Azrak had been standing tensely at the autonomous steering wheel for hours, scanning the road. Hikmar, on the other hand, continued to meditate in front of the crate as if nothing was happening. Yet, about an hour ago, the communication device in the autonomous vehicle had spoken, warning them of an impending danger ahead.
Yes… Azrak didn't know which of Labiba's men had spoken, but a voice had warned them of a potential battle awaiting them. Hearing this, Azrak burned with the excitement of finally encountering those following them from the west, but Hikmar remained unresponsive. He looked as if he had been expecting this news. His behavior had been strange, especially since he spoke with that creature called Volem. It was as if… as if the humble, wise man named Hikmar had been slaughtered by a savage scientist within him. His movements were sharp and scattered, like those of an addict… while walking, meditating, or occasionally sticking his head out the window for a breath of air, he moved with the heavy, faltering gait of an old dog.
Azrak could not fathom what kind of creature Volem was. Labiba and Nuskul had warned them, pointing out that the creature was incredibly dangerous. It had been stated repeatedly that the creature was unstable at a nuclear level and could generate self-triggering energy, and to prevent this energy production, it was vital that the creature be kept dormant in the Cryo-V crate. But Hikmar was communicating with that creature, disregarding these warnings. He had been in conversation with it for hours upon hours. What did he plan to learn from a creature that did not personally understand human language but had grasped the semantic dimension of human words on an abstract level? The creature might only be mimicking words and sounds. But a brilliant scientist like Hikmar was eager to listen to this mimic with rapt attention, as if it were a saint from another universe.
The rain had started. Or rather, acidified oil, arsenic particles, and industrial residues condensing and falling from the sky… Amidst these toxic liquids pouring from the green clouds, the only thing illuminating the darkness-shrouded atmosphere was the useless, dim light of the truck's headlights.
There was a map on a screen atop the autonomous vehicle. According to the map, it was only a matter of time before they reached the area where the danger warning had been given. That was why old Hikmar, who had been meditating in a semi-conscious state for hours, stumbled toward the front of the truck. Azrak was relieved, even a little happy, to see the old man. Hikmar, however, was watching the autonomous screen with the face of a child who had seen a nightmare while half-asleep. Was he still communicating with the creature called Volem? Was a part of his mind still meditating? When Azrak nudged the old man, whose eyes were wide open, he suddenly snapped out of it and said:
"Ah..." He said. There was the softness of the ancient scholars in his voice, which was comforting. "...I'm sorry, dear Azrak. As an old cybernetic, it seems my maintenance time has come. I haven't performed maintenance on myself for a very long time... I hope we make—as you young people say—some good money from this beautiful job."
"Definitely, wise Hikmar... definitely..."
"So, what happened?" Hikmar asked. "Have we reached the danger point?"
A voice rose from the autonomous vehicle. "Hello gentlemen, I am Labiba... There was a group of Calosians coming from the direction of TESO2 toward your location. About eight armored vehicles... According to our analysis, your point of encounter with them should be only a few kilometers ahead."
"Should be? Are we speaking in probabilities?"
"Yes..." Labiba said. His voice resembled the muffled voice of a god of gluttony, overflowing with bottomless appetite. "...we are speaking in probabilities, dear Azrak. Because interestingly, for the first time in years, I am seeing such a compact cloud mass. This cloud mass, filled with chemical gases above you, prevents us from tracking you over the SWR Network. The satellite cannot see or hear you... You are in a blind spot. Interestingly, this blind spot is moving toward the borders of Calos city. Which means..."
"You cannot monitor us while we are within the borders of Calos city."
"In fact, yes, that's right... Monitoring Calos from Uruzen would cause great tension between the İki cities."
"But you have a plan too..."
"Nagara... He is an employee I like very much. I sent him to TESO2. While Nagara is there, our monitoring of Calos won't attract much attention. It will be as if we are monitoring him..."
"Sending him just for us," Hikmar said. "It will attract attention..."
"No... I have other reasons for sending him too. We definitely won't attract attention... Misfortunes coincided so well that we were able to extract a plan from these misfortunes."
"According to what you say..." Azrak interrupted. "...a Calosian team is waiting for us, is that so?"
"Exactly..." At that moment, the cameras on the truck began to move in place. "...it looks like we've arrived," Labiba's voice said.
Indeed, contrary to their expectations, they had come across a strange place. On both sides of the carefully paved asphalt road for the truck's passage, a large pit had been dug. Since there was sea to the east of the truck, the right side was clean and safe. But the west side... the west side was full of trenches and armored vehicles parked sideways, like a barricade. When the truck parked a few kilometers away from this trench-filled terrain, Azrak and Hikmar got out. Jul rose meters high into the air and began to roam in the dark, turning off its lights. Jul's eyes had become Azrak's eyes... Azrak saw whatever Jul saw, though there wasn't much to see. Azrak reached for his left metal plate, opened it, and drew his crescent-shaped pistol.
Hikmar, however, walked on regardless of Azrak's cautious behavior.
"Hey..." shouted a confused Azrak, one eye being Jul's and one being his own. "...where do you think you're going, Old Man? There could be snipers watching us..."
"Is that so?" Hikmar said, walking on without caring about the words spoken. "Are you saying that a few half-witted Calosian natives could make a shot from kilometers away that could wound two Exosanguis cybernetics?"
"How do we know they are Calosians?"
"If they weren't Calosian, the vehicle would have been riddled with bullets by now. We are quite out in the open and vulnerable right now."
"I cannot allow you to risk your life, dear Hikmar," Azrak said, stepping in front of Hikmar. At that moment, since Jul sensed no danger, it approached the serpentine trench channels and paths dug for war.
"Would you please move out of my way, Azrak?"
At that moment, Azrak noticed something with his eye.
Inside the trench, there was the body of a Calosian, crushed almost into the soil. While his shirt was soaked in mud that had turned red, his skull was shattered.
"The Calosians are dead..." Azrak said in shock. Jul began to scan the trenches rapidly. It encountered people with mangled organs... Some had been shot with their own weapons, some had been crushed, and others had perished in a terrifying manner.
The truck's camera turned toward them and asked: "How?"
"How about we investigate for you, Labiba?" Hikmar said, and with the approval received, the duo decided to approach the trenches.