The sky, thick with dark clouds, finally split open as the sun was about to set.
First, a few strands of orange-red afterglow leaked through the clouds, like soft silk gently brushing over the contours of the wilderness. Then the clouds gradually retreated to either side, revealing the pale-purple sky behind them. Even the air seemed dyed in warm hues.
The drizzle that had originally fallen without end first turned into fine threads of rain, drifting down over the ground like cattle hair.
Then it stopped completely, leaving only the glistening wet ground and the fresh scent of damp earth filling the air. Even the wild grass in the distance looked as though it had just been washed, its green especially bright.
In that perilous wilderness, in a place rarely visited by humans, a temporary human camp loomed in and out of sight beneath a thin veil of mist.
Numerous dark-green tents were scattered throughout the camp, their corners weighed down with heavy stones to keep them from being blown over.
A simple waist-high wire fence had been erected around them, with several flashing warning lights hanging from it and emitting a faint red glow in the dusk.
When the rain stopped, the people who had been sheltering inside the tents emerged one after another.
Some stretched lazily, some stamped mud-soaked boots, and others rubbed their numb legs after sitting too long. A trace of fatigue lingered on their faces.
They drew deep breaths, their chests rising slightly as the fresh post-rain air rushed into their lungs, carrying the dampness of soil and the faint sweetness of grass. When they exhaled it together with the stale air, it came out as a thin white mist.
After several deep breaths, the irritation brought on by the rain vanished as quickly as