Chapter 34: A Special Mission?
The crowd of MCs separated, forming a lane for the General to walk through as he strutted forward without batting any of them an eyelid.
General Gustav paused the moment he arrived before Dennis and Malik.
He stared at Dennis briefly.
"Sir," Dennis nodded in respect.
'Looks like I'm going to get picked for whatever this is,' Dennis was very curious but waited for the General to say something.
At that moment, General Gustav suddenly turned away from Dennis to face Malik.
"You're coming with me," He stated before turning around.
"Huh? What is this about, sir?" Malik inquired with a tone of intrigue.
General Gustav paused once more and interlocked his fingers behind his back.
"A special classified mission outside of the shelter. You three will be equipping a UVS to take part in this mission," After saying this, General Gustav continued walking forward.
Chatter! Chatter! Chatter! Chatter!
Dennis wasn't the only one who had just heard that. Everyone else in the surroundings did as well and couldn't help but voice out their surprise.
"A special mission?"
"Damn, they get to go outside the shelter already... lucky."
"What is lucky about that? What if they end up perishing?"
"I didn't think this would happen before our training is completed."
General Gustav raised his arm and waved forward twice, signalling for all the military personnel in the vicinity to follow along.
Malik turned to stare at Dennis before stepping forward to join them.
"Stay safe," Dennis stated.
Malik turned around and patted his chest twice, "I'll be back soon."
Dennis nodded while watching them leave. He had a lot of questions, but he understood that classified missions wouldn't be revealed to anyone who wasn't a part of the team.
After Malik and the other two MCs who were also picked left with the military operatives, daily drills began.
What happened in the morning became a hot topic throughout the day as many MCs speculated what the classified mission could be about.
While Dennis was jogging, he couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't picked.
'It's a mission where UVS is required... hmm... technically, I should be the first choice, especially when I no longer feel burnt out,' Dennis thought at first, then realised something.
'Miller and Becca from squads seventeen and twenty-one were picked first before Malik. If they were truly going by quality, many other MCs are better and yet they still got chosen,' Dennis felt like there was more to it than met the eye but he decided to focus on his training.
'I wonder what could have been so bad that they decided to use Combatants that have not been fully trained... Well, they'll probably be back by tomorrow,' Dennis told himself and carried on.
....
....
....
A cityscape lay in ruins, with crumbling buildings and twisted wreckage stretching as far as the eye could see. It wasn't nightfall yet, so one could see the gleaming magenta hue skies in the distance and two massive orbital bodies perpendicular from one another.
A convoy of military trucks, a formidable presence amidst the desolation, moved with a sense of urgency through the ruined streets.
Within one of the trucks rode three youngsters, their faces a mixture of apprehension and determination as they gazed out at the desolate cityscape.
Pah!
The sound of bubble gum popped and plastered across the lips of one of them who was a young lady.
"You shouldn't do that, Becca. It's possible to attract beasts with sounds," The thin but very tall-looking one on the left stated.
"I chew gum when I'm nervous. Besides, my bubble gum is not louder than the truck engines," Becca pointed out while folding her arms.
"That is a fair point... just don't get distracted," Miller responded.
"You ain't the boss of me," Becca shot him a haughty glance.
"You're gonna get us killed with that stinking attitude," Miller shot back.
"It doesn't stink as much as your spittle," Becca retaliated without pausing, causing an argument to break out between both of them.
The other military operatives in the truck had helmets on, but one could tell that they looked frustrated underneath. They had initially explained to the trio that they needed to be silent during the journey, but what could they really do when a bunch of superhumans refused to listen?
"That's enough. You two, simmer down," Malik's deep voice rang out loudly.
"Huh?"
"Who?"
They both turned to face Malik, who was sitting in place with an undisturbed look.
'It's the ninth strongest...'
'I probably shouldn't get on his nerves.'
They both had similar thoughts upon staring at Malik.
Malik's reputation preceded him, and although a lot of the MCs didn't like people from the first unit, there was no denying that they were the strongest.
It wasn't very wise to get on any of their nerves as there had been witnesses of MCs from the first unit beating up anyone who crossed them.
"I'm trying to get some quiet. Don't be a nuisance," Malik leaned back against the truck after stating.
"Hmph!"
"Hmph!
Both of them had expressions of disagreement but decided to stop.
While the trucks kept driving forward, darkness was starting to creep up on them.
Malik couldn't help but recall the mission briefing...
==========
"Avoiding confrontation is our major aim. This is a rescue mission. You get in, grab who you can find, and get out immediately. We need you three because we are aware of how swift and multifunctional the UVS can be.
You three will be able to do things other officers cannot, so the rescue will mostly be on your shoulders. Remember, live feedback is important, so instructions can be passed when we get a hint of what we are dealing with.
Godspeed soldiers."
============
As Malik recalled, he calculated that the mission wouldn't take them more than a couple of hours to complete.
He felt they could be back by the next morning so long as they could swiftly locate wherever the previous military group were hiding out in the designated zone.
'It seems quite simple, but... why do I feel bothered? Especially by Mr Ansel's last-minute input,' Malik wondered internally.
"We are close," one of the military operatives announced.
Malik clocked out of his thoughts and looked around.
"Should it be considered good that we haven't met any form of resistance yet?" Malik inquired.
"I can't say. Usually, we would have encountered a couple of mutated beasts during our journey, but it's like they suddenly vanished just like the previous groups that were sent here," the military personnel responded candidly.
'It seems like there is more to it than meets the eye, but I guess we are about to find out,' Malik said internally before getting to his feet.
"Power up," Malik informed the other two who acted like they were unaware of the current situation.
"Shouldn't we wait until we get there, at least? To preserve the suit's power," Miller held his chin.
"We are entering a realm of uncertainty here and could get killed at any given moment... power up," Malik ripped his tank top, displaying his broad chest, which had a saucer-like item attached to his right chest area.
He tapped on a part of it, and the item began to unfurl, spreading across his body at a rapid pace.
[ Operator Recognised... ]
[ Welcome Malik Nonek ]
Malik's vision turned reddish, as a digitalised view appeared in his line of sight.
....
....
....
The next day had arrived in a flash, and the MCs were busy with their usual daily drills.
"Hmm," Dennis mumbled while planting his fingers on a piece of rock and pulling himself upwards.
Fwwwhiiii~
The wind kept blowing his hair sideways as he repeated the action till he reached a certain height.
He paused and lowered his head to look beneath.
It was a scary sight...
He was suspended more than two hundred feet above surface level. They were currently rock climbing, which was one of their daily drills, and Dennis was one of the few MCs close to reaching the top at that point.
It wasn't a race, but such tasks had become easier to him that he couldn't help but do it quickly.
About twenty feet to his right was Lara, who shot him a glance and made a low 'hmph' before resuming her climb.
'What's up with her again?' Dennis wondered but soon resumed climbing as well.
Upon reaching the apex, Dennis turned around to look downwards once more.
Fwwhiisshh~
The wind caressed his frame, causing his shirt to hug tightly onto his body. Dennis didn't notice it, but the area where the circular disk was merged to his chest was emitting a dim blinking red light.
It became very visible with the more intense breeze that caused his shirt to glue to his body tightly. However, the moment Dennis turned around, things went back to normal.
"I'd better finish this on time so I can go back to personal training. Maybe Malik will be back by then," He muttered under his breath while sprinting forward.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone