Chapter 257:Failed flirting.
"What did she say?" He asked, glancing at the women.
He waved at them and they just shook their head then continued whispering amongst themselves.
Silver sighed.
"Don’t start."
"I wasn’t going to."
"You were, please just be quiet."
Antony smiled.
"I’ll try."
They reached the sleeping area. The accommodations were surprisingly decent. There were several reinforced rooms with basic beds and storage compartments.
Silver immediately appreciated the walls. After spending a night sleeping in tents and attacked by beasts, being inside an actual building felt almost luxurious.
Ravenna entered their assigned room.
She looked around.
"Not bad."
Silver nodded.
"Definitely better than sleeping outside."
Antony looked into the room from the doorway.
"Where am I?"
Silver pointed toward the opposite room.
"Probably there."
Antony frowned.
"We’re sleeping separately?"
"Yes."
"You don’t trust me."
"No."
Antony sighed.
"That’s hurtful."
Silver closed the door in his face. Ravenna laughed.
They unpacked only what they needed. Silver placed his weapons beside the bed. Ravenna did the same, then she sat down.
"We’re really in the Red Zone now."
Silver looked at her.
"Not technically, though."
She frowned.
"It’s still the same to me. The border or not, we’re still inside it. If a beast from the red zine can enter here tgen it’s the red zone. How did they even create this borders to begin with?"
"I don’t really know. I haven’t had time to look into the full history or military books around here, but this observation centre is inside the border region full stop. There is probably another that observation centre on the other side."
He sat beside her and she leaned against him.
"Still...."
Silver wrapped an arm around her.
"But you’re right, it’s inside the red zone really. Borders are mostly a way to make us feel safe."
She nodded.
They remained quiet for a while. The sounds of the observation centre could be heard faintly through the walls. It was nothing like the silence of the wilderness.
Silver eventually stood.
"Let’s find something to eat, I’m starving."
Ravenna nodded.
They left the room for the dining hall. The dining hall was crowded.
Silver immediately noticed something interesting. The people here weren’t eating like ordinary contractors. Many had nutritional solutions while others had high-grade prepared meals.
Some were eating while discussing missions so there was a constant flow of information. Silver and Ravenna found an empty table.
Antony appeared moments later.
"I found you. I saw you guys leaving and I tried to catch up but I got distracted."
Silver looked at him then sighed before scooting over.
"By what? There is nothing around this areas."
"I was talking to someone."
"Who?"
"A secret informant. I’m quite famous you know, being good-looking helps a lot."
Ravenna sighed.
"Of course, whatever you’re saying."
Antony sat down.
"So."
Silver looked at him.
"So?"
"Why is everyone here so strong? Every person man and woman are freaking strong. So I tried to flirt with this girl then she pulled out the "I don’t date men weaker than me card,"" he sighed dramatically," I was so hurt, that was Rank discrimination. I asked her Rank cause no one can resist my looks, do you know what rank she is?"
Ravenna learned forward clearly curious.
"What was it?"
He took a deep breath as though calming himself down and opened his palm. Ravenna was confused.
"What? I ..."
"Five, Rank five. She could just fold me in half without sweating."
Ravenna burst into full belly laughter.
"You really went for someone out of your league on your first try."
Antony clicked but didn’t respond.
Silver smiled.
"Because they’re working in the Red Zone, we’re basically the weakest here."
Antony nodded.
"I really asked for it then? But what about true love? It should discriminate against us. You two are so lucky, the world out here is a jungle for single guys. I got love scammed once."
That got Ravenna’s attention fast.
"How?"
"It’s embarrassing. I was like fifteen."
"Ooh, so you were just a stupid kid."
Antony bristle.
"Don’t you dare call me stupid. I was just naive and she had big boobs, like really pretty; like the perfect woman for every fifteen year old. She was like twenty or something, I don’t remember."
"Okay, how on earth didn’t you even know that girl?"
He chuckled to himself.
"It was one of my classmates sister. She came to pick him up and I fell into just so I asked her out the next day."
"And she gave you her number!" Ravenna said incredulous.
Antony nodded.
"Yeah and I ended up sending her more money than I even remembered. She..." he stopped and looked around, Ravenna also leaned closer," ... she took my virginity."
"Whaat, at fifteen!!!" She whispered in shock.
"Yeah, it’s was really good that why I didn’t even tell my mom. She would have killed her."
"So how..."
Silver had had enough.
"I think the food is here."
Both of them turned to him.
Their food arrived at the exact moment. They ate while quietly listening to the conversations around them.
Silver noticed several groups wearing identical uniforms. They weren’t ordinary expedition groups. The insignia on their shoulders was slightly both familiar and unfamiliar.
He watched one of them leave the dining hall. They were carrying specialized equipment: rifles, medical containers and several large cases.
It came to Silver moments later. He had seen the insignia somewhere.
"Subjugation team."
Ravenna followed his gaze.
"I hadn’t even noticed. This place really is serious. I never taught we would see another team here. I thought they operated deep in the red zones."
"Right but it seems they might be here for something or stay here normally."
Antony looked.
"They look serious."
"Because they are."
Subjugation teams were different from normal contractors. They weren’t sent out simply to hunt beasts but were dispatched when something dangerous needed to be killed, contained, retrieved, or investigated. Sometimes they entered areas where ordinary expeditions couldn’t survive, and entire teams disappeared.
Silver watched them disappear through the doorway. He wondered what their mission was. Whatever it was, they were heading deeper and judging by the equipment they carried, it wasn’t a routine expedition.
Ravenna noticed his expression.
"Thinking about something?"
Silver nodded.
"Just wondering what they’re retrieving."
Antony smiled.
"Maybe treasure."
"Maybe."
"Or a monster."
"That’s less comforting."
Antony laughed.
The three continued eating.
Silver remained seated at the dining table with Ravenna and Antony, quietly watching the people around them. The atmosphere inside the facility was strangely relaxed considering what existed beyond the walls.
Contractors ate, talked, checked their equipment, and discussed missions as though they weren’t surrounded by one of the most dangerous regions on the continent.
He found that almost more unsettling than the wilderness itself. These people were used to it.
For them, a roar of a powerful beast wasn’t something that demanded immediate panic. It was simply another sound that belonged to the valley.
Ravenna finished the last of her food and leaned back slightly.
"You haven’t stopped looking around since we came in."
Silver glanced at her.
"I’m observing the people here."
"You’re blatantly staring, there’s a difference ."
Antony nodded seriously. "He’s definitely staring."
Silver looked at him.
"You’ve been staring too."
"That’s because I’ve never seen this many strong people in one place, most of these people don’t stay in the sanctuary half of their time."
Ravenna looked around again. Antony wasn’t wrong.
Even though the observation centre wasn’t particularly large compared to a proper sanctuary, the number of powerful contractors gathered here was impressive.
Rank Three contractors were almost common, while Rank Fours appeared frequently enough that Silver had stopped trying to count them. There were also several people whose presence he couldn’t properly judge.
That bothered him. His Insight was useful, but there was still a limit to what he could determine. Some people were simply too experienced at concealing their strength while others possessed abilities that interfered with perception.
And then there were the soldiers. Silver had no doubt that some of them were stronger than the contractors openly walking around the facility.
Ravenna noticed his expression.
"You’re thinking about using Insight on them."