[If what you're saying is true, then what do you think happened?] the System asked, its curiosity evident.
"I don't know. That's exactly why I need to investigate," Maximilian replied, glancing at the nearby clock. The digital display showed 9:23 PM - already late at night.
Tomorrow would mark his first training session with Ricardo and his gang. The timing worked perfectly; he could question them about potential leads regarding Blood Mongoose's daughter.
While Ricardo's crew were just common street thugs, they possessed one key advantage over more connected individuals: numbers, underground connections, and intimate knowledge of the city's backstreets. They might surprise him yet.
With this plan in mind, Maximilian bid the System goodnight and prepared for sleep. Tomorrow would require an early start.
— Meanwhile - Wild Land —
Under the moonlit night, the moonlight glinted off the metallic canopy of the shielded highway. The long, shielded highway stretched across the horizon, where abandoned buildings and a dilapidated old highway stood crowded with the wreckage of thousands of vehicles.
This new shielded highway was built in the 2030s, years after the war with the aliens. By then, humans across the world had regained their foothold, fortifying their city-states into near-impregnable fortresses.
The shielded highways served as the main trade and transport routes, connecting the city-states of the North American continent. One route even extended into South America, running alongside the newly built railways that spanned the continent. Together, they functioned as the lifeblood of this new world.
The highway was called the Sonic & Camouflage Shielded Highway (SCS Highway), while the railway was the Sonic & Camouflage Shielded Railway (SCS Railway). Both SCS routes were equipped with sonic emitters that released frequencies to ward off mutated creatures. They also featured shielded camouflage covering the entire length of the pathways, protecting travelers from the bioelectric vision and scent detection of predatory mutated creatures in the Wildland.
Beneath the canopy of the SCS Highway, a convoy raced toward the west coast of what was once America. There, in the middle of Crater Lake, Oregon, stood Purgatory—the Super Maximum Security Prison for Villains.
Beneath the lake's surface, several Leviathan-like waterborne creatures patrolled as natural wardens, preventing any villain from escaping. The surrounding forest acted as another barrier, teeming with small predators that hunted anything daring to stray from the SCS road connecting to the prison.
It's said that without the aid of the outsider, the prisoner there can only dream of getting out of there even all of the warden inside teh prison were to be eliminated.
This convoy, bound for Purgatory, consisted of several tanks and escort vehicles, including APCs and armored scout motorcycles. They guarded a large armored prison transport at the convoy's center. This vehicle has the renowned Necrotox and Mr. Blaster on their way to the prison.
The convoy moved along the highway toward the west coast, undisturbed. Some guards sat atop tanks, while others relaxed in futuristic jeep-like vehicles, chatting happily, unaware of the eyes watching them from the darkness beyond the SCS shield—like predators lurking in the shadows.
BOOOOM! BOOOOM!
A thunderous explosion tore through the SCS shield, blasting a gaping hole over ten meters wide. The guards escorting the convoy snapped to alert, their peaceful journey shattered in an instant.
Then... a heavy smell of blood and raw meat assaulted their nostrils. Those who caught the scent immediately paled—not from the odor itself, but from what it meant was coming.
"Shit..." one guard muttered as the ground began trembling. The sound of hundreds of hooves and beastly feet thundered through the darkness.
Suddenly, a panther-like mutated beast leaped through the breach, followed by dozens more. Some had stag-like antlers, others boar-like tusks, but all bore razor-sharp fangs. Whether equipped with hooves or paws, their hungry eyes locked onto the escorts like starving beggars spotting a feast, saliva dripping from their maws.
Normally, the sonic emitters embedded in the canopy would repel such creatures. But that only worked when the beasts weren't stimulated by bloodlust or able to see prey. Worse, the saboteurs had deactivated the emitters in this sector, removing the last deterrent keeping the mutants at bay.
"Shoot them! Now!!" The commander's shout snapped the team into action.
Ratatatata! Boom!
Gunfire erupted as tanks blasted the advancing horde. The armored vehicles moved forward to shield more vulnerable units—the APCs, jeep-like vehicles, and prisoner transport.
Many mutants fell to the barrage, with tank shells making short work of even armored beasts. But the faster creatures closed the distance, and the bloodbath began.
