I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 23: 23:What now?

The checkpoint gradually emptied as groups departed into the wasteland. Some moved confidently while others pretended to, but their shaking hands betrayed their fear.

Temporary teams spread outward through the designated green sectors while Veteran Contractors monitored movement from the perimeter tower above.

Drones buzzed overhead occasionally, scanning nearby beasts before transmitting updates back towards the command station.

Silver adjusted the handgun holster again near his waist, and quietly watched the remaining groups finish organizing themselves and leave.

His gaze caught Cruella’s group as they disappeared down a broken road filled with knee-length grass.

She had six members in her group. A balanced formation. Two close-range fighters, three firearms users, and herself at the centre. Which was not surprising.

Everyone on the team was an experienced contractor; they seemed to be there just to escort her and ensure she was safe.

A few Awakeners ran in the direction she and her team had disappeared to. Silver recognised Dexter, one of her many followers among the group.

He shook his head, a shiver running through his body at the hold she held over people. Yesterday Silver would have probably forced his way into her team somehow.

Current Silver would rather wrestle a beast barehanded.

He shifted his gaze towards the western side wastelands. Cruella and her team were heading east, which meant she might or might not have entered the red zone from that direction.

But at the moment, his thoughts were on how to proceed first.

He planned to start in the green zone since it was safe and scout the terrain, observe beast patterns then maybe try and find where Cruella had accidentally entered the Red zone.

Fragments still lingered inside his memory but the exact direction remained frustratingly unclear. Silver regretted not rereading every Chapter.

Silver sighed quietly.

”I’ll figure it out eventually.”

”Talking to yourself already. ”

Silver glanced sideways.

Shawn had moved closer at some point and stood nearby now, with one hand resting casually against the sword hanging at his waist.

He hadn’t expected him to still linger after most of the Awakeners had gone, mainly Cruella. But Shawn looked completely relaxed standing outside the walls.

He was more experienced, that was to be expected.

That will always be the biggest difference between them. He already belonged to the wastelands while the wastelands were just welcoming him.

Silver straightened slightly.” I was having an intellectual discussion.”

”With yourself. ”

”The other participant was a little difficult,” he replied with a straight face.

Shawn snorted softly. Probably the closest thing to amusement Silver has ever seen from him so far.

Several members of Shawn’s original group had already left for one of the yellow sectors without him. While Shawn was in charge of bringing them to the Checkpoint, his work ended there.

He was now free to go and hunt whenever he wanted until the Integration was over and all the lucky ones came back alive.

Shawn glanced briefly toward the remaining green zone map displayed on Silver’s tracking module.

”You heading out alone?”

Silver shrugged lightly.

”Looks that way.”

With no one volunteering to team with him, which wasn’t surprising, they both knew he didn’t have much of a choice.

Honestly, most of his family members who had teams expected him to panic and request extraction within the first hour.

Silver himself wasn’t entirely confident that it wouldn’t happen.

Shawn studied him quietly for a moment then sighed.

”... I’ll go with you.”

Silver blinked once. That was unexpected. The only conclusion he could come up with was pity.

He didn’t mind being pitied at the moment.

”Why?”

”Because Grandfather specifically told me not to let you die embarrassingly.”

”How touching.”

”You should feel honoured.”

Yeah, right, Silver almost rolled his eyes. As if he would believe that excuse. There was no way the Patriarch would ask for Silvers ’ protection unless he was lying or there was a catch he hadn’t caught yet.

Silver narrowed his eyes slightly.

”You hate me?”

”I dislike you,” he corrected calmly,” there is a difference.”

Fair enough.

Shawn glanced towards the open wasteland beyond the checkpoint.

”Besides, green sector zones are easy. I need something low risk for my secondary synchronization hunt anyway.”

That made sense.

Experienced Contractors occasionally performed additional hunts for supplementary beast material or future tattoo integration. One might just get lucky and find something valuable in the Rookie zone.

Some of the contractors had obviously been lucky enough that it became a common practice.

Even high-ranking contractors still benefited from low-threat expeditions sometimes.

Silver hesitated briefly. Part of him preferred to be alone. It was less complicated and less risk of revealing strange behaviour but another part understood the obvious reality.

This was his first expedition.

Having an experienced Contractor nearby dramatically increased survival chances.

Even if that contractor disliked him personally.

”... Fine,” Silver said eventually.

Shawn looked mildly surprised by how quickly he agreed.

”No tantrums this time... No argument?”

Silver stared blankly at him.

”I’m trying a revolutionary new strategy called staying alive.”

That earned him another quiet snort.

The two began walking towards the outer departure route while the checkpoint finished emptying behind them.

The wastelands stretched endlessly ahead. The silence outside the walls felt strange too.

Every ruined building looked like something could emerge at any moment.

Shawn walked ahead slightly while checking his wrist module.

”The green sectors closest to the Checkpoint mostly contain scavenger-type beasts.”

”Fast?”

”Usually,” Shawn glanced towards him briefly,” Your firearm skill decent?”

”Recently acquired.”

”That sounds concerning.”

Silver smiled faintly.

”It concerns me too.”

Silver never had the time to try shooting and now he couldn’t just rely on Earth’s knowledge and then call himself a pro.

Shawn shook his head once before continuing.

”Don’t rely entirely on the handgun.”

Silver looked briefly towards the weapon holstered on his side.

”I figured.”

”Firearms dominate lower-ranked combat because they are efficient. But beasts adapt quickly,” Shawn tapped the hilt of his sword lightly,” eventually close-range combat becomes unavoidable.”

They aligned perfectly with Silver’s earlier thoughts.

Silver rested his fingers lightly against the combat knife at his waist.

The weapon felt more natural than the handgun somehow.

Strange.

Ahead the green zone terrains gradually thickened into ruined suburban districts overtaken by dense mutated vegetation.

Perfect low-level hunting territory.

Shawn slowed slightly before speaking again.

”Stay close initially.”

Silver raised an eyebrow.

”Concerned about me?”

”Concerned about paperwork if you die.”

”You really know how to inspire confidence.”

Shawn ignored him completely. But after a few more steps, he added.

”You’re calmer today.”

Shawn glanced towards him briefly.

”What did you expect?”

”A breakdown.”

A reasonable assumption. Yesterday Silver would have spent the entire expedition trying to impress Cruella instead of focusing on his own survival and training, which he did in the novel, he followed her team just like the other desperate guys.

Shawn looked ahead again as the wind moved through the ruined streets around them.

”This version is easier to tolerate.”

Silver smiled slightly. Honestly, that might have been the nicest thing Shawn has ever said to him.