Chapter 17: Bola City

Becoming companions, sympathy, human language.

I think I might be starting to understand the behavioral logic behind that giant mad beast’s actions.

“What’s going on?”

“If that giant mad beast has already learned human language, then it means it’s also learning everything about us—our emotions, our thoughts. But clearly, it hasn’t fully grasped them yet.”

“It sympathized with you because it could sense your emotions. In its understanding, someone experiencing that kind of feeling should be addressed with that tone. But it doesn’t truly comprehend; it’s just parrot-talking. That’s why it said that absurd thing about you becoming its companion.”

“In the world of mad beasts, there’s no such thing as hatred. The weak willingly submit to the strong. I’ve personally seen powerful mad beasts devour weaker ones to replenish their lost energy, and the devoured beasts never resist—they accept it as natural.”

“So it treated you with that same mad beast logic. It saw you as weak, someone it had conquered, and therefore you should naturally become its vassal. But because its vocabulary is still insufficient, it used the word ‘companion.’ Paired with that sympathetic tone, if you weren’t directly affected by it, it might almost sound convincing.”

But really, could it have coincidentally learned exactly those words and tones?

If someone was helping it from behind the scenes, that might explain the timing.

I really didn’t want to think in that direction, but if that fanatical group could actually communicate with mad beasts now, it could pose a serious threat to us.

“Anyway, let’s get in the car quickly. We should reach Bola City today. If we keep dragging our feet, we might lose the chance to find the giant mad beast’s trail.”

“Mm.”

I stood up and offered Leng Qiongling a hand.

She hesitated for a moment, then took it.

“Look, I’m not worried about you being influenced by it, Leng Qiongling. But if it really starts bothering you, tell me, and I’ll go straight to its lair.”

“What are you saying? Isn’t our whole mission to find its trail?”

“Right, right.”

I scratched my head, realizing I’d actually forgotten that.

Maybe I really was treating this like a vacation—even though most of my time was spent on the road.

We walked out of the circle formed by the mad beast’s corpse.

The team members were already bored, sitting inside the car.

Some had even fallen asleep.

Every single one of their weapons was stained with dark red blood.

“Let’s move out.”

I got into the cargo off-road vehicle.

Leng Qiongling climbed into the one carrying the team members.

We only had a little ways left to Bola City.

Barring any accidents, we should make it before noon.

I signaled to Leng Qiongling to start, so her vehicle pulled out first, driving ahead of me.

I took out the satellite phone Yuan Xinghe had given me and answered his call.

“Hello?”

“Ah, you finally picked up. I was wondering what you were so busy with.”

“Working with the team is tough. Don’t talk if you don’t understand.”

“Fine, fine.”

“So what is it this time?”

“…We can’t get in touch with Bola City anymore.”

“What?”

I sat up straight, trying to process what Yuan Xinghe meant.

“So you’ve been unable to contact Bola City since yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“Any leads?”

“Given that it’s managed to evade our tracking before, it might have a way to block our communications too.”

“…I’m almost there now.”

“That’s great. Once you arrive, you can help us figure out what’s going on.”

That was it.

He hung up.

I quickly sped up to catch Leng Qiongling.

I had a feeling this mission wouldn’t be a simple trace-and-hunt job.

***

We drove past a mass graveyard.

It was stark, eye-catching—so out of place in this otherwise unchanging desert.

I didn’t stop to examine it.

I already knew why it was there.

We kept driving until Bola City’s walls and the green dome floating above it came into view.

Hmph…

I wanted to charge straight to the city gate, but Leng Qiongling was in front of me, so I had to obediently stay behind her.

Several guards wearing Bola City’s distinctive outfits stood at the gate, blocking our path.

They all wore heavy gas masks, just like every other city guard.

“Who are you?”

“Uh… We’re…”

“We’re personnel sent from the City of Hope to investigate the giant mad beast’s trail in this area. Here’s the token personally granted by our Commander.”

One of them stepped forward, took my token, and examined it closely.

After a brief exchange with his companion, he seemed to confirm it was genuine.

“You’re the Madman Squad?”

“Yes.”

Even though the name “Madman Squad” wasn’t exactly a great title in most places, there was no need to hide it.

Acting sneaky only made people more suspicious.

The leader stared at us for a while before finally speaking.

“You can enter, but they can’t.”

“Huh?! Why not? We’re not going to cause any trouble! We’ve been sleeping out in the open all week! I’m exhausted! I want to sleep on a soft bed!”

“Don’t lose your temper, Ou Mi You. Since this is their city, we have to follow their rules.”

“You all—I’ll take you to a place to rest.”

“We appreciate your help.”

I gestured to my team not to worry.

It was just going to say a few words—I’d probably be out soon.

“Hmph. Fine.”

Ou Mi You sat back down with a dissatisfied look.

During her outburst, Le Paxi had kept her eyes closed the whole time, but just now she was staring at the gate guards.

She didn’t say anything.

“Captain, we’ll rest there for now. If you finish up, you can notify us.”

“Alright. I’ll contact you as soon as I’m done.”

I walked into the tunnel to be decontaminated.

The team followed the lead guard, driving toward another part of the city.

“I feel like the purification agent here is lower quality than the City of Hope’s.”

I thought idly.

Maybe different places gave it a different flavor.

Maybe.

After getting drenched, I finally walked out of the tunnel and stepped into Bola City proper.

But the first thing I noticed was the silence.

There were hardly any pedestrians on the streets.

Sure, Bola City didn’t have much entertainment, but it was noon—there was no way it should be this deserted.

Just as I went on alert, I sensed an unfriendly presence behind me.