Shirou quickly arrived at where Rosmontis and Blaze were stationed. He could see several other people inside fiddling with devices in their hands.
Judging from the appearance, they were undoubtedly communicators.
"Are we already going to use the communicators now?"
Walking closer, Shirou asked.
Because Originium interfered with the operation of communicators, their effective range was generally not very far.
The reason this location had been chosen was precisely because it was still within the operational range of some higher-end communicators.
The effective range was extremely limited. Unlike inside a mobile city, where there was a large amount of supporting equipment available for connection, operations out in the wilderness did not have such conditions.
These were all things Shirou had been hastily taught over the past few days. It was complicated, but for Shirou, he only needed to remember one thing.
Once the communicator exceeded a certain range, it would stop functioning.
That was why he found it strange. Logically speaking, they should have waited until the other group reached Chernobog before attempting to establish communication, so why were they starting now?
"There is a bit of a problem. The Originium concentration is somewhat high, and signal reception is not very good."
The operator handling the communicator did not raise his head, continuing to adjust the device in his hands while briefly explaining the situation.
"High Originium concentration... is it because of the Catastrophe?"
Hearing that, Shirou frowned.
There was no way the Originium concentration in an area would suddenly spike for no reason. Since there had already been a Catastrophe warning here, Shirou naturally linked the two together.
"We are not sure... According to the Catastrophe Messenger's estimates, the Catastrophe should only arrive several days later, but we cannot rule out the possibility of it happening earlier."
The operator manipulating the communicator spoke. As he finished speaking, the communicator in his hand began emitting sounds.
However, it was only static. No voices could be heard.
Clearly, the communicator had failed to connect with Amiya's group.
"As you can see, we already cannot establish communication before they have even entered the city. The interference will only become worse after they enter, so there is no way communication will work then. That is why I asked you to come over first and understand the situation."
Watching the communicator emit static noise, Blaze spoke from the side.
Unlike usual, Blaze's expression looked rather grim.
Which was understandable. Under the current circumstances, Amiya's side had no way to contact the outside world, namely them. If any unexpected situation occurred, things could become disastrous.
Thinking that, Shirou shifted his gaze from the communicator toward Blaze and the operator before saying:
"This situation is absolutely terrible. Should we not think of a way to call them back?"
"No. We already urgently sent additional operators to explain the situation to them. Thankfully they have not entered the city yet, otherwise it really would have been troublesome. The main reason we called you here is because we want you to board the aircraft and circle around the area to check for anything unusual."
Blaze shook her head. The option Shirou mentioned would only be chosen under the worst possible circumstances.
The main reason they had called Shirou over was because they needed his abilities to investigate whether there were any abnormalities nearby. If there were, they would need to either inform the operators who had already departed or find a way to eliminate the issue.
This job should normally have been handled by a Catastrophe Messenger or other operators skilled in using telescopes, but under the current environment filled with endless yellow sand, it was difficult for ordinary people to see clearly.
So when Rosmontis mentioned Shirou, Blaze immediately decided to ask for his help.
"I can do it. Are we departing now?"
After understanding the situation, Shirou did not refuse.
At worst, he would just be boarding an aircraft and acting as a human telescope. There was no reason to decline.
Besides, he was also worried about Amiya's group. Although Blaze said additional operators had already been dispatched, the inability to maintain timely communication still made him uneasy.
"Yeah. We will go with you. Are you bringing the people from Penguin Logistics too?"
Seeing how readily Shirou cooperated, Blaze did not waste any more words and prepared to move immediately.
This was exactly the kind of teammate she liked most. Someone who did not ask a bunch of strange questions and simply got things done when there was work to do.
"Let them come too. If it is just me alone, I might miss something... and besides, if I do not bring them along, it feels like I will get lectured after we come back."
After thinking for a moment, Shirou decided to bring the others with him.
It definitely was not because he was worried about being surrounded by four people nagging at him nonstop. It was because having more people meant covering a wider field of vision.
"You people really are close... Go gather them first. We will regroup here later. We also need to make some preparations on our side."
After teasing Shirou about that last remark, Blaze immediately urged him to hurry and find the others.
