Vroooom—.The trusty bike veered around and retraced our path. The anomaly blip was angling toward us. Fortunately, they hadn’t noticed our presence—only wandered, as if this stretch of road were their new playground.“We’re going back the way we came. It’ll take longer, but it’s safer.”“Okay.”“If you sense anything off, let me know.”I swallowed my promise to heed him and watched the red blip fade. Only two were in sight, but beyond the radar’s range who knew what lurked. We’d move in quietly, assess the surroundings, then decide whether to lure or lay a trap.“Jin Muhae.”After another twenty minutes on the alternate route, the arm around my waist suddenly tightened. I nodded to show I was listening.“What is it? What’s wrong?”“They’re here.”“Anomalies?”“No, something else.”With a quick flick, Joo-o raised his arm and pointed ahead. Following his pale fingertip, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ I saw nothing but shattered asphalt and dense woods. Still, after a month with him, I’d learned that if Joo-o sensed something, it really existed.“Dangerous?”“Probably not.”“Then it’s fine.”Even without flattery, I heard his laugh behind me—oddly cheerful. What was he so happy about?“If there’s more, I’ll tell you right away.”His breath tickled my neck and a reassuring hum vibrated through me. I took a deep breath, stiff-jawed, and accelerated toward the direction he’d pointed.Vroooom—.Soon Joo-o’s sharp eyes spotted something out of place. On the flat ground beside the road lay something black.“It looks like what we came in.”He leaned in close, chattering. Indeed, the dark, heavy metal chunk was a wrecked small craft. If you could still call it a plane—its wings were gone and the fuselage cracked in half.“But it looks bigger.”“Yeah.”It was certainly larger—and more valuable—than ours had been. Even shattered, salvaging parts would fetch a decent sum. Joo-o seemed about to dart forward, so I snatched his arm.“Hey. What did I tell you?”“…Stay put.”“If you can, stay.”Holding him firmly, I checked the radar—no life signs immediately around. Still, the way that fuselage was mangled irked me. One wing section looked smashed not by a crash but by a powerful blow. Something here had enough strength to pulverize thick metal—that meant anomaly, at best. I also wondered whether the Blue Energy fuel remained stable in the half-destroyed tank. One wrong move and it could explode.“Battery’s cold.”Joo-o tapped the craft’s belly as if to prove it. Indeed, the battery compartment was intact—no dent or damage. So long as we avoided extra shock, it wouldn’t detonate.“Here.”“Ugh.”Still muttering, he stepped back. I cautiously approached the wreck. As I’d guessed, the model had external panels designed to blend with surroundings—a far pricier, safer rig than the Company-issued U-pods. Inside the mangled hull, dust lay thick; no remains, no gear. Whoever left had been ambushed afterward.“Whose would this be?”Ignoring my warning, Joo-o inched closer. I was about to scold him, then resigned myself and pulled up the field report on my LINK watch.CME Exploration ReportBurkta 3-21 >> 7-08Blue Crystal Yield Variance CasesConfirm Crystal Fields [2/5]High Combat Probability: Request backup if over 2 direct contactsNumerous beast tracks found off-routeSite 5: Wrecked small craft discovered_Rustle. As I logged the update, Joo-o fluttered around the craft, poking at its exterior and tugging at torn seat fabric—until with a rip!“Hey—what are you doing?”He’d yanked the seat cover right off with his bare hands. Startled, I glared at him.“I wanted to see if there was anything inside.”He gave me a guilty look, then eyed the wreck’s interior as if he’d broken something precious.“There’s also stuff under our seats. You could’ve just folded them up.”“I was gonna, but…”He flexed his hand, as if embarrassed. But tearing off a steel-frame seat was absurd.“Move.”He backed off at that. I crouched to inspect where he’d torn the cover from the leftmost seat. There sat a neat white box marked with a red cross: a first-aid kit.Click. Confirming no traps, I opened it. Inside were staples for emergency sutures, hemostatic patches, antiseptic, bandages—just a standard medical kit. Everything was generic, except the logo wasn’t from any Goryeo City firm.‘Where’d this come from?’Mercenaries traded all sorts of goods; repackaged—but this antiseptic had an unfamiliar manufacturer. I raised an eyebrow and set the box on the ground. Useful, but unsettlingly out of place.Joo-o watched me, mouth agape.“Why discard it?”I offered no answer—just ignored him, as usual.Beep- Beep- Beep-!Two hours later, we reached our destination, looping around the anomaly-infested stretch. They were still detectable in the distance, but this route let us work more quietly than before. I stood before the brilliant Blue Crystals and summoned the holographic interface.Brrrip.16%31%52%…I held my breath as the gauge climbed, then glanced at Joo-o—sure he’d be staring delightedly at the device. But he was staring into the dark woods, nostrils flaring as if catching an unfamiliar scent.“…That way.”Without waiting, Joo-o stepped forward. I anxiously watched the holo: 88%—not finished.“Tell me before you move.”His red eyes met mine, but he only said,“Over there.”Then, like a ghost, he slipped into the forest.88%91%94%[Complete]The video vanished at 100%. Freed, I dashed after Joo-o. He hadn’t gone far—standing by a large tree trunk, staring into the shadows.“You act on your own again?”As I grabbed his shoulder, a foul stench brushed my nose—like stale condiments left to rot in a roadside stall.‘…’I knew that smell. Gripping the gear on my back, I watched Joo-o point into the dense gloom. There, among the undergrowth, lay dark red bones scattered about—patched here and there with bits of flesh, as if torn by gnashing teeth.“Damn.”I sighed. My gut had been uneasy for a reason: we’d stumbled on a corpse.

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