"It is more of a rescue mission than anything else because Derrick is also invaluable. You seem to have forgotten that V99 crystals still need to be collected," General Gustav remained unwilling to back down.
"Also, we saw footage of Dennis's performance with the mutated beast. I am quite certain he can handle himself," the General added.
"Nothing you say can change my mind. Yellow zone D isn't the only location for mining the v99 crystals, and Lieutenant Colonel Derrick is not close to being as valuable as my MCs," Mr Ansel put his foot down on the matter.
"Even when you're running out of necessary supplies, you remain stubborn on the matter. I hope you realise that trying to obtain v99 from other areas is usually more tasking, especially due to distance.
Of course, you wouldn't understand the dangers since you do not have to leave the confines of this laboratory. My men are not dispensable," General Gustav's frown deepened when he turned around.
'I don't intend to ask the neighbouring shelter for help, so I must find a way to make this work,' General Gustav began walking away afterwards.
"I will be back," His voice trailed off as he disappeared into the distance.
Mr Ansel remained seated in place for some time before getting to his feet. He proceeded to head towards a corner where a cabinet was constructed.
He opened it up and spotted a bunch of crates within.
Slowly dragging his fingers across the surfaces of the crates, one could tell that most of them were empty, except for the last one.
He carefully pulled it out and opened the lid.
"He wasn't wrong... we are truly running out," Mr Ansel had a visibly disturbed look while staring at the contents of the crate.
Within it were finger-sized glowing shards, all greenish with magenta tips.
A wave of untapped energy filled the room as fluorescent dots could be spotted swimming around the crystals.
'I don't want any of them heading out for missions until they are fully ready but I need to find an alternative or we won't be able to continue research,' Mr Ansel proceeded to close the crate and placed it back in its previous position.
....
....
....
[Modified Combatants Training Facility]
Chatter! Chatter! Chatter!
Loud voices laced with excitement and disbelief reverberated across the vicinity as a lot of MCs gathered around two people.
They happened to be close to a stream, with walls of trees on the far left and right of the vicinity. It was a pretty open space, but it also seemed to be one of their training environments.
"This is going to end very quickly."
"Does noodle kneecaps think this is a fight with UVS?"
"He is out of his damn mind."
Some of the voices in the background couldn't help but let out their thoughts.
This was because the two in the middle were Dennis and Decker, the eighth strongest.
Dennis had taken a battle stance, but Decker still had his hands pocketed in his pants with a suave expression.
"Won't you stop him?" Lara said to Malik.
"There is no need to," Malik shook his head and folded his arms to watch.
"What if gets badly hurt? Decker is a womanising jerk," Lara seemed very troubled.
"He'll be fine," Malik remained unbothered.
'He easily won against me after all,' He recalled their duel that happened two weeks back.
Lara didn't understand why Malik wasn't worried despite being aware of how their fight went the last time.
She wanted to head forward and tell Dennis to put an end to the foolishness, but recalling how unwavering his personality is, Lara knew it would be futile.
"I bet $50 Dennis gets whooped."
"I bet a $100."
"You guys leaving me out of the fun? How about $200?"
"Shesh, man. I've only got $60."
Some of the MCs were placing bets.
"I place $300 on Dennis,"
A voice from the side suddenly made everyone turn.
"Are you crazy, man?" One of them asked.
"Got a problem? It's my money, no?" Malik responded while spreading his palms slightly.
They still looked at him like he was crazy but Malik didn't care and turned back to focus on the two up ahead.
The battle seemed like it was about to begin.
"This is good. At least now I can beat you up for letting me get blue balled without facing any consequences. I couldn't vent before because of a certain annoying chick, but since you orchestrated this battle yourself..." A grin appeared on Decker's face as he tilted his head sideways.
Krrrunkk~ Krrrunnkk~
His neck made some bone-crunching sounds as he suddenly peered forward with a straight expression.
"You're done for," He added.
Dennis's face retained an unbothered expression as he responded, "I hope you fight just as good as you look."
"Shut up, only girls are allowed to compliment my looks... here I come," Decker yelled while charging forward.
"He is finished."
"How could he have challenged the eight strongest?"
"Decker, baby. Mess him up, and you can have my t*tties for dinner. "
The voices of some girls could be heard in the background as they watched the fight begin.
Decker went for a swing at Dennis's gut, which he missed as Dennis spun to the side while swinging his palm out in a straightened manner.
Decker slightly lowered his neck, causing the palm to sweep above his head.
He thrust his right leg backwards, letting the sole of his boot shoot towards Dennis's chest while his palm was still outstretched.
Dennis swiftly raised his left arm upwards to guard.
Bam!
The foot slammed into his wrist area, causing Dennis to slide backwards from the impact.
Decker didn't wait a second more before turning and lunging forward with intensity.
Fwwhwii~
He leapt upwards and swung his right foot towards Dennis's face.
With the speed Decker had displayed, evading was impossible, so Dennis raised his arm to block once more.
Bam!
The incredible force of the hit, swept Dennis's arm downwards upon collision, causing him to slide to the side once more.
However, Decker wasn't done...
Fwwhii~
A fist slammed into Dennis's left cheek before he could properly get a grip.
Bang!
"Wooaaahhhh!"
"Finally a hit!"
"Damn, that has gotta sting!"
The crowd went crazy the moment they saw blood trickle down the side of Dennis's face.
They had to admit that they had been shocked when the battle began since Dennis had been holding his own pretty well.
Not only were the two moving at an extremely quick pace that a lot of them wouldn't be able to handle, but they could also see the precision of the attacks. A lot of them believed that they would have already been dropped if they were in Dennis's shoes. It then had them wondering how he was able to pull it off.
"Don't go weary on me yet... I am just getting started," Decker chuckled before darting forward once more.
Dennis wiped the blood off his face and engaged.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
A flurry of punches and kicks were exchanged between the both of them simultaneously.
Dennis did his best to evade most of Decker's attacks because even if he did manage to block them, the force would end up affecting his body.
From what the spectators could see, Dennis was not only slower than Decker but also weaker. Most of his attacks couldn't touch Decker, but when they did, it seemed like there wasn't much effect. Unlike how there were a lot of visible effects when Decker pressed.
'Not only is he strong, he is also fast, and he is using both to his advantage,' Dennis thought as he repeatedly swerved sideways to evade attacks.
"Come on, man. What are you doing?" Malik yelled from the crowd.
'Don't let me lose fucking $300!'
He was surprised because from what he could recall, Dennis moved and fought better when they had their battle.
"So now you're worried... I told you we shouldn't have let him fight that jerk," Lara chipped in from the side with an expression of annoyance.
Dennis heard from his position but acted like he didn't. He was in the moment so he couldn't react to anything coming from the crowd of spectators.
'That should be enough... I believe everyone is fooled now,' Dennis suddenly jumped backwards, leaving a distance of more than ten feet between himself and Decker.
"You wanna run now? It's too late for that, noodle kneecaps," Decker wasted not even a single second before lunging at him.
'Time to stop holding back...' Dennis stared at Decker approaching and a faint smile appeared on his face.
Decker's heart jumped the moment he spotted the smile on Dennis's face. However, he still threw a roundhouse kick at Dennis with sheer intensity, unwilling to let the inconspicuously creepy smile get to him.
Decker was well aware that even though Dennis was good at blocking hits, his strike was still powerful enough to inflict damage.
Bam!
"Hmm?" Decker's face lit up with shock as Dennis caught his leg.
Unlike the previous times when blocking such an attack would send Dennis flying or sliding across the ground, this time he stood his ground.
Decker's body was still in mid-air while Dennis's right hand was wrapped around his ankle.