The gradual change of seasons was inevitable. Trees had long shed their leaves, leaving skeletal branches that quiver in the breeze. The once warm air had turned cold, turning our breath into clouds of air.
Winter had finally arrived again.
At this time of the year, usually, gates' appearance rate was all-time high, but with the four towers standing tall, gates' appearance rate dropped drastically.
This was both fortunate and unfortunate news.
While it lessened the burden on the government's expenses, strike teams who didn't get a job suffered from the lack of income.
With a society that relied on gates and its drop material to function, the economy became stagnant with fewer gates to raid.
And this reduced appearance rate also caused Team Zero to be idling inside our meeting room for the past few days.
"Here's your tea."
"Thanks."
I handed the tea cup to Ilyas while bringing mine to the table as well.
After having a good exercise in the gym and relaxing our mind in the meditation center, having a cup of tea was a routine before we started every morning meeting.
But because there's no work to do, the four of us just relaxed and enjoyed our passing time together by talking.
"What's wrong? You haven't touched your cup."
Ilyas asked, grabbing my hand. Noticing the worry in his voice, I gave him a faint smile and interlaced our fingers.
"Nothing, I just don't feel like drinking it now."
Lately, my taste in food had changed, and so had my appetite. It was Wilson who noticed this at first, that attentive brocon kept saying my lack of appetite was because the food didn't suit me, and when he brought me to a restaurant with fancy foods, his words were proven true.
Now I catered towards food I had never touched in my previous life, even this tea I often drink for the past two years made me nauseous just from smelling it.
"I hope an S-Rank gate pops up soon. All this lying around is making me restless."
Cedric complained as he sipped his drink, which prompted baffled looks on our faces.
"What? Why are you guys giving me that look?"
Xain was the one who answered.
"A lazy gamer guy like you actually wants to work? Guess Ethan's workaholic nature has rubbed off on you huh?"
"I'm not that workaholic…"
"Said the one who forced us to raid 16 gates per day until the brink of death."
"That was because of the urgent circumstances…"
"Oh, then how about that time you got injured? You still ordered us to raid the next gate even though you're already in a bad condition. If that's not workaholic, what else?"
I shut my mouth. My weak attempt to deny Xain's words was butchered by harsh truth.
This kid…
The once simpleton little pup had grown into a terrifying master of sarcasm.
As Xain smirked smugly, I could hear Ilyas muffled laugh from beside me. With no words to argue back, I stared at them in shock before deciding to quietly admit defeat.
BANG!
"Guys!"
Our room's tranquility was disturbed when Shelly suddenly opened the door, panic written all over her face.
"This is an urgent mission! A new SS-Rank Gate has opened and it swallowed the minister of finance's family! We need you guys to dispatch immediately!"
"Understood, give us the data, we will read it on our way there."
I signaled my team members and rushed to teleport to the gate.
Our prayers for getting a new mission were answered but unexpectedly, the first gate we got after a few days was the one with the highest-level urgency.
I skimmed through the documents containing the raid details and conveyed it to my teammates.
In short, it was a gate formed near a riverbank, one that was close to the minister's house. The minister's wife and children were having a walk nearby when a gate swallowed them and their bodyguards. So, including the wife and children, a total of 6 people needed to be rescued.
"Minister."
This country's minister of finance, Paul Olman, was standing nearby – gazing at the gate that had swallowed his family.
The moment he heard the news, he dropped everything and rushed here. Noticing our arrival, he pleaded.
"Please save them."
I gave him an affirmative nod, "We will." And led my team inside the gate.
What greeted us inside was a pungent smell and trickling murky water. Instead of blue sky, a tunnel made from bricks and cracked stones with little to no light rose high around us. The damp air carried sharp, rotten sting, which made breathing difficult.
"Of all things, it has to be a sewer."
I rummaged through my pockets and found a flashlight, my teammates also did the same. With four flashlights on, we could see our surroundings better. A mark on the wall that looked like a scratch caught my eye.
"Ethan."
When I was about to inspect it, Ilyas held my hand – halting my steps. He brought my hand to his lips and gave it a kiss.
"A good luck charm."
Even with minimal light, Ilyas' radiant smile couldn't be overshadowed.
'It's a good thing the sewer is dark.'
His bold move made my heart race. I was sure my face was as red as a tomato right now. If Ilyas saw my face, he would surely tease me.
My two team members rolled their eyes, "Let's go, our presence is interrupting these two lovebirds."
Teasing us in a joking tone, they walked in front of us, following our usual formation.
I chuckled at their behavior. Calming myself down, I held Ilyas' hand tight and trailed behind Xain and Cedric. Our priority was finding the survivors and killing the boss.
But we soon realized the path in this tunnel wasn't as simple as we thought.
"I recognized this mark, we are back to where we started."
The tunnel itself was a maze, one that had a lot of paths that could confuse us.
This raid was going to take a lot of time.