The following morning, beneath the swirling dust of the Outlands beyond Biotope 5, two brand-new armored vehicles from the P-Type unit tore through the haze at high speed, racing toward the edge of the continent. Their mission was to eliminate a group of ruthless fugitives wanted for murder and armed robbery, currently hiding out according to intelligence reports.
Inside the lead vehicle, the atmosphere was tense in a way it had never been before. Lewis, 23, Alicia, and Sophie sat in position, their eyes fixed on the holographic display as they carefully reviewed Colonel Pierce's tactical plan. Every one of them understood that this would be their first true test of real teamwork.
In the second armored vehicle trailing behind, Gareth sat alone in the rear compartment. He was busy checking the audio receivers and long-range visual sensors, preparing to act as the eyes and ears of the team according to the plan.
"Alright… stop here."
Gareth's calm voice came through the comms as he gave the order to the driver. The second armored vehicle rolled to a complete halt, maintaining the planned distance from the target.
"Good… looks like he's set up the comms point just like we planned. We should be close now."
Lewis said, rolling his shoulders as he loosened up. The moment the lead vehicle came to a stop, the four members of the assault team stepped out onto the dry, cracked ground, waiting for their next command.
"The abandoned village ahead looks deserted… but I'm picking up faint vibrations from underground."
Gareth's voice came through clearly in their earpieces. He was focused on the monitor, tracking real-time coordinates from sensors drilled into the ground beside his vehicle.
"23, Lewis… head toward one o'clock. You'll find a large, old house. Watch out for sensors. From here, it looks like something's emitting a weak interference signal."
23 gave a quick nod to the others, then tightened his gear and took the lead, moving toward the marked location. They advanced with measured spacing, using the surrounding ruins as cover, far more cautiously than ever before.
Inside the dilapidated house, stripped of doors and windows, faint sunlight filtered through cracks in the roof and fell across the dust-covered floor. 23 moved with near-silent precision, his footsteps barely making a sound, in stark contrast to Lewis, whose massive build sent vibrations through the rotting floorboards with every step.
"Hey, Lewis! I told you to keep it quiet!"
Gareth's voice snapped through the earpiece, edged with irritation.
"So what's next… we're in the center of the house now."
23 cut in, asking for the next instruction as his eyes scanned the area for a way down below.
"Alright… Alicia, Sophie, circle around to the back. You'll find an old manhole cover there. Get into position, stay concealed, and get ready for the fun to start."
Gareth issued the command while rapidly tapping on his monitor, preparing the next phase of the plan. The two women exchanged a quick nod before slipping away in silence, leaving the two frontline fighters standing out in the open, right in the middle of the abandoned house, serving as perfect bait according to Colonel Pierce's strategy.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The moment Gareth's signal came through, the heavy silence inside the abandoned house was ripped apart by a burst of gunfire erupting from beneath their feet. The rotting wooden floor was shredded into splinters as bullets tore through it, punching into 23's body and sending blood spraying. Yet the wounds sealed themselves almost instantly, his skin restoring so quickly that the damage was barely visible.
Meanwhile, Lewis stood his ground, taking the barrage without flinching. To him, these machine gun rounds felt as harmless as pebbles compared to the .50 caliber fire he had endured from the Out Law before. What he hadn't accounted for, however, was the fragile state of the house itself, far too worn to withstand the combined weight and destruction.
Creeeak! Boom!
The weakened floor finally gave way, collapsing in an instant and sending Lewis's massive frame crashing down into the basement below, dust exploding into the air. The moment he regained his footing, he found himself surrounded by eight men, all frantically unloading their light machine guns at him in sheer panic.
"It dropped down! Shoot it! Tear it apart!"
Shouts of fear and frantic curses echoed through the dim basement. In the cramped space, hemmed in by tight concrete walls, Lewis struggled to move freely as the relentless stream of bullets poured into him without pause.
