Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 518 - 511: Return to the Airboat

Chapter 518: Chapter 511: Return to the Airboat

After leaving the base, the group returned to the inn outside of the town. Luo’er and Hu Daoke did not sleep all night because they had been talking with Fulajie’er. So as soon as they arrived back at the inn, they went straight to sleep.

Cheng Ziang had already sent a message to the airboat requesting the transport plane to meet them at their designated location. However, since the airboat could only arrive at night, it was a perfect opportunity for Luo’er and his team to rest and regain their strength.

Cheng Ziang, who had spent the night with Luoya, did not sleep well and went to catch up on his sleep. The awkward part was that Luoya, scared of ghosts, had also not slept well and was the first one to go nap upon returning to the inn.

And so, the group spent the entire day catching up on sleep. Fortunately, they were staying in an inn, so they didn’t have to worry about attacks from enemies or wild beasts. By the evening, the four of them eventually woke up, casually ate something, and started packing to hurry to their scheduled evacuation point.

Their evacuation point was on the coast. Since the landing was to take place at night, they needed to light a fire on the ground to signal the transport plane. They sat around the fire while Hu Daoke patrolled with his machine gun.

Luoya was still feeling lingering fear from last night’s events. Every time she thought about it, her breathing would tremble. But it’s not her fault, she grew up in the Ancient States and didn’t receive the orthodox materialist education like the Advance Team, so she still held superstitious beliefs about these supernatural phenomena.

Luoya’s reaction to ghosts represents the attitude of most people in the Otherworld. Being able to maintain basic calm in the face of ghosts already stands out, not to mention communicating with them.

In this respect, it’s safe to say Luo’er and his group far exceed the Otherworlders. Once they understood why these ghosts were appearing, Luo’er wasn’t afraid at all – he even hoped to use them to help complete their mission.

For ordinary Otherworlders, these invisible ghosts represent their deepest fears. But for Luo’er and his group, it was the equivalent of having an inside agent already planted within the Creating God Plan’s base – an agent that Theron couldn’t stop.

The sky quickly darkened. The coastal wind was strong, but the high specific heat capacity of seawater kept them from feeling too cold.

Soon, amidst the howling sea breeze, they heard the humming sound of propellers in the distant horizon. But the noise ceased almost instantly; Luo’er knew the transport plane’s pilot had shut off the propeller engine and was guiding the plane in using inertia to glide and descend towards their location.

The High-peak people’s flying skills were unquestionable. The transport plane, under the skilful control of the pilot, silently and steadily landed at a spot not far from their fire.

Seeing the transport plane arrive, the group wasted no time. They quickly put out the fire, boarded the plane, and as soon as all four of them were aboard, the pilot promptly increased the output power of the anti-gravity engine, causing the plane to quickly ascend vertically.

When the transport plane ascended to a height of over three hundred meters from the ground, the pilot started the propeller engine again. The plane made a circle in the sky, corrected its course and headed towards the direction of the airboat.

The entire trip was silent, creating an air of awkwardness within the cabin. Luo’er was pondering how to persuade the High-peak people to assist them in their reconnaissance mission, leaving him no mood to break the tension.

Indeed, the High-peak people’s flying skills were carving out a top-notch space in the Otherworld, even if they still came up a bit short compared to Earth. Aside from anything else, just their night deployment and landing capabilities alone were enough to impress onlookers.

The transport plane moved quickly and reached the lake where the airboat was docked in just over three hours. This lake, hidden within a primeval forest, was hard to spot, especially at night, and one could only wonder how the High-peak people located it so accurately.

Guided by the ground crew on the airboat platform, the transport plane landed steadily on the airstrip. The group hurriedly disembarked and headed straight for the office.

The office on the airboat was still brightly lit with high-powered Magic Crystal Lamps illuminating the entire room. As soon as Luo’er entered the office, Tangmo recognized the scent on him and rushed towards him without hesitation. Taken aback, Luo’er managed to catch her, fearing she’d hurt herself if he didn’t.

"Luo’er, you’re back, I’ve missed you so much!" Tangmo leaned into his chest, saying coquettishly.

"I was only gone for two days, don’t make it sound like we haven’t seen each other for months." Luo’er said, a mix of laughter and tears.

Baiyue watched the two with their affectionate display, unusually not joining in on the fun. Instead, she sent Tangmo a contemptuous glance before continuing with her work. Wearing Nightingale’s large, round gold-rimmed glasses, she radiated an intellectual air, reminiscent of an artistic young woman.

"Did you find anything?" Li Si had known of their return beforehand, and upon seeing the four walk in, he put down his tasks and walked up in anticipation.

"Well, quite a bit happened. I’ll start with the bad news first," Luo’er said, pulling the octopus-like Tangmo off him and pushing her onto a chair.

Then, he walked straight to a desk, covered with files needed for this mission. Of course, there were also plenty of diagrams and formulas related to the Creating God Plan, filling the entire desk.

"First off," Luo’er looked at everyone, then turned to Li Si, "Mercenaries can help us accomplish the mission, but they’re not up to bearing major responsibilities!"

He then told Li Si about how the mercenary had tried to kidnap Luoya to cash in on the bounty. Although Li Si had already learned some of it from the magic messenger, he still felt exceedingly angry after hearing the details.

Thanks to Ziang’s timely intervention, the Luo siblings were saved from being taken by the traitorous mercenary. This incident served as a wake-up call. The mercenaries might have been trained by headquarters, but they were still Otherworlders. Their loyalty was doubtful at best.

There had always been a school of thought within Headquarters advocating for the employment of Otherworld mercenaries to help with tasks in the Otherworld, instead of training Sub-human species. However, this opinion was firmly rejected by Lin Wei, who, having narrowly escaped the battlefield in the Otherworld, distrusted Otherworlders and even Sub-human species from beginning to end.

That was why there was, until now, only one Advance Team operating in the Otherworld at headquarters’ command. Lin Wei trusted only Luo’er, thus, only he was assigned to lead the Advance Team.

Murong Squad had been to the Otherworld a few times, but always for training or under the command of the Advance Team, never deployed as an independent squad. In the end, it still came down to Lin Wei’s distrust of Murong, leading him to keep Murong under Luo’er’s control.

However, with Murong Squad’s impressive performance in the Otherworld, his achievements earned Lin Wei’s approval. The current mission to assist Ilanadale in army training was a test for Murong. If Murong did well, Lin Wei might consider transforming Murong Squad into the second Advance Team. But that was a matter for another time.

"So are you saying we can only rely on ourselves now?" asked a frowning Shangguan Jiu from the side.

"Not exactly," Li Si shook his head, "As it stands, the mercenaries are still fairly reliable. But we should always remind ourselves not to treat them as if they were our own. After all, they are Otherworlders."

Despite what he said, Li Si still held quite a lot of trust for the Otherworlders. The activities of the front-line command in the Otherworld largely depended on these Otherworlders.

Take Nightingale for example, this Ancient Statemaperson of unknown origins had eventually earned the trust of headquarters and became a core member of the front-line command. Or Luoya, despite it being her first encounter with the command, her being Luo’er’s sister garnered her full trust from Li Si from their very first meeting.

As for the mercenaries, Li Si could only shake his head in helpless resignation. Not every wolf could be tamed into a dog. Some ingrates would eye the feeder while enjoying the food in their bowl, and never truly be domesticated.