CHAPTER 26: RECORDS REQUEST

The Association’s records department was on the fifth floor, a section most Hunters never visited because why would you, it was just filing, bureaucracy, the boring administrative side of monster hunting.

Rin stood at the counter waiting for someone to acknowledge him, the woman behind the desk was maybe fifty, looked like she’d been working there since before the fracture event, barely glanced up from her computer.

"Help you?"

"I need to request an incident report," Rin said. "From the Jin Hanazawa raid, two weeks ago."

That got her attention, she looked at him properly now. "That’s classified, active investigation."

"I’m aware, but the deceased, Leo Penzerio, named me as his beneficiary, which according to Association policy gives me right to review materials related to his death."

She frowned, typed something. "Name?"

"Rin Matsuda."

More typing, her frown deepened. "You’re the portal guy."

"Yeah."

"Huh." She pulled up something on her screen. "Says here you do have beneficiary status, but the report you’re requesting requires Director approval, I can file the request but it’ll take three to five business days for review."

"That’s fine."

She printed a form, slid it across the counter. "Fill this out, explain why you need access, be specific, vague requests get denied automatically."

Rin filled out the paperwork, his reasoning was simple, closure, understanding what happened, Leo’s final moments, all the things a grieving friend would want to know.

He handed it back.

"I’ll submit this today," she said. "You’ll get an email when there’s a decision, don’t hold your breath though, classified materials requests get denied more often than approved."

"Understood."

He left the records department, checked his phone, still two hours before the mission briefing for today’s assignment.

Joy had texted him three times.

Joy: did you actually file the request?

Joy: rin this is a bad idea

Joy: if the association thinks youre investigating them they might see you as a threat

She wasn’t wrong, but he needed to know, if Fiona was lying then fine, if she was telling the truth then the Association had Leo’s blood on their hands.

Either way, Rin needed facts.

He met Joy and Tayo at the briefing room, today’s mission was warehouse security, some company had reported strange noises coming from their storage facility at night, probably rats or goblins, standard pest control.

The supervisor was a guy named Riku, D-rank Hunter who looked bored before the briefing even started.

"This is going to be easy," he said, pulling up photos of the warehouse. "You three clear the interior, I’ll wait outside, call me if something actually dangerous shows up, which it won’t, questions?"

"What’s the company storing?" Tayo asked.

"Electronics mostly, old tech from before the fracture event, collectors pay decent money for pre-2025 computers apparently." Riku checked his watch. "We leave in thirty minutes, gear up, try not to break anything valuable."

They geared up, loaded into a van, drove to the warehouse district in Katutura.

The facility was bigger than expected, three stories, security fence around the perimeter, cameras that probably didn’t work anymore.

"Alarms have been disabled," Riku explained as they approached. "Owner didn’t want the noise bothering neighbors, which is how you get infestations, your job is to clear whatever’s inside, collect evidence if it’s monsters, call exterminators if it’s just rats."

He unlocked the main entrance, gestured them inside. "I’ll be out here smoking, don’t die."

The interior was dark, rows of shelving units packed with boxes, electronics in various states of disrepair, the smell was musty but not organic, no indication of living creatures.

"Spread out," Rin said. "Stay in visual range, call out anything suspicious."

They moved through the aisles, flashlights cutting through the darkness, the warehouse was silent except for their footsteps.

Too silent actually, even with rats there should be some ambient noise.

[Warning: Environmental anomaly detected]

[Sound dampening beyond natural acoustics]

[Something is suppressing noise]

’Predator tactic.’

[Correct assessment]

[Likely ambush hunter]

"Heads up," Rin said quietly. "Something’s here, using sound dampening."

Joy immediately went alert, her emotion manipulation primed, Tayo adjusted his grip on his sound emitter.

A shape moved between the shelves, too fast to track, disappeared before Rin could get a clear look.

Then another movement, different direction.

"Multiple hostiles," Tayo whispered.

More shapes, circling them, staying in shadows, whatever these were they were smart, coordinated.

One finally stepped into the light.

Not a goblin, not a rat, something Rin hadn’t seen before.

It stood about four feet tall, bipedal, covered in dark fur, eyes that reflected light like a cat’s, hands that ended in claws, its mouth opened showing rows of needle teeth.

[Analysis: Unknown entity]

[Does not match any documented monster classification]

[Threat assessment: Uncertain]

The creature made a sound, not a growl, more like a chirp, high-pitched and wrong.

More of them emerged from the shadows, at least a dozen, all identical, all watching with those reflective eyes.

"What are these?" Joy asked.

"No idea," Rin channeled fracture energy into his hands. "But they’re about to be a problem."

The creatures attacked simultaneously, moving fast, using the shelving units for cover and elevation.

Rin caught the first one, his fracture energy-enhanced grip crushed its skull, it dropped.

Another came from above, Joy hit it with fear manipulation, the creature faltered mid-leap, crashed into a shelf.

Tayo fired sound blasts, the compressed waves knocked two creatures backward, but more kept coming.

