Chapter 111: Zelda
Adyr walked the ruined streets slowly, like a tourist out for casual sightseeing. The only thing that broke the illusion was the tactical uniform he wore and the weapons strapped to his body.
The dusty roads, lined with shelters barely worthy of being called homes, were mostly deserted. A few residents were outside, tending to pale, dust-covered vegetables in small garden plots, likely grown in contaminated soil and barely edible, but they too withdrew at the sight of the stranger.
But it wasn’t fear of Adyr or his STF appearance that pushed them away. It was something else—like people avoiding potential trouble, not danger. Their eyes didn’t show fear.
They showed discomfort. Like they were looking at something cursed.
Adyr logged the behavior in memory and approached the edge of a nearby yard.
There, a young girl no older than nine or ten was working the dry, stubborn soil with a broken hoe. From a small basket, she placed what looked like damaged seeds into the holes she dug, then uncapped a plastic bottle hidden in her clothes and carefully let a few precious drops of water fall over them before sealing it again.
He hadn’t approached her out of sympathy. He did so because she was simply the first child he had seen here, if not the only one.
According to Selina’s initial report, this place had been full of children. The team had stayed longer than planned to care for them, which led to the delay that caused the ambush. Yet now, there were none in sight.
The report and the reality didn’t match. That alone made Adyr question what the truth behind it really was.
"If you give them a little more water, they’ll grow faster. Might even get bigger," Adyr said casually, leaning against the uneven wooden fence and holding up a full bottle of water.
The girl froze at the sound of his voice. Her pale green eyes widened, panic flickering in her expression. She looked ready to bolt—but her gaze lingered on the bottle. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the clean, clear liquid.