Tee’s conscience got the best of her. The second Miko stepped into the kitchen that morning, Tee asked for a favor. She wanted Miko to read the names from the weekly mutation reports for District Ninety-Nine.

  When Jack's name was called, Tee swore she must have misheard. She asked Miko to repeat it, then snatched the tablet from her hands. The screen confirmed it. Jack had mutated. She saw his headshot—it was him. He was gone. Dead.

  Tee dashed through the glass door to reach the balcony, too far from her room to stop. She missed breakfast entirely, spending the time with her head hung over the railing. The rush of blood to her head painted her face a deep crimson.

  What was the point of her existence? First Tetra had died, then she’d been forced to Primus and handed the impossible task of eliminating the Harbingers—an effort that could consume the rest of her life if she didn’t mutate first, becoming a monster capable of global destruction.

  Jack had been her only tether to the world. With him gone, her heart disconnected entirely. Screw saving humanity—the Harbingers needed to hurry and destroy the world.

  The Commander had been onto something. It was two days after his cadet had made that blow with her Ultramana-coated sword. Like that day, the cadets had only warmed up before suiting up for another mission—to eliminate a Leak.

  The sunlight that hit them when they teleported was blinding, reflecting off miles of gleaming panels. Oddly, the air was cool, as if the field had just been washed by a long rain.

  “Solar panel field,” Zod remarked as they followed the path leading away from the rows of panels.

  The absence of tall buildings and the scarcity of people revealed they were in a farming district. Most locals stayed underground, preserving sunlit land for crops.

  The reflected glare made Tee’s over-sensitive eyes sting. After another raw session of crying, she kept her gaze fixed on the brown earth beneath her boots, following behind her teammates.

  When the others stopped, she finally glanced up. The solar fields ended, replaced by green lands dotted with barn houses and tall trees. Still, she kept her eyes lowered, fixated on their boots.

  A swift figure darted from behind a nearby tree. Zod, Saeda, Miko, and Kie summoned swords, tips pointed at the newcomer who had taken only three steps. Tee craned her neck, glimpsing the young man they now faced.

  “Oh, wow!” he exclaimed, stepping back. His brown eyes widened as he asked, “How did you guys appear out of nowhere like that? That’s some impressive tech.”

  No one answered. Slowly, the teens lowered their swords. He studied their gloves, thick boots, and serious faces—clearly on a mission. “Are you the extra high-ranking MG officials my father called in to handle our ten-by-four Xenosapian?”

  When the group huddled, turning their backs, he couldn’t stop staring at the one whose hair gleamed white in the sun. He squinted, regretting leaving his sun-goggles behind.

  “What’s that guy talking about—a ten-by-four Xenosapian?” Zod whispered. “Isn’t this a Leak mission? I wasn’t prepared to face something like that.”

  “There has to be a misunderstanding,” Kie said. “If the Commander said we’re here to destroy a Leak, then that’s what we’re here to do. But telling him we’re hunting a monster from across the Veil? Not a good idea.”

  Miko frowned, brows knitting. “Wait… does that mean we have to lie about who we are again? I can’t do that.”

  Kie sighed, glancing at her with half-open red eyes. “Fine. You tell him we’re hunting a monster from some inter-planetary realm. I’ll join in when he starts laughing in your face.”

  Miko’s expression went blank as she stared at the ground. Zod patted her back, silently agreeing with Kie—but wishing his words were gentler.

  Saeda inhaled deeply. “The last time we told troopers we were spies from Priman, they believed us.”

  Zod shook his head. “That was at night, past global curfew. Their terrified minds couldn’t process what Tee told them. Who’s going to believe us in bright morning light? We’ll just get laughed at.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Saeda stepped back from the huddle. “Fine. Let’s just repeat what the guy told us. We obviously look old and depressed enough to pass as MG officials.”

  “It’s settled then. We’re MG officials,” Kie said, straightening. Together, they turned to face the older man.

  “Yeah,” he said, relieved. “We’re here to handle your Xenosapian problem.”

  The young man moved his hand to his chin, observing the strangers. He made a guessing sound with his mouth closed before saying, “You guys look pretty young.”

  “Actually, we’re A-level troopers just assigned with official duties,” Kie replied.

