There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Chapter 19. Entangled Secret

During guiding, the guide and the esper were connected deeply with each other.

Just like how Zein could see Bassena's mana core, the esper could sense the fluctuating emotions inside the guide.

It affected the pure water washing away the chains inside of him. It was gentle before, the familiar feeling he had four years ago. But when the portable purification device was being brought up, the water started to become harsher—like a hose spraying strongly into a muddy field.

Bassena felt it instantly; agitation, impatient. The strong torrent of water also indicated something else; excitement.

And yet...why did he look sad, then?

Bassena watched as Zein frowned, staring keenly at the guide's downcast eyes. He didn't mind the fluctuating guiding, it still felt as good and refreshing, surprisingly. But he didn't like that look of pain that flashed on Zein's face for a few seconds.

"Zein..."

As if waking up from a stupor, the guide snapped his head up, eyes flicked into Bassena's keen gaze. He blinked once, twice, and then the water inside the esper turned gentle again.

"Ah, sorry," Zein muttered apologetically. It was obvious that he had never slipped up like this during guiding before.

Bassena wasn't the most emphatic person. No—people actually called him cold-blooded. But he had enough EQ to understand that Zein's reaction had something to do with his past. The guide's emotion fluctuated the most after the mention of having the terminal encompassing a city.

'It might...have something to do with the red-zone where he lived before,'

And Zein wanted the device to truly achieve that—a city large radius.

This time, it was Bassena that tightened up his grip. "It's okay," he said. He looked at their holding hands, and stared at them for quite some time.

Zein didn't ease his own hand, nor he told Bassena to loosen his grip. Perhaps the guide felt guilty for his slip of emotions earlier, although it hardly had any effect on the guiding itself. Whatever the reason, Bassena felt the urge to push his luck, and move his hand, waving his fingers on the guide's so their fingers were interlocking.

"It will happen," he muttered, softly, only for the guide to hear. "Someday, it will happen."

Bassena felt the guide stiffen, but soon, Zein relaxed his hand, and there was no indication of him pulling out the guiding hand.

* * *

Ron pressed his lips while his mind swirled after their briefing ended. He sat down at the dining table in deep pondering.

The implication of the portable barrier's possibilities was something beyond just a safety measure for dungeon diving or expedition. Of course, it would make dungeon raids easier, but the greater impact would be felt outside the dungeon.

If the device truly managed to reach a big enough radius to encompass a whole city—no, just a whole complex—they could create an artificial safe-zone. It didn't even have to be a complete safe-zone, just something like an orange-zone would be enough for a decent living environment. That would mean no more red-zone.

Ron sighed; even if that was the case, he didn't think the government would allow such a thing to operate, especially by a private company. And not just the government, but Sentinel Association too. After all, how else could the elites maintain their superiority without the existence of the less-privilege?

Power only thrived when there was no equality.

But that was only a possibility talk. Even just with the basic ability it had now, if an outbreak happened, this device could swiftly purify the contaminated land so the reconstruction of the impacted land could be done faster.

But would that be the end?

This borderland could be strengthened even more. Without constantly having to live in a hazardous atmosphere, both the espers and the guides should be able to do their job even more.

But something about their objective tickled the scout's keen sense further. Why did they need to test it inside the Deathzone? It would be enough just to bring the device inside a high-class dungeon.

The scout's eyes widened a little bit. If the device did manage to purify a large piece of land, then...could it be used to create a settlement inside the Deathzone?

Ron's eyes quaked for a bit as he suddenly arrive at the biggest impact this device could bring.

A reclamation.

For a full minute, Ron just sat still on his chair as if he was attacked with a freezing spell. Could humanity finally have a chance to reclaim the land beyond the Deathzone...

But the scout instantly shook his head. Crazy. That would be crazy. So crazy that he didn't think it would happen. In the first place, how much capital should be poured for such devices to be operated on a large scale? Even with Mortix's famously massive R&D fund, they only managed to develop it up to twenty meters radius.

That didn't mean it wouldn't happen in the future, though—

"Mister Ron, Mister Zen," Naomi's sudden voice broke Ron's pondering. He lifted his head to face the woman who walked toward the dining table with her usual business face. "I don't mean to question your integrity, but I still have to remind you that the contract you signed includes a secrecy clause."

"Of course, you don't have to worry about us, Miss Naomi. I'm not crazy enough to make problems with Mortix," Ron smiled. He was there when the inquiry came to the Captain, so he already knew this would be a case of 'whatever happens in the Deathzone stays in the Deathzone' kind of mission. "You don't need to worry about Zen either, he's the most tight-lipped person here. He would keep everything to himself even without any contract."

He turned his head to look at the guide, and so was Naomi. But Zein did not make any reply. His eyes were closed, and it was clear that he was concentrating deeply. It had been like that for a while, actually, as the room was filled with the scent of wet soil and spring brook for more than one hour now.

"You're still at it?" Ron raised his brow.

It was probably weird to ask this if it was any other guide. After all, there was nothing weird with hours-long guiding, especially for inexperienced guides or high-rank espers.

But Zein wasn't an inexperienced guide. He was a veteran that was known for his speed and efficiency. It took him only twenty minutes to bring Ron's corrosion down two levels last night. Personally, Ron had never seen Zein guiding a single person this long before.

"Almost done," the blue eyes opened, their light had dimmed to signal the coming end of the session.

"Whoa..." the scout remarked in surprise. So a Saint-class truly was something else.

Naomi, who saw the wonder on Ron's face asked in confusion. "Why do you look surprised?"

"Because I am," Ron leaned back on his chair, looking at Zein amusedly. "It's the longest I've seen him spend on someone."

"Really?" Naomi didn't look or sound amused. "Isn't it normal to guide a Saint-class esper for hours?"

"That's right," Han Shin left the couch and joined them on the dining table, exchanging gazes with Bassena, who raised his brow with a smirk. "I never seen guides cleanse him less than two hours even just for a half-level down. Well, unless they faint first..."

"Faint?"

"You know, mental exhaustion," the healer shrugged his shoulder. "And they said his system is scary," he smirked at Bassena mockingly.

Ron looked at Zein again, who was still unbothered by all the conversation; no sign of exhaustion, much less looked like he was about to faint. He smiled, like a proud uncle—colleague. "There's no such thing as mental exhaustion in Zen's dictionary,"

Naomi rolled her eyes at that. "If your guide hit mental exhaustion just after an hour of guiding session, we should reconsider the con—"

"Naomi," Bassena cut her, and the Mortix's representative stiffened, words caught in her throat. Bassena didn't use any reprimanding tone, but Naomi was frozen like a chided child, just turning her body respectfully at the Saint-class.

"Y-yes, Sir?"

"Measure me," Bassena commanded shortly, which prompted her to scurry over toward the corner that held some equipment.

While Naomi went to retrieve the corrosion measuring device, Han Shin talked again. "You know...back home, we never let Bas reach more than orange-level. It's exhausting the guides that had to cleanse him, so he did it as often as possible," the healer looked at Bassena as if he was some annoying anomaly. "But even then, he never really 'clean' you know..."

Han Shin held up his hands and gestured for apostrophes with his fingers. "That's why we want at least two guides yesterday," he watched as Naomi came back with the device and started to measure Bassena. "Honestly, it's good enough if mister guide here doesn't faint—"

Before Han Shin could finish his sentence, however, it was cut by Naomi's gasp as she stared at the measuring device, prompting the other to look at her.