They were fast, aggressive, worked together to flank and overwhelm.

One got past Rin’s guard, claws raking across his arm, the reinforced fabric tore, blood welled up.

He grabbed it by the throat, slammed it into the ground, fracture energy discharged directly into its body, the creature convulsed then went still.

The fight lasted maybe three minutes, bodies piling up, Rin lost count of how many they killed.

Finally the last creature retreated, disappeared into the shadows, they waited but it didn’t return.

"Clear," Rin said, breathing hard.

Tayo was checking his equipment. "What the hell were those things, I’ve never seen anything like them."

"Me neither." Joy approached one of the bodies, examined it carefully. "They don’t match any monster classification I know, fur pattern is weird, claws are too long, teeth structure is wrong for carnivores."

[Analysis: Creatures demonstrate signs of artificial modification]

[Claw length suggests surgical enhancement]

[Dental structure indicates forced adaptation]

[Conclusion: These are not naturally occurring monsters]

’Someone made these?’

[High probability]

[Recommend reporting to supervisor immediately]

Rin pulled out his phone, called Riku.

"Yeah?" The supervisor sounded annoyed at being interrupted.

"We’ve got a situation, the hostiles aren’t standard classification, they’re something else."

"Define something else."

"Modified, enhanced, possibly engineered."

Silence on the line, then Riku spoke again, his tone completely changed. "Don’t touch anything else, I’m coming in, secure the perimeter."

He arrived two minutes later, took one look at the bodies, his expression went dark.

"Fuck, these are breach creatures."

"Breach creatures?" Joy asked.

"Illegal experiments, some groups try to create monsters for various purposes, combat testing, biological weapons, black market sales." He pulled out his phone, started taking photos. "This is way above E-rank clearance, we need a containment team."

He made several calls, within fifteen minutes the warehouse was swarming with Association personnel, technicians in hazmat suits collected the bodies, officials cordoned off the area.

Rin and his team were separated, taken to different rooms for individual debriefing.

An investigator named Yuki sat across from Rin, recording device on the table between them.

"Walk me through exactly what happened," she said.

Rin explained, the creatures’ behavior, the fight, how they moved and attacked, left out the system’s analysis about artificial modification since he shouldn’t know that.

"Did you see any indication of who was controlling them?" Yuki asked.

"No, they seemed autonomous."

"Any unusual energy signatures before the attack?"

"Just sound dampening, nothing else."

She made notes. "You and your team did well, breach creatures are dangerous, you should’ve called for backup immediately but given you didn’t know what they were, your response was appropriate."

"What happens now?"

"Investigation, we’ll trace the origin of these creatures, find whoever’s breeding them, shut down the operation." She closed her notebook. "You’ll receive hazard pay for encountering unclassified hostiles, probably looking at two thousand credits, maybe more depending on threat assessment."

Two thousand for an afternoon’s work, not bad, though Rin would’ve preferred knowing what he was walking into.

They released him after another hour of questions, Joy and Tayo were waiting in the lobby.

"That was insane," Tayo said. "Modified monsters, illegal experiments, this is way deeper than pest control."

"You think it’s connected to the contaminated slime?" Joy asked.

Rin hadn’t considered that but she had a point, two anomalous encounters in a week, both involving entities that shouldn’t exist.

"Maybe, or maybe we’re just unlucky."

[Analysis: Probability of two unrelated anomalies in short timeframe: 12%]

[More likely: Increased anomalous activity in Windhoek region]

[Or targeted deployment of experimental entities]

’Why would anyone target random warehouses with breach creatures?’

[Unknown]

[Insufficient data for conclusion]

His phone buzzed, email notification.

Subject: Records Request - DENIED

That was fast, he’d filed the request three hours ago.

He opened the email.

"Your request for access to classified incident report RE: Jin Hanazawa raid has been reviewed and denied. Reasoning: Active investigation, sensitive operational details, no immediate need for disclosure. You may refile this request after investigation concludes. Estimated timeline: 6-12 months."

Six to twelve months, they were stonewalling him.

Which meant Fiona might be right, if the report was routine they’d have approved it with redactions, full denial suggested they were hiding something.

"Bad news?" Joy asked, reading his expression.

"Request got denied."

"Maybe that’s for the best, sometimes not knowing is easier."

"I need to know."

"Why? Will it bring Leo back? Will it change anything?" She lowered her voice. "All it’s going to do is make you angrier, give you another reason to not trust the Association."

"Maybe I shouldn’t trust them."

Joy looked like she wanted to argue but didn’t, they headed to the payment office, collected their mission completion bonuses.

Rin’s account showed the deposit, six hundred for the warehouse clear plus two thousand hazard bonus, twenty-six hundred credits total.

He was building up savings, another few months of this and he’d have enough to be financially independent, wouldn’t need the Association’s housing or equipment subsidies.

Small steps toward freedom.

His phone buzzed again, message from Fiona.

"Heard about your warehouse encounter. Breach creatures in Windhoek. Interesting timing. We should talk."