  “Well, you look old enough, I guess…”

  The man tore his eyes away from the scars on Kie’s face that almost didn’t show with the bright sunlight. The girl with the brown eyes who took several steps back, looked young enough to be fresh out of the Academy. Those weren’t the soulless eyes from someone who's been in the Mid-Guard.

  “…But the ones behind you—” The man froze, swallowing hard as a sword appeared near his neck.

  “Where’s the Xenosapian?” Kie asked.

  The young man bolted. “Okay, follow me.”

  Kie dismissed his sword, and he and his teammates followed. Tee lagged behind the others, unable to match their speed through the low-cut fields. The shadows she had been following vanished as clouds blocked the sun.

  “This is where I was before I saw you guys in the solar field,” the chap said when they stopped under a water tank tower. He pointed to a fruit tree field near a metal barn. “I saw the Xenosapian there. I was too terrified to remember the exact spot. Sorry.”

  By the time Tee reached the water tank tower, her teammates were already moving toward the trees.

  The chap kept his eyes on the white-haired girl as she passed. He never saw her interact with the others. Was she real—or a sign his time had come? Shaking his head, he began climbing the tower to continue watching.

  After moving a good distance through the trees, Kie realized something felt off. He turned, stopping to let Tee catch up. Whatever she saw on the ground had to be more interesting than that mission.

  “We need to stop depending on Tee,” Zod said. “Saeda, try using a vision or something to locate the Leak.”

  “I will,” Saeda replied. “Right after you learn to recreate your blasts.”

  Zod shut his mouth. Not another word. Why was Tee moving so slow? She needed to hurry and find the monster with her ability she already knew how to control.

  “Tee, start scanning for our target,” Kie instructed as she passed. “And please move faster.”

  “Fine, I’m on it,” Tee mumbled, moving ahead and keeping her eyes open.

  “She missed her district that much, huh?” Zod muttered, starting a low conversation. “She’s like a zombie.”

  Miko was glad to be far from the chap. Just seeing the crest around his neck made her heart spike.

  “I don’t think so,” Miko said. “She asked me to read the mutation report from her district. She started crying over a name—Jay, I think. That’s a famous model’s name too.”

  “Jack. You don’t think the trooper who mutated was someone close to her?” Saeda asked. “Maybe family.”

  Silence fell. Zod formed a cone with his hands and yelled through it to the girl ahead. “Hey! Is that true? You’re tearing up over a Xeno-victim’s death?”

  She didn’t answer. Why would she? Tearing up over a Xeno-victim was like crying over a can of beer being pulled.

  “Or maybe she’s just upset about being a covert Xeno-victim all this time,” he continued.

  “Remember, Tee can’t hear anything while using her ability,” Miko reminded them.

  Tee, hearing Miko, had long since stopped scanning for the Leak. She now understood what her teammates were capable of if they knew she was covert.

  “As silly as it sounds, it happens,” Kie said. “Mid-Guard members sometimes go crazy after discovering a close friend was a monster that tried to kill them. Even creepier, some commit suicide—jump off buildings or run into swords. It’s heart-wrenching.”

  “I’m not losing an arm saving someone from a Xenosapian, only to learn they killed themselves right after,” Zod said. “Now I know why people go crazy—either killed by a Xenosapian or by their own hand.”

  “What’s your point?” Tee asked in a raspy voice, stopping to face Zod. She bit her lower jaw, lips twitching at the sight of his serious expression. “I don’t understand.”

  Her teammates almost stumbled before stopping completely. They had clearly misunderstood how her ability worked—she had heard everything.

  Zod stepped closer. “Please tell me you’re not shedding tears over the xenoid from yesterday.”

  A xenoid?

  With that word, the answer he expected was obvious. “What if I am?” she asked.

  He let out a failed chuckle, face turning stone serious. “Look, whoever that person was, he’s dead. Serve him right for hiding it. Life is a game—played or get played. And that guy played everyone, including you.”

  Tee hated hearing that MG slogan about life being a game. She expected it from Kie, not him. It made her wonder what her teammates were really capable of.

  “Anyway,” Zod continued, “Xeno-victims are just asking for death—they’re the one thing wrong with this world—”

  Tee pressed a sword to his neck. “Just shut up!” She swore she was going to kill him.