Chapter 87

Screening Quest (1)

The discovery of the Grand Croix Guild's head as a cold corpse in the conference room shook the whole country. There were many suspicious things about the incident. It was a scene where it was believed that he died by battling with a Dutch SS-Ranked hunter, working as a freelancer, who ended up mutually killing each other. But why the two had fought for their lives in the conference room in the first place was unknown. This was because the media had no idea about the true nature of the private business run by Dideric Van Dyke.

Furthermore, three of Grand Croix's ace Hunters were also missing. There were signs of them entering the building on the same day, but there was no sign of them leaving. Police and the Hunter Management were trying to locate the missing persons, convinced they were also involved in the incident.

'Go ahead and search, as if you'll find any evidence,' I thought while turning off the news, 'By the way, it's natural for it to follow orders according to the contract... but the work was done pretty neat.'

Even though I allowed it to go on a night out for the first time, the devil's sword's reaction when it returned was mediocre. I found it strange because it was dissatisfied even though it tasted blood for the first time in a long time. However, the reaction might be, I thought, was that it did its job properly anyway.

'I'll have to utilize it from time to time. With Nate's accompanying subordinate, it's easy to retrieve as well.'

While I thought so, bee-bee-bee-beep, there was a ring.

"Huh?"

It was the Senator. As I gestured, a hologram popped up.

"You keep in touch with me a lot these days."

Looking at the time, it was the middle of the night in America. Was it something urgent? The Senator in the hologram said with a stiff look. "A lot of things come up that I have to talk to you in person."

"Looking at the time, I don't think it's good news."

There was still time left until the mass-production of artifacts produced by the joint venture was released to the media. There wouldn't be an issue if they just wrapped it up with the last feedback I sent.

"Is this about the Artifact?"

He shook his head, "No, it's something else. I was wondering if you had any information about it. I'd like to ask you for advice. Although I don't know how much you can find out with that 'power.'"

The Senator didn't know, until to the point, that I have a unique skill called [The Successor's Eyes], but he was sure that I have intelligence type abilities.

He frowned a little and said, "There seems to be a problem in China."

Oh, is it finally starting? It was about time for the information to leak out. Hearing that opened my ears because the problem he mentioned may have been the historical event I was waiting for.

"What's the situation?"

"Look." He floated a map next to the hologram. The area pointed by the arrow was a suburb about 30 kilometers from downtown Beijing.

'It's right!' Anyway, I pretended not to know, whatever his state might be, "Is it a satellite city near Beijing?"

"This city is also part of Beijing by its administrative district. Anyway, there seemed to be an accident at the gate here."

"You keep speaking in a tone suggesting it's all but speculations."

"Yeah, even the U.S. government hasn't got the exact information on what's going on here either. Look at this."

Another thing that floated next to it was a satellite photo. A thick layer of cloud could be seen concentrated in the area.

"Winter in Beijing is cold and dry. The chance of snowy rain in this season is close to zero. But then, the area within 5km radius of the gate has already been experiencing a month of locally heavy rain."

In terms of style, it was not done by aliens. I say as if I had guessed it, "The Chinese government must have induced artificial rainfall in the region. The reason why they kept it there for a month is. To avoid satellite imagery of what's happening there?"

"Yes, you understand it well," The Senator's expression became more serious, "I don't know what they're doing, but it's not like a secret experiment. People's Army tank units and Awakened troops continue to gather nearby, and it seems to be the purpose of surrounding the area."

Unless the government can pour artificial rain all across China, the troop movements that started in other regions will inevitably be exposed.

"The U.S. is also testing the water of China through various diplomatic channels, but they aren't giving a single clue while keeping their mouth shut. So, the high-ranking officials at the State Department are sleepless. According to history so far, the more China comes out like that, it reveals later that the bigger the accident is. After it's too late."

I nodded. It was an accurate guess.

'I didn't know exactly when that gate Clear was successful. In the past life, the Chinese government didn't release any information, and after the government collapsed, the data disappeared altogether.'

Assuming that things in the past life have continued as they were this time, shortly after they Cleared the problematic gate dungeon, the dungeon boundary would have collapsed. And as the Ersmann and the immortal did before, other-dimensional species came to Earth.

'The Chinese government failed to put down the initial fire and completely lost control of a few kilometers of the gate radius. Since then, they kept the fact strictly confidential.'

