Being able to train even Elite Four-level trainers... this Ghost World Lineage sounded like a powerful organization rooted here, maintaining the balance between both worlds.
The "Ghost World Turmoil" mentioned in the SS-rank mission seemed more complex than imagined. Even an organization like this was on high alert.
Two guards stood at the fortress gate, wearing dark gray standard leather armor, their faces expressionless.
Floating beside each of them was a Haunter with a calm aura.
Rex stepped forward and presented his hunter badge and mission credentials again.
After careful inspection, one guard nodded and said in a completely flat tone: "Thunder Hammer Squad, mission is crystal cluster collection. Enter the registration area."
The gate slid inward silently, and an even denser cold aura than outside hit them in the face, mixed with faint herbal scents and some kind of incense.
The fortress interior was spacious, with polished dark stone slabs for flooring and walls embedded with softly glowing white crystals.
Personnel came and went hurriedly, most with grave expressions, accompanied by well-trained Ghost-type Pokémon.
The squad was guided to a room resembling a reception hall.
The room's furnishings were simple: just a few stone chairs and a massive stone table. Behind the table sat a woman.
She appeared to be around thirty, wearing a well-tailored deep purple outfit with an antique-styled black short cloak over it.
The woman had attractive features and neat short black hair with a few strands hanging over her forehead, but her eyes carried an ice-cold aloofness that kept people at a thousand miles' distance, along with obvious fatigue.
She was looking down, quickly flipping through a scroll in her hands, her brow deeply furrowed.
When the squad entered, she looked up, her gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on Captain Rex.
Her eyes were sharp, as if they could see through people's hearts, carrying the scrutinizing air of someone long in a position of authority.
"Thunder Hammer Squad? Shadow crystal cluster collection mission?" Her voice, like her appearance, was crisp, decisive, and cold.
"Yes, ma'am."
Under this aura, even Rex unconsciously restrained his usual attitude and straightened his back.
"We're here to report, preparing to head to Shadow Valley for the mission."
The woman set down the scroll, leaned forward slightly, crossed her hands on the table, and announced in a completely flat tone:
"Listen. The mission is now canceled."
"What?" The respect on Rex's face was instantly replaced by shock.
"Canceled? Why? We signed a commission contract! Silph Company..."
"The Ghost World Tide has erupted."
The woman cut him off, her tone sharp. "Just two hours ago. Right now, the entire outer ring and parts of the deep layers are on high alert. Forget your mission. All non-emergency, non-essential exploration missions are suspended. This is a direct order from Nightwatch headquarters."
Lena and Barton's expressions changed instantly.
Lena couldn't help speaking: "Ghost World Tide? How could it be so sudden? We had no news at all..."
"Ghost World matters don't need to be explained to you."
The woman's gaze swept coldly over Lena with a trace of impatience. "That's the situation. Mission canceled. You can choose to leave the Ghost World immediately, and the guild will provide basic compensation. Or..."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the squad members again.
"If you're confident enough in your strength and willing to take the risk, you can stay and help us handle the Ghost World Tide. Of course, the reward will be very generous. Double what your original mission promised."
"Double?!"
Rex gasped, his eyes widening instantly.
Silph Company's price was already quite good, and doubled...
250,000! This was absolutely a huge sum that would make any bounty hunter's heart race!
Lena and Barton's eyes also flashed with interest, but it was quickly tempered by the pressure brought by those three words "Ghost World Tide." Obviously, they knew what the Ghost World Tide meant.
"What is... the Ghost World Tide?"
Kairos's voice rang out in the silence, breaking the atmosphere while sounding somewhat out of place.
The woman seemed to truly notice Kairos's excessively young face for the first time, along with the astonishingly powerful, abnormally large Gengar behind him and the Chandelure radiating cold flames.
Her gaze lingered on Gengar for a moment, a flash of barely perceptible surprise crossing her eyes before quickly returning to normal.
"Ghost World Tide," she looked at Kairos, her tone still flat but with less of the previous sternness.
"You can understand it as a large-scale, chaotic eruption of Ghost World energy."
