Reboot: Mechanic

When Mary checked on her watch and made sure to double-check again, she was somewhat disappointed to not see a single enemy. 

"I already expected that the Gilaso might change their habitat, but it's still a disappointment now that we have arrived." Mary voiced her displeasure. 

"We can investigate ahead and check for ourselves," Shi Tian suggested. Just because the Iron Sentinel scanner didn't detect any enemies, doesn't mean they can't find other clues as to where the Gilaso monsters had gone.

Mary nodded her head.

"Mhm, we should investigate and see if we can trace their footsteps. The Gilaso might be variants, but they also moved in groups, so that should make it easier for us to trace." She calmly said. 

And with that mindset, both Shi Tian and Mary began exploring deeper, though with a much more cautious movement.

The Gilaso might have left the habitat, but that doesn't mean it was safe to explore around. Gilaso are venomous and their marks could still leave some places with high toxins.

Thus, to avoid complications or getting poisoned, they needed to be careful and watch their movements.

"The ground here is too soft," Mary said, noticing the difference between walking here compared to the outer side. She even put on a bit more strength on her feet, and it felt as if she was stepping on some mud or quicksand. 

"It's probably because the Gilaso had walked over here so many times that it caused the ground to soften." Shi Tian deduced. 

"Mhmm, which is why this is weird," Mary responded. 

Shi Tian nodded his head. 

"Indeed, based on the soft ground and the terrain here. It's clear that the Gilaso enjoyed this habitat, so why would all of them suddenly vanish?" He then glanced left and right, spotting numerous traces of the Gilaso. 

While Shi Tian was searching for an answer, he bumped into Mary, who suddenly paused her movement. 

And before he could ask why she stopped, Mary pointed at an area with a somewhat horrified look. 

"It seems like we are having a bigger problem, Nathan." She muttered in a grave tone.

Confused, Shi Tian scooted over to the right side, getting a new angle to see what was in front. Once he got a clear view, Shi Tian was stunned by the scenes.

What was laid in front of him were a bunch of eggshells- cracked eggshells to be precise. 

The number of cracked eggshells in front was too many to be counted manually. It was like an ocean of them that were laid next to each other, one overlapping another given that there are no spaces left. 

"I'll be damned if you tell me those eggshells are just for decoration." Shi Tian muttered, hoping to make light of the scene.

"I wished it was for decoration too, Nathan." Mary chuckled, seemingly trying to calm herself. 

Afterward, they both remained silent for a few moments before uttering one word simultaneously.

"Shit!"

Realizing how drastic the scene in front of them meant, Shi Tian and Mary decided to explore further ahead. 

As they kept walking forward, there were cracking sounds that could be heard occasionally due to them stepping on eggshells. 

"There's just no end to these eggshells," Mary exclaimed in shock, wondering if they were trapped in an abyss. 

The more they walked forward, the more astonished she became. Ahead of them were more eggshells stacked upon each other, and there doesn't seem to be an end to it. 

"This is unreal…" Mary swallowed a mouthful of saliva, wondering just how many Gilaso were hatched. 

Mary wanted to explore further, but the path had become too narrow for a human to walk through. 

"Was the terrain like this when you walked past it?" She paused her movement, turned around, and asked him.

Shi Tian was technically the first person to discover the existence of these Gilaso variants, so it was natural that Mary would want to hear his opinion. 

Meanwhile, Shi Tian shook his head, flashing a solemn expression. 

"No, back when I was crossing through here, the terrain was never like this. It was more of an open field and there aren't any paths like this." Shi Tian explained, describing it as best as he could. 

Back then, he was only focused on reaching Gearits City and escaping the wilderness due to how treacherous and dangerous it was. 

Thus, he never really got a clear and closer look at his terrain. But with such a huge change, Shi Tian could still tell that the Gilaso had expanded rapidly. 

Listening to Shi Tian describing what he remembered, Mary was silent and held a solemn expression.

'This is bad. If these Gilaso had truly expanded and increased their population by thousands plus, then the situation is now out of control.' Mary thought to herself. 

At first, she had wanted to utilize these Gilaso monsters to ruin someone, but with such a discovery, she needed to scrap the plan. 

After all, if she still didn't do something and allowed this situation to fester, then Gearits City itself would be under threat. 

"Nathan, we're leaving." Mary decisively said. 

"We're not investigating any further?" Shi Tian was dumbfounded. 

He thought they would continue to investigate and search for clues of the Gilaso's whereabouts.

"It's not that we're not investigating any further, but our current equipment is lacking. This is no longer within our capacity and we'll need to get assistance." She shook her head and explained.

"Our equipment is lacking?"

"Mhmm, this is no longer on a small scale, but on a major scale. Once this major scale erupted, everyone within the radius would be swarmed. Not even Gearits City would be able to stay safe." 

Seeing how serious her expression and tone were, Shi Tian was stunned. 

Someone like Mary wouldn't utter such words unless the situation was truly dire. 

"Understood, let's leave and get back up." Shi Tian nodded his head, turned around, and was ready to leave. 

However, when Shi Tian sensed that Mary was standing in a daze, he asked, "Did something happen, Mary?" 

Mary smiled bitterly as she glanced at Shi Tian. 

"We were too late. I just received news from Gerald. A safehold that was situated nearby here had been overrun by Gilaso monsters. Only a few people survived."