At the same time, near the mountain pass outside Blackrock Town.

  The scars left by high-temperature melting were startling.

  In the air, the stench of char and metallic rust refused to dissipate.

  A dozen figures clad in white, sealed hazmat suits moved silently through the ruins.

  Their movements were not like those of humans.

  They were more like a swarm of precise insects executing a pre-set program.

  This was the most mysterious investigative department under Kunlun Corp.

  They were not responsible for combat.

  Their only job was to reconstruct the truth.

  The department head, Marvin Lee, crouched beside an axle that had been twisted and deformed by an explosion.

  His tactical goggles scanned and analyzed the molecular structure of the fracture at high speed.

  "Core explosion temperature exceeded three thousand degrees."

  On the micro-display of his goggles, rows of data scrolled by rapidly.

  "Standard high-energy fuel sympathetic detonation."

  He stood up.

  He surveyed the surroundings.

  "But the method of detonation was crude. A high-explosive grenade thrown at close range to ignite the fuel tank."

  "Not timed, not remote."

  The entire scene had been practically overturned.

  The force of the explosion had been too great.

  Coupled with the moderate sandstorm that followed, almost every valuable trace had been erased.

  Footprints, ballistics, bloodstains... all gone.

  The attacker was as clean as a ghost.

  "Chief."

  A young team member walked over quickly.

  He carefully held a blackened, half-melted metal block in his hands.

  "Found this in the wreckage of Transport Team C."

  "It’s the core storage unit of the vehicle’s communicator. Perhaps..."

  Marvin took the searing metal block.

  He said nothing.

  He turned and walked back to the temporary command tent.

  Inside the tent, several instruments glowed with a faint blue light.

  He slotted the metal block into a strange-looking decoder.

  His fingers tapped rapidly across the virtual light-screen.

  "Physical damage to storage unit at eighty-three percent. Data links fried."

  "Audio file remnants at four percent... Attempting fragmented reconstruction and noise reduction..."

  Piercing static hissed from the speakers.

  It sounded like the moans of the dying.

  Everyone in the tent held their breath.

  Marvin’s brow furrowed.

  Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.

  His fingers constantly fine-tuned the complex acoustic spectrums on the screen.

  He was trying to salvage even one or two useful syllables from the chaos.

  "Zzt... Static..."

  "...Abort... Direction... Not...!"

  A voice, distorted to the extreme by electromagnetic interference, sounded intermittently.

  It was the voice of the escort squad leader!

  Marvin’s spirits lifted.

  He continued to increase the power.

  "...Ability user! ...Initiate... Plan!"

  "...Prioritize... Attack that... Stone... Born... Giant... He is...!"

  Sss—

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The sound cut off abruptly.

  The decoder let out a strained whine of protest.

  The screen went completely dark.

  Silence filled the tent.

  "Stoneborn giant..."

  Marvin removed his tactical goggles.

  He rubbed his aching eyes with his knuckles.

  His voice carried a hint of fatigue, but more than that, the excitement of finding the end of a thread.

  "A Stoneborn giant was responsible for drawing fire and creating chaos from the front, acting as a meat shield."

  He turned to face his team.

  He began to reconstruct the play-by-play.

  "In that case, there must have been someone else."

  "An assassin responsible for infiltration, sabotage, and the precise theft of the 'Heart'."

  "The captain mentioned an 'Ability User' in the transmission and spoke of prioritizing targets," a team member added.

  "That means the other one is also an intelligent race, possessing a bloodline ability as well."

  "A massive meat shield and a ghostly assassin."

  Marvin’s fingertips tapped lightly on the tabletop.

  "One crude, one refined."

  "One draws all the attention, while the other delivers the killing blow from the shadows."

  He walked to the tent entrance and pulled back the flap.

  He looked toward the rolling black mountain range in the distance.

  "The Stoneborn tribe is deep within the canyon; that giant will be easy to find."

  "But the other one... the scene left no clues regarding his abilities. Unknown."

  "But it doesn't matter."

  Marvin put his goggles back on.

  He activated a maximum-level encrypted communication channel.

  On the light-screen, a cold-faced man appeared, wearing a crisp military officer's uniform.

  It was the high-ranking security commander for the Blackrock region, Andrew Zoe.

  "Commander."

  Marvin’s voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

  "The preliminary site investigation is complete."

  "Two attackers. One is confirmed to be a Stoneborn Ability User in giant form."

  "The identity of the second is unknown, also an Ability User from the Gaia Coalition."

  Silence lingered on the other end of the transmission for several seconds.

  Marvin could practically feel an invisible low-pressure front seeping through the screen.

  "Understood."

  Andrew’s voice was as cold as ice.

  "Send your report over."

  "As for what follows, it is no longer your concern."

  The transmission cut.

  Inside the mobile command vehicle, Andrew Zoe slowly lowered the communicator.

  He looked out the porthole at the chaotic, filthy silhouette of Blackrock Town.

  On his handsome face, a muscle twitched slightly.

  "Stoneborn..."

  He whispered the word, as if chewing on a piece of bloody raw meat.

