Becoming Their Guiding Spirit

# Chapter 41: My driving skills are no joke.... BAM!! Bolívar is a dirt-poor place, located to the west of Columbia. Its geographical position is remote, at the westernmost edge of Terra’s civilized regions.

In a Terra that has been temporarily at peace for about ten years, Bolívar’s civil war has never ceased.

With the intervention of Leithanien and Columbia.

One country, three factions.

Fighting day and night, the people suffer immensely, and economic development is extremely backward. It’s a textbook third-world country in Terra.

Miss Magallan was a thorough woman of action.

When she said go, she went, without any hesitation.

Jessica rarely traveled long distances by car. In the past, she always took her family’s private jet. After joining Blacksteel Worldwide, she mostly spent her time training at the company, and even when she needed to go on internships to distant places with her two seniors, there was a company jet.

This was her first time traveling long distance by car.

Jessica excitedly pressed her face against the window, constantly looking out at the unchanging, desolate scenery of the wilderness, occasionally sharing her thoughts with Lucas Reeve, as if the two of them were on a trip together.

Constantly talking to herself, asking and answering her own questions.

Franka knew Jessica was talking to Lucas Reeve.

But Magallan, who was driving, didn’t know. She frequently turned her head to look at Jessica, and even whispered in Franka’s ear from the passenger seat.

”Little Franka... what’s wrong with little Jessica? Is she...”

Magallan pointed to her head.

However.

Four hours later.

”Gulp~”

Jessica started to get bored.

She was tired of the unchanging scenery outside; it was no longer fresh. Besides, there was no cell signal here at all, so she couldn’t get online. Only the specialized communication device had a signal.

Night gradually fell.

On Terra, due to the constant presence of Originium dust in the sky, it was difficult to see any light in the wilderness at night, even under a bright moon. It was pitch black all around, as if one had entered a world of death. Nothing could be seen clearly through the window, a stark contrast to the brightly lit cities at night.

The wilderness was vast and fraught with danger.

The sound of the car’s engine gradually lowered, and the frequency of the wheels turning also slowed down noticeably.

”Huh? Um... why are we slowing down, Miss McChicken? Are we almost there?”

Since she couldn’t see anything, Jessica didn’t know where they were. Also, after the trip to Lungmen, she had become noticeably braver. At least now she dared to speak to others on her own initiative. Although her voice was still a bit quiet and accompanied by a nervous tic, it was a big improvement.

”It’s Magallan, my dear Miss Jessica.”

The penguin lady was a bit exasperated. To this day, she still didn’t understand why her name was so hard to remember.

Not only did Franka and the others get it wrong, but even her colleagues at Rhine Lab often got it wrong... no, ’often’ wasn’t even the right word. They had never gotten it right.

She didn’t know if she was cursed with a name that people around her always found a way to mispronounce in the most absurd ways.

Magallan explained as she pressed the brake, controlling the car’s speed at 25 mph.

”We’re about to leave Columbia and cross the border. Between Columbia and Bolívar, there’s a sizeable no-man’s-land. In that no-man’s-land, it won’t be flat ground like this, where you can close your eyes and floor the gas pedal without any problems. Over there, nobody knows if the next steep slope leads to flat ground or a bottomless cliff. And it’s night now, we can’t see anything. If we go too fast, we might all become ghosts.”

”Ghosts...”

”Mr. Reeve~ If I become a ghost, will I be able to touch you?”

Jessica asked an absurd question.

Lucas Reeve: ”???”

”Sorry, it’s my first time being a ghost, I don’t know either.”

Magallan continued to explain.

”In any case, the uninhabited wilderness is very dangerous. Only professional landships dare to drive in this place. Ordinary people wouldn’t dare drive here at night. But I’m a great explorer, after all. My driving skills are excellent. I have a wealth of experience driving in places like this, safety guaranteed. I remember back when I went to Iberia...”

BAM!!!

Before Magallan could finish her sentence, as if heaven was punishing her for bragging.

The violent shaking of the vehicle indicated that they had just hit something.

Fortunately.

Although it was a severe jolt, it wasn’t a major issue.

”Phew! That scared me.”

Franka patted her impressive chest.

”What did you just hit? A rock? Good thing it wasn’t a cliff, otherwise we could all be playing a five-stack with Lucas Reeve tonight.”

However.

Magallan didn’t answer Franka’s question right away, nor did she ask who Lucas Reeve was. Her face grew slightly serious, and she increased the speed from twenty-five to thirty.

”What’s wrong?”

”Something’s... not good...”

”Hm?”

”I hit something I shouldn’t have?”

”?”

”A special type of Originium Slug found only in the uninhabited wilderness near Bolívar. At night, they bury their bodies in the ground with their upper half exposed, looking exactly like rocks. I think that’s what I just hit...”

”Phew~ It’s just a small Originium Slug, what’s there to be nervous about? Liskarm and I have killed countless of those things on missions before.”

Magallan hesitated for a moment, then said, ”But...”

”This type is very vindictive, lives in colonies, has a hard exterior, sharp claws, and moves very fast. If there’s one around, there are usually hundreds or thousands nearby...”

”So?”

Franka began to realize the seriousness of the situation.

”We might have to...”

”Run for it, fast...”

As soon as Magallan’s voice fell.

An Originium Slug, half the size of a person, jumped onto the side window of the vehicle. Its sharp horns continuously rammed the glass and the external armor. Fortunately, this was a special military transport vehicle. If it were an ordinary car, the steel plates on the outside might have already been pierced.

And...

This wasn’t just one...

Thump...

Another one jumped onto the window on the other side, and outside... the thundering sound was like an earthquake, with even more of these Originium Slugs madly chasing behind the vehicle.

”Fuck!!”