"We’ll stop here for the night," Thirteen said through his communicator, informing all his Squad Captains. The sun had just set over the horizon, and Thirteen deemed it the best time to let everyone recover from exhaustion after traveling for a couple of hours. It had been three days since they had left the safety of Casimir City. On their way to their destination, Thirteen and his Battalion had engaged small groups of monsters along the way. These groups of monsters each numbered less than a hundred, so the 69th Battalion made short work of them without breaking a sweat. The Legionnaires also gradually learned from the soldiers, now knowing how to effectively deal with monsters without risking the lives of their comrades. Whenever they set a camp at night, Zion deliberately chose wide open plains if possible, allowing everyone to get a full view of their surroundings. The vehicles would then park in a circular formation, allowing everyone to relaxingly gather at the center to cook food and chat with each other. This was made possible by the light-green cover adorning each vehicle. If the Jinns happened to glance at the covered trucks and Humvees, they would likely mistake them for distant rock formations and ignore them. This natural camouflage kept the Jinns from noticing any movement, allowing the humans to move freely within the circle that the covered vehicles formed. But as a precaution, Thirteen still ordered his Captains to assign night watchers. Only then could they be completely assured that they wouldn’t be ambushed while resting. As the night progressed, the sound of lively talk spread in the surroundings. Everyone worked together to cook dinner. In order to save their rations, Thirteen ordered his soldiers to dismantle and skin some of the monsters they had fought along the way for cooking. It was a well-known fact in Pangea that Wanderers can eat the meat of Jinns. Since the Jinns loved to eat Wanderers, "The One" made sure that these monsters could also be eaten by the humans whom they hunted. "Zion, let me do the cooking, okay?" Sherry volunteered when she saw the teenage boy clad in an apron with a ’leave everything to me’ look on his face. As someone who had already tasted Thirteen’s cooking, Sherry knew that no matter what kind of meat or ingredient the teenage boy used, the end result would always have a bubblegum flavor. This had always frustrated Erica and her, as both of them wished to eat Zion’s cooking. Unfortunately, unless they developed a preference for bubble-gum flavored food, that wouldn’t be possible. So, as much as they could, the two ladies had taken the role of cooking for their lover. "Don’t worry, Sherry," Thirteen replied with a smile, already expecting this reaction from his lover. "I’m just going to cook for Maple and Cinnamon. There’s no need to worry. I won’t ask you to eat my cooking." Contrary to what people believed, Thirteen actually liked to cook. However, since no one seemed to like his cooking, he decided not to show off his skills for the time being. But Maple and Cinnamon were different. The two gluttons genuinely loved his cooking. That said, how could he possibly not cook for the two adorable connoisseurs who rated his cooking extremely highly? Not to mention, the twin girls even said that among all the things they had eaten, it was Zion’s cooking they loved the most. Before Sherry could say anything, Maple and Cinnamon appeared and grabbed the teenage boy’s left and right hands, swinging them left to right like two spoiled kids who wanted their parents to buy them a toy. "Big Brother, are you going to cook now?" Maple asked. "Cinnamon absolutely loves Big Brother’s cooking!" Cinnamon stated. "Unfortunately, Cinnamon already has a fiancé. If I didn’t have one, Cinnamon would definitely marry Big Brother!" The corners of Sherry’s and Stella’s lips twitched after hearing the little girl’s declaration. Siri, on the other hand, found this scene mildly amusing. However, the next second, her eyes widened in shock because he saw Zion smile. This wasn’t the first time that Siri had seen the teenage boy smile. But all those smiles were fake smiles. The smile he was showing right now was a genuine smile, making Siri see a side of Zion that she didn’t normally see. Even Sherry and Stella noticed this change, and they uncontrollably fell into a trance as they stared at the boy who usually hid his feelings in the deepest corners of his heart. "Alright, I’ll make the food," Thirteen said, resting his hands on the heads of the two girls. "So the two of you behave, okay? ""Yes!"" The two little girls then followed Zion to the campsite, where the batches of meat he had asked Cristopher to prepare were ready for him to tenderize and marinate. Soon, the sound of meat sizzling on the grill could be heard. Maple and Cinnamon were patiently waiting for their food to be cooked when suddenly, the two girls looked up at the sky at the same time. Thirteen noticed this act, so he, too, looked at the sky to check what the two girls were looking at. A moment later, they heard a loud cracking sound. Everyone who was either eating, cooking, or just chatting with each other suddenly stopped whatever they were doing and looked at their surroundings. They thought that they were under attack, but the sentries didn’t see anything around them. Suddenly, one of the soldiers shouted and pointed at the sky. "Look at the sky!" the soldier shouted. The night sky of Pangea was usually dark. No one could see anything aside from the moon in the heavens. Sometimes, occasional shooting stars would streak across the sky, informing everyone that a Wanderer had perished somewhere in Solterra. But that scene wasn’t the scene that everyone was looking at. White cracks appeared in the night sky, spreading across the heavens of the Cygni continent. Tristan, who was looking at the skies from the headquarters of Casimir City, hurriedly informed his father of what was happening. "There are cracks in the sky of the Cygni Continent?" Lawrence frowned before taking a look outside his window. He was currently at the main headquarters of the Central Government in the Sirius Continent, and the night sky above his head was perfectly normal. He then opened the TV to look at the news. Just as he expected, the news programs were showing the live broadcast of the Cygni Continent, showing the cracks in the sky that sent unease into the hearts of people. "Tristan, DEFCON 1," Lawrence ordered. "Yes, Sir!" Tristan replied before disconnecting his call with his father. The Field Marshal then pressed the emergency button on his communicator and made an announcement. "Attention, all personnel! This is not a drill. Effective immediately, we are moving to DEFCON 1. All units are to assume full combat readiness and execute emergency deployment procedures as per protocol! I repeat, this is not a drill!" As soon as Tristan gave the order, a series of commands from the generals of the army were heard on every channel of the military. "All personnel will report to their designated battle stations immediately!" "All leaves are canceled. If you are off base, you are to return at once!" "All units will establish full defensive and offensive postures. Weapons will be loaded, vehicles will be prepped, and all strategic operations will commence!" "Communication will be strictly secured. No unauthorized transmissions will be made. All personal calls and external communications are suspended until further notice!" "Remain alert and follow orders without hesitation. Any deviation from protocol could put lives at risk!" "This is the moment we have trained for. The time for hesitation is over. We are Shield of the People, and we will stand firm against any threat!" "Trust your training. Trust your brothers and sisters beside you. And above all, trust that we will see this through together. That is all. Everyone, make sure to prepare for anything!" Thirteen’s group, who were right smack in the middle of nowhere, also heard the orders of their Field Marshal. Knowing they might be facing a dangerous situation, the teenage boy commanded everyone to carry their weapons and make sure that they were ready for combat. "Big Brother…" Maple held the helm of Thirteen’s clothes and looked up at him with worry. "Don’t worry. We’re going to be fine," Thirteen said before casually flipping the meat he was grilling to cook its other side. "The cracks have stopped spreading, so it seems to be fine at the moment. We have more than enough time to finish having dinner, okay?" "Un!" Maple nodded. Truth be told, Maple and Cinnamon weren’t worried about the cracks in the sky. Their real worry was that Thirteen would stop grilling the meat he planned to serve them. Thirteen and the twins had already seen many battles as they traveled across the multiverse. While the twins would casually travel from place to place, Thirteen had become the system of countless people. He had seen world-ending calamities up close and personal and survived to tell the tale. Although everyone seemed anxious, three people in the camp remained calm as they worked together to grill the meat that they would be eating for dinner.