CHAPTER 21: EXPEDITION

Despite being struck with awe and all, Roy and Donny went over to the APC that was over seven feet tall. It had a top-hatch at the lower back side, but still had two main doors optioned at the front of the mighty vehicle. The vehicle’s length alone was almost that of a yellow school bus.

However, what made the vehicle so tall wasn’t the body itself but the tires! Oh, they were six and each was massive!

This was a vehicle built for expeditions like this.

At the left side of the vehicle, where the driver should be, Abraham called out:

"Good morning, Hillary."

And an automated voice came from somewhere in the vehicle, responding, "Voice activation success. Good morning, Mr. Abraham."

The two doors of the vehicle suddenly opened up, unfurling like wings.

Abraham entered through the left, while Roy and Donny entered through the right. The front seat area alone seemed to be wide enough for about four people.

"What’s the agenda for today, sir?" The half-androgynous, half-female automated voice, Hillary, asked.

"We’re going on a three-day expedition. I’ve gotta show Roy here the ropes. And Donny, his brother, wants to come with," Abraham said, tapping buttons and switching on things in the control panel of the vehicle.

Roy just stared at the hologram of an orb pulsating at the top middle of this front row seat.

"That is amazing, sir. Greetings, Mr. Roy, Mr. Donny. This vehicle is a STAGG-made top-military, armored vehicle called The Beetle G3, built to traverse cold and hilly terrains. I pray we have a fruitful expedition."

Roy laughed a bit. "What? You’re artificial intelligence, what are you praying to?"

Hillary, in no delay, answered, "The System Creation Engine, Mr. Roy."

There were light laughs in the vehicle in response to that joke, but Abraham had finished tampering with the controls and finally put his hands on the steering wheel and tapped another button.

The platform below the vehicle ascended, carrying it up to an enclosed parking lot with a visible road leading out of the apartment building.

With a silent vroom, the vehicle sped off!

"Should I start requesting a gate pass or draw out an expedition plan?" Hilary sought to be helpful.

"You can do both," Abraham responded.

"Affirmative, sir."

Abraham then glanced at Roy and Donny. Roy sat in the middle, while Donny was at the other edge. They had already thrown their luggage into the back quarters when they entered.

"Since I’m just going to test Roy’s system and run him through the basics, we won’t go into the wild yet. As the only executioner present among us, that would be foolish. Instead, we’re going to go to a quarantined district," Abraham voiced.

Quarantined districts were simply dead districts, but the abyss gates within were maintained at a certain level, along with the abyss creatures’ population. Quarantining was an essential part for the Central Alliance and Executioners Association to learn about the abyss gates and understand the creatures there, and someday in the future, regain the lost district.

Rushing to clear the district, when it was still high on gate activity, was a futile endeavour.

"Which one do you have in mind?" Donny asked.

"District 03."

Around thirty minutes later, they arrived at the Wall, and Abraham only had to show them his Executioner’s License for them to allow him to exit the city. They didn’t even bother to check thoroughly whether or not the two people with him were under coercion or something. Once the D-Class Executioner informed them that he was going on an expedition with a friend and his younger brother, they glanced at Roy and Donny’s IDs, shrugged, and opened the wall barriers.

Although this didn’t mean there was lawlessness with executioners free to do whatever they pleased. If, for example, Abraham didn’t return to Donny and Roy, he would have to answer for that to the Disciplinary Committee. And if foul play was detected, he could lose his license and face the arm of the law.

But of course, exceptions were made for those of higher classes and (or) importance.

The thick barrier gates made up of the hardest metals opened briefly, and Abraham’s STAGG Beetle drove out.

’Whoa. Been a long time since I got close to the walls,’ Roy commented inwardly.

Currently, at the northernmost part of the Central Alliance, where X-City was, winter was incoming. And District 03, which was farther north than District 04, was surely colder this period.

So the corners and undriven parts of the road were doused in white snow.

Roy turned back to see the district barriers, but there was nothing there. It was gone!

’The optical illusion is really as impressive as they said on the forum,’ Roy thought in awe. This was widely known, but most city walls and district barriers were protected by highly advanced tech, which was, of course, provided by A-Class Executioner Handsome Jack Stagg, with his TECH.exe.

’What was his system name again, even?’ Roy thought, then took out his communicator and searched.

’Building An Advanced Civilisation, One TECH.exe At A Time...’ Roy nodded and shrugged.

"Not bad."

"What’s that?" Donny asked.

"Oh, nothing."

Roy continued reading up on the forum and learned that the executioner was the CEO of the tech conglomerate company, STAGG Industries.

With government and E.A. contracts all over the world, of course, he was almost a trillionaire! He was literally the world’s richest person to have ever existed.

After driving for a few minutes, Abraham clicked something and Hilary pulsed, saying, "Camouflage, activated."

Roy smiled with innocent wonder and wide eyes. From inside the APC, nothing seemed to have changed, but he was damn sure they were now invisible!

Outside, Roy spotted two rat-like creatures with spiked tails and protruding sharp teeth munching on a dead bird on the road.

’Whoa. So ugly...’

That was definitely the lowest form of abyss creatures, Weak. That creature may be little, but such Weak Abyssals were dangerous in a horde.

But as the stealthy vehicle neared the two creatures, they noticed and were about to run away, but Abraham quickly swerved and crushed both of them in one fell swoop.

"Bastards," he said with deep hatred.

Roy just stared with wide eyes.

"That wasn’t necessary," Donny said, voicing out Roy’s thoughts too. Abraham was kinda a maniac!

The D-Class Executioner grunted. "Is that sentiment I hear in your voice? Hilary..."

"Affirmative, sir," Hilary voiced and put up some diagrams as he continued, "The Weak Abyssal, Spiked-Tail Rat, can grow to about seven feet in length and weigh a hundred and fifty pounds at adulthood. They enjoy picking apart limbs and target children most. At mutation, the Spiked-Tail Rat has an added poison gland— "

"That’s enough," Abraham said and glanced at Donny and Roy.

He looked ahead and voiced, "Never be mistaken. All abyss creatures only deserve death. Spare them a second more, and that is a human life lost."

Roy swallowed heavily, while Donny remained silent. Abraham wasn’t lying.

After just about forty minutes of driving, they got to the border command of District 04 and went through a more rigorous process to have the gate open to them.

The distance between the barriers of the two districts was exactly fifty kilometres.

In just ten minutes of processing, they were allowed entry. With a silent hum, the APC zoomed and swerved through the set obstacles.

Not long after, they spotted a light-red gate wide enough to fit the two APCs.

The APC slowed down, and Abraham voiced with scrunched eyes, "That’s a Rank 1 Gate... and it’s about to break..."