"I really don't know but when those aliens were on me, a person in a UVS came out of nowhere and slaughtered them," Malik proceeded to briefly narrate the turn of events at what he thought was his final moments.
"And you don't know the identity of that person?" Dennis inquired.
"No. I thought it was one of us, but then, there was something different about the person. He or she or whatever was inside seemed way more experienced than any of us. They took down so many of those aliens without any assistance. I couldn't get a good look at them before I had to get out of there with Becca," Malik was still very much intrigued about the person and hoped they made it away in time.
He knew the numbers could wear the person in the UVS out, but he was also sure that if they wanted to break out of the encirclement, it wouldn't be impossible.
'This was unexpected... I didn't think there were other Modified Combatants. Hmm,' The more Dennis thought about it, the more some things started to make sense.
He was in a shelter, but there were still other shelters across the world. Certainly, their shelter couldn't be the only one working to create Modified Combatants.
"So there are others out there..." Lara stated from the side.
Dennis displayed a contemplative expression while Malik kept narrating everything that happened to everyone in the lounge. He had forgotten that he was supposed to keep a lot of the information a secret and couldn't stop talking.
....
....
....
"There are no others out there," Mr Ansel stated with a disturbed expression.
"Then how?" Scientist Graham questioned with a look of disbelief.
"I do not understand it either," Mr Ansel slumped back in his seat.
"Well, that's a first... the great Ansel is clueless about something," Scientist Belmos stated from the side.
"And have you figured it out, Belmos?" Mr Ansel didn't take offence at the remark. Instead, he was interested in everyone's point of view.
"The details of our research may have already gotten leaked, and another shelter may be ahead of us," Scientist Belmos responded.
"A thought I already considered, but it is simply impossible. All procedures for the research are separated into five different storage drives, located in different locations within and outside of the shelter. You three are aware of four locations, but only I know where the last one is," Mr Ansel answered with a tone of certainty.
"Hmm we can rule out any suspicious ideas since you do not intend to reveal the procedure of UVS-001 creation to the other shelters until after the selection program of the Modified Combatants," Scientist Hart held his chin in deep thought.
"Precisely, it couldn't have been leaked by any of you and not by myself either so... that UVS..." Mr Ansel paused at that point.
"... Has to be one of ours," Scientist Graham completed the statement.
"But who could it be?"
....
....
....
{ Four Days Later }
"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Loud chants reverberated across the surroundings as the MCs gathered around a duo who had currently adopted a battle stance.
"Are you still worried he will lose?" Malik asked Lara from the sidelines.
"Hmph! I don't care," Lara folded her arms while pouting.
"Wait, he is going against Eobard... the sixth. Which means he already beat you," Malik voiced with a tone of realisation.
"Meh! He didn't win," Lara folded her arms even tighter and looked away.
"He wouldn't be fighting the sixth if he lost," Malik understood the reason for her current attitude. She was sulking.
"Hahaha, so you lost."
"He didn't win you dick head!"
"Keep telling yourself that"
"Hmph!"
"Hahaha!"
Soon, the battle between Dennis and Eobard began, causing the crowd of spectators to go bunkers. Malik wished he could bet like the last time, but unfortunately, two instructors were present to witness the fight that time.
The last fight in public between Dennis and the eighth had left Decker unconscious for a day. He had to be in the med bay for over three days after regaining consciousness before he was let out.
The instructors were present to make sure that things didn't get out of hand.
Fortunately, the battle didn't take more than a couple of minutes. Dennis had Eobard laid out before he could get to flex his skills properly.
The MCs and instructors spectating were extremely astonished as loud cheers rang out. They still couldn't believe that Dennis, who could barely keep up with the daily drills months ago, was now capable of this. His growth was completely unexpected.
"Now that he beat Eobard, Captain Cory is next," Malik pointed out.
"Hmm... He better be careful. Cory is not the captain for nothing. His wits are superior," Lara stated.
"I knew you were worried about him. Haha," Malik slapped Lara across the shoulder while laughing hysterically.
She turned to shoot him a cold glare, causing Malik to cover his mouth while trying to hide a chuckle, "My bad."
The Modified Combatants Training facility kept buzzing for the next couple of days. Dennis was certainly a hot topic, especially when everyone found out that he was fighting his way up.
Bets were secretly being placed on how far he would get. Some assumed he wouldn't go beyond Cory Parsons while some believed Regory would be his final stop.
No one could see him defeating the top three because they were said to be inhumane compared to the rest of the MCs.
Although a lot of them had different opinions, they no longer saw Dennis as the weak, scrawny kid who barely made it to the training stage.
Was he finally starting to get the boons of being the MC with the highest compatibility rate? A lot of them couldn't help but wonder.
....
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Blows were exchanged fiercely between Cory and Dennis as a fight ensued in one of the forest areas.
Sshhhsshhh~
With every hit, Cory would be sent sliding backwards. It seemed like Dennis had made a decision not to hold back during the fight.
Each fist was packed with incredible force that made Cory feel stings even when he blocked them. He couldn't believe he was still facing the same Dennis as before. There was an indomitable aura about him.
The spectators in the surroundings had their jaws dropped as Dennis landed a hefty slap on Cory Parson's cheek
Twhack~
He spun to the side from the force while Dennis leapt upwards with his knee outstretched.
Bam!
His knee rammed into Captain Cory's jaw, causing him to stagger backwards.
At that point, his head was starting to spin. The first successful hit was due to the feint Dennis used. He fell for it, and that resulted in an opening that led to him being on the receiving end of a slap.
Cory wanted to go on for longer, but he could already see where this fight was headed.
Fwwhiii~
Dennis was charging at him like a furious beast with a hidden vendetta.
Cory raised his hand before Dennis got to him, "I forfeit... you win."
-"Uh?"
-"Oh come on, did he just quit?"
-"Boring!"
Loud voices of dissatisfaction could be heard in the vicinity as Dennis paused while Cory walked away.
It wasn't quite how he expected things to end, but he wasn't entirely dissatisfied.
As time went on, Dennis would challenge a higher-ranked MC once every two weeks. Meanwhile, outside of the Training Facility, preparations were being put in place.
===========
-"We have received your footage, General Gustav. Shelter 303 will be participating in the upcoming cleanup mission."
-"Shelter 305 has received the message clearly. We will be taking this news very seriously and shall be in attendance at the alliance meeting,"
-"Greetings, General Gustav. Shelter 309 has received your footage. We shall not miss the gathering."
-"Greetings from Shelter 302..."
General Gustav listened to the feedback from various shelters one after the other with an expression of seriousness on his face.
"This threat is not to be taken lightly. We need as much assistance as we can get," He muttered under his breath while staring at the halved picture of a young man before him.
===========
{ Two months later }
A 5'11 " youngster around the age of seventeen stared at his reflection in the mirror before him. His silky cinnamon hair shook anytime he moved his face a little.
His skin looked extremely smooth, and his facial features were handsomely outlined. Another noticeable feature was his body. He had a lean muscular build, which was very much visible through his black tank top.
The youngster proceeded to take off his black tank top, and an unexpected sight became visible.
A saucer-like item was planted on the left part of his chest. If any MC witnessed this, they would immediately be able to identify the item.
However, another noticeable aspect was the red lines extending from the area where the item was planted to other parts of his chest. The red marks looked similar to tattoos, but the youngster knew very well that they weren't.
He placed his fingers on his chest and trailed across a few of them, which extended towards his neck.
"Hmm... they are longer now," Dennis muttered.