The three terminal lights had barely shifted toward the north side of the Old Water Source when Sudo's shoulders tensed.
"I'll go take a look."
"Don't chase," Gu Heng said.
Sudo spun around.
"They've practically stepped right in front of us, and we're not chasing?"
"If you chase out now, all you'll catch is the disturbance they deliberately put out."
Gu Heng remained behind the tree roots, his gaze fixed on the three lights beyond the curtain of rain.
"White rope, handoff, water bag rotation. Keep going."
Yamauchi looked up as well.
"So we're just leaving the Old Water Source like that?"
Horikita turned toward him, her voice low, direct, and cold.
"What is your task right now?"
Yamauchi opened his mouth.
"Recording by the campfire..."
"Then watch the campfire."
"Tonight, whoever leaves their own page first will be the first to make a mistake."
Yamauchi immediately lowered his head again.
Only then did Gu Heng cast his gaze back into the distance.
"Let them step in."
"The deeper they step, the slower they'll be going back."
The clearing north of the Old Water Source was even emptier than it looked in the rainy night.
Water gathered in the treetops came crashing down in bursts.
The mud shone a wet, pale white.
At the edge lay two softened dead branches, waterlogged and broken, like someone had hurriedly stepped on them without having time to kick them away.
The first one to step into the clearing was Ishizaki.
His pant legs were covered in mud, and he held his terminal high.
The moment he entered, he kicked the soft branch aside.
"Here?"
"Class D really wants to protect this damn place?"
He was asking the people behind him.
The one who emerged slowly afterward was Ryuuen.
Ibuki followed along the other