The group of eight traversed across the tranquil jungle. Due to the overgrown state of the jungle, there was hardly if ever any glimpse of sunlight passing through. A damp, rotten smell swept over them while moist vapor stubbornly clung onto their bodies. Their entire body felt clammy under the circumstance.
Due to the dense terrain of the jungle, it required incredible effort just to advance several steps. They had to use wooden tools like sticks to pave the way forward. Fisher kept Jennifer close to him, the two of them trailed at the tail of the pack. There was only the sound of their bodies brushing against the jungle and their muffled grunts and breathing.
Occasionally, they would lose their sense of direction and someone would have to climb above the trees to determine where the targeted mountaintop was.
“Will someone sacrifice themselves to light up the signal towers?”
As the group grew increasingly exhausted and began to slow down, one of the blonde-haired ladies suddenly said in a low voice, “There are two hundred single towers on the island, that means two hundred people will have to sacrifice themselves… Is there even going to be that many people sacrificing themselves to save us?”
When the group heard this, they were ever so slightly taken aback. Their pace slowed down further without them even realizing it.
Out of five hundred, two hundred would have to sacrifice themselves. No more, no less. No matter how you look at it, it was an Olympus task, an impossible challenge even…
“No matter what, our first step will have to be to make it to the safe zone.”
Fisher frowned and lowered his voice enough so that only the people around him could hear his voice, “Although I can’t figure out what the ‘curse’ that Gantz mentioned is, we better save the worrying for later. What we need to do now is to head straight for the safe zone. We can plan out the rest after we put ourselves in a safe position…”
“You’re right.”
Jennifer agreed and added with a whisper, “No matter what, we can only be truly safe after we get to the safe zone. Otherwise, if those monsters lock onto us, there will be no chance of us getting away…”
When they heard this, they felt a clutch in their hearts. Even though they did not see the monster in its entirety, its gigantic and pale white palm had utterly crushed all the fight left in them. Its heavy mark refused to leave the crevices of their minds.
“What are the odds that the ‘curse’ that Gantz spoke of is some sort of special toxic fumes so that when we light up the signal tower with the communication device, it releases the fumes?”
After silence descended upon them once again, another voice suddenly broke the silence.
Fisher glanced to his side and saw a scrawny young man that had only recently joined his ranks. The young man was John. He was originally not Fisher’s bodyguard but a hacker instead. He was Fisher’s solution for dealing with Blackwatch’s all-seeing online surveillance.
The young man called John was fiddling with the communication device as if he was trying to crack some sort of code to obtain some clues from it.
“Or maybe it’s some sort of virus.”
Fisher pondered for a moment before stating, “Don’t forget that Blackwatch is a biotechnology company. They even managed to develop the vaccine for the Blacklight virus one step ahead of the world. Whether they were the ones who perpetrated the virus or not, the point still stands that they lead the world in the biology sector. I wouldn’t be surprised if they develop some virus that can instantly turn the infected into a pile of ashes…”
“More reason for us to take them down!”
Jennifer mumbled something to herself. Her complexion was pale but her expression was otherwise determined. She suddenly spoke out with an air like she was the Saint herself, “Come down to it, I’ll be the one to light the signal tower. I want you guys to make it out of here successfully to bring this evil company to ruin!”
“We won’t have to resort to that for now.”
Fisher frowned. “I don’t want any of you to be sacrificed here. If possible, I’d like to learn something new from the others who have activated the signal towers. Perhaps using their insight, we can deduce a way to get out of this place without dealing with the signal towers, essentially avoiding unnecessary sacrifices…”
Everyone became silent again but this time, there was more strength to their steps and they were advancing slightly faster.
In the past, Fisher would be secretly ecstatic about the inspiring message he delivered. However, today was not the day that he would congratulate himself for delivering such a rejuvenating message. On the contrary, he felt more pressure weighing on him.
There seemed to be one critical element that everyone neglected to consider and that was — even if they were to light up all the signal towers, would there be any guarantee that the other party would keep up their promise and let him go?
The last thing Fisher wanted to do was to voice this thought of his. One, because there was no point considering this now and two, his entire squad may be deterred and lose what survival they would have left…
Upon considering this, Fisher kept his head down and continued his journey of insistently carving a measly little path in this vast, overgrown forest.
