A few officials turned toward him with confused expressions.

“Who are you?” Silas asked, frowning slightly.

Before Axel could answer, a familiar voice rang out.

“Axel? Holy shit, it’s really you!” Kieran strode forward, grinning from ear to ear.

Axel’s face lit up. “Mr. Kieran.”

“Damn, look at you! Whisper Syndicate really did recruit you. Good for you, kid.”

He clapped Axel on the shoulder. “Way better than I ever was at your age.”

Axel gave a modest smile, then turned to Silas.

“Mayor Silas. Apologies for the delay. Ready when you are.”

Silas blinked, his expression frozen. Wait. This is the Axel? … just graduated.

He forced a smile, though it came out more like a grimace. “Right… Well, let’s get moving, then.”

Just then, a sharp, incredulous voice cut through the air.

“Axel? You’re the one in charge?”

Olivia and Blake approached, equally surprised. Olivia looked between the two men, eyes wide.

“Axel, I didn’t know you joined Whisper Syndicate!”

Axel nodded. “Yeah, a while ago.”

“This is Blake—my boyfriend,” she said, gesturing. “You probably saw him in the group chat.”

Axel offered his hand. “Nice to meet you in person, Mr. Blake.”

Blake’s jaw tightened a little. It seems that Whisper Syndicate sent young people here to gild themselves. Still, he maintained his cool and shook Axel’s hand.

“So… do you have a plan for this operation?”

Axel nodded, speaking clearly. “The slum terrain is complex. If we spread out too early, we’ll lose coordination. The plan is simple—everyone advances together in formation. We will cover the rear and respond where needed.”

It was a clean, textbook answer.

Blake gave a neutral nod. “Sounds fine.”

But he knew that he had to do the heavy work today. Otherwise, if things succeeded, it would be fine. If they failed, he would have to take the blame.

Without further delay, Axel turned and walked off with Kieran.

The defenders and officers began to move. The gates creaked open, and the team marched forward toward the ruined outskirts of Dune.

......

Silas, walking near the rear of the group, caught up to Blake with a low voice.

“Blake,” he said, his tone edged with a quiet sigh. “I might need to lean on you a bit more today.”

“I get it,” Blake replied, offering a polite, knowing smile. “You can count on me, Mr. Silas.”

Their eyes met for a moment, both men silently acknowledging the truth. Whisper Syndicate sent us a rookie to play dress-up in the field.

Nearby, Barrett grunted under his breath. “What the hell is going on with Whisper Syndicate? Sending a kid here just to shine his boots.”

Silas gave a tired smile. “This kind of thing’s common, Barrett. Connections go a long way.”

He wasn’t wrong. Blake had seen his share of nepotism since graduating. At first, it irritated him—now he was numb to it.

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t get in the way,” Blake muttered, eyes scanning ahead.

The team had reached the edge of the slums. Row upon row of collapsed homes stretched into the distance. Carrion birds circled overhead, tearing flesh from scattered bodies that littered the frozen dirt. The stench hit them before the wind shifted.

“All teams, move in by squads. Keep your spacing tight,” Barrett barked, falling into command mode.

The Ministry of Defense took point. Axel and Blake walked at the front of the formation, flanked by armed soldiers. The air was thick with tension, especially among the younger troops. Most of them had never seen real combat.

A few stray mutants did charge at the convoy—weak, sluggish things. But they were cut down quickly by focused gunfire. Nothing serious.

“Looks like most of the intelligent ones already fled,” Silas said behind them, exhaling. “We might just get through this clean.”

Whenever something too tough for bullets showed up, Blake or the Ministry’s awakened fighters handled it. Clean, efficient, controlled.

Axel, meanwhile, hadn’t moved a muscle.

Blake and Silas exchanged a glance.

Gilded, Blake thought. Knew it.

The guy looked calm, maybe even bored, just following along like he was out for a walk.

Axel understood there were bigger battles coming. Right now, these troops needed real field time.

