The Department of Special Investigations and Defense was slightly smaller compared to headquarters, but still had a respectable size. The interior left nothing to be desired; everyone’s first thought was, “It’s like a sci-fi movie.” They were amazed by the structural details and how the white color combined with glass. Both Vikta and the agents followed her toward another room; the door she was heading to clearly read “Auditorium C” and was guarded by security.

Everyone entered in single file and were surprised to see people already seated. It looked like a movie theater, but instead of having all the seats facing in one direction, there was a central core with a platform in the middle. It was a large platform. At that moment, all the newcomers were guided to a section with about 20 seats. Roughly counting, there were around 60 people divided into different sectors. With the low lighting, the young ones sitting near the platform were barely visible due to the height, yet for a certain smitten young man, it was very easy to spot where Calisto was. So, he tried to look away, but every time he did, he noticed Calisto definitely looked at him now and then, then quickly turned his gaze.

“Could you two just kiss already?” Artemisa whispered teasingly to Lucas. “You’re making the rest of us feel like side characters.”

Lucas hushed her quickly as Vikta began to speak, making a grimace at Artemisa.

Vikta opened the presentation politely, first formally welcoming the new organization members, then greeting the veterans and other operators. She apologized for the disorganized agenda and once again informed them of the ongoing emergency: young Aria had been missing for 35 hours without any key leads, sending her best wishes to the families.

“Today, you’ve been summoned to introduce one of our latest operations. After multiple stages, it has reached the execution phase, having been designated one of our organization’s Mega Operations: Operation Titan.”

The name “Operation Titan” appeared in large letters on the screen.

“As we all know, we’re facing one of the biggest economic crises in the underground world, with areas lacking food, basic supplies, and above all, water,” she explained. “These resources are very limited underground, so multiple industries have had to develop recycling methods or find substitutes. But there are processes where neither option is viable. That’s where this operation comes in.”

The slide changed to an unknown map.

“We propose opening three exterior routes that, after several stages, will allow us to extract usable surface resources. These new resources include, but are not limited to: wood, water, soil, metals, petroleum, natural gas sources, and more. After establishing the route, we will set up nine supply points and twelve loading/unloading hubs for natural products. This will lead to the first three protected surface bases in over 40 years.”

Everyone was amazed by the ideas. If this operation succeeded, it could mark a before and after in their lives, those of their families, and others.

“This operation is not only important to us as a society, but also helps the organization improve its image for future missions. The operation will proceed as follows.”

Different strategic plans were displayed, revealing all the routes.

“However, one of our main issues is lack of intel. We’ve been able to gather data on environmental threats.”

These environmental threats began when Andromeda arrived on Earth. In addition to war-related destruction, it brought something initially called “the epidemic” and more recently identified by the organization as “Exobac”—a name derived from “exo” (external) and “bac” (from the analysis showing it was a bacterium).

Exobac, when in contact with lung mucosa, begins to alter individual behavior, affecting the neurological and respiratory systems until the person becomes a flesh-craving creature, due to corruption of their human core, which is located in areas like the head, chest, or back. Vikta explained that there is a minimum infection level known as the Exobac Infection Rate (EBIR), which is significantly high. This index corresponds to prolonged exposure of 10 minutes without proper equipment.

She also added that this exposure was one of the major reasons behind humanity’s retreat, given the massive loss of soldiers driven to madness. Some died, and others fled to unknown locations. Many of the disappeared belonged to the first generation of modified human squads, also known as “executors,” who were characterized by a mutation in the core—the driver of human life and memory. The cores connect to individuals in different ways, primarily through four axes: emotionality, viscerality, intuition, and perception.

Lucas began comparing Vikta’s words to himself: an agent’s core is like any normal human’s, offering specific characteristics within certain parameters. For example, his core is mechanical and highly perceptive—if Lucas could be perceptive most of the time, he’d have greater sync with it.

But reality wasn’t pretty. Lucas and his core had only a regular—if not poor—compatibility. His core demanded greater awareness, but Lucas wasn’t someone who thought deeply about his words or actions, especially in battle. He followed instinct. Because of this, his synchronization was about 76%, just above the average agent level. Normal symbiosis ranges were around 75%, though typically above 43%.

All his instructors, no matter what he did, agreed on one thing: it’s hard to synchronize with a human core, especially when research is scarce and mutations came after the arrival of exo-humans from other planets. But one thing was certain: the higher the sync index, the easier it was to control your core. He still remembered how students started out with around 37% synchronization—discouraged at first—while others who started high plateaued.

This was Lucas’s case: he had plateaued.

