There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 571

Chapter 571: Chapter 565. Real Estate Scouting

Promptly after the sheet flare burned, they packed up the camp and left everything but the beacon. This time, instead of leaving a purification device, they tried to conceal the beacon’s existence. After all, no one would stay there to guard the device.

"Let’s go," Bassena led the group with a lighter step, even looking around the area as they went down the hill, humming. His mind started to draw some plan; cutting down some trees, replanting some, placing some structures...

He looked so happy and carefree, but so were the others, perhaps because they could rest in their territory for a bit once the field of fog was cleared.

Just as Jock reported, the way down the hill could be called a leisure trail compared to the path they usually take. It was a downslope meadow with sparse trees; they didn’t even need to zig-zag much. Thanks to Ashur and Bassena’s children of darkness clearing the place before, they didn’t even encounter any beasts. Truly a leisure walk to the ruin before they reached the lake.

"The buildings here didn’t seem as big as the main base," Han Shin commented.

"I think this is more like a small town or a village," Jock said and pointed to the east. "There was another similar-sized ruin in that direction. I guess the settlements in this part of the region consisted of those. Maybe if we find a shore, we’ll see a residual of port city."

"Maybe the ship team could find it," Bassena nodded. "There’s nothing in these ruins though, too bad..."

They didn’t need to look too keenly; the ruin was straightforward and mostly destroyed with not even any intact building. What seemed to be residential homes were located quite far away from each tower, giving an idea that the place might be some kind of farm or ranch.

"But wouldn’t it be a nice place once we cleared the Deathzone?" Han Shin said cheerfully. "It’s in a valley between a lake and a hill, perfect for retreats--you know, villas and such."

"Planning your future business already?"

"I’m thinking more of a retirement plan," Han Shin shrugged. "I can’t really live in a mountain."

Bassena laughed since it seemed like he wasn’t the only one who thought about their plan in this place once the Deathzone was cleared. It had a weird uplifting effect.

Honestly, they were feeling down and rather pessimistic after witnessing the Fallen Star’s clone during the war. They no longer joked about taking dibs on some plot of land like before, as their view of the future consisted of merely surviving the final battle.

But being able to think lightly about some future plan meant they had regained their confidence. Perhaps because things had worked well these days; finding the source of the fog right after finding another shard?

Almost felt like they could see the blue sky.

With that uplifting mood, they finally reached the meadow before the lake. It was a big enough lake that even had a shore. If the scary plantations around it were to be rid of, they could easily see a potential spot for tourism.

Hmm...if they made a viewing platform from the cliff or the hill, they could have a view of both the sea and the lake...Bassena stroked his chin with narrowed eyes as all kinds of calculation filled his brain.

How refreshing to think about something other than battle.

A piece of even better news: the lake was indeed the lake that Han Joon saw before, which meant Jock could officially integrate his map.

"Are we going to cross the lake?" Han Shin asked with a binocular stuck over his eyes.

Thankfully for Zein, his dark-vision goggles were equipped with a great zooming function. He tried to check the island in the middle of the lake, but all his goggles could see was a thick wall of trees. Seemed like the island--which was actually as big as a small village--was a jungle. He wondered if there was a dungeon or a shard nestled in the middle of that natural barrier, but...

"Crossing will be hard," Bassena said. "It’s too far to cross using platforms only, and we have no idea if some underwater beasts will come."

They had three supports including Zein, who would have to try and balance themselves on top of a platform while a fight that would create waves broke out around them. Crossing the water on foot was simply tricky unless they had a magician who could freeze the water.

"Never thought I’d say something like I miss Senia," Han Shin chuckled. "Hmm...so we’ll go round?"

"That seems to be a better option," Bassena said, glancing at the still incomplete map. "We need to check the area around the lake anyway."

Han Joon nodded in agreement. "Right, we don’t have that yet since the time was running out that night."

"The canyon should be that way," Jock pointed to their right side.

There seemed to be another hilly area on that path, but nothing looked complicated. Bassena smacked Han Shin’s back while grinning. "Hey, we’re not stranded in the end."

"Ugh--" Han Shin rubbed his back with pursed lips. "But we still haven’t found the Fallen Star’s dungeon..."

"Well, if we clear the fog, we can just return to the corridor through the desert," Bassena shrugged.

"Oh, that’s right!"

* * *

The journey to the canyon was even more leisurely.

They walked along the lakeside, and since it was a big open space, they could almost pretend that they had a night walk. Enemies who approached were sparse because they had been diligent about cleaning up, and those who remained were only at the level that Bassena’s children of darkness could dispatch.