The crash site was a slaughterhouse. The scent of fresh blood was driving the modified wolves into a frenzy, and the ominous roar of the Beast King was getting closer.
"Move! Move!"
Jiang Chen led Team Zero through the dense undergrowth. He used his heavy sword like a machete, hacking through thorny vines that seemed to reach for them.
Fatty Wei was wheezing, his backpack bouncing. "Bro Jiang... I can't... run anymore... my cardio is negative..."
"If you stop, you're a snack," Gu Linger said cheerfully, floating above the roots. "Look, that wolf is eyeing your hamstrings."
"Eep!" Fatty found a reserve of energy and sprinted past Jiang Chen.
"Check the map," Lin Qingxue said, running beside Jiang Chen. "Where is this fortress?"
Jiang Chen pulled up the System Map in his mind. The Quest Marker for the 'Lost Battalion' was pulsing about three kilometers north.
"Three clicks. Uphill. Into the mist."
"The mist?" Lin Qingxue frowned. "That's the Dead Zone. The Qi density there is chaotic. It causes hallucinations."
"Better hallucinations than being eaten by a Level 9 Beast King," Jiang Chen argued.
They pushed forward. As they climbed the ridge, the grey fog thickened. The sounds of the forest—the chirping insects, the howling wolves—began to fade, replaced by an oppressive silence.
The trees here were dead. Their branches were twisted like skeletal hands.
"I see it," Jiang Chen stopped.
Ahead, looming out of the fog, was a massive concrete structure. It was a bunker, partially buried in the hillside. The steel blast doors were dented and clawed, but still standing. Faded white paint on the wall read: "Outpost 104."
"This is it," Jiang Chen whispered. The place where his parents died.
They approached the doors.
"It's sealed," Lin Qingxue examined the electronic lock. "No power."
"Let me," Gu Linger floated forward. She pulled a hairpin from her hair. "I learned lockpicking from a movie."
She jammed the pin into the manual override slot and wriggled it with telekinesis.
Click. Hiss.
The hydraulic seals groaned. The massive doors cracked open just enough for them to squeeze through.
"Inside! Now!" Jiang Chen shoved Fatty Wei through the gap.
Just as Jiang Chen slipped inside, a massive shadow descended on the ridge they had just left.
ROAR.
The Beast King—a mutated bear the size of a tank, covered in bone plating—landed where they had been standing seconds ago. It sniffed the air, growling in frustration, but it didn't approach the bunker. It seemed... afraid of the mist.
Jiang Chen pulled the manual lever from the inside.
CLANG.
The doors slammed shut. darkness engulfed them.
"Flashlights," Jiang Chen ordered.
Fatty Wei and Lin Qingxue activated their wrist lights. Beams of white cut through the stale, dusty air.
They were in a hangar bay. It was filled with rusted crates and skeletons.
Hundreds of skeletons.
They wore the tattered remains of Federation uniforms. But they weren't lying in defensive positions. They were piled in the center of the room, burned.
"They didn't die fighting," Lin Qingxue covered her mouth, horrified. "They were executed. And burned."
Jiang Chen walked toward the pile. His face was a mask of stone. He knelt by a skeleton that wore a commander's badge.
Captain Jiang Xiao. His father.
"I found you," Jiang Chen whispered.
He reached out and touched the skull.
[System Alert: Soul Remnant Detected.]
[Resonance with Host Bloodline.]
[Downloading Memory Fragment...]
Flash.
A vision hit Jiang Chen.
The hangar was filled with smoke. Captain Jiang Xiao was shouting.
"The Council betrayed us! They aren't sending extraction! They're sending a Silencer Squad!"
Li Yun grabbed his arm. "The Black Box! We have to hide it!"
"The vault," Jiang Xiao gasped. "Put it in the Vault. Seal it with the blood lock. Only our DNA can open it."
Gunfire erupted. Men in black armor—the Council's elites—breached the doors. They didn't shoot the beasts. They shot the soldiers.
The vision ended.
Jiang Chen opened his eyes. A single tear traced a path through the dust on his cheek.
"The Vault," Jiang Chen stood up. "We need to find the Vault."
"Jiang Chen?" Lin Qingxue put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Jiang Chen's voice was steady, but cold as the grave. "I know where the evidence is."
"Look!" Gu Linger pointed to the back of the hangar.
There was a massive, circular vault door made of Star-Steel. It glowed with a faint red light.
"That's a Blood Seal," Lin Qingxue noted. "Ancient tech. It requires specific genetic markers to open."
Jiang Chen walked up to the door. There was a needle scanner in the center.
"Genetic markers," Jiang Chen said. "Like a son."
He pressed his thumb onto the needle.
Prick.
A drop of blood was drawn.
The red light pulsed.
[DNA Verified: Jiang Lineage.]
[Welcome, Commander.]
KA-CHUNK.
The massive bolts retracted. The vault door swung open slowly.
Inside, there was no gold. No weapons.
Just a single, small black pedestal. And sitting on it was a Black Box Data Recorder.
"That's it," Jiang Chen breathed. "The smoking gun."
He reached for the box.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Suddenly, the wrist-comms of every student in the room lit up.
[Emergency Broadcast.]
[Council Command: Fugitives Detected in Sector 9.]
[Target: Jiang Chen.]
[Bounty: 1 Million Credits. Dead or Alive.]
Fatty Wei dropped his flashlight. "One... million?"
Lin Qingxue looked at her comms, then at Jiang Chen.
"They know we're here," she said. "The train crash was a trap to flush you out. But entering the vault triggered a silent alarm."
"They're coming," Jiang Chen grabbed the Black Box and shoved it into his System Inventory.
"Who?" Gu Linger asked.
"The Silencer Squad," Jiang Chen turned around, drawing his heavy sword. "The same ones who killed my parents."
He looked at his team.
"You guys should leave. The bounty is on me."
"Don't be stupid," Lin Qingxue drew her ice sword. "We're Team Zero. We split the loot 50/50. That includes the trouble."
"Besides," Fatty Wei pulled out a massive, terrifying-looking cannon he had assembled from spare parts. "I've always wanted to use this. I call it the 'Spicy Meatball Launcher'."
Gu Linger giggled, her daggers floating around her head like a halo of death. "I want to kill bad guys!"
Jiang Chen smiled. It was a genuine smile.
"Alright," he said. "Let's fortify this position."
"The ghosts of the 104th are watching. Let's give them a show."