The situation was not looking optimistic right now. There was no time for casual chatting.
"I will go with Shirou."
Rosmontis, who had been silently standing to the side for a long time, suddenly followed Shirou as he left, leaving behind a stunned Blaze and the overwhelmed operators.
At that moment, Blaze felt strangely abandoned.
If circumstances allowed it, she definitely would have chased after them, but right now she still had her duties as an Elite Operator to complete.
Quickly adjusting her mood, Blaze threw herself fully back into her work.
Meanwhile, Shirou was moving at high speed toward where the Penguin Logistics group was, but after hearing footsteps behind him, he finally slowed slightly and turned toward the source of the sound.
It was Rosmontis jogging toward him.
"Hah... I am coming with you."
After finally catching up to Shirou, Rosmontis first let out a sigh of relief before grabbing onto the Rhodes Island combat jacket he was wearing.
The main reason she had chased after him was because Shirou seemed somewhat off today.
There was something difficult to describe about it. She herself did not really understand it either.
But Amiya had once told her that if she ever felt Blaze seemed off, or looked like she was suffering, then all she needed to do was stay by her side.
That was why she had chased after him.
As for Blaze... she believed Blaze could handle things properly.
"Alright."
Shirou did not reject Rosmontis's goodwill. At the same time, he slowed his pace slightly so that she could keep up with him.
Though even then, they were still moving much faster than usual.
Very quickly, the four members of Penguin Logistics spotted the pair, one large and one small, approaching them. Judging from the expression on Shirou's face, they could tell that whatever he had been called away for earlier was definitely not good news.
"That is quite the serious expression. Hurry and pack your things up, everyone. Looks like we might be starting work earlier than expected."
Seeing Shirou's expression, Exusiai hurriedly began organizing her ammunition while reminding the others as well.
Compared to her needing to sort through all her etched ammunition, however, the others simply grabbed their weapons and were immediately ready to go. Moments like this always made her especially envious.
Envious or not, though, there was no way she would ever give up her guns.
Without apple pie and guns, she would probably die.
"Pack up quickly. We are boarding an aircraft to scout ahead."
After approaching them and seeing that everyone was already fully equipped, Shirou immediately got straight to the point.
After briefly explaining the situation, the members of Penguin Logistics also understood what they were supposed to do next.
"Uwah... this mission feels like it is going to be dangerous."
After roughly understanding the situation, Croissant sighed.
They had only just arrived. They had not even unloaded their belongings from the vehicle yet, and work had already come knocking.
And the high Originium concentration was definitely not good news either. It meant they were all exposed to an environment where infection was possible.
Working under conditions like this was indeed extremely dangerous.
Not only Croissant, but everyone else, including Shirou himself, realized this as well.
"Put these on first. They are not especially useful, but they are still better than nothing."
Projecting four Lungmen Guard Department combat masks and handing them to the group, Shirou spoke.
After the previous operation, Ch'en had specifically made him go through another inspection and told him that these offered slightly better protection than the gas masks Shirou himself had been using one before. They were also more convenient to wear.
As for Rosmontis, as an Elite Operator, she naturally carried this kind of equipment with her already, so there was no need for him to worry.
"Shirou, are you not wearing one?"
Although she was not particularly fond of equipment bearing the Lungmen Guard Department insignia, since Shirou had projected them and they did not exactly have the luxury to complain right now, Exusiai could only obediently start figuring out how to wear the thing.
Then she noticed that Shirou did not seem to have any intention of putting one on himself, so she asked about it.
"Me? There is no point in me using one. It would only interfere with my movements."
Faced with Exusiai's question, Shirou did not hide the truth, though he also did not explain it very clearly.
After dealing with so many cryptic people for so long, casually saying a few vague and unclear things had become perfectly natural for him.
"Huh?"
Hearing Shirou say that, Exusiai felt as if the halo above her head was about to turn into a glowing question mark.
"...Is that how it is?"
Compared to the utterly confused expressions of the others, Texas processed things a little faster.