"Plan B! You, get the vehicle ready!"
The gang leader shouted in a panic. One of the men at the rear quickly broke away from the group, rushing toward a secondary exit that connected to the drainage tunnel as part of their escape route. But the moment he burst through, what awaited him wasn't a getaway vehicle. Two young women were already standing there, calmly blocking his path. Sophie stepped forward with a faint, unsettling smile.
"So… are you one of them? A thief? That's interesting."
Her voice was soft, almost gentle, yet carried an undercurrent of something far more compelling.
"Uh… yes."
The man answered in a daze, his eyes already losing focus.
"Good. Now go back downstairs… and take care of your friends."
Sophie gave the command in a calm, measured tone, but it carried undeniable force. Without the slightest resistance, the man turned and walked straight back down into the basement.
"Hey! Did you get the vehicle yet?! We're almost out of ammo!"
The gang leader shouted again without turning around. But before his words had even finished, the man who had just returned raised his weapon and opened fire on his own teammates, mowing them down one by one until no one was left standing.
When it was over, he staggered back out toward Sophie, moving like a puppet on strings.
"Well done… you can rest now."
She spoke softly. The man collapsed where he stood, losing consciousness instantly, leaving behind nothing but silence and the lingering stench of gunpowder drifting up from the basement.
"Alright, mission complete."
Gareth's voice came through the comms, noticeably more relaxed after confirming that nearly all heat signatures inside the house had gone still.
"Hey! What about me? I've been sitting here so long I'm about to grow roots!"
Lloyd Sterling's voice came through the comms in a low grumble. He was positioned atop a high-rise nearly two miles away, equipped with a large, specialized reconnaissance visor issued by Colonel Pierce. The device processed Gareth's data into a real-time 3D simulation, allowing him to track every movement within the abandoned village with perfect clarity, as if the dust-choked air didn't exist.
"That's because the job wrapped up too fast. You didn't even get a chance to show off."
Gareth replied with a chuckle as he began packing up the sensors and signal relay equipment.
"Just stay put. I'll swing by and pick you up on the way back."
This operation marked P-Type's first fully coordinated victory under the guidance of their new tactical commander. The mission was executed swiftly, with no damage to their high-value equipment, and not a single member suffered any serious injury.
.....
Inside the underground base, thick with the smell of engine oil and the crackle of welding sparks, Murray stood in front of a worn metal workbench, studying Edward as if he were a machine waiting to be rebuilt.
"Alright, let's get started. First thing, your style is all about speed and agility. So anything unnecessary… gets cut."
The moment he finished speaking, Murray grabbed Edward's backpack and flipped it upside down, dumping everything onto the table with a loud clatter before tossing the bag aside without a second thought.
"Hey! That bag cost me 150 credits, you know!"
Edward shouted, lunging forward to grab it, but Murray didn't pay him the slightest bit of attention.
"Now then, all this gear of yours… from what I can see, it's nothing but useless junk."
Murray said flatly as he swept his thick hand across the pile on the table, clearing it aside in one motion.
"Alright, how about this… first off, since you've got a thing for picking locks, take this."
Murray said, setting down a compact, rectangular device about the size of a palm onto the table. It resembled a multi-purpose folding tool, packed with small instruments like a blade, scissors, and miniature screwdrivers, all designed for versatile field use.
"But relying on manual work alone is a bit outdated these days."
The veteran technician continued, flipping the device to reveal its other side, where a variety of connection ports were neatly arranged.
"If you need to break into an electronic lock, just plug this side in. I've already loaded it with the latest bypass program. It should get you through most security systems without much trouble. Just match the port and connect it to the receiver… but remember, this thing only unlocks. It won't shut down the system's alerts. You'll still need to stay sharp and handle that part yourself."
Murray emphasized firmly before placing the device down as the first item in Edward's new loadout.
"Next, your outfit. What you're wearing now is fine, it keeps you mobile."