On the way there, the group did not take any breaks apart from the occasional break to rehydrate themselves when they passed by any river stream. They continued advancing like this for around seven to eight hours until they finally arrived at the mountaintop just before sundown.
A piece of empty and fertile land immediately came into their view.
It was an empty plot of land measuring a hundred square meters that appeared to have been leveled by an excavator. There were no signs of any vegetation here, only withered leaves scattered across the floor, suggesting that this place was once a part of the jungle as well.
Only, all of the fauna in this section on the top of the mountain had been leveled by some unknown force…
“This place is the safe zone?”
When Fisher saw the empty plot of land on the mountaintop, he felt his legs giving up on him. He mustered what strength he had left in his exhausted state to carry the two blonde-haired ladies to the vicinity of the safe zone before collapsing onto the ground himself, panting desperately and heavily.
The clothes of the five members in charge of paving the path on their way here were torn into tattered pieces by the sharp thorns of the plants. Long gashes still dripping blood covered their naked skin, it was a frightening sight to see.
“Fisher, look over there.”
After ten minutes, the group slowly “came back to life” again. It was moments after that when Jennifer suddenly motioned at a metal gray structure weakly. “What is that?”
“I don’t know, but it looks like some kind of totem? Or some kind of device?”
Fisher squinted and looked at the large spire that slightly resembled a totem. When they were previously at the foot of the mountain, they could not see what was on this terrain. It was only until this point when they noticed the spire positioned in the middle of the empty land on the mountaintop. It was somewhere around ten meters tall.
It may not be the grandest and most magnificent structure, but it stuck out like a sore thumb enough on the bald patch on the mountaintop.
They eventually also noticed that they were not the only ones here as there were around a dozen other people on this empty field. Some of them were picking up firewood while some were foraging fungus growing on the edges of the field. Each one of them used their own methods to determine whether it was poisonous or not.
Following the arrival of Fisher and his crew, many people turned to look at them at the same time like they had silently coordinated it. What was notable was that it was no longer the look of fear in their eyes, what took its place was an almost resentful glare when they looked at their ex-leader.
“Ignore them…”
Fisher made himself take a deep breath, he had an idea why they felt that way. As the first line leader of White Embers, despite having to deal with the occasional politics in the background, he was well and truly respected overall in the organization.
However, apart from the true environmentalists, most of the other members of White Embers were mercenaries. These people who lived every day of their lives drowned in violence only cared about money. Any other matters like the environment or other beliefs were objects of very little interest to them.
The problem stemmed from this exact demographic.
Fisher noticed that all of the people who had arrived at the mountaintop were the mercenaries while the true respectable environmentalist volunteers were nowhere to be seen. The people present here had barely an ounce of respect for him. On the contrary, they felt greater animosity for him due to the poor outcome of their campaign.
If not for Fisher’s stately background, he may have been attacked by the angry mob during the five days when they were at sea.
Fisher wanted to cry out in sorrow when he thought of this, but he had to pretend to be unbothered. His crew took up their small plot of land and started fixing their camp.
“John, you go pick up some firewood nearby. Joseph, you can go forage for some fungus and berries, remember not to go too far. The rest of us can tidy this place up, be careful of poisonous insects inside the soil…”
Fisher started issuing orders while evaluating his surroundings. The circular field on the mountaintop was approximately 100 square meters large. It may not be a particularly gigantic plot of land, but there was still a good amount of work that needed to be done.
The most noticeable feature was the spire positioned in the middle.
At the present, there were several people gathered around the metallic spire. It looked like they were observing the finer details of the spire.
For some reason he could not place himself, when Fisher looked at the spire, he felt an intense gaze peering back at him. Everything about the spire, whether it was the overall design or the patterns etched on top of it gave off an ominous impression.
Fisher silently kept his guard up and remained alert of his surroundings. Meanwhile, several people who had arrived before them exchanged glances and seemed to build an immediate rapport among themselves. They began heading toward Fisher’s direction.
Fisher’s first instinct was to get up with his subordinates and put themselves between the approaching mercenaries and the two blonde-haired ladies. He quickly addressed them, “I know what you guys are thinking, clearly Blackwatch has exceeded our expectations and even I’m completely outwitted. We’re in the same boat now, so there’s no point killing me.”
