The scenery on both sides of the dirt road slowly transitioned from fields to overgrown, abandoned lots.
Through the car window, Richard could see markers scattered sporadically across the land in the distance.
Most were wooden stakes driven into the ground by officials, their tops painted white and marked with the words: "Abandoned Mine. No Entry."
Farther off, he could see a few long-collapsed mine shaft headframes, their wooden beams blackened and rotten.
’The book only mentioned those three small weak points, but who knows if there are even smaller ones that aren’t on record?’
’After all, in an environment like a mine, it’s all too easy for something to happen. Not to mention, the massive hole of the Unyielding Pit is a constant catalyst.’
Through his Spiritual Vision, Richard could see that the Ether Flow of the entire wasteland was clearly tilting in a specific direction. That must be the direction of the Unyielding Pit.
The car gradually slowed down.
Not far ahead, two identical sedans were parked. They had arrived earlier.
A few people wearing standard Branch Office jackets stood beside the cars, each holding their own equipment.
The man in the lead had one eye, and his left arm was a steel prosthesis from the shoulder down.
The man looked tough.
The old gentleman beside him began the introductions.
"That’s Major Aud, a Minor Mastery Level Hunter. He’s our commander for today."
Watching the Minor Mastery Level Hunter, a question suddenly occurred to him.
"Sir... what if this isn’t a routine situation? What if something major really happens? Does the Major have a contingency plan?"
Mr. Hutton turned his head and glanced at him.
"Good question."
"When every medium-sized or larger weak point is suppressed, the Expert who did the deed leaves behind a mark of ’sovereignty’ at the bottom of the pit."
"You can think of it as a slumbering pedestal of Strength."
"Major Aud is the only person here today representing the officials who has been granted authorization."
"In a dire emergency, he can awaken that slumbering power for a short while."
"So... we don’t need to be afraid?"
Richard’s attention sharpened the moment he heard the word ’Expert’.
"No." The old gentleman shook his head. "That power doesn’t come for free."
"Awaken it once, and the entire Seal on the Unyielding Pit will require a round of unscheduled reinforcement afterward."
"To call upon an Expert’s Strength is to borrow an Expert’s name to make a sound beneath the Curtain."
"And the Unyielding Pit is one of the last places where a sound should ever be made."
"So, the Major will absolutely not play this trump card unless it’s the last possible moment."
The old gentleman looked back toward the mine shaft.
"For today, you just need to know that such a trump card lies suppressed within this cavern."
Richard nodded solemnly and followed him out of the car.
The patrol team, including Major Aud himself, totaled seven members. Aside from the youngest one, all the others were Practitioner Level Hunters.
The six were split into two groups of three.
The leader of the group on the left was a short woman with an old scar on her brow bone.
The leader of the group on the right was a tall, thin man with a mustache and a missing segment on his left index finger.
Richard noticed that one of the boys in the two groups looked the youngest; the cuffs of his jacket were a bit ill-fitting.
The boy had light brown hair and a smudge of dust on his face from the journey. Richard noticed he was also secretly sizing him up.
"Everyone’s here." Major Aud cleared his throat.
"We have new people this time, so I’ll go over the rules again before we go down the shaft."
"Down there, no using names. If you need to call someone, use their code name."
"If the lights go out, squat down on the spot and don’t move."
"If you hear an unfamiliar voice, do not respond."
"If you hear a familiar voice from a direction it shouldn’t be coming from, do not respond."
"Leave all responding to the three of us Hunter group leaders."
"The rest of you will open your mouths only to breathe and drink water. Understood?"
"Understood!" the patrol team members answered in unison.
Richard glanced at the old gentleman.
Mr. Hutton gave a slight nod, meaning, ’We’ll abide by that rule too.’
Major Aud’s gaze swept toward Mr. Hutton’s group.
"I’ll be assigning code names for today."
He pointed to himself. "Just call me Major. Don’t add my name."
"For my team, the two group leaders will be addressed as Group Leader One and Group Leader Two."
"Old Scholar." He pointed at Mr. Hutton.
"Spirit Medium, Mrs. MacNeil."
"Inspector, Winterworth."
"Talisman Master, Lady Mod."
"Inscription Master, Mr. Spence."
"Old Coroner." He then pointed at Old Big.
"...Am I that old?" Old Big grumbled.
"You’re certainly old enough in years." Aud knocked on his iron fist. "Your skills just aren’t as refined as your senior’s."
"Yes, yes." Old Big gave a dry laugh.
Finally, Aud’s gaze landed on Richard.
"Gray eyes are rare. How about we call you Gray Eyes?"
"That’s fine, Major." It was a simple code name, so Richard naturally had no objection.
Aud turned to his six subordinates. "Did you all hear that?"
"Heard it!"
"His code name is ’Gray Eyes.’ Don’t call him by his real name in the pit."
"Yes, sir."
Aud turned his gaze back to Richard.
"Kid, you and the youngest one on our side will be positioned toward the inside today."
He jutted his chin toward the boy who looked the youngest.
"His code name is ’Xiaoma.’ He just graduated from the military academy."
Xiaoma nodded at Richard, an awkward smile on his face.
Major Aud raised his hand. "All groups, prepare your gear. Group One goes down the shaft in three minutes."
The six members of the patrol team spread out and began checking each other’s equipment.
Mr. Hutton took a small pocket watch from an inner pocket of his coat and checked the time.
"Richard, did you memorize all the rules the Major just laid out?"

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