"You're going into the shelter alone?" Maya asked, her voice shaky.

" Don't worry, I have a plan, it's not like those weak monsters can hurt me, I am afraid of more casualties appearing "

Maya wanted to say something, but she hesitated and remained silent.

The three vehicles rolled forward and stopped meters away from the shelter. They could not move any further because the road was blocked. Immediately after the appearance of the mimic beasts, the shelter was closed, and now the families of people who had their family trapped in were here, but the soldiers could not allow them to enter, not only would they be throwing their lives away, but the situation inside could escalate.

The scene outside the shelter was strung tight with panic.

Dozens of people crowded the cordoned-off area, some screaming, others simply staring at the sealed shelter doors like they'd crack open if they wished hard enough. Before the heavy steel barricades stood a dozen soldiers in full armour, unmoving, unflinching, blocking every possible way in.

"No one passes!" one of them shouted over the rising din.

"Please!" a woman cried, clawing at the metal barrier. "My son is in there! He's only seven, he doesn't even have his inhaler!"

"We got separated!" another man yelled. His face was streaked with ash, his voice gone hoarse. "She's in there—my wife is in there, just let me through!"

Behind the barrier, the shelter's massive entry doors were sealed like a vault—thick, angular, humming with energy. Small reinforced windows above flickered dimly, revealing flashes of terrified faces inside—mothers, grandfathers, infants—all trapped in enforced safety. Eyes met across the barrier. Fingers reached for each other, separated by inches of alloy and protocol.

And fear.

Outside, the street was a war zone of noise and heartbreak. Trash and broken glass littered the pavement. A toppled stroller lay on its side, one wheel spinning in place. The sky above was streaked red-orange, not from sunset, but from distant fires and the flickering glow of something unnatural burning in the distance.

Children clung to their older siblings. One little girl screamed for her mom, pointing through the barrier to a face in the shelter window.

The soldier nearest to her didn't look down. His jaw was tight, his hands steady on his rifle, and his face expressionless, but a flicker of helplessness could be seen in his eyes.

The other soldiers were in the same situation.

Derek sighed and dismissed Tempest Walker. His coat swayed gently in the air, and with his arms in his pockets, he walked towards the shelter, the Genesis Unit in tow. Yvalna stood back, watching a flicker of unknown emotion in her eyes.

Perhaps it was because of the gentle but confident aura Derek was oozing or the imposing aura of the twenty people walking behind him like bodyguards, but people made way, and the scene grew quiet.

" Who is that? " The soldiers thought, even though Derek had appeared on the broadcast, he was in Tempest Walker and not everyone knew his identity.

As Derek approached the barricade, the commanding officer among the soldiers raised a hand.

"Halt! No one is allowed inside! Orders from Paleview Defence Command!"

The rest of the soldiers tensed. Fingers hovered near triggers. They didn't know who he was—but someone walking that calmly in the middle of a lockdown, flanked by what looked like an elite unit, sent alarms blaring through their instincts.

Derek didn't stop walking.

The officer stepped directly into his path, hand on his holstered baton. " Please step back.."

The next moment, Derek vanished.

A loud whoosh cracked the air as if wind itself had been cut, and the pressure of his movement stirred the soldiers' cloaks and sent a few bystanders stumbling backwards.

Flash Step.

By the time anyone blinked, Derek was gone—already inside the shelter.

The sealed vault door hadn't opened. He didn't need it to. There was a small observation deck above the entrance, behind layered glass. A tight fit. Not for Derek.

The soldiers spun, scanning for him, stunned.

"What the hell—? Did he teleport?"

"No," Andrew muttered, stepping up beside the still-dumbfounded officer. "He just moved faster than your eyes could track."

"...Who is that guy?"

Andrew didn't answer. He only watched the sealed windows now glowing with soft red warnings. The shelter had detected an intruder.

Inside.

"Let's just say..." he finally murmured, "he's the reason there won't be more body bags today."

The civilians stared too, their earlier shouts now whispers. The air felt heavier. A storm was brewing—inside the shelter.

Inside the shelter, the air was… wrong.

The second Derek landed softly on the upper walkway and slipped inside, he expected to be swarmed. Claws, tendrils, teeth—anything.

But there was nothing.

No monster lunging from the shadows. No grotesque mimic leaping out of a wall or the back of someone's head exploding into teeth. Just flickering overhead lights, recycled air, and hundreds of terrified people.

Every hallway he passed was choked with them—crowds pressed shoulder to shoulder, whispering, crying, trying not to scream. The tension was so thick it made his teeth itch. Panic had left its marks everywhere: overturned water dispensers, cracked phone screens, the overwhelming reek of sweat and recycled fear.

But the worst part?

He couldn't tell who was who.

No injuries. No blood. No signs of mutation or infection. Just a sea of wide eyes and twitchy limbs, too many to focus on individually. Every face blurred into the next.

If mimic beasts were hiding here… they were doing a damn good job.

Derek muttered under his breath, "Should've bought the Eyes of Truth when I had the chance."

He opened his interface and winced at the pitiful number of system credits left. His earlier investments in the bots and recruitment had drained most of it. The good stuff was out of reach.

With a sigh, he pulled something from his inventory, something less cool, something he hadn't touched in weeks—no, months.

[ Pocket Alarm Toad – A tiny mechanical toad that croaks violently when danger is nearby. Can be set to silent mode, but… what's the fun in that? ]

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