The Communist Party desperately tried to prevent the fact that aliens occupied mainland China from being known to the citizens or other countries.

'They thought that they'd lose face.'

The Senator said, "Considering the characteristics of the government, it is clear that they are trying to deal with it on their own without informing the outside world. But it's taking too long. If it has not been resolved for a month, it will likely continue to be so. And the concern from our side is··."

"They're concerned about the problems that China has not solved, causing the other countries to be affected as well."

"Exactly. If it's a problem caused by the gate, it's either of the two: It could be a dungeon break or an alien invasion. Either way, if they don't handle it in the beginning, it'll be a big headache."

That's exactly what happened in my previous life, "First of all, although I don't have any information in my hands right now," I lied, "I'll find more about it."

I avoided further details on how I will find out about it.

"Oh, and don't think about going to China yourself," The Senator threatened, "You know how things go around there, don't you? There are more than one or two hunters who went missing after stepping on Chinese soil. You can't be relaxed because you're an SS-Rank hunter."

"Oh, I know too well." China forcibly conscripted all Awakened in their country and ran a unit of them. It was famous that even foreign Awakened who enter the country often disappear without a trace.

"And besides, you're not American! They wouldn't even hesitate to do so!"

"Don't worry about that."

I mumbled after I ended the call with the Senator, "There will be no official visit."

*

I went to Adam right away.

"What's going on?"

By showing him the back of my hand without saying anything, I focused Mana on it. Then a unique pattern appeared, and Adam's face, who identified the thing at a glance, brightened.

"Oh! Does the system finally choose you?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I got a screening quest."

Actually, it's been a while since I got it.

"Okay, how many quests can you take now? What's the content?"

After hearing my answer, Adam explained, "I've already explained it, but it's better to carry out a quest that gives you as many experience points as possible without looking for trivial things from the beginning. The list interlinked. If you finish a high-compensation quest from the beginning, the next quest's standards will also be raised and change the composition of the list!"

He went on to say, "Then, the most rewarding quest you can do at this point...."

I held him back by raising my hand, "Oh, wait, " I speak firmly, "I've already decided what to do first."

"What is it?" Adam frowned when he heard my reply, "It certainly gives you the most merit points... but you can't just do it right away because you want to do it!"

"No, this is the right time."

"What do you mean?"

The quest I pointed out was this.

- Quest Name: Dimension Defense.

- Description: Stop the invasion of another dimension in the progress of the tutorial.

- Reward: From 500,000 experience points.

This was the biggest rewarding quest among the 108 quests I was given. When it said, 'From 500,000,' it meant that more points might be awarded depending on the performance.

Adam said as if he was frustrated, "That quest doesn't count as a success just by killing a random alien there. The other dimension should also be in the process of a tutorial, and they should have entered here on a large scale and occupy a certain territory."

"Come on, listen to me," I deliver the information that the Senators just told me to Adam.

Adam's lips as he was listening to me went up, "Hahahaha!" He burst out laughing. He laughed so hard for a while and then told me, "You're so lucky. Perfect timing!"

"Come on, let's go."

"Huh? Now?"

I said as if it were a given, "We're supposed to share some experience points. If you want to be rewarded, you have to contribute that much."

He didn't refuse, "Hahahah! Yes, let's go!"

I floated the map and pointed to the destination, Beijing, and said, "The last time I saw you, you could form wings on your back as well. We have to fly all the way here while keeping the [Stealth] activated. It will take about an hour at my speed. Can you follow me?"

"I don't care if it's faster."

"No, we need to think about Mana consumption, so let's keep this pace."

Nate, who was still impossible to infiltrate because of his security items, and Hibiki, who had fallen behind in objective power, we decided to leave behind.

"Come on, let's go."

*

Beijing, Miyun-district. Some portions of this city, close to the Hubei border, with a population of 600,000, were tightly controlled. The People's Army unit took place after being forcibly introduced to citizens who lived nearby without an idea of the situation. Even barricades had been built around the city while it was sealed up, but this massive work and troop movements have not been mentioned by the Chinese media at all.

The scale nor method of the process was not secretive at all. Still, the general of the People's Army, who oversaw the operation, which had to forcibly kept as a secret, uttered abusive language, "Damn it, annihilated again?

"Yes, the signal from all the Awakened Unit has been cut off."

