Chapter Seventy-One: The Beginning

“One hundred and twenty-seven…”

Ferren withdrew his scalpel, watching as yet another soldier’s corpse collapsed to the ground. He softly tallied the number under his breath. The Federation’s response was just as swift as Ferren had anticipated, but he paid it little mind. Come to think of it, there was no goal he absolutely had to accomplish. Tek’s desire to rescue his subordinates was his own concern; Ferren was merely lending a hand in the spirit of volunteerism—since he was a volunteer, no one should expect the professionalism he would display if he were hired.

That’s right—for Ferren, this was nothing more than a game, a source of pleasure.

The attacking enemy troops had all been wiped out. Judging from their numbers, this was already nearly half the force a medium-sized settlement could muster. Ferren didn’t know whether the Federation had more soldiers than average to continue this game of hide and seek, but he didn’t care, just as he was indifferent to whether Tek’s group would succeed. At this moment, Ferren was simply strolling through the settlement, searching room after room as if a child were exploring a maze.

The camp the Federation had chosen was once just one of many settlements scattered across the wasteland. From the outside, it seemed like a small town that existed for ore processing and production. Tall factory buildings and all manner of crude steel machinery could be seen everywhere. Yet after the catastrophe, most of these machines had lost their original purpose, reduced to nothing more than worthless scrap.

All around was silence. The Federation soldiers seemed to have realized the futility of further losses and ceased sending men to their deaths, yet Ferren was far from idle.

The crunch of broken glass bottles under Ferren’s feet echoed sharply through the bar. This was once a place for Federation soldiers to relax, now transformed into a blood-soaked inferno. Ferren walked leisurely to the bar counter, pushing aside the unlucky soul who had tried to snipe him but ended up with half his head missing. He reached behind the bar, retrieving the only bottle of whiskey that still appeared properly sealed. Examining its color in the lamplight, he nodded in satisfaction and tucked it into his coat—and, of course, didn’t forget to pocket the two sticks of gum left on the counter as well.

On the wasteland, nothing was more valuable than scavenging.

While Ferren scavenged at his leisure, the command center within the settlement was as silent as a grave. Ferren’s estimation was accurate—even for the Federation, it was difficult to station more than three hundred soldiers at a settlement. If not for the fact that this site had been designated a holding and transfer station for slaves, there would have been even fewer. Now, with nearly half the force lost at once, even the director could foresee himself soon dangling from the gallows.

The situation quickly grew unstable. Soldiers accused the damned bureaucrats of sending them to their deaths without properly investigating what was happening. The command staff insisted the soldiers follow orders. If Del, the settlement’s nominal chief administrator, hadn’t intervened quickly, it would be hard to say which side posed the greater threat to the settlement.

“The enemy isn’t a monster, and I believe there’s only one of him.”

After listening to both sides’ furious complaints, Del gave his answer with cool detachment. The others seemed incredulous, but Del quickly explained.

“The enemy is an Esper. I suspect one of the Seven Titans has arrived in person.”

At that, the once-boiling command center fell utterly silent. The routs of the frontline legions were no longer news. Even the most menial workers here knew of the Federation’s disastrous defeat in Zone Nine. They had believed that, with enough powerful equipment and determination, ordinary people could triumph over these inhuman monsters. Now, reality gave them a cold, cruel answer.

Once more, many recalled the terror of being at the mercy of Espers…

“What should we do?”

“I don’t want to die—I don’t want to die!”

“Silence, all of you!”

Watching the group on the verge of mental collapse, Del felt a splitting headache. In an ordinary settlement, he would have already ordered a full retreat. No matter what the Seven Titans were, they were certainly not an opponent he could handle. But here, this was the Federation’s most important testing site. In truth, Del didn’t know why a Titan would appear—had they discovered something about the experiment? It didn’t make sense; most here didn’t even know what they were working on, believing this to be an ordinary slave holding center. Such places were common on the wasteland; nothing remarkable.

But it was meaningless to consider motives now. Clearly, the Seven Titans were here, and as research director, Del had to consider what damage this would do to the experiment. If he could, he’d evacuate everyone, but unfortunately, he couldn’t.

The experiment had reached a critical stage and could not be interrupted. Moreover, any retreat now would only worsen matters.

Del frowned, then made his decision.

“How many prisoners do we still have?”

The others were surprised by his question, but someone quickly replied.

“We have three hundred twenty-five prisoners left.”

“And those separated from the main group?”

“Twelve.”

“Good.”

Del nodded and immediately gave his orders.

“Send all prisoners in the quarantine zone to Sector D—leave the rest.”

“All of them?”

The group was baffled by the order, but Del waved them off.

“That’s right. Everyone else, prepare for evacuation immediately. Ready personnel and vehicles as quickly as possible. Once I give the signal, begin the transfer at once. Until then, seal off the central area. Ignore whatever’s happening outside—we must abandon this settlement.”

Not everyone agreed with Del, but at least it gave them something to do. They nodded and set to work. Del, meanwhile, cast a cold glance at the group before quietly moving to the side. He opened a comms channel and issued a command in a frosty tone.

“Release all Test Subject Number Three.”

“Number Three?”

The person on the other end was clearly shocked.

“But you know the defects in those subjects—”

“This isn’t the time for hesitation. I want you to complete the experiment immediately, then leave with the crystals and reports. The Seven Titans are here. I don’t know whether it’s coincidence or they caught wind of something, but if you want to live, hurry!”

“So soon?”

The other was still stunned, but after a brief silence, replied through gritted teeth.

“How much time do we have?”

“I’m giving you one hour. After one hour, regardless of your progress, destroy everything. You know we can’t stand against those monsters. To fight monsters, you must use monsters. I give you full authorization—open Sector X and release all Number Three test subjects!”

Del clenched his jaw and his fists. He hated Espers. As a child, he had witnessed his mother burned alive for inadvertently offending one. From that day, Del had sworn to kill every Esper in the world. In his eyes, Espers were not human; they were monsters in human skin, devoid of human values or any willingness to communicate. They had to be eradicated—at any cost.

“Understood…”

The other, cowed by Del’s tone, hesitated but finally agreed.

“I’ll awaken Number Three immediately. Good luck.”

“It’s all of humanity who needs luck.”

A savage smile flickered across Del’s face, the hungry grin of a predator closing in on its prey.

PS: Cameo characters incoming. I’ll pick names myself, and please, don’t suggest any jarringly out-of-place ones… As for their fates, that depends on inspiration and randomness. Please don’t make requests.