Crystal was standing behind Tex and gazing at the holo-screens before them. Finally, she sighed and said, “They are cautious.”

Hiro nodded and said, “Do you think they might not have been completely confused?”

Crystal shook her head and said, “That’s not it. These guys are not moving much, so I am sure they use different means to scan themselves of bugs. Where did you stow the bots?”

Hiro replied, “I had expected them to go through some security checks inside the town limits, so I programmed the bots to drill inside their hair strands. Or stick to their communicators.”

Tex nodded thoughtfully and said, “This way, they might be unable to detect the trackers. But what is this weird walking pattern they have? Why can they not keep a straight line?”

Hiro nodded and said, “That has been bugging me as well. Also, look at the markers on the screen. It is like they all are some ants.”

Crystal furrowed her brows when she looked at the trail left by these people. She began thinking about what was happening here when she heard a calm voice from behind, “Oh, they are moving through a defense barrier?”

The people were surprised and turned to look at the source of the voice. They found that Shi Lang had returned from the city, and Tex said, “That was fast of you. Did you even buy anything?”

Shi Lang ignored him and said, “This is an interesting scenario we have at our hands.”

Crystal asked, “I was thinking about it too, Boss. However, how do we find what sort of barrier they have sat up?”

Shi Lang shook his head and said, “I cannot analyze this from here.”

Crystal stuck her tongue out and asked, “Then what do we do, Boss.”

Shi Lang thought briefly, saying, “We need some help.”

Tex asked, “Meaning?”

“We might need to find some human talents and have them access the situation.”, Shi Lang replied.

The people understood his reasoning. However, they were not all experts in barriers, so they needed those who dedicated their time and skill to studying the science of formations. Shi Lang said, “Crystal contact the high council and tell them about the results.”

Crystal nodded and directly contacted the high council. She told them the situation’s ins and outs and awaited the response. In the meantime, Shi Lang set up a barbeque in the wilderness and prepared a sumptuous meal.

It had been a long time since he had to camp out. So, he decided to prepare a meal for everyone. As he was cooking the meat, Tex approached him and asked, “Brother Shi, do you think if we followed the tracks left by the enemy patrol, we can move in deeper and find out more about them?”

Shi Lang gazed at the man and said, “Of course, that is a plausible option, but I remember that the senses of the heaven-howling wolves are not shallow. If we ended up in a trap, things might get difficult.”

Tex frowned and asked, “So what if we go in there and get trapped, they will not do anything to us. They cannot. They do not have the power to. Shi Lang, they are exiles. Do you understand what that means?”

Shi Lang gazed at him with a complicated expression and said, “Have you left your brain back in the city? If we fall into a trap, they will kill us, and worst, they will use us to force the hands of the rest of the people.”

Tex still did not realize what Shi Lang was saying and said, “To think someone with your strength will be such a coward.”

Hiro, Malco, and Crystal heard this, and the lady was about to lash back when Shi Lang said, “You need to clear up your concepts here, Young Master Tex. Do you think some clan that can survive under the strict rules implied by the rest of the community will be weak? Do you think they will sit back and let us review their plans? By going there, what do you intend to achieve? You will only end up alerting them. This is why it is not an attack mission.”

This monologue shocked Tex back to his senses, and he calmed down. However, Shi Lang did not finish and said coldly, “This is the last time you are questioning me. If you tried to teach me how to do my work, I would stop holding back.”

Tex was put in his place, and Shi Lang did not give him any face. But, on the contrary, he wanted to attack Shi Lang when the snow fox said, “Do you intend to die?”

Her voice was cold, and a cluster of tails appeared behind her tailbone. Shi Lang looked at her and said, “Calm down.”

Crystal said, ‘Boss, you can do whatever you want to me, but this bastard. He has always been cocky and needs to know his place. How dare he talk back to you and especially accuse you of cowardice? Humph, he has never even killed anyone and is calling you.”

Shi Lang said, “Stop it, Crystal. It is alright.”

Tex snorted, and huge wings appeared on his back. The wings were black and gold, shining with a unique luster. Shi Lang was surprised to see the two people transforming to fight with each other. He sighed and said, “Fine, I will call the elders and have you both pull out of the mission. Then you can deal with their wrath for embarrassing the clans.”

The two people who were ready to go at each other calmed down and snorted at each other before turning their heads away. Shi Lang patted his chest and said, “Now, kids, you all are missing the point here.”

They both glared at him while Crystal was annoyed, and Tex was angry at being called the kid. Shi Lang sighed and said, “How I miss the ace division. They would have understood things by now.”

After a pause, Shi Lang said, “The missions are decided to have certain goals. We must never look away from our goals, even if we have time or resources. The reason for that is the welfare of your comrades. Tex, look at Hiro and Malco. Would you be able to live in peace if something happened to them when they went inside the enemy territory without many details?”

Tex was surprised, he did not consider that his teammates may be good, but there was always the element of injury or death in such situations. Tex was too used to working alone that he never realized this fact.

pàпdá-ňᴏνêι.сóМ

…

Inside the exile city stood the buildings with their glory in shambles. This city seemed dead at first glance. However, this was all a cover. At this moment, a group of youngsters was moving through the streets and coming to the city’s central part. There was a park where a big hole had been dug out.

The group walked to the hole’s edge and found a flight of stairs leading them to its depths. The group walked in without hesitating. It seemed as if they knew where they were going. They climbed down for a few minutes before they stood in front of a group of people, all holding their phaser guns against the group.

One of the men from the group stepped forward and said, “Team scythe has returned from duty. Thank you.”

The guard waved his hand, and the armed weapons were taken down. The man said, “Sir if you allow me to pass. I have something that must be reported immediately.”

The guard nodded and said, “Fine, get going.”

These people had the standard military protocol in place. They allowed the team to pass through and headed deeper into the tunnel. The team was moving through the tunnel and came to an area bustling with activity. There were thousands of people gathered inside this place.

If Shi Lang were to witness this sight, he would have called for help. Every person here was a cultivator above the core condensation realm. This crowd was a mini army. They will only be able to survive with two of them. The wolves were all united, and when they hunted in a pack, even tigers would find it hard to stay alive.

The team headed to a cavern-like place, and the leader said, “Sir, I have something to report.”

An old voice sounded, “Come in.”

The leader walked inside and knelt on the ground. In front of him, an old man was sitting in the void. The old man asked, “What is it?”

The young man gulped and said, “Sir, on the western side, me and my team made contact with a girl. But unfortunately, she vanished before we could interrogate her.”

The old man opened his eyes wide and said, “Oh, it is fine, you can ignore it. There must be some child that rushed over to see what the exile city is like.”

The old man did not say anything more and spread out his spirit sense to communicate with someone residing deeper in the grotto.