"Look alert men, someone is approaching." Corporal kahil adjusted his posture to better scan the Indus valley.

  "Yes, corporal" the men replied

  Sniper specialist Yasemin watched from one of the watch towers as eight men readied up, some stood from barricades and others hoisted guns no questions asked. Ahead of them she saw the problem she had just called in. Their guest looked worn-out, she kept her scope trained on the man, ready to neutralize him at a moments notice.

  Corporal kahil moved first, as soon as the man came into view he trained his gun on the man's head.

  "Stop where you are!" He shouted, Zhao Bing complied "hands where I can see them!" And again Zhao Bing complied, raising his hands into the air.

  "Lieutenant?" this time he spoke quietly to his coms.

  "Bring him in, be cautious" Yasemin replied

  “noted” Corporal kahil replied quietly

  "I am coming to you, any twitch and I shot. Nod, if you understand" Zhao Bing nodded and Corporal kahil signaled

  They moved slowly, like a well trained pack, eight men gradually encircled Zhao.

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  "Kneel, hands behind your head" Zhao Bing complied, two men came upon him as he knelt pushing him to the ground, one held Zhao Bing’s hands while the other patted him down, it was quick and then they were pulling Zhao up.

  "Empty" the man called out. Corporal kahil and the others spread out around them and escorted him back into the outpost.

  It was a small semi permanent outpost, Zhao Bing could see the reason for the outpost, a tower like structure, stood tall at the center of the outpost and the highest concentration of aether came from within it. Zhao Bing had already suspected as much, the tower maintained the wards. Four watch towers were erected at the four corners of the outpost, two within the ward and two outside of it. Log cabins and large tents filled the outpost all fenced around by sand bags.

  The soilders lead him into a tent where they secured him to a chair. Three men stayed in the tent with him, the two that had grab him and the leader that had shouted orders at him. The others had broken off from the group once they had entered the tent. No one talked, they just watched him, only the leader looked relatively relaxed in his presence the others were only an order away from shooting him dead.

  Zhao Bing heard footsteps after a while before the flap opened and two soldiers walked in, a man and a woman. The three soldiers in the room saluted and two of them walked out leaving only the leader of the team that had brought him in and the two newcomers.

  "Alright let’s hear it, what's your story?" One of the newcomers demanded, the man, sounding mockingly enthusiastic.

  Zhao Bing proceeds to give them a very brief and fabricated story of how he ‘alone’ traveled from Aniu-lang province to Koi province on an experiment which involved an anomaly of the void, a mishap ended with him here involuntarily.