There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 179

Chapter 179: Chapter 173. In a Dark Cave Somewhere

"Aah...finally!" the spearman, Zhan, inhaled deeply once they stepped inside the dungeon.

The air was murky and suffocating, just like how it felt in the borderland. But the bitterness and slight stinging sensation in their skin was the feeling that the spearman had missed deeply. It wasn’t the same as doing it in the simulator, and simply going to the end-zone wouldn’t invoke the excitement from expecting dangerous encounters with the beasts.

If it wasn’t for the disgustingly low salary of the borderland unit, Zhan would have enlisted there for a daily dose of battle. But he gotta earn to feed his big family and buy weapons, so...

This was why, his respect toward Zein skyrocketed once he found out the man used to work in the borderland. And the guide wasn’t just stationed there, but even frequently entered the Deathzone. Cool. Cool cool cool.

It wasn’t just Zhan that was pumped up. And even those who didn’t show their excitement looked calm and collected, observing their surrounding with a steady gaze without being stiff or anxious. They looked like they were simply strolling into an amusement park, but there was no hole in their defense.

So this was Anzus--Zein muttered inwardly.

He turned toward Nadine to check if she was fine with the suffocating pressure of the miasma level, but as expected of his protégé, she immediately gave an okay sign despite the slightly pale face. Once he made sure the porters and surveyors were okay, Zein proceeded to observe the dungeon they just entered.

The first thing Zein felt was familiarity. It was almost like going back to the borderland, due to the amount of miasma in the air. Their vision was limited by the murky air and the lack of light sources, but it wasn’t as dark as the Deathzone.

Thanks to Mortix’s new invention, the night-vision goggles had been replaced with night-vision contact lenses, so the guides didn’t have to wear those bulky headgear anymore. And from his new enhanced sight, Zein found out they were in a cave.

The entrance was located in an empty circular space with a single exit point. The floor, wall, and ceiling were made of hard soil and stones, high enough that it didn’t make them feel trapped and suffocated from the start. _{free𝑤ebnovel.com}

"I’m going to check the passage," Kei, the scout, announced and moved immediately without waiting for approval from the commander. Not because she was being rude, but because it was a basic thing to do and they had been working together long enough to bypass verbal agreement.

As she disappeared into the dark passage, the surveyor put a beacon near the portal, while the other espers stretched out their body and probed the environment on their own.

"Ah...this is..." while they looked around the entry point and waited for Kei to give an assessment, Bassena stared at the reddish wall and humid space with interest.

"Creepy? Uncomfortable? Annoying?" Han Shin responded with a shuddered back. Caves were no better than underground tunnels for him--places where there could be worm-like creatures were never preferable for him.

"...nostalgic," Bassena finished with a smile on his face. A tender smile as if he was recalling some very delightful memories.

The ones who heard that turned their head to look at the esper with incredulous eyes. Han Shin, particularly, voiced their mind. "The hell?!"

What kind of person looked at a depressing, damp, dangerous cave and called it ’nostalgic’ with a soft voice and tender expression as if he was remembering an encounter with a first lo--

"Aah..." Han Shin suddenly hit his palm with his fist, before shifting his gaze toward the silent male guide. "I see," the healer muttered knowingly, and the rest of the squad members raised their brows at this intriguing scene.

Zein would have rolled his eyes had Kei didn’t come back at that time, telling them the passage was clear. "It was about a few hundred meters, and opened to a large canyon. I haven’t found out yet what’s there, though."

"Alright, let’s just proceed for now," Bassena nodded and gave the order to march.

The passage wasn’t too narrow, but they walked with the standard formation of having the supporters and long-range dealers in the middle. The porters and surveyor stayed in the back, along with their designated protector. Bassena took charge of becoming the rear guard, since it was still an early phase.

Or because he wanted to spend some time with a certain guide.

"Do you recall anything from that day?" Bassena asked casually as his fingers probed the material of the cave.

"Like what?" Zein looked around, sending strands of consciousness to try if he could find any hidden precious stones again. He recalled the scene from five years ago while recounting; "Dark places, swirling gates, you growling like a dying beast--things like that?"

Bassena turned his head around swiftly to look at Zein with a start. "What--I was growling?"

"I almost smite you, I think," the guide replied, tapping his arms to dig into his memory. He remembered being startled by growling noises, and only realized it was an esper because of the amber eyes--beasts did not have such warm, beautiful eyes, even if they were glaring fiercely and framed by dirt and blood. "I thought you were a stray beast at first."

The squad was usually spread out quite a bit even in tight formation. But these people unconsciously and intentionally closed the gap between each other and walked slower so they could hear this unexpected conversation. Because not even Han Shin knew exactly what and where Bassena and Zein met in the past. He knew Zein had guided Bassena once in the past, before Trinity was established, but not much else.

Carra, the barrier magician, coughed once before slapping her mouth shut right after. But the others couldn’t blame her, because who--who had expected someone to slam the Bassena Vaski into the wall? And not even an esper, but a guide!