The rhythmic, blinking green dots on Erin's datapad suddenly froze. A second later, the screen completely blacked out, replaced by a glaring red error message.
Erin tapped the screen frantically, but it was useless. The three S-Rank artifacts the Vanguard team was carrying had completely vanished her tracking. She leaned back in the rickety booth of the crowded café, her green eyes narrowing as she mentally mapped their last known trajectory.
They had crossed into Sector 4.
To the general public of the Central Continent, Sector 4 was nothing more than a sprawling, government-mandated nature reserve. But Erin knew the grim reality. The "nature reserve" was a colossal, artificial forest planted decades ago, designed specifically to act as a colossal curtain. Its sole purpose was to hide the apocalyptic horrors of the Dead Zone from the civilian populace.
