Chapter 109: The Team [BONUS]They don’t look like the team I saw today. That was Adyr’s first impression.

    Head to toe, they were outfitted in full STF gear, equipped with everything meant to project strength, but they lacked the presence Rhys’s special unit had exuded.

    Most likely, this was a recon and support team.

    That didn’t mean they were weak. Adyr considered the odds. If he were to fight all five of them to the death, he’d probably manage to take down one, maybe. The rest would leave his body cooling on the concrete.

    But that was in a direct 5-on-1 scenario.

    While Adyr silently assessed the group and approached, a woman sitting on the Hummer’s hood jumped down and stepped forward.

    "You the guy assigned to tag along with us?" She asked.

    She had short hair, almost masculine in style, and stood a few centimeters taller than him. Her eyes were calm, brown, and focused. The subtle authority in her posture made it clear—she was the captain.

    "That’s me. I’m Adyr," he said, offering a faint smile and his hand.

    "Kara Vance. Team captain," she replied, shaking his hand without hesitation.

    Behind her, a lanky blond man watching the exchange spoke with a smug grin. "They said you’re a third-gen mutant, but you look pretty normal to me. I was expecting something with three heads and six arms."

    The rest of the team laughed, nodding in agreement.

    Third-generation mutants weren’t exactly a secret within the STF. Especially after the unveiling of the new Division facility, people had started forming their own ideas about what kind of monsters were being trained inside.

    Adyr, on the other hand, didn’t fit the image.

    He was shorter than average. Nothing about him looked extraordinary.

    "I’m pretty confident with my two arms," Adyr said, raising them slightly with a small grin.

    "Good. I like you," the blond man replied, stepping forward and offering a handshake. "I’m Derek."

    They’re easygoing. Adyr thought, then nodded. "Nice to meet you."

    He went on to introduce himself to the others one by one. It mattered. Even if they wouldn’t be operating as a tight unit, they were headed into a dangerous zone. In places like that, anyone nearby could end up as the person watching your back.

    The team, overall, was relaxed. No one asked about his surname, and no one seemed bothered by the fact that he came from another Division. What they really wanted to know was what set him apart—and how strong he was.

    Adyr didn’t give them clear answers. He wasn’t allowed to, and they didn’t push. Of course, if they knew how freely he spoke about everything with his stepmother and sister each night, their reactions might’ve been different.

    After the introductions, Kara called the group together for a short briefing.

    After the brief introductions and small talk, Captain Kara gathered the team for a quick briefing before departure.

    She explained that the estimated travel time to the target location was about six hours. The settlement itself was small, with a population of around 400 to 450. She outlined the primary objective.

    Then she turned to Adyr.

    "Our mission, as assigned by command, is to ensure your arrival at the target zone. Once you’re there, you continue alone. Confirm you understand."

    "Yes," Adyr replied calmly.

    "In case of emergency while operating solo, use the distress beacon located here," Kara said, pointing to the small device embedded just below the collar of his uniform. "Upon receiving the signal, we’ll evaluate the situation. If conditions are acceptable for intervention, we’ll move in. Our sole objective will be to extract you. No close engagement. No combat. Understood?"

    "I do," he replied.

    Kara paused, just for a second. Something uncertain flickered behind her eyes before she continued.

    "If you locate the terrorist base, neutralize the hostiles, and eliminate the leader—codename Cannibal—you are to send the same distress signal. We’ll verify the data, assess the area, and move in if support is possible."

    She stopped again.

    This part of the briefing had come from higher command. She was required to say it. But even as she repeated the words, her face betrayed doubt.

    The rest of the team looked at her, clearly hearing this for the first time.

    None of them could believe it. One person, going in alone, defeating the same group that had wiped out two full STF units, along with their leader, Cannibal.

    After a few seconds of silence, Kara drew in a slow breath and finished the briefing.

    "Do you copy?"

    Adyr smiled faintly. Calm. Detached. "I do."

    "Then we are ready to deploy. Move," Kara ordered.

    Everyone boarded the vehicle, with Adyr getting in last.

    Derek sat behind the wheel, Kara took the passenger seat, and Adyr settled into the rear. The rest of the team was already in place, waiting in silence or engaged in quiet conversation.

    As they left the Division building and made their way toward the city’s border, the atmosphere remained light. The team chatted casually, showing no visible tension.

    Adyr answered a few questions when prompted, but mostly kept his attention outside the window.

    The city passed by in streaks of gray—buildings, streets, shadows. The midday sun lit the concrete landscape with an almost artificial glow, making it feel staged rather than alive.

    Eventually, they reached the perimeter wall.

    It stood around 5 or 6 meters tall, a fortified structure built from layers of reinforced concrete, salvaged steel, and compacted rubble. It didn’t look elegant, but it didn’t need to. Every part of it was designed for function—thick, heavy, and built to hold. It gave off the impression of something made to stop whatever came from the outside, not with precision, but with overwhelming mass and permanence.

    At the gate stood another security unit, visibly composed of mutants like the STF, though they wore the darker uniforms of a smaller internal Division focused on domestic control rather than combat.

    Upon recognizing the vehicle, the guards opened the gate without question.

    As the vehicle passed through and officially left the city limits, the atmosphere shifted instantly. All small talk stopped. The cabin grew quiet, heavy. Sёarch* The n??el Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Adyr immediately noticed it. The relaxed expressions were gone, replaced by calm, focused silence. Everyone was alert. It marked the boundary between routine and risk.

    He didn’t change. He didn’t need to. His natural state was already one of observation.

    Though he had seen countless pictures and drone feeds of the outside world during university classes and on the net, this was the first time he’d truly been out of the city, at least since being found as a baby.

    So he watched.

    Beyond the smooth line of the cracked asphalt road, everything was dust and ruin. No greenery. No movement. The land stretched in every direction like a graveyard of the old world.

    Collapsed buildings lay half-swallowed by the earth. Rusted vehicles, fused into metal skeletons, sat frozen along ancient roadways. The air itself felt thin and scorched, tinted slightly yellow by lingering pollutants. There were no birds. No wind. Just stillness.

    It was a world burned down to the bones and left to rot in silence.

    When faced with the aftermath of such a catastrophe, Adyr couldn’t help but chuckle.

    In his old world, people had judged him as a monster. They condemned him for the harm he caused and sentenced him to death in the name of protecting society.

    But looking at this—at the world they had left behind—he couldn’t help but wonder.

    If he were a monster, then what were the ones who built this ruin?