-Corporal. Are you still alive by any chance?-
(Silence)
(Silence)
(Silence)
(Silence)
(Silence)
Sophia sighed, knowing the outcome.
"Chances would've been better if we waited for him. Orders are orders. Nothing we can do now. Solving this mystery is the greatest justice I can give him," Sophia commented. "Hmm?"
Sophia turned her attention in a certain direction, but the feeling at the bottom of her heart disappeared. Unable to determine its location, she headed to the helicopter, wondering if her teammates were still there.
——|——|—|—|——|——
An elder was off in the distance, his body trembling.
'What terrifying will of mind! Does she even need instincts? Does she have any? Such a terrible presence, yet she defeated it. Simply remarkable. They no longer need my help, but I'll guard them until the helicopter leaves. That's the least I can do for Hsuzel. He's lucky to have such promising recruits.'
——|——|—|—|——|——
Two men stared at each other somewhere in a forest outside the city. One wore casual attire and looked rather bored. The other wore something more formal but still seemed rather casual.
"You found it?"
"No. I found something."
"What?"
"Unexplainable logic."
"That's why you called me?"
"Yes"
A USB stick was thrown, turning into smoke mid-air.
"Just tell me where they live. I'll be in and out in a jiff."
"I'm worried."
"We have an unspoken cooperation agreement. Never been broken. Never will be broken."
"That they can't handle it. They're young. They're not experienced like us."
"They're combat trained. They can handle a little sting."
"Alright. Go ahead"
"You've already experienced my methods. Don't doubt me little brother."
"You're right. I'm sorry. One of my privates. He broke. I don't want it to happen again."
"Weren't you mentally insane before I fixed you good and new?"
The man in the formal but casual attire laughed, then they rapidly skipped out of the forest, zooming at a hundred miles per hour.
Just before the man left the forest, he turned his head around, intensely concentrating on the other side.
'Before you return, head over to this elder's dojo. Check out my newest Cadet, Sikhail GodFiend'
An instant later, a message returned.
'Alright. A personal recommendation by you always excites me.'
——|——|—|—|——|——
[The Day After]
The Light Coalition had operations in many different countries on nearly every continent. They had laboratories with unfathomably deep pockets alongside their dedicated offensive and defensive capabilities. In such a laboratory, Joeka conducted research that led to Warriors, Magicians, and Rogues. In another such laboratory, scientists, and engineers tried deciphering the secrets derived from such research.
There was a bakery on the main street of the commercial district. This street, alongside many others, was the core of the road infrastructure that connected the residential neighborhoods to the business and financial district. Getting a permit to construct a shop here was lucrative, to say the least. Shops further out saw as much as a 40% drop in profits. Businesses had no interest in setting up near the perimeter, giving way to residential buildings.
The bakery had long lines every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, year-round. Those who spent a huge amount frequently got VIP privileges. VIPs had access to a VIP account to place an order online, skipping the line altogether.
The bakery didn't have this originally. They were actually a nobody. Their founder, the chef who prepared the goods, had such otherworldly talent that after word got out, nobody wanted anything else. The rapid price increases went uncontested because the quality and taste were leagues above the competition.
The technique was automated thanks to the Golden Age, turning them into an industry leader.
Besides VIPs, they also had a list of Gold VIPs. Gold VIPs didn't have to spend anything. In fact, they could receive whatever they wanted, however much they wanted, on the house. They could even enter from any entrance they wanted, with one such entry being the bar on the other side. Patrons typically visited both, but very few made the trip through the middle. In fact, customers were always curious about those who had that privilege.
Those folks were mysterious. With a single look, they could break up impending or in-progress fights and put a smile on a distressed citizen. They were clearly deep and cultured. One could only imagine their profession. Alas, they were fated to never find out. Towering men always guarded the door.
In between the two shops, there was, in fact, an elevator with a sponge. There were ceiling lights that wouldn't turn on until the doors closed. Simple but effective. Squeezing that sponge summoned an elevator from hundreds of feet below the surface. It also cleansed one's hand simultaneously, which was convenient if you wanted to eat your goods immediately.
The ride down was smooth and quick, enough to finish eating and drinking. A trash disposal chute was at the bottom, right outside the elevator.
Four corridors led to Research and Development, Forensics, *OtherWorld*, and *Top Secret*. A man in a lab coat counted all his equipment, double-checked his security clearance, used a nearby mirror to make himself more presentable, and then walked towards *Forensics*.
It was a long hallway that was quite spacious. Many doors such as *Military*, *Academics*, *Government*, and *Top Secret* were separated by hundreds of feet. He walked deeper, stopping before a door labeled *Theory Crafting*.
He bent the access card in his hands and gripped the handle. After a moment, there was a beep. He turned the handle, opened the door, and entered. A smell of disinfected metal and other strange odors hit him full-on. He took a deep breath, smiled, and walked to a nearby station.
He set the equipment down, fished a USB stick out of his pocket, then inserted it into a computer. It was a beast of a machine. A supercomputer. The Neo Berserker 1.0. It was a data-crunching machine with an infinite amount of features.
He typed a few commands as the machine powered on. Eventually, it roared. The juice and processing power required to handle what he was about to do was enormous.
"Alright, unexplainable? There's nothing numbers can't reveal. Even nothing is a clue. Very few things leave illogical or irrational evidence. After all, what's capable of that? Not much"
The man turned to the equipment on the ground. It was hard to describe any of it, so the man simply stared. His eyes settled on a sphere. He grabbed it and looked up.
"Do we have an AR specialist on duty today? Need some help. Solving the impossible."
A young woman rose from a pile of junk. Early 20's. She looked very excited for no reason.
"Good, you. Come over here. I'm unfamiliar with AR, at least on the level required for this sim. Do you mind helping me?"
The young woman nodded, rushing over. She took over the sphere, looked at the display on the computer, and got to work. Under her control, a brand new world was created. A floor came to life, followed by the walls, then the ceiling. Events were moving backward, rewinding.
"Can you rewind it back to three days ago? Roughly 1130 Military time."
The world warped backward at 10x the speed as everything was rebuilt. Lights flickered on and off as power was consumed. Suddenly, a mechanical suit appeared out of nowhere. Four more appeared behind it.
"That should be Sophia and her team. Now, can you show me what they saw?"
An exact replica of what happened unfolded, from the team sweeping the first floor to Sophia combining 2 shotguns.
"Truly bizarre. Everything in here matches the report. Now, show me what the data saw."
"So… the 'Unmasked' filter."
"Yes."
"Ok. Applying level 1 intensity."
The world reversed once more as sequences of numbers, including symbols, appeared. Everything else was otherwise quite ordinary.
"Blue marks all over Sophia's body and Rose's face. Looks like hand prints, like something was grabbing them."
"Applying level 2 intensity."
"Metal and shadow figure was originally a soldier. They look incredibly anguished, tortured."
"Applying level 3 intensity."
"No difference."
"Applying level 4 intensity."
"No difference. Stop. Well, that wasn't useful. We already knew this. We knew there was a process. Victim origin isn't really relevant either."
"Sir, what were you looking for?"
"Process, intention, motivation."
"Sir?"
"Intention and motivation are inferred from the process by hand. There is no process. They're hiding something."
"That can hide from the unmask filter?"
"That's where manual intervention would've been helpful."
"What does this mean then?"
"Someone knows our method. They're going around it. They have a fundamental awareness of how it works."