On board the Bullhead, most were relaxed after finishing their mission. They only need to make a stop at Reach to refuel the Dust before making their way back to Atlas.
Winter, although exhausted, was gazing at Adam. After looking closely at his sleeping face and even touching it, she felt like her previous assumption that he had surgery to change his face was false. It's more like he aged 5 years and turned from a teenager into an adult.
"Ma'am, what should we do with him? I reckon he would immediately be arrested and interrogated once General Ironwood learned his affiliation and involvement in this mission."
"That…" Winter cannot deny what her subordinate said is true. She knows first hand how paranoid General Ironwood is, a little too paranoid for anyone's good.
"I will try to co-"
Winter paused immediately when the three soldiers he usually summoned to battle suddenly appeared. An additional one appeared too, looking like a leader. His face is exposed with a gas mask and helmet, his face filled with scars like a veteran soldier with grayed hair and with an expensive cigar on his mouth taking a deep drag before pulling it out from his mouth.
Before anyone can react, Adam is already taken by them. Or rather, rescued.
"My apology, missy. But we cannot afford to let our 'anchor' to be taken by you and put behind bars when the world needs him the most." He said while exhaling the cigar smoke. "Now, if you would excuse me." The four soldiers then vanished along with Adam into the holographic glitch that they appeared from.
Winter and her subordinates could only watch with their mouths agape as Adam disappeared with the soldiers without any chance to stop them.
Winter, who thought the organization was nothing more than an excuse or a hoax from Adam, turned out to be real and their ability to teleport people and things is very worrying. No wonder she never heard of this organization before if they have such ability.
But, what irked her the most is that someone indeed took Whitley and turned him into a soldier too. Although she is grateful that someone saved her brother from his kidnapper, the White Fang, she however does not appreciate what they had done to Whitley and now he doesn't even remember her or anything in the past. Not to mention, 'anchor'? The way they address Whitley or Adam is as if he is a tool for their agenda.
She didn't like this even one bit. Adam being an amnesiac and his involvement with this shadowy organization. At least if what Adam previously said is true, then the organization's goal is to stop the Outbreak, an ally to all Remnants. But she cannot dismiss the possibility that the origin of the virus itself might have come from this organization and they messed up and are now trying to clean up their mess.
"Yes. Mess… everything is a mess." Winter sighed helplessly.
How are they supposed to fight against enemies that can kill them with a smallest scratch?
Perhaps General Ironwood vision to replace frontline soldiers with machines isn't exactly wrong as many would assume.
———
*Slap*
"Huh?!" Adam jolted awake after feeling the crisp slap on his face.
"Yo, kid. Finally feeling awake?"
The disoriented Adam looked around and found him back in a forest and then looking to his side he saw an old man with three operators standing behind him like disciplined soldiers.
The old man rummages through his belt pouch and pulls out a bar wrapped in a plain gray plastic wrapper.
"Here, eat this and regain some energy. Sheesh, brats these days are too crazy. Fighting on an empty stomach is a recipe for disaster. You need energy to have a clear head. Don't you know a soldier's worst enemy is an empty stomach?" The old man rambles nonsense that Adam cannot even understand with his head feeling like spinning and his stomach acid rising up his throat.
Adam accepts the bar and unwraps it to find a brown bar that looks unappetizing but he knows it's a ration bar and quickly devours it like a starved man.
"Haah… look at this kid. Not even paying attention when the elderly are talking." The old man sighed and continued smoking his cigar until Adam was done eating.
"So… who are you people? Where am I?" Adam asked after his mind regained its clarity.
"Still in this world you are in. But who am I? Do you really not recognise me?" The old man frowned and tried to analyze Adam's expression before his face contorted. "For real kids? Did the High Command really just pull a random kid on the street and turn him into a soldier without going through the proper channel?"
"What were they even thinking?" The old man ranted for a while before he coughed and calmed down.
"Anyway, I am Captain Bane, the Grey Hound. Remember that name, kid." The old man exhales a plume of smoke while looking above as if reminiscing something when he told Adam his title.
"I just happened to recieve a task from the High Command to rescue you from being arrested. We can't afford to let the 'anchor' die especially when there is an outbreak to stop." The old man rambles a bit more before he looks at Adam's eyes. "Well, there is nothing more for me to do here. Just work hard and try to save your own world. Maybe we will meet again in the future." Captain Bane said with a nostalgic face before he disappeared from teleportation.
Adam was left puzzled and bewildered from start to end. He didn't understand one bit what the guy was talking about. Maybe a little. But mostly he doesn't understand. Instead, he looked at the screen in his sight.
[Objective completed.]
[Reward reduced due to saving Host from capture.]
Reward
- Unlock, Recruit Operators
- 50,000 XP
[Recruit Operators]
A perk that allows users to recruit allies to fight alongside when completing Contracts or to recruit allies from Contract World. Number of Allies increases with rank.
Rank: Sergeant, 4 units.
"Hmn. Is that all? The function is just to bring people along with me?" Adam asks for some clarification.