"It causes native Ghost Pokémon in the Ghost World to become extremely violent with greatly increased aggression, possibly even awakening some slumbering powerful existences."
"Space also becomes extremely unstable. Those who enter lose their sense of direction, energy detection devices malfunction, and the danger level is several times higher than normal. Historically, every large-scale Ghost World Tide has been accompanied by many deaths."
She paused and added, "So, the choice is yours. If you want to leave, you can go to the teleportation hall now. If you stay, you'll need to sign a new temporary employment contract, obey our commands, and be responsible for your own life and death."
Rex's facial muscles twitched, clearly engaged in intense internal struggle.
The doubled reward was too tempting, but he'd heard plenty about the Ghost World Tide's fierce reputation.
Still, as a bounty hunter, this wasn't his first time facing mortal danger.
He gritted his teeth and looked at Lena and Barton.
Lena's eyes flickered, but she ultimately nodded, and Arbok hissed as it flicked its tongue.
Though Barton remained silent, in this situation, silence was a form of consent.
"Screw it, let's do it!" Rex slapped his thigh and turned to the woman. "We'll stay! Double reward. You better keep your word!"
The woman's face showed no surprise; she simply nodded:
"Smart choice. The contract is here. Sign it."
She pushed over a parchment scroll.
Rex signed his name without hesitation and pressed his handprint. Lena and Barton followed suit.
When it was Kairos's turn, the woman looked at him and confirmed again:
"What about you? Young man. The Ghost World Tide is no joke. Your Pokémon are strong, but your experience..."
Her gaze swept over Gengar and Chandelure, the meaning clear.
Kairos didn't answer. He simply picked up the pen and signed his name on the contract, the action crisp and decisive.
His thinking was clear. The timing of the Ghost World Tide eruption was too coincidental.
This was very likely the beginning of the turmoil mentioned in the mission, so he had to stay and dig deeper to find clues and possibly complete that optional path.
As for danger?
Worst case scenario, if things went wrong, he'd just find a way to escape.
Seeing Kairos sign the contract, the last trace of doubt in the woman's eyes disappeared.
She collected the scroll and stood up: "Good. I'm Raven, the executor in charge of this area's outer perimeter security. Welcome to the temporary Nightwatch sequence. Now, you have your first mission."
Without wasting words, she pointed directly at a crude map drawn on some kind of parchment on the stone table: "The Ghost World Tide eruption point is deep in the outer ring, but now the shockwave has spread to areas near the teleportation fortress."
"We have a seven-person squad stationed at the third outpost. That's one of the key passages from the outer ring into the deep layers. Right now, the first wave of many Ghost Pokémon impacts has covered that area."
"Their supplies, especially the Focus Potions used to stabilize the mind and resist the 'Wind,' are almost depleted and need replenishment."
She pushed a small metal box of special material in front of Rex. The box was branded with the Ghost World Lineage's emblem: an abstract eye pattern with a pupil formed by ghostly blue flame patterns.
"Your mission is to safely deliver this box of supplies to the third outpost and hand it to their captain, Iron Rock. The route is marked on the map."
Raven's gaze swept over everyone.
"I must remind you, during the Ghost World Tide, spatial disturbance is severe. Any directional instruments will fail, including the compass on your hunter badges. Moreover, berserk Ghost Pokémon are everywhere and extremely dangerous. Does anyone still want to withdraw?"
Rex picked up the box. It was heavy in his hands.
He grinned, revealing a fierce smile.
"No turning back once the arrow is loosed! Third outpost, right? Leave it to us. As long as there's money, there's nothing we can't do."
Lena and Barton also nodded.
Seeing this, Raven continued:
"Additionally, you may encounter wandering Ghost Pokémon on the road. Be careful. After completing the mission, the base portion of the doubled reward will be paid to you immediately. Any other questions?"
Rex looked at the winding route marked with various danger symbols on the map, his head hurting already:
"Executor Raven, this... without directional equipment, just relying on this map... the Ghost World is already easy to get lost in, and now..."
"That's a difficulty you need to overcome."
