CHAPTER 81: ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN

Beatrice turned around, expecting to find Theo nearby. She wanted to thank him properly, not just for the ride, but for showing up the way he did. The man who used to blend into the background quietly had come back into her life like a steady force.

But when she looked, he was gone. Her eyes swept the crowd, brows furrowed. Theo’s truck was still parked exactly where he left it, unmoved. That confused her.

"Theo?" she murmured to herself, turning slightly as if expecting him to step out from the crowd.

He didn’t.

Before she could search any further, a voice called out behind her.

"Beatrice! We need you at the west entrance! Now!"

One of her AMSO colleagues was waving her over with urgency, motioning toward the building. The sense of duty kicked in fast. Whatever questions she had would have to wait.

Beatrice gave one last glance toward the parked Hummer before turning and rushing toward the chaos unfolding at the stadium.

**

Theo had already vanished into the shadows by the time Beatrice turned to thank him.

Using Shadow Step, he moved past the emergency barricades with silent precision. No one noticed the faint ripple of darkness that passed between patrol lines or the blur that slithered along the broken stadium wall.

Inside, the Bandi City Stadium was thick with smoke and debris. The aftermath of the attack had left the air choked with dust and ash. Rubble littered the once-polished floor. Shattered light fixtures flickered sporadically overhead.

Theo knelt low behind a collapsed pillar, covering his mouth with his sleeve as he scanned the murky space.

He opened his system interface mentally and whispered, "System, open EXP Allocation Menu."

[Opening EXP Allocation Menu...]

He navigated swiftly to System Hints.

[Available System Hints Upgrade for Mutant Rank Level 6]

His eyes narrowed as soon as he saw what he needed.

[Environmental Scan - 3,000 EXP]

Effect: Grants a real-time 3D scan of the surrounding terrain within a 300-meter radius. Includes heat signatures, movement detection, and object outlines through dust, smoke, or obstacles.

He didn’t hesitate.

[Confirm Upgrade? YES / NO]

"Yes."

[Ding! Environmental Scan Unlocked]

[3,000 EXP deducted]

[Remaining EXP: 45,600]

[Now Activating...]

A soft hum pulsed in Theo’s mind, and then, like a sonar burst, the world around him lit up in outlines. Walls, twisted beams, stairwells, and shattered seats all appeared in glowing wireframe detail overlaying the smoke-choked environment.

He could now see far beyond the dust, into deeper levels of the stadium.

But what caught Theo’s attention most were the red outlines scattered across the stadium floor, vivid against the grayscale backdrop of his newly upgraded scan. One was pinned beneath collapsed bleachers. Others were faint, motionless, and likely unconscious or worse.

And then... in the far west wing.

A pulsing signature stood out. Surrounded by twisted rebar and crumbled concrete, its glow was more intense than the others. The figure was injured but alive. Breathing. Struggling.

Theo narrowed his eyes.

"System, activate Observer’s Insight."

[Observer’s Insight Activated]

The glowing outline sharpened. Additional data began to layer over it: heartbeat rhythm, energy fluctuation, movement attempts, blood pressure... then finally, a name.

[Target Identified: Commander Lexa Spears]

Status: Concussed, Minor Fractures, Limited Mobility

Power Signature: Telekinesis - Tier 4, Active Strain Detected

Theo’s chest tightened. "Lexa..."

He stepped deeper into the smoke-choked wreckage, every movement silent, precise. His boots barely touched the broken ground.

"Hang on. I’m coming," he whispered again, this time with more urgency.

Shadows danced around him as he melted into the stadium’s depths, guided now by instinct and the glowing thread of data tying him to Lexa’s fading signal.

Theo’s breath hitched as the dim red glow from Observer’s Insight flickered around the twisted mass of steel and concrete ahead. That pulsing signature, it had to be her.

He wove through the rubble, crouching low and making no sound thanks to Shadow Step.

The dust and smoke hung thick in the air, muffling even the distant calls of AMSO units outside. His system display flickered slightly, showing his recently upgraded Environmental Scan working overtime to keep track of energy signatures.

And then he found her. Lexa Spears. Her face was smeared with ash and blood, strands of hair clinging to her cheeks. One arm was stretched out, fingers trembling as she kept a shimmering telekinetic field pressed against a slab of concrete mere inches above her. The violet glow of her ability pulsed faintly but erratically.

"Lexa," Theo whispered, crouching down beside her. Her lips moved but no sound came out.

"I got you," he assured, carefully touching her shoulder. The moment his hand made contact, her field collapsed and the slab creaked downward. Without hesitation, Theo surged forward and pushed the slab aside with a blast of strength assisted by his suit’s exo-thread lining.

She slumped forward, unconscious or nearly there.

Then, just as Theo reached out to lift her up-

[Ding! Main Quest Available: "Unmask the Husk"]

Target Confirmed: Meteorborn Husk (MHusk)

Description: Former survivors showing flickers of human behavior. May speak or mimic emotions briefly before turning violent.

[Rewards: +500 EXP, +50 Gold Coins, +Basic Loot Core, +Rare Shard]

[Warning: Penalty will be issued if at least one target is not eliminated within 12 hours.]

[Accept Main Quest? YES / NO]

Theo’s jaw clenched. "Seriously?!" he muttered, as he gently laid Lexa down in a protected corner behind some scorched bleachers.

Suddenly, a voice whispered behind him, hoarse and oddly polite.

"P-Please... Mister... I don’t wanna die in here. I can’t feel my legs. Please... help me. Don’t leave me here... please..."

Theo froze for a second before slowly turning.

A man, likely in his forties, stood in the dim haze, his silhouette fractured by smoke and firelight. His clothes were shredded, scorched in places, and his skin was torn, blackened along the arms and neck.

One side of his face was badly burned, the other half lit eerily by the flickering flames. His eyes gleamed with something unreadable.

"Mister... I don’t want to die here," the man said again, voice raw, trembling, almost too human.

But Theo didn’t move just yet. There was something wrong.