There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 248 - 241. Hometown

Chapter 248: Chapter 241. Hometown

"I think seven is enough," Zein said to the commlink as he walked through the hallway of Mortix building. "I’m fine with taking four."

[Just four? You’re sure? What about that kid from Mireta?] Abel’s voice could be heard from the device.

"Hmm...his guiding was rather unstable. Not bad, but..."

[You have such high standard] Abel laughed. [Why don’t we put him on hold until we know how many espers they’ll take]

"Sure," Zein shrugged. Again, they weren’t really in a dire need of guides, so he’d rather taking the one who really met his strict standard.

[Alright, have a nice trip]

The call ended and now that Zein could focus on the road, he started to walk faster with Jock. After an exhausting day of going through joint practical assessment, Zein wasted no time to get on with his initial plan of visiting Araka the next day.

While the guide assessment had already finished--except for the thorough screening that the security department would conduct after they submit the passing applicants--the espers still had to do field assessment. They had competition yesterday, but they would be tested in their cooperation today, by forming a squad and raiding inside the dungeon owned by Trinity.

Because of that, Bassena couldn’t accompany Zein today, and was rather sulky this morning. Zein did visit the dungeon site before heading to Mortix this morning; to briefly met Arlo and coddled his puppy for a bit before heading out.

It would take days if they were to use cars, so Radia gave them permission to access the inter-zone portal. It was a teleportation device that could only be used between Mortix Headquarters and the subsidiaries in each Area. The high mana consumption made this method of transportation restricted to highly important business and emergencies, and needed permission from the Presidents of each subsidiary office.

They would use the portal in Althrea to head to Area 14’s subsidiary office, before heading to the orange-zone using a helicopter, and continued the journey to Araka using a car. If everything went by the schedule, Zein would already be in Althrea by tomorrow afternoon. Any longer and Bassena would probably head there immediately to check up on him.

It wasn’t about distance; Bassena could bear not seeing each other for a few days--he wasn’t a kid, for fuck’s sake. But he wouldn’t be able to contact Zein at all when the guide was there, since communication was truly limited in the red-zone. Except for certain devices that used beacons, personal communication device--including commlink--would be rendered useless. Still functioning, just not as a communication device.

So he had been reminding Zein about the Black Pearl, and to use it without hesitation if something happened. The esper even told Jock about it, in case Zein was being stubborn or forgetful. Only after both promised him that Bassena let Zein proceeded with his trip.

And so here he was, in another one of Mortix’s heavily guarded basements. The inter-zone portal was mounted in elevated platform, surrounded by cube-shaped barrier. Two heavy-duty mana batteries supported the apparatus, which had already whirred alive and was being attended by a group of staff.

There was not much preparation in Zein’s side; he just needed to stand there and avoid moving at all. The device let out a deep purring sound, like a giant snoring deeply, and Zein felt...nauseated.

It felt different from Bassena’s shadow teleportation. He felt like his stomach was pulled back sharply and thrown to the ground harshly. The process was almost instant, but Zein found himself losing balance and stumbled. He recalled the time he was drunk in Han Shin’s birthday party--only this was ten times worse.

Fortunately, Jock grabbed his arm readily, as if knowing the outcome already. "It’s hard for a first-timer," he explained to the pale looking guide. Even with the mask, Zein looked sick. "Maybe it’s better if you take off your mask--"

But Zein raised his hand in rejection and just took his time to take a deep breath and regulate his mana that clashed slightly with the teleportation magic, closing his eyes to prevent his vision from worsen. After regaining his balance, he opened his eyes and saw a familiar woman stood below the platform.

"Welcome to Area-14," she greeted him with a smile, and Zein tried to recall who this esper in a business suit was. "It’s been a long time, Sir Zein."

"Ah," Zein finally remembered the formal tone. "Naoya’s sister."

The lady smiled amusedly, introducing herself once again as Zein and Jock climbed down the platform. "Yes, I’m Naoya’s older sister."

What was it again...Zein wasn’t interacted much with this woman back then in the Borderland, so it was hard to recall her name with his flimsy memory.

"It’s Naomi, Sir," she told him with a smile after seeing Zein failed to remember her name. "I’m going to accompany your trip, today."

"Huh, really? All the way to Araka?" Zein raised his brow, looking skeptical at this prim and proper lady strolling in the red-zone.

"Don’t worry, Sir," she smiled confidently. "You know I’ve been to the Borderland before."

* * *

She shouldn’t have said that.

