Levin didn't know how. Maybe, it was just a psychological effect after the big revelation about this game, or maybe because this was the second time he passed this road, but he felt like the journey was far shorter than when they went here for the first time. He and Mira didn't even take more than half an hour before they arrived back to the abandoned town, and they went to Chen Ze's residence immediately to deal with their business first.
Speaking about Chen Ze, Levin had a lot of things in his mind to say about the man. Not only did the scientist leave immediately – and rudely because no one knew when he left – during the conversation to a place probably only God would know about, but he also didn't come back together with them. He – or at least his Micey, the robot mouse – vanished right after they saw the mammoth for the first time, and even if Levin didn't know where the man went, at least he had an idea about it.
'He should be gathering information in his own way. The mini-size of the robot mouse makes it easy for him to sneak into the enemy's territory without being discovered. That mouse and his eagle are really a good asset for a surveillance mission.'
A minute later, they finally arrived at Chen Ze's residence, and with Eggly, who was still intact, bless the animals for not destroying it, Mira barged in and greeted them, "Uncle Chen Ze, we are back! We also bring Eggly with us!"
"Oh, my baby!" Chen Ze's crying voice could be heard even when they were still in front of the door. "Thank you, my friends! You have done something so noble that I will never forget about it for the rest of my life! Come on, let me see my ba – Eh?! What is going on, my friend?!" Chen Ze was taken aback when Levin suddenly put himself between Chen Ze and Mira, shielding the girl before staring at the scientist intently while also raising his gun as if he was ready for a fight. Even Mira was a bit surprised by his reaction.
"Well, maybe, you can explain yourself first before you can check your baby?" Levin tried to be nonchalant, yet Mira and Chen Ze could hear the agitation in his voice. "You ask for me and Mira to rescue your eagle, and the first time we face danger, you disappear instantly, feeding us to the predators. Fortunately, those animals are friendly, so nothing bad happened. However, I know that the moment that mammoth or elephant or whatever that was started speaking about the information of the game in general, you also started sneaking around to find out any relevant information, right? So, care to speak about it first?"
The tension inside the building rose as Chen Ze raised both hands slowly, trying to show that he didn't intend to make trouble here. However, Levin didn't lower his guard at all. The incident today really reminded him that even though their relationship was cordial right now, he and Chen Ze wasn't a friend, just an ally who could betray each other in a heartbeat once things went south. So, Levin didn't want to make a mistake by trusting Chen Ze too much to do anything behind his back like that.
Mira also unconsciously shifted herself behind Levin. Even though she liked Chen Ze, the girl still recognized Levin as her only companion, and she trusted the soldier more than the scientist for now. She also could see why Levin was angry toward Chen Ze right now. What the scientist did was not only reckless but also irresponsible. Just like what Levin said, he really didn't care about their fate as long as he could get the thing that he wanted the most, and in the case earlier, it would be Eggly and the information revealed by the animals.
"Okay, I know you are angry with me, but trust me! I have good information to appease you here." He moved slowly, his hands still in the air, trying to make Levin listen to him.
"Oh? Please, do tell." Levin answered still with a blank expression and a laser gun still pointing at the man.
"Okay, just wait here." The scientist suddenly turned around and rushed as if he was about to escape. Levin had to hold back the urge to pull the trigger so that he wouldn't accidentally shoot and kill the man. "Ah, here we go! Just see it with your eyes!" He showed the footage of his observation with the robot mouse toward Levin.
The soldier frowned, leaning forward to get a better look. Seeing that, Mira also followed his action, being curious about what Chen Ze found out in his exploration time. There they saw a wall – probably inside a cave – filled with so many random scribbles as if a bunch of children with crayons just came over there and painted the wall freely.
"What is this?" Levin asked, knowing full well that Chen Ze would never joke around, especially in a situation like this.
"This, my friend." Chen Ze grinned, trying to maintain his calmness although he was shaking violently in excitement. "Is the diary of the mammoth that you both had just seen today! This is his journey since he gained the ability to think like a human probably about three years ago up until a few weeks ago when he had to bury one of his oldest friends there! This thing that you think is just a childish scribble is a fountain of knowledge!"
This time, both Levin and Mira had their jaws dropped as they both stared at the scientist in shock.
"YOU SAY WHAT?!"
-0-
Meanwhile, far from the forest… No, it should be far from the living plane where all the players fought in the battle royale game, two people were staring at a large monitor with a pack of popcorn in their hand as if they were here to enjoy a movie. What they saw, though, was the scene where Chen Ze revealed the mammoth's diary to both Mira and Levin.
The first person – a mature woman with a fox mask said, "Azzar violates our deal. He should've never revealed anything to a player, but now, let alone doing that willingly, he even makes a lowly mistake such as letting a mouse sneak into his habitat and see his secret without him even noticing about that. Should I come and greet him with a warning?" Her eyes shone dangerously as she said the last part.
The second person – the man with a crow mask that all the players of the game knew as the ruler just chuckled a little before waving his hand nonchalantly. "Ah, don't worry about it. Compared to the torture they are subjected to every now and then, this violation doesn't mean anything to me. For them, though, this is going to give them hope that they could finally get out of this circle. With that false illusion in their mind, they would work harder than usual, which would also bring more amusement to the game."
"… Yes, Sir." Even though the fox lady didn't understand, her job was to nod and do whatever order the crow man asked, so she didn't complain about anything here.
"What I found interesting, though, are the two participants who managed to get into Azzar's soft spot." The crow man leaned his body forward curiously, his eyes locking into both Levin and Mira who were sitting in a cold building in the middle of the night. "What is so special about you both that makes even a cautious creature like Azzar softened when he saw you to the point that the damn elephant went against my will and make a deal with the other player? I wonder… Maybe, I should observe you both more carefully in the next couple of days. Don't disappoint me, Boy, Girl. Make sure you survive for at least the awakening stage before you both die later or in the next turn."