It was already the third time. The barricade was like a great wall, which was the product of the Engineering division of the People's Army pouring down human resources into it. The space beyond it had been completely occupied by an alien species believed to have come from the gate. Moreover, ordinary citizens, without being able to figure out how many, were held, hostage. The Awakened troops attempted to infiltrate three times to rescue them, but they all failed.

"We can't handle this in this manner. No matter how many hunters our country has globally, this will only consume the lives in vain. We need to ask for help from other countries. To rescue hostages, we need more SS-Rank hunters··· No, SSS-Rank hunters."

The staff replied with a grim look, "But··· the party won't permit it."

There was the case of South Korea, which asked for overseas aid to Clear Siheung 8 Dungeon. However, the Chinese government had no current intention of following such a precedent.

"At this rate, only the innocent Hunters will continue to be sacrificed!"

Bang! The frustrated commander hit the on-field table. Meanwhile, the commander and the staff had no idea that someone was hiding in the air and listening to the conversation.

*

Adam and I quietly escaped from the command tent of the People's Army. Neither of our movements was noticed. After a certain distance, Adam clicked his tongue.

"Hmm, in the end, it's been over a month since another species beyond that barricade have occupied them?" He had heard the conversation between the two in the command room.

"Well, it doesn't matter to me. It's amazing that they can keep things of this kind of scale a secret. What are they planning to do later?"

What do they do later? In the end, the Chinese government, as they missed the window of opportunity, ignored the hostages and launched a massive airstrike in the occupied areas.

"Let's cross over there."

We crossed the barricade without anyone's restraint. Where we stepped was like a ghost town.

"There's no sign of a human being nearby."

Eight tubes that I had seen before arose from his collarbones. He aimed those at all the directions around him, and Adam affirmed that there were no humans around here.

"They would have caught them all and put them in one place. On the spot that we saw on the situation board."

This was more than eavesdropping on the story that we infiltrated the tent a while ago as now. We had identified how the internal situation was like and how the confrontation with the alien race went through the data there.

"Let's go in some more."

It hadn't been long since we started moving when something seemed to have been detected in Adam's range, "Hmm? That's... something I have never seen before."

His face was tingling with light excitement. The closer we approached; light vibrations were felt on the ground. And at the moment, we turned the corner...

Adam whistled in admiration.

Rumbleeee!

The vibration, which felt light from afar, was now shaking the ground violently. Loud and quiet noises resonated all over the place simultaneously.

Rumblee!

A building collapsed in the distance. The remains of the buildings, which would have been destroyed through a similar process, were rolling around. The identity of the being producing such earthquakes was...

"That's the one!"

Rumbleeeee!

A giant worm soared, breaking through the ground.

Woooooh!

Shaking the air, it dug a hole and revealed its red head. It wiggled its body a few times on the ground, destroying and sweeping everything it encountered. Then it just slid its body back into the ground.

Rumbleeee!

The giant creature was a living excavator and poking around the earth like a drill and devouring huge amounts of earth. While moving like that, humans' buildings collapsed one after another and split into small pieces, leaving only debris. The giant earthworm was working on completely erasing human traces in the city. Adam's eyes were fixed there, and he couldn't take it away from there.

I asked, "Wasn't your major on dungeon monsters?"

"The biological distinction between dimensional native species, dungeon creatures, and dungeon monsters is actually meaningless. Seeing him now, he's a dimensional native, but one day he could appear in a dungeon somewhere with a Mana core stuck in his heart and attack the Awakened."

That was true.

"I know you're interested, but let's sample it later."

"I know. The real goal is those that keep that giant creature as livestock."

The first thing the race that came out from the gate did when it occupied another dimension's territory was to release the worm. Then that giant creature proceeded to destroy and decompose all existing structures. It ate and digested foreign substances that covered the surface, with the rocks and soil hidden in it, and excreted soil that had changed its properties as it passed through its digestive system.

"Oh, I think we're almost there."

At some point, the color of the ground we'd been stepping on had changed completely The asphalt and concrete that humankind laid, and the soil we were familiar with, the Earth's own soil, were disappearing, and the foreign soil that has gradually turned green was spread out.

"There it is."

I saw the race, which was the owner of the worm.

"They haven't noticed us yet."

I took out the sword. My glance met with Adam's.

"As you know, we just have to kill them all."

"It's convenient that the quest is still simple."

Adam transformed his body with a smile, "Well, it's time to use some strength in a while."

Almost at the same time, the two of us launched our bodies, like arrows, towards the front.