CHAPTER 650: CHAPTER 647: TEMPORARY BASE

"Very well, but who is this guy?"

Ronald was clear in his mind that, in their industry, it was quite common to hire mercenaries for protection while operating in some special zones.

After all, as long as the money was right, the efficiency of security consultants like these was guaranteed.

However, unfortunately—

Ronald didn’t recognize the man in front of him at all.

Compared with Yanni, who had a badge hanging on his chest, this man who worked as a mercenary didn’t have anything on him that looked like a name tag.

So, the question followed.

Did Ronald’s current identity know this man?

Should he take the initiative to go up and strike up a conversation?

Ronald was analyzing the situation from the man’s expression when Yanni’s action preemptively resolved his doubt.

"Airen, do you know what these things behind us are?" Yanni asked, "The company’s notice didn’t mention anything about these creatures."

As the hired party,

The man referred to as Airen responded very decisively.

He continued to fire single shots at the blue creatures behind them with his rifle, dragging out time, and tossed a backpack toward Ronald and himself.

"The situation is special right now; take this thing first."

Ronald and Yanni moved closer to the other’s position, received the backpack thrown by the other party, opened it to see, and found professional equipment such as helmets, headphones, and portable lighting inside—and exactly two complete sets matching the numbers of their side.

Having precisely two sets of equipment at a time like this...

It was clear.

The purpose of Airen being here was to meet and support Ronald and his partner.

Without a word, they put on the equipment, and Ronald didn’t forget to take a close look at the tools.

All were sturdy and durable military models, similar to ones Ronald had used before but of different manufacturers—he was quite familiar with this type of gear.

After equipping themselves with the professional equipment as quickly as possible, they then followed Airen and ran towards the back of the tunnel.

And at this moment,

Through the communication equipment at their waists, detailed explanations about the current situation came through the noise-canceling headphones from Airen.

"Both of you, we’re not very clear about the situation here either. When I sent a request for support to the company yesterday, the problem we encountered was only the difficulties in investigating the ruins, not dealing with these unheard-of wild animals."

After a brief introduction, Airen chuckled and said:

"After all, if combat personnel were needed, talents like you two would most likely not have been sent to this godforsaken place."

"..."

The three of them left hurriedly,

but even under such circumstances, while explaining the situation to Ronald and his partner, Airen still fully demonstrated the confidence characteristic of combat personnel.

In the process of going deeper into the tunnel, Airen deliberately stayed a few steps behind Ronald and his partner, ensuring he was at the end of the team to observe any changes behind them.

When the long introduction stopped, Ronald seized the key point and asked:

"Airen, did you just say there were none of these incidents yesterday?"

"Jin, you always identify key issues very quickly," Airen first complimented Ronald’s attentiveness, then continued to explain, "The changes here, or rather, the blue-skinned strange lizards you encountered, actually all appeared just this morning."

"If the base constructed ahead hadn’t been up to standard, I’d probably have had no chance to meet and support you when you two arrived."

"..."

"All this morning..."

Ronald murmured quietly, feeling like he had grasped something pivotal.

This trial from the original canon had thrown him into such a place, and then he just happened to encounter the critical moment when the changes occurred yesterday—wasn’t this clearly meant for him to resolve this issue!

However, Ronald’s thought process did not last too long.

They gradually left the site of the previous crisis.

After a few minutes of hurried travel, they successfully reached the temporary underground base of this team.

This was a temporary base whose high cost could be seen at a glance.

A rigid origami structure fence protected the entire camp’s safety, and there was metal skeleton reinforcement at the back for additional support. Though simple in construction, the strength of such facilities was enough to protect the people or equipment inside under ordinary circumstances.

Not to mention, there were caution signs about the risk of electric shock.

It seemed that with the help of a mobile generator, the protective walls were even electrified!

Considering the special circumstances of the discovery of the ruins here.

Afterward, it wouldn’t be a problem to expand from here as a base point into a full-fledged base.

Drip—

At this moment, a sound emitted from a pole inside the fence:

"Airen, you’re back?"

"Ah, isn’t that Mr. Jin and Miss Yan? The bosses really splurged today, even having both of you come over!"

A somewhat languid voice came from the loudspeakers on the poles within the base.

And when the owner of the voice realized that the people Airen had brought back were Ronald and Yan, his tone clearly changed.

However, Airen was not in the mood to joke with the other party.

He went straight to the point and said,

"Alright, let us in quickly."

"Jin and the other have just come in and ran into those blue-skinned lizards as well, there are even more of these creatures than we saw the morning of the day before yesterday, don’t leave us out here!"

"..."

"It looks like we’re going to have to call for more support..."

The person in the loudspeaker lazily responded to Airen, and then the base gate opened under his control.

Ronald and the other two entered in single file, and soon after crossing an open space, they quickly arrived inside the makeshift base built at the rear.

After all, it was still a temporary place.

With the perimeter wall outside, the buildings here were made of inflatable origami structures, emphasizing convenience and quickness.

Upon entering, Ronald also clearly noticed that the space was quite cramped, with a lot of supplies piled up in the limited space.

And the majority of the safer spots close to the inside.

Were the areas where equipment was stored or where work was done.

And under Airen’s lead, the three of them passed through the front and came to the only resting space of the entire camp—

Inside a meeting room with office desks and chairs.

In this place, also cluttered with items, people were waiting for them.

A man and a woman were sitting on either side of the office desk, their gaze resting on the few who entered.

At the same time.

Ronald was also observing these two new ’comrades’ who had just come into his field of view.

These two were different from Airen, who was employed as a mercenary; rather, like Yan, they wore name tags on their chests.

—Grady Or, Ivy Pield.

—Those were their names.