Fisher brought his hands outward and did not wait for them to come closer before continuing. “Besides, even if you kill me now to vent your frustration, you’ll be hunted down by all the major financial groups if you make it out of here alive. Oppenheimer isn’t the only one backing White Ember…”
When the approaching mercenaries heard this, they stopped right where they stood.
It was true, they were not the only ones present at the scene. If they killed Fisher here, there would be plenty of witnesses.
Upon being reminded of this, a scrawny black man in the group of mercenaries spat on the floor and cursed disdainfully, “I hope you die here.”
With that, he turned around and left.
The remaining few exchanged looks among themselves, appearing largely undecided on what to do next.
“If I can make it out of here alive, I’ll give each one of you who helped me three million dollars. Even if you die here, I’ll make sure the money makes its way to your families.”
Fisher continued with the same monotone voice. “Do me a favor and spread the news around. You won’t have to worry about how I’m going to locate your families, since Oppenheimer has the details about your background.”
There was a subtle change in their expression when they heard this. Within seconds, two more walked away.
It seemed like the heat had not gone to their head just yet.
Only three of the mercenaries remained. Two of Fisher’s crew were out collecting resources in the jungle nearby, which made six of them remaining in the field.
When the mercenaries saw this, they left almost begrudgingly.
Fisher silently heaved a sigh of relief when they saw them retreating. From here on, he would have to tread carefully every step of the way. He was not sure how long his status and position could protect him. Besides, they had two liabilities with them that tended to attract unwanted trouble…
With that in mind, Fisher stole a glance at the two of them, his eyes becoming thoughtful as he did so.
As dusk approached closer, John and Joseph who went to gather supplies had returned as well. They started a fire using sticks and started cooking the gathered supplies, billowing smoke quickly rose from the top of the mountain as they did so.
After drying off the clothes by the fair and eating the foraged fungus, Fisher looked around himself again. He saw that more than a hundred people had arrived at the mountaintop while newcomers still trickled in occasionally, all of them arriving in a ruined state. Fisher pounced on this opportunity to recruit more members and successfully took in five new members by offering them food and a seat beside the fire.
Most of the mercenaries here relied on themselves for their survival and were extremely cautious of one another. Due to this factor, Fisher’s camp had once again become the largest group on the mountaintop.
The most challenging part was over for now. Fisher became more confident in his decision-making as he ordered his subordinates to burn the fallen leaves on the ground. After burning away the withered leaves and the dampness in the air, they were able to rest easy without the constant pestering of potentially poisonous bugs.
Additionally, he had them gather rocks so they could craft primitive stone tools. These stone tools were used to carve bowls and lids out of blocks of wood to create suitable containers for water.
The only source of fresh water on the island was the stream of river halfway up the mountain. There was no water source to be found on the mountaintop. If they did not have suitable containers for water, they would not be able to replenish themselves properly.
Shortly after Fisher gave the order, the other survivors who saw what they were doing followed suit as well. Soon, the mountaintop became a bustling center.
While everyone on the mountaintop was busily occupied with their respective tasks, Fisher found the time to approach the spire all by himself. He looked up at the spire basked in the afterglow of the evening sun.
Under the gentle glow of the evening sun, the spire appeared to be painted with an exotic blood red. Fisher went closer and brushed the patterns on its surface and gave it a gentle knock. This produced a low hum that vibrated across the spire.
This spire was made of solid metal?
“Is this iron or aluminum? Or maybe it’s lead…”
Fisher picked up a rock and slid its sharp end on the spire’s surface. The spire was incredibly tough. Even the sharp end of the rock could not leave the slightest scratch on its surface.
While Fisher was trying to figure out just what sort of metal he was looking at, he suddenly caught a red flash appearing before him and saw the colors painting the patterns on the spire. He was not sure if it was just a false impression as when he went to inspect it, there was nothing peculiar to be noted.
“Was it just an illusion caused by the sunset? Or…”
Fisher was confused by this strange occurrence. The previous sensation of someone staring at him was growing stronger.
It was at this moment when a bellowing howl came from somewhere in the jungle drowned under the dark sky. It was quickly accompanied by a blood-curdling scream. Everyone quickly turned to look at the mass of darkness in the jungle. A fear of the unknown surfaced in their eyes as they did so.
There was no mistaking it, someone ran into the “Tyrant” monsters again…