Naomi thought that she could stomach everything since she had already experienced staying in the Borderland for two weeks as she waited for the expedition team back then. But when she stepped into the dry ground beneath the reddish sky, she realized that she knew nothing; that there was a reason why Zein was skeptical earlier.

Environmental wise, Borderland was indeed worse. The air was heavy and laden with toxic substance, the sky was grey in perpetual gloominess, and the atmosphere was eerie in front of the looming sinister dark jungle that was the Deathzone.

But it was also a place being funded by the government. The Unit’s compound was like a fortress, with sturdy building that could at least sustain being blasted by miasmic wind. Even though limited and rationed, there was a steady supply of logistic coming from the higher zone every few months. And above everything else, the people staying there were espers and guides.

That wasn’t the case with the red-zone.

The building was haphazard and made of cheap, smuggled materials, which, were they to be inspected by auditors, would be subjected to demolition for safety hazard. There was no tree or shade in sight, and only wild grass could sustain themselves in the dry ground. It didn’t look like a place fit for humans to live in, and yet, there were more than a thousand people staying there.

And half of them were civilians.

Calling them civilians were rather sad, because they didn’t seem like they lived in a civilized manner. Inadequate housing, low living standard, scarce food and water, suffocating air...

Both Jock and Naomi could see the Zein they knew at the start within the people they passed through--sharp looking eyes, cautious body language, dull complexion and suspicious eyes. Clothes that covered as much skin as possible, most had worn out, patched, and faded in color--if they were any color at all. The ones who dressed the best were the espers, who could at least clad themselves in cheap equipment.

The contrast was very apparent with the high-zone dwellers’ pristine appearance and healthy complexion. They looked at Zein and the two people with suspicion from the moment the jeep they used parked on the field right outside the city gate.

People who was passing through the gate staring sharply at the three newcomers, who were clearly came from the higher zone. But when the man guarding the gate suddenly calling one of the newcomers with familiarity, they paused and widened their eyes.

"Zen!"

The gatekeeper was of course, a member of Scarlet Moon. Perhaps because Zein had informed them about his scheduled visit, the group sent someone who knew him. The man was someone in Zein’s group age, and they sometimes hang out in Scarlet Moon’s base together.

"Laz," Zein smirked. Somehow, in the five years they didn’t meet, the man managed to bulk up again, towering at almost two meters of height. Was it something he gain from the Tower?

People who recognized the name stopped and made a double-take at the guide, shaking their head to make sure it was really the ’Zen’ they used to know. That this sturdy-looking man with sharp but bright eyes, expensive combat jacket, and neatly trimmed hair was the same person who used to live in this place for more than two decades.

"What? Zen? Are you really Zen?" one of them, an old man slightly older than Uncle Dan, come closer and grabbed the guide’s sleeve.

It was fortunate that Zein already told Jock not to react too much if people came to him, since this was...well, yes, his hometown. The old man lived in the same building where Zein lived before--the one which got destroyed in the outbreak.

Besides, what could these people do to him?

"You’re still alive?" Zein asked nonchalantly, and Naomi--who was still shocked at the condition of the place she only glimpsed from outside--gasped.

For her, who had been taught to respect elders, Zein’s remark sounded extremely rude. But what got her even more flabbergasted was the response;

The old man, rather than being offended, guffawed loudly and hit his chest proudly. "Hah! I survive a bloody outbreak! Do you think I’ll drop dead that easily?"

"Haa...stop taking up spaces from the younger people," Zein shook his head while shaking the grinning gatekeeper’s hand in greeting.

"Shut up! You’re not even living here anymore!" the old man spat--literally spat to the ground. Zein chuckled, feeling the sting at the word ’alive’, the bitterness that he could also feel inside the old man’s voice. "So what are you coming here for when you finally manage to escape, huh? How stupid."

Zein turned his head to stare at a structure that could be seen from the gate, peeking above the rooftops of the buildings there. "Inspection," he said with a shrugged.

"Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?"

"You don’t know, old man?" the one who replied was Laz, the gatekeeper. "Zen is the one building that orphanage."

The old man blinked and looked at the crane that had been busily constructed a massive building at the corner of the residential area--well, massive in red-zone standard. It had became a huge topic in Araka, because the people who supervised the building said it would be used to house all the children in the red-zone, even if they weren’t orphan--provided they were willing.

The construction itself had been providing jobs for people there, even paying them with standard labor pay in higher zone, which was obviously a lot for red-zone. Even the old man’s son got a job there.

And it was actually the guide that funded it?

"...shit," the old man said, prompting Zein to let out a chuckle.

That was a highest praise one could hope from a red-zone’s old man.

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