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While Dogun was instinctively sensing something was off and scrambled to find a way to handle that oddly prickly feeling, Yoonseo and the expedition team had successfully built a simple but sturdy barrier using the containers that were employed for transporting supplies. They gathered for a moment to move on to the next stage.

“Is the barrier construction finished now?”

“Well, there are still a few areas where the sensor installation isn’t complete… but the personnel assigned to that task are still working hard, so for now, it seems safe to assume we’re good.”

“I see. So what about the areas where installations are complete?”

“…Excuse me?”

Perhaps she didn’t comprehend the meaning right away, judging by her expression.

Understanding that, I swallowed a sigh that almost slipped out and explained further.

“I mean, the sensors that were installed. Are they all functioning properly?”

Given that their lives were on the line in this operation just like ours, they should have handled it well, but it was important to make sure. Considering the need for everyone to feel at ease made it all the more necessary.

After my question, it seemed she finally grasped what kind of answer I was seeking.

The RK Guard team leader, who was sitting directly across from me, wore a look of enlightenment that passed over her face before she quickly nodded.

“Ah, of course.”

Her voice sounded reassuring enough, but…

It still felt a bit lacking.

What was needed now was nearly a belief close to certainty.

“May I ask how the tests were conducted?”

That’s why I posed that question.

Fortunately, it seemed she understood my intent.

Even though it couldn’t have felt good to be interrogated like this by someone much younger, the team leader answered my questions quite willingly.

“Well, um…”

From the explanation that started like that, I felt certain that at least within this forward base, I could relax a bit.

Recycling the containers used to transport supplies to build the barrier and bringing along sensors for that very purpose showed how thoroughly they had prepared, but I never expected they would go that far.

“If you don’t mind, could I take a look at that dummy?”

“Ah, yes. I anticipated you might ask that, so I brought one with me.”

And just like that, a small device appeared on the meeting table, enough to evoke admiration from those seated around.

It was claimed to have been used to confirm whether the various sensors mounted on the barrier were functioning normally, but could there have been more reasons behind removing those devices?

The machine described as a test dummy actually looked like a practically miniature drone.

It was indeed made for such purposes, as I could see it flying within the meeting room for a short while.

I had heard that the RK Guard had put everything on the line for this expedition, but I never expected they would prepare something like that as well.

‘Sure, thinking about it, it makes sense…’

Those things could be produced pretty easily if you throw in some money, but teams that have worked together for long periods are a different story.

Moreover, relying solely on human eyesight for exploration has its inherent limitations.

Of course, while talent can enable overcoming even that, it’s only if someone with such abilities is included in the expedition team, and from what I heard before we departed, none of the first dispatched personnel possessed such talent.

Since the deployment site was indeed an unusual place, I had thought that was to be expected… but seeing this, it wouldn’t have hurt to have one or two individuals with specialized talents in that area.

Well, that’s just hindsight talking anyway.

As I was finalizing an additional line to be added to the report sent to the association, the meeting continued.

“Um… it seems we’ve talked enough about the barrier, how’s the communication going?”

“Ah, well…”

“Feel free to speak casually.”

I added that to relieve any pressure, but for someone representing the negative news, it seemed that alone was insufficient to ease their mind.

After a moment’s hesitation, the equipment officer let out a sigh and began to speak.

“For starters… it seems we’ll have to give up on wireless communication.”

“Why is that?”

“Because of efficiency.”

Efficiency, huh.

Thinking back, it seemed the team responsible for setting up the communication equipment was quite busy, but did it not go well after all?

“Strictly speaking, it’s not that wireless communication is completely impossible… but as soon as you move just a little farther away, the communication state becomes extremely unstable.”

“Just how far are we talking about?”

“That would be… anything over 10 meters, it seems.”

Ten meters?

That was much shorter than I had imagined.

And if that was true, it would indeed be wise to give up on wireless communication, as they said.

If the communication became so unstable that one couldn’t discern what the other was saying over a distance of ten meters, what’s the point of being wireless?

“Why is that?”

“We’re currently investigating.”

“I see. Then, are there no issues with wired communication?”

“At least for now, but… it seems because of the peculiarities of the atmosphere here, the durability of components seems to wear down extremely quickly.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, relatively sturdy ones hold up a bit better, but the weaker ones wear down at a noticeably fast speed.”

“Is it severe?”

“…Yes.”

If they were that serious about pointing out the problem, it was safe to say that the situation was quite dire.

Sigh…

Given the location, I certainly expected it wouldn’t be easy, but I never anticipated issues would arise starting from this aspect.

Was it really just an unexpectedly troublesome kind of issue?

Since it fell outside of the range of what we expected, I had no idea how to respond.

Naturally, it began to give me a headache.

It would have been somewhat better if that was the only problem… but of course, it wasn’t just that.

“Um…”

“What is it now?”

“It’s not everyone, but many team members seem uneasy.”

“Why is that?”

“Well… they say the ground feels like it’s alive…”

So now it was the ground.

I couldn’t really blame the people for feeling that way.

It felt inappropriate to say anything to those guys… whether they were mistaken or if it genuinely felt that way remained unresolved, but separating that, it seemed impossible not to have such thoughts considering the situation.

The ground was made up of materials that looked like flesh with the skin peeled off… and it’s only natural that the ones witnessing that would feel uneasy.

It would be a relief if it was merely an exterior concern, but if there was a chance those things were really alive, who knows when they might start squirming and seeking to engulf us.

“So what’s the plan?”

Luckily, it seemed they had some preliminary ideas on that front.

“For now… we’re thinking of using the supplies we brought to cover the ground completely…”

“Is that feasible?”

“Yes, we can just redirect the metal plates intended for reinforcing the barrier to the floor.”

“Then let’s proceed with that.”

Metal plates are easy enough to request more of.

The association had pledged full support for the expedition team.

So requesting a few more plates wouldn’t be a burden on that support.

“Then we’ll handle the ground-related issues that way… Next, we need to complete the communication line installation before we can request additional supplies from the association.”

“I’ll try to rush that as much as possible.”

That was all good.

Everything was fine until that point, but… I couldn’t help but wonder why it had become so natural for me to seem like I was leading these people.

Was it because of how I acted when the Another Ones stormed in as a group earlier? Is that what led to this?

If so, that really would be a troublesome situation.

After all, I had never once wished to play a leading role.

 

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