After passing through the clouds, he sped over the open ochre desert and saline land, the sky light dazzling in the reflection of the ground. He flew at a very low altitude, and the ship's wake kicked up dust on the ground, sending grit spirits flying wildly over the drought gentleness.

Ahead, mountains. Long, low ridges. The pink and brown rocks are carved by the wind into sharp cliffs, sharp and angular, like coral reefs growing from the bottom of the sea.

The beacon's signal is flashing wildly. He twisted the thruster nozzle to the braking angle, raised the nose and rocked the fuselage sideways, ready to land.

Below him was a high plateau flanked by a tall pink cliff. A military camp. Two Imperial transport shuttles, anchored at berths.

He lowered the landing gear and descended vertically.

"Welcome to the barren ground in the deepest part of the gutter," Nagiuri said.

Cain jumped from the cockpit into the scorching sun. He smiled. In the eyes of his old buddy Najiuri, no matter where it is, it is a barren place in the deepest part of the gutter. They have served together on many planets, they have gone on many cruises together, and Nagiuri has the same assessment of any outer edge planet.

"I don't think it's official, Commander," Cain whispered.

Nakuri hesitated, and his smile vanished. He hadn't seen Cain for a long time, and now Cain was a noble and great cardinal general. "I'm sorry......," he restarted.

"What I'm saying is, 'Welcome to the barren land in the deepest part of the gutter, sir!' ”

They looked at each other and smiled, then hugged.

"It's been too long," Cain said.

"I'll see you, Si," laughed Najuri. The round silver interactive panel in front of his right eye reflected the sunlight as if it were blinking.

"What's the hell you're in trouble with?" Cain asked him.

Najuri turned. His squad, ten flying soldiers, all dressed in the same full set of combat components and weapons as he was, stood right behind him. Compared to Cain's black uniform, the soldiers were tall and burly. They were tough veterans, and Cain knew most of them. Korla, Spikes, Rigo, captain Vecchilan. He identified the biometric tags on his breastplate through the interactive panel, revealing their names.

It is useful to know the name. If the cardinal general treats the soldiers as equals, the soldiers will also behave better.

"Show him, guys," Nagiuri said.

He took Cain with him, and the group walked briskly over the gravel on the high ground. "It was the Holy Messenger who brought us here. Two holy messengers, and a large group of believers. We cleared Kebol before, and they fled here. We thought they were just here for a stopover, but apparently that's where they ended. ”

"Why?" Cain asked.

"I don't know. So, we got here and brought them all together. Most to be exact. There are a few who don't know each other, so ...... Someone shoots, and then the same old thing. ”

"How many?"

"Ten people died, all of them were their men, and two messengers were among them. A fierce battle. ”

"How many of them have been caught by their followers?"

"Sixteen. Batches of subversives. They were all imprisoned in the cave ahead. Interrogation is ongoing. ”

Cain raised an eyebrow. "The interrogation is for ......?"

"Any information. The Holy Envoy's Stronghold. Aoneng warehouse. Connector people. And, of course, why they came here, and why they were in such a hurry. ”

"We know why," a voice said behind them.

Kaiin and Najuri turned. The shooting soldiers also stopped.

"Do you have anything to say, Vecchiland?" Nagiuri asked.

"No, Commander." The captain replied.

"Don't be in such a hurry," Cain said. "I want to hear Vecchiland say what she thinks."

The female soldier shrugged uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, sir. I mean, I'm sorry, Cardinal. There is no place for me to speak here. It's all weird, it's too hot. ”

"Your combat gear has a cooling function, Vecchiland." Cain asked. "If you have something to say, say it."

"Hmm...... We found something. It was this thing that attracted them. That's what they're looking for. ”

They walked up the gravelly slope, and the lower part of the cliff in front of them was densely packed with honeycomb-like caverns. The sun is so scorching that it's nice to be able to walk into the lilac shadows at the bottom of the cliff – it's like walking into a cold store.

Nagiuri's interactive panel rang to prompt him to receive a new message, and he excused himself to step aside. Cain and several flying soldiers waited in the shadows. The cardinal looked up at the openings of the countless caverns, the work of millions of years of wind and sand erosion.

Then, again, he heard.

One voice. There are no specific words, just a vague sentence. He quietly left the soldiers who were waiting in place and walked in the direction of the cave. The darkness of the cavern spoke to him, silently.

Nothing.

Then he heard the voice again. Half whispering, half snickering. Maybe it's coming from the nearest hole? Something was watching him, happy, secretly rejoicing.

He frowned and took another step forward.

His own interactive panel rang as well. He opened the connection. "I'm Cain," he whispered.

The image of Captain Vischel standing on the bridge of the Shattered Scissors is vaguely projected in front of his left eye. "Cardinal General? There's something to report. We detected a soft-back signal entering the Ionan atmosphere at sub-flying velocity. ”

"Soft-back signal, Captain?"

"It's not very conclusive data, and we can't fix it. It's like a ghost. ”

"Let me see."

Wischel was ordered to carry it out. The image projected by the pupil switches to the ship's main detection system data stream. Only a phantom trail can be seen. There is no definite mass or density. In fact, such data fluctuations are usually ignored by monitoring officers as background noise. But know that Vischel was extra careful because of the cardinal generals on the ground.

"There are a lot of rebellious agents who use masking fields," Cain commented.

"That's what I thought, too," Ms. Wischel said. "Especially the syndicate. We have seen it many times in the fight against smuggling. If this is really a masking force field, it must be a master. ”

"Agreed. Very good. ”

"Do you want me to intercept it, Cardinal?"

"Not necessarily."

"Shouldn't I come closer, then? Let the shelling cover Ionan, just in case—"

"No, Captain. We've got a bit of a situation on this side of the ground, and the subversive might come here and take something, maybe in exchange. If this guest is here to receive the goods, let's not startle the snake. We're going to let them take down the veil themselves. ”

"Are you really sure, Cardinal?"

"Sure, Captain. Let's take a look at who's coming. This time it may lead to a deeper message. ”

Kaigakure disconnected, then turned around to see Nakuri walking over.

"I guess," Cain said. "Soft-back signal?"

Nagiuri nodded. "Scissors detected it too?" He asked. "From your main ship to my main ship, we can cover most of the inner ring tracks. It is possible that it is nothing. ”

"I believe you ordered the warm reminder to stay put, right?"

"And don't do anything," Nakuri replied with a smile. "I remember the number of miles you worked, old friend. Put all the villains in. You like to watch their expressions click. ”

Najuri turned around and led him up the last few steps of the slope to the largest hole. The soldiers followed. Cain felt relaxed and content. It's nice to have a trustworthy and smart companion like Nakuri by your side. The two of them worked together perfectly, and always have been.

He didn't pay attention to the strange sense of unease that lurked in the back of his head. It is a pure, healthy sense of anxiety, tension in the face of potential instability.