The environment quietened after he spoke. Everyone stared forward with focused expressions.
"Just as Lieutenant Colonel Derrick has said, we have a challenge for you lots today. As you must also be aware, I and the Lieutenant Colonel here have faced death multiple times at the hand of these extraterrestrial creatures and gone through experiences that would cause the ton of you to shit your pants.
We are only picking ten to pass on valuable training to because we believe only remarkable individuals will be able to handle such training and lead in the toughest of situations," The man with shoulder-length blond hair and an eyepatch, voiced authoritatively.
Lieutenant Colonel Derrick stepped forward and placed his hands on one of the crates, "Your prototype upgrades are right here, and I'm sure we don't need to teach you how to equip them,"
"Not at all, sir!"
Multiple voices roared in response.
"Good," General Gustav stated before pulling out a small cube-like device.
A circular hologram was emitted from this cube, which displayed blue colored four-foot-long javelins.
"Your objective today is to pair up in two's and acquire one of these. Hidden deep within the forest ahead are ten of these javelins. Traps have been set in multiple areas, and of course, since only ten are available, acquiring one of these as a pair makes you a target to others.
You'll have to make sure you remain in possession of the javelin your pair has acquired and bring it back here to us. That would automatically make your pair move on to the next stage," General Gustav explained lengthily.
"Hmm, what if a pair acquires two instead of one?" The captain of the unit one questioned curiously.
"A pair is required to acquire only a single javelin to give less burden since they would only need to protect one item instead of two. This would also give leave more chances to pass this stage.
However, should a pair manage to acquire two Javelins instead of one and bring them back safely, then they may skip the next stage," General Gustav pointed out with his left eye darting across the place.
Chatter! Chatter! Chatter!
Most of the Modified Combatants were instantly fired up. However, only a few were logical enough to realize that it was practically a trap.
"Malik, we're only going to try to acquire one and do our best to safely bring it back here," Dennis said with a low tone to Malik, who was standing right beside him.
"You got it, partner. I can see pairs splitting up the moment they acquire one for each of themselves, which would also make them an easy target," Malik responded with a smile.
General Gustav was craftier than he looked.
"Now you can step forward to claim your upgraded prototypes," Lieutenant Colonel Derrick announced.
The Modified Combatants began stepping forward one after the other to receive a light red circular disk-like device. The bottom was flat, but the top was like a half onion with multiple layers that made the top curvy.
It was similar looking to the device that was strapped to Dennis's left chest area, which no one was aware of. However, unlike the one Dennis had, this was palm-sized. Which was almost twice as large.
Dennis arrived at the front to get his device after waiting a while.
'This is the kid with 99% compatibility...' General Gustav's left eye locked onto Dennis the instant he arrived before them.
Dennis also gazed back at the General's one eye as both of them locked eyes for a few, unwavering seconds with their glare.
'This kid... he has the eyes of a killer... from the reports, he is supposed to be spineless, but it doesn't seem like it,' General Gustav thought with a slightly disturbed expression.
"Uhm, General, can I?" Dennis voiced while gesturing at the crate in their midst, which General Gustav happened to have his hand over.
"My apologies. Of course, go ahead," General Gustav responded while retracting his hand.
Dennis proceeded to grab one of the upgraded prototypes and turned around as well.
Males and females moved to different secluded sides to place the prototypes on their bare chests to activate them.
The UVS suit couldn't be activated without merging with a human skin first and the scientists advised placing it on the left side of the chest because it works by connecting to the operator's heart and then the rest of their nervous system since the suit was bio-mechanical— flesh and machine at the same time. It was like having an extra layer of body.
Dennis had to move further from the others since he couldn't take off his top in front of everyone because of the real UVS suit strapped to his chest. it would instantly be recognized if anyone saw it.
Dennis had already decided the previous day that he would unequip the original and make use of the prototype instead of the test.
After reaching a part with tall bushes all around, Dennis swiftly took off his top and placed his hand on the reddish circular device stamped to his left chest area.
He tried twisting it counterclockwise based on his memories of how the UVS had been unequipped in the past.
"Hmm?" Dennis's face turned sour with an expression of confusion as he repeatedly tried twisting it to no avail.
"Why isn't it working?" His breathing turned hurried as he struggled repeatedly with it and even began feeling a searing pain in his chest.
"What the hell?" He finally stopped trying after failing repeatedly.
"Is this why they let me keep it?" Since Dennis knew a couple of memories were missing, he linked this to a missing memory as well.
It turned out that usually they'd be able to unequip it, but the USV-001 merged to him permanently, and even the scientists were unable to get it off. They could only activate and deactivate it.
It was currently in its deactivated state, and Dennis had been told never to use it outside of the laboratory facility.
"What am I supposed to do now?" Dennis's mind was in a state of turmoil.
'Should I try placing the prototype on the right side of my chest instead and see if it activates?' He wondered inwardly.
"Partner, where are you?" A familiar voice rang out with extra baritone mixed with a bit of electricity.
Dennis quickly reacted by dropping the prototype in his grasp as footsteps approached his position.
"You're here. What are you waiting for? activate it,"
The voice belonged to Malik, who was currently within the body of a UVS prototype suit. He had grown to eight feet in height, and the suit appeared similar to how it did when Dennis equipped the original with a few exceptions.
The window of the helm area turned out to be blue, not purple, and the circular glowing lines positioned on different spots of the suit happened to be purple instead of red.
Overall, the suit still looked menacing but was a little stiffer compared to that of the original.
"Oh yeah, in a second," Dennis responded with a wry chuckle as he turned around so his back would face Malik and activated the UVS suit.
'It's not like I have any other choice... I just have to make sure I don't pass out again,' Dennis said internally as the suit began covering up his entire body.