As the operation went on, the teams swept through two full slum sectors. Nothing serious—just scavenger-class mutants, barely dangerous. It was almost too easy.

Until something changed.

“They’re on the move! They're running—get them!” Barrett suddenly shouted.

Up ahead, a group of mutants had been gnawing on corpses. Now, seeing the human forces, they turned and bolted, darting into the maze of alleyways between shattered buildings.

“Wait!” Axel's voice rang out clearly for the first time.

The column hesitated. Even Barrett paused mid-step.

“If they get into those alleys, we’ll lose them,” Barrett growled. “We should take them out while we’ve got the open ground!”

Axel didn’t move. His eyes narrowed, fixed on the fleeing creatures.

“Something’s off.”

Blake frowned. “What do you mean?”

Axel turned to them, his voice steady. “Low-level mutants don’t run. They attack on instinct. Ever seen one retreat before?”

Blake scoffed. “You’re saying this is… what, a setup?”

“They’re baiting us into the alleys. I’m sensing stronger ones up ahead—hidden.”

Barrett’s face tightened. “All this from a few twitchy beasts?”

Axel didn’t answer. A tension just beneath the surface. He could feel it in the Force—mutants, stronger than these, lurking like wolves behind the veil.

“…Alright,” Barrett muttered. “We’ll play it your way.”

Blake exhaled through his nose, silently cursing. If Olivia had stayed nearby, maybe she could’ve talked some sense into this overconfident Syndicate kid.

Blake said nothing, just followed Axel’s lead for now.

“They’re back again!” Barrett shouted, his voice tinged with excitement as another pack of mutants surged into view.

“Open fire!”

The muzzles of dozens of rifles erupted in a unified blaze, unleashing a storm of metal. Several of the beasts dropped instantly, their bodies torn apart by bullets. But more kept coming—and once again, most turned tail and fled down the ruined alleyways.

“Chase them!” Barrett ordered, already picking up speed.

“No.”

Axel’s voice cut through the chaos like a whipcrack. The soldiers hesitated, caught between two leaders.

Barrett spun around, face darkening. “What the hell now?” he snapped. “You just want us to let them slip away again? We’ve got displaced civilians freezing in the streets!”

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the Ministry of Defense ranks. Axel could see it in their eyes—doubt, irritation, the urge to act.

But Axel didn’t budge. A presence ahead, deep and oppressive, like something massive curled and coiled, just waiting. And if they rushed in now, too many people would die.

“Blake,” he said calmly.

Blake saw the tension in Axel’s jaw, the sharpness in his gaze.

“…Listen to Axel,” Blake said finally, raising his hand. “Hold position.”

Barrett clenched his jaw hard enough to grind teeth. “Goddamn it,” he muttered. “Fine.” Then he turned to the side and muttered to Kieran. “Go talk to him. If he doesn’t get it by now, someone needs to put him in his place.”

Kieran looked unimpressed. “Barrett, seriously. You need to trust him.”

Barrett snorted. “You too? Don’t tell me you’re soft for the kid.”

But Kieran’s voice remained steady. “Axel’s not what you think. He’s earned his place. You’ll see.”

Barrett looked away, scowling.

“Commander!” a scout called. “We’ve spotted a large concentration of mutant beasts up ahead!”

Barrett’s eyes lit up. “Finally.” He turned toward the group. “Pick up the pace!”

They moved as one, boots crunching over gravel and dust. They passed through a half-collapsed construction site and came into a small square where dozens of mutant beasts had gathered—twisted, grotesque creatures of varying shapes and sizes.

Barrett’s lips pulled into a grin. “Now we’re talking.”

But before he could order the attack, the horde turned and bolted again—straight toward the ruins of Sector E, a labyrinth of narrow alleys and blind corners.

“Damn it,” Barrett growled. “We can’t let them go in there!”

“Chase!”

“No!” Axel’s voice snapped out again, harder this time.