Murray said as he studied the boy's frame.
"But think about it… what happens when you run into someone with the kind of strength P-Type has? Or if Drago decides to get annoyed one day and drives a punch straight into your gut? Your bones would turn to dust. So here, take this."
He pulled out a roll of dark, finely woven fabric and set it in front of Edward.
"At a glance, it looks like ordinary cloth, but it's actually made from a specialized weave, reinforced with Kevlar and military-grade carbon fiber."
Murray continued, explaining its properties.
"It helps disperse impact and gives your internal organs a fighting chance. And I mean a fighting chance, not a guarantee. This isn't some miracle armor that makes you immortal. But it's a hell of a lot better than the scraps you're wearing now. The downside is simple. You'll still feel every bit of the pain. It just means you won't drop dead on the field because your organs gave out first."
Edward listened in silence, picking up the fabric and running his fingers across it. It felt soft and flexible, no different from ordinary clothing. But when he looked closer, he caught faint glints within the weave, strange fibers layered tightly beneath the surface.
"We'll take your measurements later and get it tailored. Won't take long."
Murray added, tapping the table as he prepared to move on to the next piece of equipment.
"These are boots… actually, now that I look at it, the ones you're already wearing are pretty solid. So these are just a decent pair of junk. Take them back, why'd I even bring them out?"
Murray muttered to himself before tossing the pair he had planned to swap in over his shoulder, just like the rest.
"And finally… your mask."
His tone turned serious as he reached toward the mask resting beside Edward.
"Careful with that, old man! That cost me 2,000 credits!"
Edward blurted out, his voice tight with protectiveness. It was the biggest investment he had ever made as a scavenger.
"What did you just say?!"
Murray froze, then snapped out loud.
"2,000? Are you out of your mind? Where did you even get something like that?!"
"Hey… I know it's expensive, but it's part of the job, alright? I had to invest in it…"
Edward tried to justify himself, his voice tinged with pride, but Murray cut him off immediately.
"The normal price for this model is 7,500 credits, kid!"
Murray barked, spinning the monitor around so Edward could see it clearly. It was the official website of the manufacturer, displaying the steep price of 7,500 credits, along with a limited promotion dropping it to 6,990 with free delivery within twelve hours.
"And you got it for 2,000? That says it all. Either it's fake, which I've already checked and it's not, or it's off the books. No taxes, no paperwork. This thing is definitely smuggled."
Edward stood there in stunned silence as the real price glared back at him from the screen. Only then did it hit him that the mask he had been wearing was worth far more than he had ever imagined.
"Well, the base functions it already has are fine by me. It's solid as it is."
Murray said, examining the structure of the high-priced mask.
"But I'm going to add two upgrades. First, a long-range magnification lens. With its existing detection sensors, this add-on will extend your visual range several times over, and all that damned dust out there won't be able to block your sight anymore."
He held up a tiny communication chip.
"Second, and more importantly, a dedicated frequency communication system. I'll install a frequency converter that feeds signals directly into the bones of your inner ear. No earpiece needed. It converts the signal into sound instantly, and only you can hear it while you're wearing the mask. Even if some pretty girl presses her cheek right up against your ear, she won't hear a thing coming through."
Murray let out a breath and prepared to begin tuning the device. But at that exact moment, Jenkins burst into the lab, urgency written all over him.
"Hey! You guys… you need to see this!"
Jenkins called out, waving them over with clear excitement as he urged everyone to follow him out.
Inside the underground briefing room, a suffocating tension filled the air as every pair of eyes among the allied group, Connor, Kelly, Chloe, Drago, and Darius, fixed on the large monitor displaying news of P-Type's latest success. But what appeared on screen was even more surprising than expected. The government spokesperson was no longer standing beside Dr. Nicolas as usual. Instead, it was Colonel Pierce Hildebrand, a stern tactician, and the number of P-Type members visible on screen had been reduced to just six.