Chapter 237:Red zones.
"An abandoned building around the outskirts of delta three, we kind of stumbled upon it while being chased by a beast."
"Can you give me the exact location?"
Silver shook his head. The researcher nodded slowly though they could feel his disappointment.
"That’s disappointing."
He looked at the venom again.
"This has several unusual properties."
"Such as?"
"The toxicity isn’t particularly remarkable."
Silver raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t what he expected.
"But its structure is." The researcher pointed at the display. "There are compounds here I’ve never encountered in this configuration."
Ravenna looked at Silver. Silver remained silent.
The researcher continued.
"If this came from an undocumented species..." He shook his head. "No. I shouldn’t speculate."
He looked up.
"Do you have the creature’s core?"
"No."
"Skin?"
"No."
"Fangs?"
Silver hesitated.
"We have some fangs."
The researcher’s eyes brightened.
"You do?"
Silver nodded.
"But we’re only selling the venom."
The researcher looked disappointed.
"That’s unfortunate."
"Why?"
"Because with the venom and fangs, we might have been able to determine more about the creature."
He examined the sample again.
"If you had brought the entire specimen, there is a possibility we could have identified it."
Silver just smiled. He wasn’t really kin to find out the species and it would have been a waste to just carry the whole snake around.
"We couldn’t."
The researcher nodded.
"A shame." He carefully sealed the venom. "Still, this is rare."
"How much?"
The researcher gave them a figure.
"Around twenty thousand points, it would have been more if you had brought the whole specimen."
Ravenna’s eyes widened slightly, while Silver’s eyebrows rose. It was significantly more than he had expected. He looked at Ravenna, and she looked back at him. Neither said anything.
The researcher noticed their reaction.
"Is that acceptable?"
"Yes." Silver nodded. "We’ll sell it."
The transaction was completed.
Silver accepted the payment and stored it. As they left the research division, Ravenna looked at him.
"That was worth more than I expected."
Silver smiled.
"Exactly."
"Delta Two really is different."
"Just rich."
They walked back downstairs. Silver looked at the Association’s mission board.
"We have some time."
Ravenna nodded.
"Want to look?"
"Sure."
They approached the mission section. Hundreds of requests were available. Silver scanned through them without much interest.
Nothing particularly caught his attention, not until his eyes stopped on one particular mission.
His entire expression changed.
Death Row Valley.
Silver stared at the screen. For a moment, everything else around him seemed to disappear. He knew that name, and he knew exactly what it meant.
"Ravenna."
She looked at him.
"What?"
Silver pointed at the mission.
"Look at that."
Ravenna followed his finger.
Silver’s heart began beating slightly faster. This wasn’t just another mission, it was an opportunity. One that he couldn’t afford to miss.
Ravenna leaned closer to the mission board. At first, she didn’t understand why Silver had suddenly become so focused.
The Association’s mission board was crowded with requests. Some were simple assignments that any Awakener could complete, while others required specific ranks, specialized abilities, or previous experience.
But Silver wasn’t looking at any of those. His attention was fixed on a single entry.
Death Row Valley — Expedition Recruitment
Location: Eastern boundary between Red Zone and Yellow Zone.
Objective: Exploration, beast extermination, and material collection.
Required Personnel: Two additional contractors.
Rank Requirement: None.
Departure: 0500.
Estimated Duration: One to three days.
Risk Classification: High.
Recruitment Contact: Association-listed expedition leader.
Ravenna read through it twice.
"Death Row Valley?"
Silver nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"You know it?"
"I’ve read about it."
More accurately, he remembered it. The name had been mentioned several times in the novel.
His memories came rushing back.
Death Row Valley.
A dangerous region located along the boundary between the Yellow Zone and Red Zone.
It wasn’t officially part of the Red Zone, but it was close enough that the danger level made most contractors treat it with extreme caution.
The terrain was unpredictable. Beasts from deeper zones sometimes wandered into it. There were unstable regions where the boundary between zones seemed almost meaningless.
And, most importantly, that was where Dillain had found another multicolored Awakening Stone.
Death Row Valley was one of those locations that had become important later in the story because of what was discovered there.
It wasn’t famous because of some legendary beast, an ancient ruin, but because of what Dillain found inside it.
Silver stared at the mission.
His mind immediately began reconstructing what he remembered.
Dillain’s team had not originally planned to find the stone. They had been part of an expedition that had gone into Death Row Valley for another reason.
The expedition had encountered several beasts, and the group had been forced to retreat. Then, during the confusion, Dillain had discovered the stone.
The multicolored Awakening Stone had eventually become one of the resources that accelerated his development considerably.
Silver knew that the stone wasn’t something an ordinary Contractor could simply replace with money. Its value was astronomical since had had used one for his second awakening.
And the most important part was that he knew it existed before the expedition even began. He looked at the departure time again.
Five in the morning.
Ravenna noticed his expression.
"You really want to go."
Silver nodded.
"I do."
She looked at the mission details again.
"There’s something about this place, isn’t there?"
Silver didn’t answer immediately.
"There could be."
Ravenna glanced at him.
"That’s not a very convincing answer."
Silver smiled.
"I know."
She crossed her arms.
"Then convince me."
Silver looked at the mission.
"The location is unusual."
"That’s all?"
"Not exactly." He lowered his voice. "Death Row Valley sits close to the Red Zone."
Ravenna nodded.
"I can see that."
"And the mission is accepting people regardless of rank."
"Which is strange."
"Very."
Silver pointed at the recruitment details.
"Look at this."
Ravenna read it again.
"Two additional contractors. Why would they accept anyone?"
"Because they’re probably trying to meet an Association requirement."
Ravenna looked at him.
"Meaning?"
"Some expeditions need a minimum number of registered participants." Silver shrugged. "If they can’t find enough people, the Association might not approve the expedition."
Ravenna thought about it.
"That makes sense."
The mission was recruiting two more people to complete the Association’s required number for the expedition.
The group apparently already had several contractors. They simply needed additional members to fulfill the Association’s expedition requirements.
Ravenna looked at Silver.
"Why are they accepting anyone?"
"Because they need bodies."
"That doesn’t make me feel better."
Silver almost smiled.
It shouldn’t.
The mission was dangerous. Even the description warned that the expedition would approach the Red Zone boundary.
There was no guarantee that the route would remain safe. There was no guarantee that the group would encounter only the creatures listed in the mission.
And yet... Silver couldn’t walk away, not when he knew what was waiting there.
He turned toward Ravenna.
"This is it."
She looked at him.
"What?"
"The opportunity."
Ravenna immediately understood.
"Seriously Silver, it’s next to the red zone."
Silver nodded.
"I know and I’m sorry but this is something I cannot leave behind."
"Then tell me what gotten you this twisted cause I’m not going anywhere with you if it’s some stupid reward. I’m not risking my life for something that doesn’t hold enormous value."