Chapter 229: Chapter 223: The Lawless Zone (Part 1)

The White Bears fired their artillery and quickly retreated, leaving the Oasis Pirates and Eastern Highlanders to be surrounded and attacked by the Black Wolves and the Miners.

Alvin Morgan held his breath as he reached the crater left by the shells, dropping to his knees and digging frantically through the earth.

“Aurora…”

Seeing this, Aiden Morgan immediately ordered the surrounding mercenaries to help dig for her.

Just then, a black figure burst from the dirt. It shot toward Alvin Morgan with incredible speed and, ignoring Aiden Morgan’s furious roar, swept him up and bolted.

A head of silver hair glinted brilliantly in the sun.

’The Eastern Highlander… she survived?’

“Sir—” Aiden Morgan paled and quickly opened fire, but the person was as fast as a phantom, vanishing from sight in an instant.

“After her—”

Alvin Morgan looked at her soot-covered face and reached up to touch her cheek. “Aurora…”

But she only glanced down at him, her silver pupils devoid of any light. Her body moved like a machine, its only purpose to carry him to safety.

After running for what felt like an eternity, Aurora Sinclair’s breathing finally grew ragged. She used the last of her strength to carry Alvin Morgan into an abandoned mine shaft before collapsing to the ground.

Alvin Morgan pulled her up to check her condition. The back of her clothes had been burned away, revealing thin black armor underneath.

He didn’t know what the armor was made of, but it was completely undamaged and had protected her vitals.

He pressed along her bones, finding no fractures, and sighed in relief.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Aurora Sinclair’s silver eyes were unfocused. She stared blankly at him, her lips moving. “Hungry…”

Her stomach punctuated the word with a few growls.

Alvin Morgan took two ration biscuits from his pocket, tore open the packaging, and carefully fed them to her.

After eating the two biscuits, the haze in Aurora Sinclair’s eyes cleared slightly. She seemed to be looking at him, but she still mumbled that she was hungry.

Alvin Morgan reached out to wipe her dirty face, then took off his jacket and put it on her, covering her silver hair. Then he hoisted her onto his back.

He had received a painkiller shot for his shoulder before leaving the hospital, but it had long since worn off. The sharp pain of carrying Aurora Sinclair made his face go white, and his shoulder wound began to bleed profusely.

Outside the mine shaft, night began to fall. The area was desolate—nothing but mountains and mines, without a single tree in sight.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Alvin Morgan finally saw signs of life.

A few tattered tents were pitched ahead, with a small fire burning in front of them.

Alvin Morgan didn’t approach recklessly. Instead, he opened his watch to check the local map.

It turned out this was the Lawless Zone. The communication signal seemed to be jammed, preventing him from contacting the outside world.

Alvin Morgan slowly walked toward the tents, still carrying Aurora Sinclair.

“Is that you back, Tao?”

An old voice called out from one of the tents. Alvin Morgan frowned slightly and pressed his watch, which immediately provided a translated audio feed.

Alvin Morgan activated the flashlight on his watch and shined it at the dark tent.

A pleading voice immediately came from inside. “Sir, please, we have nothing here…”

Alvin Morgan coughed twice, pulled a metal bullet from his pocket, and tossed it into the tent.

“Oh my god! It’s a bullet…” a childish voice exclaimed from inside.

Alvin Morgan glanced at the translation on his watch and said softly in Masovian, “Just shelter for the night.”

Unsure if they understood him, he gently set Aurora Sinclair down by the fire and began to treat his shoulder wound.

Before he left, Aiden Morgan had stuffed his pockets with medicine and easy-to-use bandages, fearing just this kind of situation.

***

Inside the dim tent.

A pair of eyes watched the man outside cautiously. Seeing his mercenary uniform, a flicker of wariness appeared in her heart.

“Ahm, the man outside is a mercenary. He has medicine for wounds next to him.”

“Take this to protect yourself.” A wooden stick was thrust into her hand.

Alvin Morgan’s watch displayed infrared heat signatures from inside the tent. It looked like two females, one large and one small.

He didn’t let his guard down. In a place like this, seemingly harmless women and children were often the most dangerous.

“Hungry…” Aurora Sinclair mumbled again, blinking her eyes at him.