[An ally can also benefit from the System through leveling that can strengthen an ally to keep up with the increasing difficulty of the Contract World.]
The mention about the increasing difficulty didn't come with surprise for Adam but still not pleasant to hear. He will fight stronger and stronger enemies as he himself is getting more powerful.
"I see…"
"But now what? There are no more objectives given to me." Adam mentioned because there is no continuation to the objective he just completed like usual.
[Host will need to explore the world on his own. The objective will be triggered depending on the scenario Host encountered.]
This reminds Adam a lot with open world games. He will need to explore the world and then either he stumble upon a questline or something. Well, that's not all that bad.
Adam picked himself up and checked himself. Other than his body's state which isn't the best due to him pushing himself too much at the end, there isn't anything noteworthy.
Adam takes Alice out first but leaves Agent in his Inventory because she is low on power. She will no doubt be angry about it later but knowing how she would push herself to serve him like a maid would and more, keeping her in his Inventory is for the best until he finds a place to let her charge.
"Master! Eh? Where are we?" Alice jumped on Adam first and nuzzled him first before she noticed their surroundings were different.
"We are out of that place. Right now, we are trying to find a settlement. Agent needs to charge herself up." Adam hugs Alice before explaining everything to her.
"Oh! Alright. I will try." Alice closes her eyes and accesses the CCTS and locates their position.
"Hmn… We are 217 KM away from the town we visited last time." Alice opens and reveals her blue eyes while pointing her finger to the east.
"That's… very far away." Adam sighed at his miserable fate before he started their journey back to Reach.
"Hmn, Alice did well." Adam praised when Alice looked at him expectantly with her large and adorable eyes that he found irresistible.
"Hehe. Thank you, Master. Please pet me more!" She giggled happily and latched to him along the journey.
The travel isn't that bad. The wilderness is quite beautiful. The Grimm is annoying but they mostly fled and didn't bother fighting unless they were territorial. What he is concerned with is Mutated or Zombie Grimm. He encountered a few but way less than he expected and he wondered why when back at Ansel, there's basically an ocean of them.
———
Location: Huntsmen Guild, Reach
Time: ???
"Just what are we looking at? Territorial disputes? Civil war?"
"I doubt that. Isn't Grimms a mindless monster? Also, didn't you see that the aggressive ones are different? They are larger and, well, aggressive. Not even injury will stop them." A man said while watching the screen of Grimms tearing each other up with morbid curiosity.
"So, what should we do about this, boss?"
"I already informed Valeian Councils and Beacon Academy. Headmaster Ozpin said he had dispatched his students and teachers to help." The guild manager said.
"Students? Is it safe? Shouldn't they send actual Huntsmens instead of childrens?" Nicholas argued with the guild manager.
"Beats me. I'm not Ozpin. Or perhaps you are worried about your wayward son?" The guild manager snickers along with a few other Huntsmens.
"It's not funny guys. We aren't sending children that haven't finished their training to the battlefield like this. I fought a few of those new Grimms and I know how dangerous they are." Nicholas added angrily.
"Well, you are the Garrison Commander of Reach. You can give your order if you want." The guild manager shrugs. He is just an administrative officer, he isn't the commander that has actual authority. "Just keep them within the wall and assist the logistical team or something."
"They are hot-blooded teens, you know. Do you really think they will stay put and listen to us?" Nicholas winced knowing how the kids would react once ordered to stay put. Some will definitely try to join the frontline.
"Is there really no way to change Headmaster Ozpin's mind?" Nicholas asked.
"Look, I tried but that stubborn mule insisted on sending his students. There's nothing that will change his mind." The guild manager was already annoyed with his increasing workload as of late due to the abnormalities with the Grimms. "If there's nothing else, please leave me alone. I have many more things to do than listening to your complaints."
With a defeated sigh, Nicholas left the office. He was stressed about why he is a little brash just now. Not just him but all Huntsmens and staff working for the Hunter Guild, the Sheriff and others in the garrison are stressed with the threat of Grimms hanging by the doorstep of Reach.
The new Grimms no longer just are attracted by negative emotions. But they are simply indiscriminately without any pattern like a rabid beast.
———
The land of darkness, a land shrouded in twisted red glow like blood soaked land, a barren landscape filled with black crystals like spines jutting out the ground. A single castle seemingly carved out of violet crystal stood in the solitude of a wasteland.
Salem, the owner of this land and castle, stood before a large pool filled with tar-like liquid. Her face bore an excited expression as she stood solemnly before the pool.
"Rise, my Grimms. Your Goddess commands your presence." She beckons before the pool which immediately starts spawning Grimms en masse.
"To think there will be time someone dare challenge me and steal control over my Grimms under my nose." She frowned a bit that she felt this excited. "Perhaps it's better than keep playing that stale game of cat and mouse with Ozma. A little spice in life couldn't hurt." She mutters as she gazes over hundreds of thousands of Grimms marching out from her land of darkness.
——————
(She still didn't know she was playing with fire.)
If you readers feel generous or want to appreciate my work and effort, feel free to tip me here.
https://ko-fi.com/lazy_kat_aoi