Chapter 12

Sera Westbrook's POV

Odysseus layered the spore concentration, the Eroded heat zones, and the terrain collapse data around the supply station onto the third-deck projection. Blue-white light cut through the tabletop and fell across Kyle's cuff. He tapped his knuckle on the thin line at the edge of the projection and said, "We go around from the north, along the edge of the spore forest. Don't enter the center of the woods."

Once the order was given, Dorian pushed a statistics sheet to the middle of the table. "This is the inhibitor usage status for all of us."

He began reading out the teammates' names one by one. When he got to mine, he paused for a few seconds. "Sera's situation is special. Because we're short on high-purity crystal cores, her inhibitor hasn't been developed yet. Recently I've been substituting it with plant-based green pills, so on this mission, everyone needs to keep an eye out—if you find an intact high-purity crystal core, make sure to bring it back. We need it urgently."

I said quietly, "Sorry to trouble everyone."

Vera waved her hand. "It's no trouble at all. No need to be so polite."

Dorian handed the remaining plant-based green pills to me. "You must stay close to Kyle at all times. He'll monitor your condition. Keep an eye on the readings on your wristband, understand?"

I nodded. "Understood."

Dorian smiled with relief. "Good. Then I don't have anything else."

The most basic preparations were done. We got ready to rest and fight again tomorrow.

Early the next morning, before dawn, we were ready. Two hover bikes sat on the lift platform in the first-deck armory, and Taylor was pushing up a third one he'd modified, goggles hanging around his neck, his eyes fixed on the intake the whole time he spoke. "Once the spore concentration gets too high, the filters clog. So you need to fly low—don't raise your altitude easily. The moment you lift, you're feeding spores into the filters."

Once we entered the city, the hover bikes would be our main means of transport; before that, we'd mainly use the vehicle and deal with the mutated kapok from inside it.

Meanwhile, Kyle readjusted the formation: Cole would charge in front and break the barriers; Jax would hold the middle and control the field; Vera and I would switch to cold weapons and smoke grenades for cover.

Less than twenty kilometers from the city, Odysseus's voice came through the wristbands: spore concentration jumping from medium to high. Gray-white fluff began to accumulate on the outside of the glass dome over the rooftop hydroponic farm, layer after layer.

The thick coating blocked most of the sunlight. Kyle ordered a slowdown. The vehicle slowed, and I sat by the window, watching the mutated kapok along both sides of the road grow into a continuous forest.

That's how mutated kapok was—either a small cluster, or a whole forest.

About two hundred meters ahead, all the capsules split open almost at the same time. Gray-white spores poured out wildly. Visibility dropped to within five steps in seconds.

The vehicle could barely move forward. We put on our protective suits, opened the door, and got out.

Cole walked at the very front, using geological shaping to press the spore shells and broken kapok on the road into the soil, forcing out a narrow path. Jax then devoured that layer of soil deeper down, so the spores couldn't escape. Vera and I cut the branches of the mutated kapok and pushed them into the pits.

Within the kapok's radius, there were still a few wandering Eroded.

Kyle released neural resonance, suppressing the consciousness of the nearby Eroded. Calm and composed, he never let those Eroded get close to us.

Suddenly, Kyle walked up beside me and asked, "Do you know how many spores you've inhaled?"

I felt nothing, so I chose to tell the truth. "I don't know."

I really didn't know. Even with spores in my airway, my windpipe felt nothing at all.

With that, I let out a soft "ah," suddenly remembering that Kyle had already taken over my sensations, so I put on an extra layer of mask. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

Kyle said, "It's fine. Stay safe."

He told Dorian over the channel to get the portable lung function tester ready, then looked at me. "Keep attacking. Don't worry about it—I'll be monitoring your condition the whole time."

I said, "Okay."

After a long fight, we had dealt with most of the mutated kapok.

Past the kapok, we found the supply station on the map.

The supply station was a half-buried military warehouse. The entrance was blocked by collapsed earth and rubble, and there wasn't a single pry mark on the military-grade alloy door. Jax used earth-devouring to clear the rubble, and Cole checked the door hinges, confirming they weren't rusted shut. Kyle stood at the door and used neural resonance to scan the inside of the warehouse, confirming there was no living consciousness inside.

A maintenance panel beside the door glowed dark green, and on it was a very small, very strange emblem: a lion's head, a goat's body… the rest was unclear. Looking at it, I felt an indescribable familiarity, but I couldn't say what it was.

As if possessed, I took out my old wristband and held it up to the control panel. Unexpectedly, the wristband matched the military warehouse system perfectly. The door slowly opened, and a long list appeared on the control panel: sealed rations, water filter cartridges, inhibitor raw materials, ammunition, spare batteries, and more—complete in every category.

Scrolling to the very bottom, a line of encrypted code appeared that couldn't be deciphered—it seemed to be from somewhere else. At first it was just a mass of code, then it slowly came into focus.

"Sample Batch: K-7."

Beyond that, all the other information was blurred.

My finger stopped on the panel.

K-7?

So familiar. Its full name was right there at the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't say it no matter what.

Why did it feel familiar?

Was it something I'd come into contact with before?

Kyle walked up behind me and leaned in. "What is it?"

He braced my forehead and pressed me against his chest, massaging my temples, his tone a little anxious. "Did you inhale too many spores? How do you feel?"

I covered the control panel with my hand. "It's nothing."

I hadn't felt Kyle's embrace in a long time and didn't react right away. Then it caught up with me, and I looked at Kyle. "What's wrong?"

"I suddenly felt a severe headache, so I guessed something must have happened to you." Kyle pressed his hand to the back of my neck. "Do you want to go back to the Titan and have Dorian examine you?"

I shook my head. "No need. I'm fine."

Kyle studied my expression, then let go, half convinced. "Are you sure?"

I said, "Sure."

I looked at Kyle, who had pulled me into his arms. "You…"

Kyle immediately let go and stepped to the side, as if nothing had happened. "Since you're fine, let's keep moving."

I was stunned for a moment, then quickly came back to my senses. "All right."

We entered the warehouse. Cole and Jax hauled supplies, Vera counted medical items, and Kyle checked the physical inventory against the list.

Vera said as she counted, "So lucky…"

Jax shouted from the other end, "There's an unopened box of coffee powder here!"

Vera immediately cut him off. "The coffee powder is mine to manage."

Jax protested, "Why?"

Vera said, "Because my coffee tastes better than yours."

Just then, Cole walked past carrying a box of coffee powder and said flatly, "Her coffee really does taste better."

Jax was forced to shut his mouth.

I carried another crate of water-purification capsules out, the thought still nagging at me.

That string of code, Kyle coming closer…

What exactly had I forgotten?