Honestly, it was not difficult to guess. Shirou had previously taken Originium explosives head-on before, and on top of that, he had once openly admitted that he was not from Terra... naturally, that possibility became believable.
Though it was still somewhat difficult to accept.
At the same time, however, it also explained why Rhodes Island valued Shirou so highly.
"Huh? Texas, did you figure something out?"
Hearing her teammate mutter something behind her, Exusiai's attention immediately shifted toward Texas.
If Sora and Croissant had not looked equally confused, she might have started wondering whether she was being excluded.
No, wait. Thinking about it now, that somehow seemed even worse. Since when had Shirou and Texas become close enough to share little secrets like this?
"It is something you can figure out if you think about it a bit more."
Seeing Exusiai's shocked expression, Texas sighed helplessly.
"Ohhh..."
After hearing Texas's explanation, Exusiai first revealed an expression of sudden realization.
Then immediately afterward, she displayed a profoundly foolish look that clearly showed she still had absolutely no idea what was going on.
"Then just quietly put your mask on."
Seeing the expression on her teammate's face, Texas no longer felt like explaining anything. She directly took the mask from Exusiai's hands and put it on for her herself.
The key feature of the mask was that it fully covered the nose and mouth, protecting the user from inhaling excessive Originium dust in areas with high Originium concentration.
Of course, that protection only applied to the respiratory system. If someone already had open wounds on their body, then the mask would not save them.
After Texas forcibly put the mask on her, Exusiai became noticeably more obedient.
Mostly because she had been intimidated.
As far as Exusiai was concerned, if Texas genuinely became angry, then Shirou was no longer the issue at all.
Compared to Shirou, she feared this side of Texas much more. Shirou was always so gentle that people could not help wanting to tease him a little, but Texas...
If she tried messing with Texas in this kind of mood, then afterward Texas would definitely stare at her with a terrifying look for a very long time.
She was afraid.
After Exusiai finally settled down, the rest of the group also quieted down.
The Rhodes Island operators busily moving around nearby all looked extremely tense. At a time like this, they understood that fooling around and joking was not appropriate.
When it was time to have fun, they could become as lively as possible.
But when it was time to get serious, they were serious as well.
Just like now.
"You are back? We are almost done preparing on our side. We can depart at any time."
Blaze, who had been helping organize supplies unloaded from the aircraft, immediately stood up after seeing Shirou's group return. She grabbed her chainsaw and spoke.
At the same time, she had already put on a protective mask. Not only her, but the other Rhodes Island operators who had been working nearby had also put theirs on, and they were currently spreading the instruction to everyone else.
"Only us?"
Shirou glanced around at the people present. Other than himself and the pilot, there were only Blaze, Rosmontis, and the four members of Penguin Logistics.
That was a rather small number of people.
"Yeah, just us. We still need to leave some people behind to guard this place. Besides, with us here, there is no need for too much manpower."
Facing Shirou's question, Blaze nodded confidently.
"...Understood. Then we leave now?"
Even through the mask, Shirou felt as though he could still see the confident smile on her face.
She always wore that kind of self-assured expression.
"Alright then, everybody onboard! Get the binoculars ready for me. As for the communicators, we will try to maintain contact as much as possible. If something goes wrong, I will fire a signal flare."
After receiving confirmation to depart, Blaze instructed everyone to board the aircraft first. Meanwhile, she pulled aside the operator who had been trying to establish communication with Amiya's group earlier, exchanged a few words with him, then boarded the aircraft carrying several pairs of binoculars.
"..."
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Shirou felt that the operator's expression looked somewhat dark.
Still, whether that operator looked upset or not was unimportant. What mattered was the operation ahead.
The Originium concentration in an area could not suddenly spike for no reason. This was definitely a sign that something was about to happen.
Or perhaps...
A man-made disaster?
Thinking that, Shirou felt the uneasiness inside him grow even stronger.
"I hope I am just overthinking things."
Shirou quietly muttered to himself. If possible, he hoped he was simply worrying too much.
Because if it really was the latter...
Then that would mean everyone here, including Penguin Logistics and Amiya's group preparing to enter Chernobog, would all be exposed to danger.