Chapter 692: Chapter 692: High-Tech

At seven the next morning, Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick left their small courtyard dressed in raincoats and rain boots. Before setting off, they had to go to the administration building to get a route map and a topographical map of their destination from Rhys Chase. Ryan Rowe was also waiting for them at the administration building.

Arriving at the administration building, Rhys Chase handed two detailed maps to Ronan Kendrick.

"Why don’t you take a squad member with you? They’re familiar with the route. The places marked in red on the map are all dangerous areas. Their squad originally had ten people, but they encountered some dangers along the way and lost two members. Although Ryan Rowe has a good sense of direction, he’s never been to Serena. I’m worried you’ll get lost or take unnecessary detours."

Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick glanced at each other, thinking that what Rhys Chase said made some sense.

"Alright, we’ll take someone with us."

Seeing that they agreed, Rhys Chase quickly picked up his walkie-talkie and had the assistant squad leader brought over. Ten minutes later, a tall, sturdy young man knocked and entered.

"This is Flynn Hansen. He’s the one who discovered the Serena."

Flynn Hansen looked to be around twenty-five years old, with very short hair and tanned skin. He had a serious, unsmiling expression.

Rhys Chase introduced Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick to Flynn Hansen. "Your mission is to guide them to their destination. From that point on, you will follow all their orders and instructions."

Flynn Hansen was a little surprised. ’Just the two of them? How are they supposed to transport several hundred tons of Serena? What on earth is the base commander planning?’

But he was a soldier, and a soldier’s duty is to obey orders. Flynn Hansen immediately went back to pack his things. Afterward, the four of them went to the base’s stables. With Flynn Hansen to guide them, Evelyn felt that Ryan Rowe was a bit redundant, but Ryan still insisted on going with them.

The wind was a bit cold today. Although the rain wasn’t heavy, the air was very humid and the fog was rather thick. Evelyn’s throat felt a little scratchy. For ease of riding, she wore a set of tactical outerwear with a thermal layer underneath. Once she put on her mask and goggles, the discomfort in her throat lessened considerably.

The base’s horses were all fine steeds, tall and robust. They were quite familiar with Ronan Kendrick, since he used to look after them in his spare time back when they were kept in the space. After selecting their mounts, the group swung onto their horses and, led by Flynn Hansen, left the base, heading toward Serena.

Leaving Eldoria, the four of them rode out onto the plains. Their pace wasn’t particularly fast. After all, horses weren’t vehicles; pushing them too hard would tire them out. Every hour or two, they had to stop to let the animals rest or graze. Moreover, the fog on the plains was thick, and a moment of carelessness could lead them in the wrong direction.

No one spoke along the way. Evelyn pulled the reins, slowing down. Her goggles were covered in water droplets. Even with a mask on, she had still swallowed a lot of wind, and now her throat ached.

Aside from Ronan Kendrick, the other two weren’t faring much better. Flynn Hansen had been seriously injured on his return trip and was still recovering. Everyone was worried he wouldn’t be able to keep up.

"Do your wounds need a new dressing?" Ryan Rowe asked kindly.

"No need, the wounds haven’t reopened." Flynn Hansen shook his head. He had brought a lot of supplies: besides food, medicine, and a fire starter, he also had a sleeping bag and a small tent. He was puzzled to see Evelyn and Ronan empty-handed, but he didn’t ask. After all, a lot of wild vegetables had grown outside over the past six months, and with any luck, they might even be able to catch some game.

At noon, Evelyn suggested they rest for an hour before continuing. She hadn’t ridden a horse in a long time, and the insides of her thighs were chafed and sore. They had covered at least eighty kilometers that morning. If not for the terrible weather, they could have reached their destination in three days, but as things stood, it was going to take longer.

After dismounting, Ryan Rowe gathered some dry grass nearby and started a fire. The four of them sat around it. Evelyn took some canned food and sausage from her backpack and offered them to the others. Flynn Hansen declined, opening his own pack and taking out a packet of compressed biscuits, which he began to eat with some water.

"You didn’t bring tents or extra clothes. You might freeze tonight."

Evelyn patted her backpack. "Don’t worry about it. We have tents."

Flynn Hansen looked at Evelyn’s black backpack, his face a mask of disbelief. A mischievous glint appeared in Evelyn’s eyes. She reached into her bag, rummaged around for a moment, and then pulled out two vacuum-sealed tents.

"Your bag... it can hold that much?" Flynn Hansen found it incredible. It looked like a normal twenty-two-inch backpack, yet Evelyn had already pulled out gloves, tents, canned food, and even a long saber.

"Yep. High-tech. It has folding and compression functions."

"How much can that bag hold?"

"Well... I don’t know either. How about we put you inside and find out?"

Flynn Hansen was speechless.

"Can it hold the Serena too?"

"Not just the Serena. It can hold wild boars and bison, too."

Flynn Hansen believed her. Seeing his shocked expression, Evelyn smiled, hiding her accomplishment. ’When I get back,’ she thought, ’I’ll just give this bag to Rhys Chase. Let him deal with the fallout.’

"This is classified, Captain Hansen. We’ve only told you."

Flynn Hansen immediately stood up. "You can rest assured. This secret will die with me. I won’t tell anyone."

"With Captain Hansen’s help, I’m sure we can complete this mission successfully."

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Ronan Kendrick whistled, calling the four horses back. Evelyn tied the backpack to her horse’s back. At Flynn Hansen’s command, the small team began their afternoon journey.

A light rain was drizzling, but it didn’t affect their travel speed. The path across the plains was relatively flat, but once they entered Serena, the terrain would become more complex.

Another forty kilometers would bring them to the border of Serena. Serena had endless mountain ranges, plains, deserts, and the infamous Devil’s City and The Hundred Thousand Withered Mountains. Flynn Hansen said that on their way back, they had nearly died in Devil’s City. When he mentioned it, everyone could see the fear and revulsion in his eyes.

"Devil’s City is also known as the Death Zone. We stumbled into it on our way back because we got lost. Luckily, we found the right way out and barely escaped with our lives."

"What happened there?" Riding abreast, everyone couldn’t help but look at Flynn Hansen.

He seemed to be lost in a terrifying memory. After a moment of silence, he shook his head. "My memory is a mess. I’m a materialist, but in that place... I think we really encountered ghosts."

His expression was dead serious. "Real ghosts. So this time, we have to go around. We absolutely cannot enter Devil’s City."

No one objected. It was better to avoid trouble, so everyone agreed to take the detour.

"After we left Devil’s City, we kept making strange, involuntary movements. For a while, we had nightmares every single night. In my dreams, I saw countless eyes... a dense swarm of eyes, all watching me."

Evelyn glanced at Ronan Kendrick, her eyes asking if he thought Flynn Hansen had been hypnotized.

Ronan Kendrick shook his head. He couldn’t be sure yet if Flynn Hansen had been hypnotized.

"Were you injured?"

Flynn Hansen nodded. "I got all these injuries in Devil’s City."

With that, he pulled open his shirt, revealing a massive, scabbing scratch mark across his chest.

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