Claws swiped through guards, killing instantly. Tusks and antlers rammed light vehicles, flipping them over. Even the tanks fared poorly as powerful mutants pounded their hulls, desperate to reach the prey inside.
Screams filled the air as blood, limbs, and organs splattered across the concrete. Some beasts couldn't resist stopping to gorge on fallen escorts.
But the tanks were built with new technology and designed to fight against the mutated beasts; they killed several large mutated beasts... Just as the tanks seemed to turn the tide—
Booooom!
An anti-tank rocket streaked from the darkness, obliterating multiple armored vehicles. The explosion eliminated the last resistance, leaving the mutants to claim their hard-won feast.
After ten minutes of feasting, a small device was dropped into the group of mutated beasts. It suddenly emitted a powerful sonic wave, startling all the creatures.
The painful frequency assaulted their ears and brains, sending them fleeing in panic, some dragging their half-eaten prey with them dragging all the way into teh darkness.
Sometime later, several figures emerged from the cover of darkness and entered the breached SCS Highway. Dressed in dark camouflage and armed with weapons—most carrying sniper rifles on their backs while holding assault rifles at the ready—they carefully swept the area for survivors, but found none.
Satisfied the coast was clear, they moved directly to the prisoner transport and unlocked the door.
"Come out! Come out!" one rescuer shouted over the cheers of the liberated prisoners inside. The captives quickly spilled out onto the road.
"I don't know who you guys are, but thanks!" one prisoner said with a grin. Already plotting his revenge against the "bureaucrat pigs," he knew befriending these mysterious rescuers might be his ticket back into the city-state. He waited expectantly for them to remove his handcuffs, but the armed team ignored him completely.
Instead, the squad entered the transport and conducted a thorough search. Moments later, they emerged carrying a man completely encased in specialized restraining foam. They set the foam cocoon on the ground and produced a strange tool resembling a small vacuum cleaner from their gear. The device began melting and sucking away the foam, gradually revealing its contents.
Inside was a completely unremarkable man—the kind who could disappear in any crowd. With ordinary brown hair, a short beard, and forgettable black eyes, his most distinguishing feature was how utterly average he appeared. This was Necrotox.
"Oh! Thank you," Necrotox said as the last of the foam disappeared. "To what do I owe this rescue?"
The masked leader remained silent, his expression unreadable. Instead of answering, he simply handed Necrotox a phone.
The moment Necrotox answered the call, a harsh voice came through: "You've failed the mission, Necrotox. This will be the last time I bail you out."
Hearing the voice on the other end, Necrotox offered a wry smile. He then spoke in a gentle and subservient manner.
"Mr. Rook, I assure you, this time, it was truly an accident! Completely beyond my control. Who would have thought that a lunatic would suddenly attack me out of nowhere? I don't even know who he was!" he explained, trying to reason with the other side.
As Necrotox made his excuses, the armed team turned toward the group of freed prisoners loitering nearby, including Mr. Blaster. Since having his powers drained by Maximilian, Blaster appeared no different from an ordinary person - his energy reserves hadn't regenerated enough to use his abilities. He would take at least a year to return to full strength.
Without any warning, the soldiers raised their weapons toward the prisoner group. But... before any protests could be voiced, gunfire erupted, cutting down every last prisoner - Mr. Blaster included. Only Necrotox remained standing amidst the carnage.
"Yes... Yes! Mr. Rook," Necrotox continued his phone conversation, his voice taking on a desperate edge. "There absolutely won't be a next time. I won't fail you again! You have my word, Mr. Rook! Yes! Yes, sir... as you say, Mr. Rook!"
He kept agreeing fervently until the caller seemed satisfied and ended the call. With the phone still in hand, Necrotox finally exhaled in relief, his crisis had been averted once again.
After everything was settled, Necrotox returned the phone to the leader of the armed squad. The masked leader gave a curt nod and issued his orders in a professional tone:
"Come with us. We need to evacuate before heroes shows up. We still need to smuggle you back to Arkadia to fulfill our contract."
"Yes, yes - lead the way," Necrotox agreed hastily, following the armed team as they disappeared from the SCS Highway into the waiting darkness.