I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 149: 149:Warning.

The two vehicles slowed almost instinctively as they approached one another on the quiet highway. Instead of simply passing, the larger armored truck gradually pulled onto the shoulder of the road.

Silver raised an eyebrow.

"That’s weird; they want to talk?"

Ravenna looked toward the vehicle’s contractor markings before nodding.

"Probably."

Silver eased his own car to a stop several meters away and switched the engine into idle. The afternoon breeze carried the scent of trees through the open windows as the occupants of the larger vehicle climbed out.

There were four of them. All wore reinforced contractor gear that had clearly seen years of use. Their armor bore numerous scratches, while several beast trophies hung from their equipment. Even at a glance, Silver could tell they were more experienced than he and Ravenna.

The oldest among them, a broad-shouldered man with streaks of gray beginning to show in his dark hair, approached first.

He smiled as he stopped beside Silver’s window.

"Evening."

Silver returned the greeting.

"Evening."

The older contractor glanced toward the Association emblem displayed on Silver’s windshield.

"Delta Four?"

"That’s right."

The man nodded.

"Mission finished?"

Silver smiled.

"Just wrapped it up."

"What sector?"

"Green Zone Twelve, roadside maintenance facility."

The contractor gave an approving nod.

"Ah, the clearing request. We passed that commission yesterday."

Silver rested one arm casually against the window.

"It wasn’t too bad. A handful of Tier One wolves and one Tier Two."

The older man chuckled.

"Good, nothing wrong with taking steady jobs."

He briefly looked toward Ravenna sitting in the passenger seat.

"First expedition together?"

Ravenna answered calmly.

"First official clearing mission as a team."

"I figured. You’ve still got that ’everything went according to plan’ look."

Silver laughed.

"I’m hoping to keep it that way."

"So was I twenty years ago."

The other members of the contractor team smiled knowingly. One of the younger women leaned against the side of their truck.

"You’ll learn."

Silver tilted his head.

"Learn what?"

"Plans have a habit of changing, usually at the worst possible moment."

Even Ravenna gave a faint smile.

"We’ve already experienced that once or twice. It wasn’t pretty."

The older contractor folded his arms.

"You’re heading back to Delta Four?"

"We are."

He nodded thoughtfully before his expression became a little more serious.

"Good, us too. Things haven’t been going too well around here. I stopped to tell you you should be careful; the Association rarely warns people until things get really out of hand. You’re lucky you met us."

Silver noticed the change immediately.

"Something happened?"

The contractor glanced toward the forest stretching behind them.

"Not here." He pointed farther north. "The Yellow Zone."

Silver straightened slightly.

"What about it?"

"There’ve been changes over the last week."

Ravenna’s attention sharpened.

"What kind of changes?"

The older man looked toward his own team before answering.

"The Red Zone’s been restless."

Silver frowned.

"Restless?"

"A lot of territorial movement, you know this zone divides set up are useless half of the time... Several stronger beast groups have been pushing against one another."

He drew a rough outline in the air with one finger.

"When beasts lose territory, they don’t disappear... They move to the next empty one or to the one that belongs to a weaker of their species."

Silver immediately understood.

"They’re crossing into the Yellow Zone."

The contractor nodded once.

"Exactly."

"It hasn’t become dangerous enough to close the Yellow Zone, but it’s become... unstable and unpredictable."

Another member of the veteran team joined the conversation.

"We’ve been seeing more Tier Three beasts in the Green Zones than usual. Occasionally even small groups where you’d normally only expect one."

Ravenna crossed her arms.

"The Association knows?"

"They do; they’ve already updated several mission reports, but it’s still vague. Most contractors won’t even notice the seriousness; they’ll probably think it’s just a one-time thing as usual."

Silver thought back to the investigation requests he’d seen earlier that morning. So that was why there had been so many. He hadn’t even thought much of it.

The older contractor continued.

"The sad part is..." He smiled wryly. "...more experienced contractors are going there anyway."

Silver tilted his head slightly before responding.

"Because there are more beasts?"

"Exactly."

"More beasts means more cores, more materials, and better rewards."

The younger woman shrugged.

"You know how contractors think."

Silver couldn’t help smiling.

"I suppose I do."

"It isn’t all bad news," another member added. "If you’re experienced, the increased activity means there are more opportunities, but it also means more chances for something unexpected, you know, an elemental."

The older contractor looked directly at Silver.

"What rank are you two?"

"Rank One."

"I thought so."

He nodded approvingly.

"You’re making good progress, but don’t let that tempt you. The Yellow Zone isn’t going anywhere."

Silver appreciated the straightforward advice.

"We weren’t planning on rushing there."

"Good, at least you’re among the reasonable ones."

The older man smiled again.

"Stay in the Green Zone and build experience. When Rank Two starts feeling comfortable... Then think about the Yellow Zone."

Ravenna inclined her head politely.

"Thank you. It’s useful information."

The contractor waved one hand dismissively.

"We’ve all been the new team once. No point letting someone walk into trouble if a five-minute conversation can prevent it."

Silver looked toward their heavily reinforced truck. The fresh claw marks along one side suddenly made a little more sense.

"Tough mission?"

The older man laughed.

"You could say that. We were supposed to clear two nests, but we found five, and one of them had visitors."

Silver winced.

"I’m guessing that complicated things."

"It usually does."

One of the other contractors scratched the back of his neck.

"We’ll be sleeping well tonight."

"I believe it."

For a few moments, the conversation shifted to lighter topics. They spoke briefly about Delta Four, recent contractor registration numbers, and how unusually mild the weather had been over the past few weeks.

It felt less like strangers exchanging information and more like colleagues crossing paths on the same road. Eventually the older contractor glanced toward the lowering sun.

"We should keep moving."

Silver nodded.

"So should we."

The veteran extended his hand through the open window. Silver shook it firmly.

"Stay safe out there."

"You too."

The older man smiled.

"And remember." He tapped the side of Silver’s vehicle. "Coming home one mission early is always better than not coming home at all."

Silver gave a respectful nod.

"I’ll remember that."

The four contractors climbed back into their truck. Moments later, the powerful engine roared to life.

The larger vehicle slowly pulled back onto the highway before continuing toward another Yellow Zone, gradually disappearing around a distant bend in the road.

For several seconds, Silver simply watched it go, then he restarted his own car. Neither of them spoke immediately. The conversation lingered in both their minds.

Finally, Ravenna broke the silence.

"What do you think?"

Silver kept his eyes on the road ahead.

"I think they’re right."

She nodded.

"We’re improving quickly, but we’re still Rank One."

He smiled faintly.

"A week ago I probably would’ve wanted to head straight for the Yellow Zone after hearing there were more beasts."

"And now?"

He glanced at her briefly.

"Now I’d rather still be alive when we finally get there."

A small smile appeared on Ravenna’s face.

"I like that answer."

Silver laughed quietly.

"I’ve started enjoying the quieter days."

He looked toward the road stretching ahead.

"I’d rather not lose those because I got impatient."

Ravenna rested one arm against the door.

"We’ll reach the Yellow Zone."

Silver nodded.

"And after that... the Red Zone."

She finished the sentence for him.

"But one step at a time."

The massive walls of Delta Four gradually appeared on the horizon once again, illuminated by the warm orange glow of the setting sun.