Alvin Morgan set the medicine bottle aside, reached out to stroke her cheek, then pulled another ration biscuit from his pocket, broke off a small piece, and put it in her mouth.

Suddenly, a small figure darted out of the tent, heading straight for the medicine bottle beside Alvin Morgan.

“Mia…” a hoarse voice cried out softly.

But Alvin Morgan seized the small figure by the wrist.

“Let me go—”

With a CLATTER, a white-haired old woman crawled out of the tent. “Please, don’t hurt her…”

Her leg seemed to be badly injured; she couldn’t walk and had to drag herself forward with her arms.

Alvin Morgan didn’t let go. “I’ve already paid you,” he said coldly.

The little girl in his grasp was fierce. She opened her mouth to bite Alvin’s arm, but he shoved her back, nearly making her fall.

The little girl’s eyes blazed with anger as she stared relentlessly at the medicine.

Alvin Morgan glanced at the medicine bottle on the ground, then pulled out a gun and pressed it to the girl’s forehead. “Get back—”

The little girl was finally scared. She stumbled backward, and the old woman’s face drained of all color.

Just then, a vicious voice rang out, and a figure lunged at him with extreme speed.

“Stop—”

Alvin Morgan spun around, aiming the gun at the newcomer, but the figure showed no fear and reached for the weapon.

Seeing her chance, the little girl ran to grab the medicine.

Alvin Morgan’s expression grew even colder.

The one trying to snatch the gun was a skinny boy with bright eyes that held a savage glint.

He was fast, but his moves were all self-taught. To a trained eye, they were full of openings.

Alvin Morgan didn’t want to fire the gun, afraid of attracting the Eastern Highlanders.

He frowned, twisted his watch, and a jolt of electricity shot through the boy’s body.

“Aargh…”

The boy’s body went numb from the shock, and he fell to the ground, convulsing.

“Brother…”

The little girl ran over in a panic, wanting to help him but not knowing how.

Alvin Morgan watched them coldly for a moment, then held out a hand to the girl. “Give the medicine back.”

But the little girl glared at him with ferocious eyes, as if he were her mortal enemy.

Alvin Morgan spoke again, this time activating his watch’s real-time translation function. A mechanical male voice repeated his words in a language the little girl could understand.

The little girl started, her eyes filled with alarm. The voice seemed to frighten her, and she clutched the medicine bottle tighter.

The old woman on the ground understood the words and forced out, “Mia, give the medicine back to him.”

The little girl looked at the old woman, then at her convulsing brother on the ground. Biting her lip, she threw the bottle to him.

After retrieving the medicine, Alvin Morgan sat back down next to Aurora Sinclair.

It took half an hour for the numbness in the boy’s body to fully subside. He quickly got up and helped Ahm from the ground.

His face was a mask of fury, his fists clenched tightly.

Alvin Morgan glanced at him from the corner of his eye and said flatly, “I’ve already paid you. Don’t push your luck.”

The accompanying mechanical voice made the boy freeze. He immediately looked at Ahm and his sister.

The little girl lowered her head and pulled a bullet with a metallic sheen from her pocket.

The boy’s expression changed drastically. He took the bullet and examined it closely.

It was a bullet for an automatic pistol. On the black market in The Eastern Highlands, it could be exchanged for 50 Maso Coins—enough for two months of their rations.

The boy looked at Alvin Morgan with a complicated expression. Seeing how carefully he was feeding the person on the ground, his gaze flickered.

“Hey… I’ll trade you water for your medicine.”

Alvin Morgan didn’t turn around.

Frustrated, the boy immediately told his sister to get their water jug from the tent.

“I just want to trade for a little medicine. My Ahm’s leg is badly injured…”

Alvin Morgan glanced at the water jug extended toward him, then at the anti-inflammatory medicine beside him. “This much water isn’t enough to pay for the medicine,” he said lightly.

The boy gritted his teeth and took out the bullet he had just gotten. “And this.”

Alvin Morgan glanced at him, let out a soft chuckle, and reached out to take the bullet.

“This won’t be enough for her to make a full recovery.”

The boy glanced at the mercenary uniform on Aurora Sinclair, then suddenly said in Masovian, “I can help you get out of here.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep