"All passengers are requested to check the 'Explorer-Aid' software installed in your communicators. We are about to enter the peripheral zone of the sacred ground. The software will activate itself after connecting to the closest data tower."
Mir quickly pulled out his communicator and scrolled through its list. The recently installed software named 'Explorer-Aid' displayed a dim icon right now, indicating that it hadn't been activated yet. Murray, used to browsing the software, didn't bother to look.
About a minute later, the communicator vibrated, while a notification alert appeared on the corner of the brightening icon. Mir clicked on it, excited and nervous at the same time.
The software opened with a map from live satellite images. Zooming in, he found his current location being displayed on one of the shorter tracks. The landmass occupied by the sacred ground was almost circular, and among the six tracks that entered it, only two reached deep enough to reach the center.
There were 15 data towers planted throughout the entire region. Each of the towers not only supplied the explorers nearby with communicator signals, they also sold rations, utilities, and medicine. In case of emergencies, someone could go hide in these towers from particularly powerful mutant creatures. The Transcenders stationed at the gateway station would go help them out if there were any abnormalities or if the data tower was in danger of being damaged.
The software had a second function as well, which was to alert the users against all the recorded mutant creatures inside the sacred ground. Of course, simply installing a software didn’t give a communicator the ability to sense nearby lifeforms. To find the data, one had to take a picture or two of the creature from clear angles and let the AI analyze it using archived pictures. Once analyzed successfully, most of the necessary data about the creature, its species, and its mutations would be displayed. Although, there was always a possibility of incorrect matches through the pictures.
At this moment, another announcement was made through the mic.
"Please, check the live map on your communicator to identify the map limit placed on you. For your own safety, we will not let you leave the vehicle in areas that have been assessed as too dangerous for you. This assessment has been done by analyzing your report and the death statistics inside the sacred ground."
Curious, Mir hurried to check his map more thoroughly and found a detail he hadn’t noticed before in his excitement. The background of the map could be divided into two colors, light green, which occupied most of the circular region; while some red blotches occupied several small portions. The announcer explained that the green areas were accessible, true Code-Green areas. The number of Code-Red areas was different for explorers depending on their capability. The weaker the explorer, the more Code-Red areas their map sported, limiting their range of movement inside the sacred ground.
With a careful examination, Mir found the pattern to these areas that had been labeled Code-Red for him. All of them were surrounding the central area, where a very small red dot could be seen coloring a mountain. The mountain was labeled as 'The Summitless'. Some clear pictures were also available, as this mountain was the center of the sacred ground, holding the waterfall that could lead a faithful to the magical invisible staircase.
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Mir scrolled through the pictures, getting a good idea about the terrain there. The waterfall wasn’t as intimidating as he had pictured it mentally. The water at the top looked rather serene till the fall.
"Hey, let me see the map limit on you." Mir took Murray's communicator and opened the software. He was greeted by a map with much lesser Code-Red regions than his map.
"You're not a Transcender yet. Why do you have so few Code-Red regions?" He said in puzzlement.
Murray seemed to have been expecting the question.
"Because the software also records your activity log. I have ventured dozens of times into the Code-Red areas they caution newbies like you against. It's not like they could stop me once I was so far away from the data towers or patrol teams. As long as you don’t get caught doing it, no one cares. It’s too easy to fool a software, after all. Deeper into the sacred ground, the laws of the taboo zone begin to take effect slowly, and the data towers can't get a good grasp of your location anymore. So when the software saw my account being active even after going in and out of the central region several times, it simply judged me as more capable than ordinary explorers. The only four Code-Red regions in my map are the places where even a Transcender may face danger."
With Murray's guidance, Mir was beginning to see all the flaws and loopholes in the system here. Although everything seemed orderly and strict on the outside, many rules were broken on a regular basis once the explorers entered the sacred ground. Desires in one's heart weren’t something to be controlled by rules. Once alone in the wild, it would break loose. Many of the deaths here happened not because people underestimated mutant creatures, but because people underestimated the darkness of human nature.
Roughly ten minutes later, Murray nudged him sharply. Looking up from the screen of his communicator, Mir saw him hauling his bags up.
"We'll get off here. I have a route in mind that we could take to make things a bit more convenient for us...and them, too. Let's try teasing the hunters and see how they react."
The whisper from Murray sent an odd jolt of excitement throughout his body. For some reason, Mir found himself beginning to enjoy this deadly game he had been dragged into.
They weren’t the only ones with the plan to get off early, it turned out. Several others, mostly younger, fresh-faced kids from relatively rich backgrounds had decided not to venture too deep on their first trip. The train gradually slowed down and the announcer's voice was heard once more.
"Dear passengers, we've reached our first stop, Data Tower No. 1. Those of you who'd like to depart from the vehicle here, please keep your luggage close. The doors will be open for a very short time to reduce risks of invasion by mutated bugs."
Lines formed immediately as people scrambled to get to the doors of each bogey. While Murray led Mir towards their exit, a hand suddenly grabbed Mir's arm from the back, causing him to shudder and freeze in panic.
He jerked his head around to look, ready to shout for help, only to see Reno's familiar face staring back at him with equal shock.
"Hey!"
"...Uh, hello, Reno." Mir replied stiffly.
Murray turned to look and his face suddenly lit up with a smile.
"Oh! This is a pleasant surprise! You two know each other?" He said in a delighted tone as if he didn’t remember Mir telling him who Reno was the moment he had sat in front of their row.
"Yes, he's my classmate," Mir explained once again with a placid face.
"I didn’t think you'd come here so soon! I guess having an older brother helps. I'm getting off here too. Wanna form a team?" Reno's tone was eager, a bit too eager.
Mir felt quite puzzled. Their friendship had deteriorated long ago. The two of them rarely spoke to each other in class unless absolutely necessary. Why did Reno seem so desperate to form a team with them? It wasn't as if any of the other explorers would refuse to take in a new member in their teams.
Murray, on the other hand didn’t have so much concern in his mind. He flashed Reno a wide smile and shook his hand in affirmation.
"Sounds like a good idea! Strength in numbers, they say. Right now, all of us could use some strength."
Mir sent him an absolutely befuddled look. The two of them were being chased–
His thoughts crashed to a stop as the realization set in.
Either Murray suspected that Reno was working as an agent for the people hunting them, or Murray was planning to use Reno as another bait, just like how he had used Mir.
Mir could not determine which of these two possiblities was worse.