I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 266: 266:After all that, you’re hungry?

Ravenna noticed.

”Something wrong?”

”Nothing.” He put the communication device away. ”I’ll contact him later.”

Ravenna looked suspicious.

”You sure?”

”Yeah.”

”So you chickened out.”

”You don’t have to say it like that. It’s more like, I don’t want to do it right now. I’ll call him when we get back from this expedition.”

Silver knew that was partly a lie. The truth was that he didn’t want to explain Cruella. Shawn had given him one lousy job and he failed from the start.

He wasn’t taking care of her, he didn’t even know where she was, and he didn’t want to give Shawn the wrong impression.

There was already too much going on. He could deal with that later. For now, he had another problem.

Silver looked toward the corpse again.

”How common are they?”

Larry’s expression became slightly darker.

”Teir Fives?”

”Yes.”

”Not that common.”

”Then why was everyone here so prepared?”

Larry laughed.

”Because this is Death Row Valley.” He gestured toward the mountains. ”You don’t come here expecting normal. This is normal for most of the people around.”

Silver nodded.

”Have you seen another one before?”

”Several.”

Ravenna looked surprised.

”Several?”

Larry smiled.

”You’re forgetting where you are.”

He pointed toward the valley.

”This place extends deep into the Red Zone. There are beasts here that don’t exist anywhere near the safer sanctuaries. Rank Five creatures migrate occasionally.”

”Why?”

”Territory.”

Larry’s answer was immediate.

”They’re apex predators. When their territory becomes too crowded, or food becomes scarce, they move. Some head deeper into the Red Zone. Others move toward the Yellow Zone.”

Silver frowned.

”Why wouldn’t they move somewhere safer?”

”Because safer for humans doesn’t necessarily mean safer for them. While the red zones have their own horror stories, there are still parts that are relatively safe for the lower Teired beasts as long as they don’t cause a big disturbance, everything will be okay for them. ”

Larry chuckled.

”A Yellow Zone can also have an abundance of prey compared to a heavily contested Red Zone territory. That’s why most of tgem shift towards this areas.”

Silver understood.

”More food.”

”Exactly.”

”And less competition.”

”Sometimes.” Larry looked toward the valley. ”That’s one reason beast migrations happen.”

Silver thought about the beast tide.

”So the Teir Five wasn’t leading them?”

”Probably not.”

”Probably?”

”We don’t know enough about this particular migration.” Larry shrugged. ”Maybe it was following the tide. Maybe it was using the movement to travel. Maybe it wanted territory or just stirring shit up.”

Silver looked toward the mountains.

”And that’s normal?”

”The occasional migration?”

”Yes.”

”Normal enough.” Larry paused. ”But lately...”

Silver immediately noticed the hesitation.

”What?”

”The frequency has increased.”

Ravenna’s expression became serious.

”By how much?”

”Enough that the military is paying attention to it.”

Silver’s eyes narrowed.

”That’s concerning.”

”It is.” Larry took another drink. ”But don’t jump to conclusions yet.”

Silver nodded.

He wasn’t going to, not yet. There were too many possible explanations; environmental changes, food shortages, territorial disputes, something deeper in the Red Zone, or perhaps something entirely unrelated.

Still, he couldn’t ignore the feeling that the valley was becoming more active, and that bothered him.

A loud metallic sound came from the eastern gate.

Silver turned.

Workers had finished removing another section of the beast’s hide. Several contractors stood around the corpse.

One of them raised a large piece of blackened material. Even from a distance, Silver could tell it was incredibly durable.

”That’s going to sell for a fortune,” Antony said.

He had appeared beside them without Silver noticing.

Silver looked at him.

”You’ve been listening?”

”Obviously.” Antony looked toward the corpse. ”That’s what happens when you’re stuck standing around with nothing to do.”

Larry shook his head.

”Don’t you have somewhere else to be? I seem to have seen you near the kitchen just a few minutes ago.”

”No, you saw wrong.” Antony smiled. ”I’m exactly where I want to be, near my teammates”

Ravenna sighed.

Silver smiled.

Somehow, Antony’s presence made the situation feel less tense. They watched the workers continue.

After a few minutes, Antony asked, ”So, Silver.”

”Hm?”

”How long before you think you can kill something like that?”

Ravenna immediately looked at Antony.

”Why would you ask him something that?”

Antony shrugged.

”I’m curious.”

Silver thought about it, then he gave an honest answer.

”I don’t know.”

Antony raised an eyebrow.

”That’s it?”

”That’s it.”

Silver looked toward the corpse.

”Maybe someday.”

Ravenna smiled.

”That’s more reasonable.”

Antony laughed.

”I thought you were going to say tomorrow.”

Silver shook his head.

”I’m reckless, not suicidal.”

Ravenna gave him a pointed look.

Silver cleared his throat.

”Usually.”

She laughed.

Larry walked away, leaving them to their conversation. The sun continued climbing and the valley slowly returned to its usual rhythm.

Contractors returned to their meals and conversations. And yet Silver couldn’t stop thinking about what he had witnessed.

For weeks, he had been measuring his progress against the enemies he could defeat. Now he realized that was the wrong way to measure himself.

There were always stronger opponents, and higher ranks. And somewhere beyond the mountains were creatures that made the Rank Five beast they had just witnessed look ordinary.

Silver didn’t feel fear, not exactly, it was closer to respect. The kind of respect a soldier developed for a battlefield after realizing how easily it could kill him.

He looked at Ravenna.

”We need to get stronger.”

She smiled.

”I know, but not recklessly, we need to do that slowly.”

Silver nodded.

”Yeah I know, if we hurry it up it might affect our foundation.”

Ravenna linked their hands together and squeezed it.

”You’re not allowed to die.”

Silver smiled.

”Neither are you.”

They remained there for several minutes, quietly watching the repair crews, then Silver’s stomach growled.

Ravenna looked at him but he looked away. Antony burst out laughing.

”After all that, you’re hungry?”

Silver sighed.

”Apparently.”

Ravenna smiled and gestured to the cafeteria.

”Come on.”

The three began walking back toward the main building.