She wanted to meet, probably had information, possibly wanted something in return.

Rin typed a response: "When and where?"

Fiona: "Tonight, 2100 hours, Prosperita rooftop bar, come alone."

Joy saw him texting. "Let me guess, Fiona?"

"She wants to meet, talk about the breach creatures."

"And you’re going."

"Yeah."

"Rin, this is how people get manipulated, she gives you information, makes you feel like you’re allies, then when she needs something you’re obligated." Joy grabbed his arm. "Whatever she’s offering, it’s not worth it."

"What if she knows who sent those creatures, what if this is connected to something bigger?"

"Then let the Association investigate, that’s their job."

"Their job is to control information, keep Hunters in the dark, I want actual answers."

Joy sighed, let go of his arm. "Fine, but I’m coming with you."

"She said alone."

"I don’t care what she said, you’re not meeting a killer by yourself on a rooftop, I’m coming or you’re not going."

Rin considered arguing but Joy’s expression said she wasn’t budging.

"Fine, but stay back, let me talk to her."

"Deal."

They spent the rest of the day training at the Association gym, working on coordination, Joy’s emotion manipulation paired with Rin’s fracture energy created interesting combinations, she could make enemies hesitate while he delivered killing blows.

Tayo joined them for an hour, they practiced three-person formations, covered each other’s blind spots.

By 2030 they were ready, headed to Prosperita, the rooftop bar overlooked the city, expensive drinks and atmosphere, not Rin’s usual scene.

Fiona was already there, sitting at a corner table with a clear view of the entrance, she saw Joy, raised an eyebrow.

"I said alone."

"She insisted," Rin said, sitting down.

Fiona studied Joy for a moment then shrugged. "Whatever, this concerns you too I suppose."

She pulled out a tablet, showed them photos of the warehouse creatures. "These aren’t random experiments, they’re prototypes, someone’s testing combat applications in controlled environments."

"How do you know that?" Joy asked.

"Because I’ve seen similar creatures before, about a month ago, different city, same basic design, enhanced predator characteristics, pack tactics, disposable and replaceable." Fiona swiped through more photos. "Someone’s running a breeding program, creating monsters for sale or deployment."

"The Association is investigating," Rin said.

"The Association will find nothing because whoever’s running this operation has protection, you don’t conduct illegal experiments in Association territory without inside help." She put the tablet away. "I have contacts who deal in grey market information, they’ve heard rumors, whispers about a group called the Architect Collective, they specialize in monster modification, creating custom entities for wealthy clients."

"Why are you telling us this?" Joy asked suspiciously.

"Because Rin encountered contaminated entities twice in one week, that’s not coincidence, someone’s testing defenses, seeing how new Hunters respond to unknown threats." Fiona looked at Rin. "They’re collecting data, probably on you specifically, the portal guy with weird purple energy, you’re interesting, makes you a target for research."

That thought made Rin’s stomach drop, someone was watching him, testing him, treating him like a lab rat.

"What do they want?"

"To understand what you are, possibly capture you, definitely study your abilities." Fiona leaned back. "The Association can’t protect you from threats they don’t know exist, this Collective operates outside official channels, they’re ghosts."

"So what, I just wait for them to make a move?"

"No, you get ahead of them, find them first, eliminate the threat." She smiled slightly. "Or you could ignore this, hope it goes away, see how that works out."

Joy spoke up. "Why do you care? What’s your stake in this?"

"I don’t like being observed without my knowledge, the Collective has been watching multiple anomalous Hunters, including me, I want them gone." Fiona stood up. "Think about it, if you want help tracking them down, let me know, otherwise good luck dealing with whatever they send next."

She left, disappeared into the crowd.

Joy looked at Rin. "You believe her?"

"I don’t know, but if she’s right, we’ve got a problem."

"We should tell the Association."

"And say what, that a killer told us about a secret organization conducting illegal experiments, they’ll either dismiss it or investigate us for associating with her."

Joy didn’t have an answer for that.

They left the bar, caught a taxi back to their respective homes, Rin spent the drive thinking about everything Fiona said.

Someone was watching him, testing him, trying to understand his abilities.

The Association had him leashed but at least their motivations were clear, control and containment.

This Architect Collective, if they existed, had unknown goals, unknown resources, unknown methods.

He was being hunted by people he couldn’t see.

And the leash around his neck meant he couldn’t move freely to deal with it.

Fiona’s words echoed in his head: "Eventually you’ll have to choose, stay leashed and limited, or break free and deal with the consequences."

That choice was coming sooner than he’d expected.

But not yet, he wasn’t strong enough yet, breaking free now would just get him killed.

He needed more time, more strength, more options.

The grind continued.

One mission at a time, one fight at a time, one step closer to freedom.

His phone buzzed, message from an unknown number.

"We’ve been watching. Impressive performance. You’re exactly what we need. Expect contact soon. - The Architect"

Rin stared at the message.

They’d made contact.

The game had changed.