded the need for long transportation, so he approached the massive gate, capable of swallowing down vehicles a hundred tis the size of his bike.
Passing by the shops scattered about, he headed into the ruin as darkness covered him for a single mont, only to be replaced shortly after by bright lights that shot out from the long bulb-like objects hung above.
Emir continued his descent, getting lower and lower with each passing mont, until he arrived at the end of the dugout tunnel.
And as his bike stood on even ground, he paused for a mont and gazed at what welcod him.
'Wow...'
He surveyed the scene with a mix of awe and detachnt.
What he saw were the remnants of the old-world civilization, now cloaked in a shroud of overgrown vegetation.
The lush, tangled foliage had taken root within every nook and cranny, reclaiming the territory it had lost to the passage of ti.
The overgrown plants sprawled over cracked pavents, pushing through broken windows, and wrapping around the skeletal remains of structures.
The buildings stood like stoic guardians, half-destroyed and leaning over one another as if whispering secrets to each other.
The scent of damp earth and vegetation filled the air, mingling with the faint aroma of decay, a testant to the unavoidable cycle of life and death.
It was an aroma that stirred a peculiar sense of nostalgia within him-a longing for the days when life was simpler, yet a reminder of how much he had evolved since then.
Emir also couldn't help but notice the taphor in the scene before him-an analogy of his own life and experiences, where fragnts of his past shaped his present self, both standing tall and ready to crumble at any mont.
Not due to his own weakness... but due to the starless fate he held.
And as he ventured deeper into the ruins, his keen eyes picked out the details of the
desolation.
The remnants of human existence were scattered about—a tattered piece of clothing, rusted tal objects, and the faded remnants of graffiti on walls.
This ruin seed like a gallery of mories, each fragnt telling a story of lives once lived.
Emir could sense the lingering emotions of joy, sorrow, and hope that once echoed within these crumbling walls.
Yet he didn't care about any of that...
He had a mission to complete.
That was all.
His bike pushed past the fauna, traversing through the narrow passages between leaning structures.
As the bright lights from above illuminated his path, casting elongated shadows across the debris, he finally reached his destination.
It was a path leading further downwards, away from the residential district and towards the nests of monsters.
A perfect place to trap Aria, and more than perfect to use as a place of interrogation.
Emir entered the two-story building with his bike, parking it to the side, next to a set of broken stairs.
Hopping off, he covered his bike with a camouflage sheet that he took out from its tiny storage and walked towards a barricaded door that was located in the room next to him.
The door was covered with all types of tals and had a numbered key lock protruding out of
it.
After tapping on it a few tis, he unlocked the door and pulled its handle towards him.
As the door opened, he looked down while in thought:
'That'll be a long jump down...'
'It wasn't ntioned in the information package, but that doesn't matter.'
'I only need to slow down my descent so that Miss Aria over here doesn't die from the impact.'
Now that he decided on what to do, he walked forward and was swallowed by darkness.
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