Their eyes widened in shock.
Through the haze of smoke, they saw a figure of a man...
He was wearing what seed like a slim full-body armor. Furthermore, it seed like he had covered most of the people on the wall, shielding them from the worst of the missile barrage.
Apparently, two of the projectiles that would have been fatal had been intercepted by him, his armor was scorched but intact!
"Ahhh... That person."
"Isn’t that the guy we saw before?!"
Indeed, this was no ordinary survivor. The figure was an Augnted Human. He was fully equipped with advanced armor and weapons.
After hearing the others’ comnd, Kai also recalled the man.
This was one of the warriors who had eliminated an Ascendant Unit of the Anima Civilization not too far from their shelter!
Kai couldn’t recognize the man’s face, but as the smoke cleared, the uniform was unmistakable.
Soon, the Augnted Human removed his helt, revealing a Caucasian man with black hair, a thick moustache, and a beard.
His features showed how tough he was, as if he was weathered by battle. Nonetheless, he still looked to be in his mid-thirties.
"I only managed to cover this small area..." the man said, gesturing to the six survivors he had protected from the blast. Among them were Wallace and several others who had been directly in the missile’s path.
As for the rest of the Security Division, they were buried in the rubble.
Kai’s mind raced with questions.
Who was this man? Why had he appeared here, at this exact mont, to save them? Was he part of another shelter nearby and was instructed to save them, or acting alone?
But before he could speak, a sharp sound cut through the smoke.
A whistle.
Kai’s eyes widened. He recognized it imdiately.
Every survivor had been given a whistle from his Survivor Gift Pack, a simple tool to signal distress or location.
The sound ant that people were still alive beneath the rubble.
"Rescue them!" Kai shouted imdiately.
He turned away from the Augnted Human for now. The man didn’t seem to be a threat, and saving his people ca first.
The survivors rushed forward, pulling away debris, lifting shattered beams, and digging through the dust.
Wallace, still shaken but alive, also joined the effort. His Iron Stamina Talent and current level had certainly helped with his quick recovery.
Everyone else also worked together to clear the rubble, including Mila and her sanitation crew...
Minutes passed in desperate labor.
Finally, three survivors were pulled free, coughing and bruised but alive. Relief swept through the group, as the others couldn’t help but cheer with this successful rescue.
But the joy was tempered by tragedy. Three others had not survived. Their bodies were found crushed beneath the collapsed barricade, beyond saving.
Kai stood silently as the survivors gathered around the fallen.
His chest tightened at the sight of the lifeless bodies...
Every loss weighed heavily on him, since they didn’t have a large number to begin with.
He also recognized these hardworking n...
He clenched his fists, forcing himself to remain composed.
"We’ll honor them," he said quietly. "But right now, we need to rebuild."
The Augnted Human watched from a short distance with an expression that was unreadable.
He had saved six lives, but Kai could sense there was more to his presence than chance.
Finally, Kai approached him. "You saved Wallace and the others. For that, I thank you. But I need to know... who are you and why are you here?"
The man’s dark eyes t Kai’s.
He seed to be considering whether to answer truthfully or not.
Then, after a few monts, he replied.
"I’m Hale. As for my affiliation, I can’t tell you that. But I was tracking the Tyrant. It had already been damaged in battle before it reached your shelter, right? Since you found it and seed capable of eliminating it, I gave it up... but when it launched those missiles, I had no choice but to intervene."
Kai studied him carefully. It certainly matched what he had noticed. The Tyrant had indeed shown signs of prior combat. But this situation was just too suspicious.
"Is your shelter nearby? I think we saw your battle a few days ago."
"Shelter? Hmm... At that ti, you can say so." Hale replied.
This only confused Kai, but he had a lot more things he had to do.
"We’ll talk later," Kai said firmly. "Right now, my people need ."
The man nodded, stepping back. "Do what you must. I’ll remain here for a while."
"You’re not going to take our loot, right? That Field Tyrant and its parts are ours." Kai reminded.
Hale finally chuckled after hearing this.
"Alright. I won’t covet what your little group has."
Kai smirked before he turned to his survivors. The wall was damaged, but not beyond repair. The wounded were being treated, the dead were being mourned, and there were already so people trying to rebuild their wall.
The battle against the Field Tyrants was just starting, but they already had three casualties. That didn’t seem like a good sign at all.
***
Later that night, after the chaos had settled and the wounded were being treated, Kai retreated to his workshop.
Atom followed him inside, its sensors active, standing guard to ensure the Augnted Human wouldn’t try anything reckless.
Hale entered quietly while looking around the workshop...
Of course, Kai kept his eyes on him, wary.
He had thanked Hale earlier, but trust was not sothing given so easily.
Hale, however, seed unconcerned by Atom’s watchful stance.
He studied Kai for a long mont before speaking.
"Have you been chosen?" His tone was serious, almost solemn.
Kai frowned. "Chosen?"
He was confused.
"Yes," Hale said, his gaze shifting briefly to Atom before returning to Kai.
"Can you tell the titles you hold right now?"
Kai hesitated.
His titles were Survivor, Pioneer, and Siege Breaker. But what was Hale talking about?
What did "chosen" an?
It struck Kai then... this man hadn’t appeared by chance!
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