Leave The Monster Alone

Once the teen left, Mark really felt the weight of the whole situation fall over him. It was a stressful feeling for sure but it was more confusing than it was stressful.

Since he had time, Mark utilized it looking for the object that had made the system sensor go off. While it might not be the Vial that had set it off, his gut feeling said it was and he just trusted it.

Even if it turned out not to be the case at all, he would still need to confiscate those things if it made his system beep off. It had not done such a thing for any of the previous rooms so that was new.

And a little troublesome. Why these rooms of all places?

The biggest obstacle was to actually find the location of that object which had set it off. The system pinned the immediate area where the object was but it did not give a concrete location for the same. It meant that it would fall onto Mark to find it by hand.

The starting location was the standardized ones, the storage, the bed and other space around it. Since these rooms were built like living quarters, Mark had much more space to uncovered and he did his best to do so.

He was invading the privacy of an unknown person he would be the first to admit to, but it was for the betterment of everyone so he did not mind being labelled as such. 

Not that anyone would, Abel him as such.

The sound of footsteps got louder and louder as he searched more which made him aware that people were coming closer. 

"Hey, that's my bed. You better arrange it right back once you are done" the voice sounded upset and even a little accusing. However, those words confirmed to Mark that Jean was not actually mad at getting her privacy invaded. He had guessed whose bed this was as soon a lacy party landed in his hands.

The blush that covered his face was legendary but since no one had been near to see it, he would just take it like it never happened at all. No witness = no one could say otherwise.

"You really think something dangerous is here?" That was Luna. Mark could tell even without looking at that face. The other had left a deep enough impression on him to not mistake that voice.

"I'm still looking to check. I did get the sign for some things but I don't exactly know for what" now that Luna knew the truth, Mark felt it was better that he tell the other if he asked him.

Seeing that there was nothing hidden on or near that bed, Mark finally turned around to make his way toward the next. He ignored the offended 'Hey, arrange it back' and other complaints from Jean as he hopped over to the other one.

He also took in the other two members of the team he did not know, a pair of siblings and twins at that. Both looked to be almost his age and exhausted by the war, though the female did try to smile at him.

En was an unofficial part of the team too, but clearly, he had his own space since he was also in charge of Maya and thus excluded from this bunch. 

Mark smiled back at the female but her brother decided that was not proper and stood in between Mark and his sister to block the visible interaction.

"Darwin Hue and Dixie Hue, they're new but good fighters" Alan pointed to the twins who looked a little nervous but not really afraid.

"It's good to have you on our side. I'm Mark, the nighttime shopkeeper and Kuro's owner" from the lack of surprise on their faces, he could summarize that they had already known all that. The face Alan pulled at his side made him aware that the teen likely had a hand in that.

Mark did not take the talk any further, his priorities shifting from small talk to finding the hidden material.

Although he really did want to scan these people's information, that would have to be postponed.

But as he went through the things these people possessed, it was evident that there was nothing missing here at all. Things were not as simple as they seemed like anyway.

"We're at the lowest levels then perhaps-" Luan did not continue but if Mark followed his gaze, he could guess the answer already. Of course, that could be one of the potential places but surely someone would not actually do that? The effort would take would be tremendous, to say the least.

"It would take time and effort and we'll need to get permission from Liam and hey-" Mark was thinking logically here but Luna clearly did not share the same sentiment as him. The gun in his hand was not one he had seen before but the sound of the shot was far too loud.

The place where it had stuck the ground carried a small crater shaped dent which showed the ground below.

"Now we can start to look. If something is really buried down here then it must not be buried any deeper than the depth of this room" ah, Mark had missed that part but it did not look like Luna did. He had likely picked up on the fact that Mark was checking this room and not the one above it means that the scanner had a range in height too.

But that did not eliminate all their problems. 

"I'll talk with Liam and look here. You should check other places in the meantime" Mark took that suggestion. If Luna's hypothesis was correct, then whatever was buried down there might not actually be the Vials but something entirely different. 

It was just one problem after another at this rate.

"I'll leave you to it than" they were already short on time so Mark was grateful for this offer and he did not hesitate to take it. He was grateful to escape that nervous air and get back to the outside place.

He hurried out of that corridor and decided to make his way toward the other side of this building were lower-level soldiers were available. Those were the people with the best chance of getting a Vial to boost themselves.

But the only con was the location. That part was built in another building which could only be accessed once you crossed a little forest bridge right between both caves. Mark would have to make this journey alone. 

The bride looked strong but the river below looked cold at this time of the season. The winter had not truly set in but the leaves of the trees had started to change the colour toward orange and red of the autumn. The world had not stopped just because those monsters had arrived and it was not any more evident than right at that moment. 

Mark made his way toward the bridge but before he could cross, his system beeped with an urgency which indicated that he had a message he should not ignore.

He still debated whether he should check it or not before he felt hostile feelings aimed his way. The decision was no longer his to make now and it was more than clear. 

________________________

System warning: danger detected - two abnormalities detected in the vicinity.

Danger level: Easy (lv8)

Action to take: eliminate the risk factor (reward)  or ignore (chances of being attacked)

The reward for eliminating target: a clue to the present mystery.

System scanning: new perimeters found: new mission report preparing

Please check for the new mission shortly 

________________________

The lower line was of no concern to him for now but the upper line did pique his interest a lot. Abnormalities sounded interesting but he was more concerned about the context of those abnormalities.

He silently took out a weapon from his storage, not to kill but to bind. The tasers in his shop were advertised to have extreme potential on those monsters but not harmful to humans at all.

He could only guess that this abnormality referred to someone who took the drugs in the Vial already and was as good as lost to them. Since killing them would be counterproductive, Mark could at least render them harmless for the time being till yeah had a solution for the same. 

The team was working on ten antidotes or that was what was being advertised so Mark had to do his best too. 

With a weapon in his hand, Mark finally stepped onto the bridge with his senses on already the whole time. The senses of danger thickened the further he walked on the bridge and then there was a moment of all silence where he could hear no sound at all or feel anything at all. It felt like someone had cut him off from his senses and he was left in a state of perpetual equilibrium. 

And without his knowledge, he was dragged off into the depths of cold water right below the bridge.