"Venator Horatio Rex, the captain demands your presence in the main tent." He bellowed, loud enough to wake the F-Rank up.
"Is this demand urgent enough to interrupt my sleep like this?"
"The captain has spoken, F-Rank." The Venator practically spat. "You can sleep later. Get up."
Kumkani simply got up and followed the Aegis Venator over to the tent, where both the captain and his aide were standing in front of a series of monitors and equipment.
"I have brought him, Vice-Captain!" The Venator roared with a salute.
"At ease, Venator." The aide said awkwardly before looking at Rex. "Venator Rex, thank you for coming. I hope we didn't interrupt you."
"I was fast asleep, Vice-Captain. But it's no trouble. What do you wish of me?"
"Oh." She responded before glancing over at the man who had been tasked with asking for Rex's presence, before looking back at him. "I apologise for the inconvenience. It's just that we have been going over the capture footage from the various pins, and after going over yours, we have a few questions for you."
"Please feel free to ask."
"After leaving the wooded area, we found that almost everybody's pins no longer recorded audio. Even so, things were fairly obvious even without sound. As much as we haven't gone over all the footage, the shared experience of teams means that it's enough for us to just view one person's stuff. You, Venator Horatio Rex, are different. You entered the Zone alone, breached the boundary into that open area alone, and even entered and explored more of the city than anybody else. We see the footage, but would also like to hear your views about each area."
"Well, the first time I was here, the group I was with was wiped out in what I call the Forest Region, so this time, I just wanted to go further and see if there was anything beyond. Turns out there was, and the Powerplant Region while not particularly long, was flat barren with the exception of the Powerplant and that wide main road that was littered with vehicle wreckages. The City Region however is incredibly vast. I think I've explored two mini regions within the City Region, and considering what I saw in the distance, using low ranking freelance Venators like us will not be viable the deeper into the city you go."
"You mentioned a Powerplant… when did you see it?" The Vice-Captain inquired.
"You mean you didn't see it on anybody else's footage?"
"We just saw the weird zombie mutants." She replied with a slight shrug.
"If you go over my footage, there is a moment when an Irregularity occurs, and—"
"I'm sorry, a what?"
"Oh, it's what I call the weird rips and tears in space that lead to strange things happening, such as those isolated storm clouds and lightning strikes. Anyway, there is one that occurs as I am on that carriageway that lights up the whole area, showing just how vast the mutants were in number, as well as exposing the Nuclear Powerplant in the distance."
"Hey." The Captain bellowed as he looked at one of the people in the chairs overlooking the monitors. "Find it."
The person started to hack away furiously at the keyboard before him, until Rex's footage was not only on the screen, but also playing at high speed. As it did, the Venator was watching intently, waiting for the moment it happened.
"Slow it down from here. There will be a lightning bolt that will strike the ground, and illuminate the area. Looking at how wide the angle of the lense on this pin is, I'm sure you'll be able to see it."
Indeed, as they reached that point in the footage, the endless number of mutants and the Powerplant came into view for just a second.
"How did we not catch this the first time?" The Captain growled.
"We view these things in a rush the first time. Please calm down." The Vice-Captain replied. "Anyway, did you notice anything else in this Powerplant Region, Venator Rex?"
"Other than the numbers? No, not really. But it looks like those mutants are the only things left in the region."
"What makes you say that?"
"They are carnivorous in nature, yet not cannibalistic. They all chased after me, and I assume the other Venators, because we possess living flesh. Only after they failed to get me, did they turn on each other in anger and eat the weak."
"That makes sense." Everybody else agreed.
"Also… each Region appears to be blocked off from the next. The animals of the forest cannot cross into the wasteland of the Powerplant, and the mutants couldn't enter the city. We can move freely through them because we are not of the Zone. That is simply my hypothesis based on the mutants being unable to follow me in, but I cannot be sure at this time."
"That sounds fair." The aide said as she nodded and rubbed her chin. "What of the… you called it the City Region?"
"Yes, well, it has the most secrets to uncover. The Outskirts Region is home to humanoid monster races, as well as large, mixed variants of animals. The creatures in the city are also incredibly intelligent. I witnessed wolves using tactics while hunting, as well as carrying corpses away to store away for later consumption, although I cannot be sure about that, considering I don't know how large their pack back home was. But ten Goblins is no small amount. Also, what I've found is that the deeper one goes towards the center of the city, the more robust the flora is. I suspect the Central Region will be completely overrun with plant life. Also, there is a moment when I was observing a battle in which you can see not only how vast the city is, but how big the creatures in the center are. You'll have to be absolutely certain before even thinking about going there."
After bit more of a back and forth, and them going to that footage that showed the Behemoths in the distance, the debrief of sorts finally came to a close. Just as it seemed like the Vice-Captain was going to let Kumkani go, the giant Captain turned to face the F-Rank.
"Wait. There were… moments… where things went… dark. Why?"
"I can't be sure." Kumkani said, showing his slight annoyance at still being in the tent.
"Looking at the positioning of the pin, maybe his injured arm gets in the way when Venator Rex moves a certain way."
",,,maybe." The Captain said before snorting. "Dismissed."
Kumkani left the tent, and surprisingly, was followed by the Vice Captain.
"Venator Rex." She called out.
"Vice-Captain?"
"Sorry, I just noticed that your arm was burned pretty badly when you used that orange gem. Go see our Guild's Quarter Master, and give him this." She said as she slipped him a piece of paper. "It has a prescription for a large tub of Burn Grease – it'll help with the injury and heal it enough that you can use that arm in the field. We can't have you handicapped any further in there."
"You most certainly can have me further handicapped, but I appreciate the gesture nonetheless, Vice-Captain."
"Rest well, Venator Rex."
"Rest if you can, V.C."