  "A pack of primitive savages who eat raw flesh, a bunch of bedbugs living in rock crevices—they actually dare to reach for a Kunlun Corp transport line?"

  "Commander?" a lieutenant beside him spoke up cautiously.

  "Issue my orders."

  Andrew didn't turn around.

  "Mobilize the Third and Fifth Combat Squads. Assemble at the perimeter of the canyon."

  "Perform combat readiness checks on all heavy fire platforms."

  The lieutenant’s pupils shrank slightly.

  "Are you planning to... directly level the Stoneborn tribe?"

  "Level them?"

  Andrew suddenly let out a short laugh.

  There wasn't a hint of warmth in it.

  "No, the Stoneborn aren't as simple as you think, and we cannot provoke a war with the Gaia Coalition right now. The more important enemies are those Valr scum."

  "This time is merely a show of force."

  "But if they don't hand those two over..."

  Andrew paused.

  With a frigid gaze, he said, "I will let the entire wasteland know the price of challenging the Corporation's authority."

  A moment later, as if struck by a thought, the fury on his face rapidly receded.

  It vanished, replaced by deep, calculating intent.

  He stood up.

  He shed his crisp uniform and changed into an inconspicuous black trench coat.

  "Prepare the vehicle. We're going to Blackrock Town."

  "Yes, sir!"

  ...

  The Hunter's Tavern.

  This was the only place in Blackrock Town that still roared with life at night.

  It was also the true center of power in this town.

  When Andrew Zoe pushed open the creaking wooden door, the noisy air inside the tavern stagnated for a heartbeat.

  Those scavengers, mercenaries, and info-brokers, all radiating hostility, instinctively shut their mouths.

  They watched this uninvited guest with eyes that mixed awe with visceral rejection.

  Andrew ignored them.

  He walked straight toward the second-floor office.

  Behind the bar on the second floor, a man covered in expensive cybernetic enhancements was slowly and methodically wiping a crystal glass with a snow-white velvet cloth.

  This was Felix.

  Owner of The Hunter’s Tavern.

  The undisputed underground king of Blackrock Town.

  "Well now, if it isn't Commander Andrew Zoe?"

  Felix looked up.

  A genial smile was plastered across his face.

  "What wind blew such a grand figure into my humble little shack?"

  Yet, within his deep red ocular implants, a shrewd light gleamed.

  "Boss Felix."

  Andrew braced his elbows on the bar.

  He leaned forward slightly.

  "I don't like wasting words."

  "I lost something. It was taken by two people."

  "Oh?"

  Felix stopped wiping the glass.

  He looked at Andrew with genuine interest.

  "Something that requires your personal intervention must be quite extraordinary."

  "What do you need from me?"

  "I won't be issuing a wanted poster," Andrew’s voice was hushed. "And I won't be conducting a city-wide search."

  "That would only make the rats burrow deeper."

  "But they stole the goods near Blackrock Town. They should still be operating in the area."

  "In this territory, no rat escapes Boss Felix’s eyes, right?"

  The smile on Felix’s face widened.

  "The Commander gives me too much credit. I’m just a businessman running a tavern."

  "A Stoneborn giant. At least two and a half meters tall."

  Andrew ignored the humility. He provided the intel directly.

  "The other one is unknown, but they are definitely together."

  "Find them, or provide any valuable lead. The Corporation will make it worth your while."

  Felix stared at Andrew in silence.

  Several seconds passed.

  He picked up the glass again and resumed wiping.

  "Understood."

  He nodded, a trace of something inscrutable appearing in his smile.

  "For the peace of Blackrock Town, and for our long-standing friendship with Kunlun Corp—I’ll help with this."

  "Excellent."

  Andrew had the answer he wanted.

  He didn't linger. He turned and walked out of the tavern.

  Watching his silhouette disappear through the door, the smile on Felix’s face vanished instantly.

  He slammed the polished crystal glass onto the bar.

  Clink! A ghostly figure slid out from the shadows beside the bar, standing respectfully behind him.

  "Boss, the Corporation people are starting to order us around."

  "Order us around?"

  Felix let out a cold sneer.

  He picked up another dirty glass and wiped it lazily.

  "When a dog chases a rabbit, it always needs someone to clear the brush ahead."

  "He thinks I’m the brush-clearer. He doesn't realize I’m the hunter waiting for the rabbit to crash right into me."

  He narrowed his small eyes.

  He barked an order to his subordinate:

  "Spread the word."

  "Say that someone hit a shipment of high-grade Kunlun Corp goods, but don't reveal any other details."

  "See what leads turn up."

  "But Boss, Commander Andrew said—"

  Felix shot him a glance.

  The look in his eyes made the subordinate shut his mouth instantly.

  "He doesn't want to startle the snakes, but I intend to muddy these waters."

  "I want to see if the Corporation’s 'dog-nose' is sharper, or if the teeth of this town’s hungry wolves are deadlier."

  Felix paused.

  He held the clean glass up to the light.

  A cruel arc curled at the corner of his mouth.

  "And remember—I want them alive."

  "Before Kunlun Corp finds them, I want to see for myself exactly who has the balls to do this."

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