Raven cut him off without hesitation.
"We Nightwatchers never rely on external tools when executing missions. If you can't do it, withdrawing now is still an option."
Her gaze carried a trace of barely perceptible pride.
Kairos's gaze fell on the map.
Those crude lines and vague markings would indeed be useless under the Ghost World Tide's interference.
But for him, navigation... really wasn't a problem.
He discreetly pulled up the system panel and directly activated the terrain generation module, beginning to generate a map of the entire Ghost World area.
He'd entered the Ghost World too recently and with too much information; he'd only just remembered this.
"No problem." Kairos spoke calmly, his voice not loud, but causing both the somewhat anxious Rex and Raven to look over. "I can lead the way."
"You?" Rex looked at him in astonishment, then at the Gengar floating behind him.
"Are you relying on its sensing? Under the Ghost World Tide's energy turbulence, even Ghost-type Pokémon's perception will be greatly disrupted!"
Raven also frowned slightly, clearly not believing Kairos had any particularly good method.
Kairos didn't explain, simply saying flatly: "Just follow me."
Raven stared at him for several seconds, seemingly trying to find traces of arrogance or bluffing on his face, but only saw calm.
She finally nodded, her tone still cold.
"Fine. Deliver the supplies, complete the mission. Remember, time is tight. Iron Rock and his team can't hold out much longer. Depart."
And so, their squad, carrying that heavy supply box, once again stepped onto the Ghost World's desolate, cold earth. Leaving the weak mental force field protection of the Nightwatch fortress, that feeling of the "Wind" immediately became clearer.
This wasn't physical wind, but an invisible, continuous mental erosion, like cold fine needles pricking at one's mind, making people irritable and unable to concentrate.
Lena immediately activated her Focus Charm, and a layer of faint white light enveloped her.
Barton's Golem also emitted a denser earthy-yellow glow, protecting him within it.
Rex and Machoke relied on strong will and constitution to endure, but their expressions were clearly much more grave, obviously finding this task very taxing.
Kairos walked at the front. Gengar circled around him, shadow energy pervading and enveloping him, instantly blocking most of the "Wind's" erosive sensation.
He casually chose directions, the cracked black soil and jagged strange rocks beneath his feet continuously extending forward.
"Hey, man, do you actually know the way?"
After walking for about ten minutes, the surrounding environment remained almost unchanged: only endless desolation and distorted black withered trees in the distance.
Rex couldn't help asking in a low voice, his tone carrying doubt and anxiety.
"Uh, not that I have anything against you, but I'm saying, this direction... seems different from the map? The route Raven gave was northeast-ish, but we seem to be constantly going northwest?"
Lena also frowned, her fingers rubbing Arbok's cold scales.
Beside Barton, the Golem was constantly scanning the surroundings vigilantly.
"The map is already useless under the Ghost World Tide."
Kairos didn't look back, his steps not stopping.
"Didn't she just say? Right now the Ghost World's energy flow is chaotic, space is folded and twisted. Following the map will only take us further from the target."
"Then how do you know which way to go?"
Rex raised his voice.
Kairos didn't answer, his vision falling on the panel only he could see before him.
A clear, three-dimensional topographical map covering a ten-kilometer radius was in his field of vision.
Where relatively stable safe paths were, where violent energy turbulence formed vortexes, where heat source concentration zones of Ghost Pokémon activity were: all clearly marked.
A winding green line avoiding all danger zones and pointing toward the third outpost's location on the map clearly extended through the complex terrain.
"Relying on intuition. Don't ask."
Kairos gave an answer that almost made Rex jump.
But he turned his steps and walked unhesitatingly into an area that looked even more rugged, filled with massive weathered rock pillars.
"You!"
Rex was at a loss for words, but seeing Kairos's confident back, and seeing no signs of danger around them, he could only steel himself and follow, muttering under his breath.
"Damn it, if we go the wrong way and everyone gets trapped here, I'll be the first to..."
His complaint wasn't finished when Kairos, leading the way ahead, suddenly stopped without warning and raised his hand to signal the three not to make a sound.