While some rose from 23% to average levels, Lucas stayed average. The bar barely moved from 73% to 76% in four years. It wasn’t something he liked to boast about—if anything, it made him feel weaker. Even if his instructors said there weren’t enough studies to make it a hard metric, it still frustrated him that none of his methods to improve worked.

He didn’t want to get discouraged out of nowhere, which is why he also didn’t like thinking too much. While some people find solutions by thinking, for Lucas it felt like drowning. He didn’t care if it was a glass of water or an ocean—what hurt was the drowning. He took a deep breath. He wouldn’t let his thoughts bury him. So, he reconnected to the presentation—thankfully, just in time.

Because what Vikta said next left him stunned:

“For this Mega Operation, we guarantee you will be led by a selected group of genetically modified humans. Many have led silent but victorious missions in this battle. Therefore, I am pleased to introduce the Third Generation Inspector Brigade.”

Several people ascended the platform in uniform, all with serious expressions. They received applause from their colleagues, which cracked their seriousness into proud smiles. Among them were some familiar faces: Irene, Fenrir, and of course, Calisto—though one stood out more than the rest. Among them was a woman floating slightly above the ground, drawing everyone’s attention.

“In this operation, they will act as executors. Their average nuclear synchronization is 99.43%—almost perfect. But that’s not their only specialty. They have enhanced speed, regeneration abilities that allow them to recover limbs or large skin areas in 2–3 minutes, and they can withstand extreme conditions and Exobac exposure. They will handle logistics, your training, and leadership.”

Suddenly, the screen updated to show a series of groups with an unknown selection method—lottery? Compatibility? Sync percentage? No one knew. Lucas’s first thought was:

“These team names are way too eccentric.”

Calisto’s group was named Galahad, Irene’s was Lancelot, Fenrir’s was Bedivere, followed by Gawain, Lamorak, Tristan, and Perceval. But as Lucas observed the executors and screens, he noticed the executor for Gawain was missing.

“Unfortunately, Inspector Geminis Hart is unavailable due to recovery from a serious injury. But as soon as he’s ready, you’ll get to meet him,” the deputy director clarified, as if reading Lucas’s mind.

“What kind of name is Geminis?” Lucas whispered to Artemisa.

“I don’t know. I’m Aries,” Artemisa joked with a smile.

“Would you name yourself ‘Aries’? Aries Rosso?”

“Doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Watch him have family named Libra, Aquarius, or Sagittarius. I don’t know zodiac signs,” he added.

“Shh,” Pascal hissed.

Lucas looked at Pascal with distrust until he noticed the screens had already assigned them to their teams. He couldn’t help smiling like a fool when he saw Calisto would be his executor.

“Ew, why do we have to be the third wheel for you two?” Artemisa groaned.

Her annoyance clearly stemmed more from being in the same group as her imaginary arch-nemesis Aqua than from the lovebirds, though she was smart enough not to say it aloud—unlike Lucas.

“Shut up,” Lucas whispered. “Why don’t you get used to your new best friend?”

Artemisa wasn’t dumb, but Lucas was dumb enough to say it aloud, so she stomped on his foot in revenge. His pained face quickly shifted to calm as he noticed Calisto had seen his startled reaction and smiled before looking away.

“He looked at me,” Lucas whispered happily.

“At least you have an executor. I haven’t met mine yet,” Pascal commented, seeing he was in team Gawain.

“I’m with Miss Irene,” Luna smiled, seeing she was in team Lancelot. “She looks serious, but maybe that’s just her face.”

“You’re charming—no way she’ll dislike you,” Pascal said, boosting her confidence.

Meanwhile, Tori kept staring curiously at her executor, Lanying Wei, in charge of team Perceval. Everyone seemed to agree she looked younger than anyone else in the room—probably under 20—and gave off an incredibly cheerful and energetic vibe. As soon as she made eye contact with her team, she waved excitedly, prompting Tori and other teens to wave back.

After a long briefing on equipment and environmental hazards—which interested Lucas, but not enough to stay fully focused—they were told to gather with their teams. Their executors would guide them to their new ships. Aqua approached silently, and as soon as he arrived, Lucas and Artemisa started looking for Calisto, who quickly approached them.

“Hey again,” he said with a wink. “What did you think of the presentation?”

“It was nice,” the three teens agreed without meaning to.

“Thanks. I made it an hour before presenting,” he bragged.

“Is that why your section had the biggest font?” Aqua asked.

Calisto laughed and patted Aqua on the back, surprising Lucas.

“You noticed! Yep, that was me. Good eye.”

“I noticed too,” Lucas added.

Calisto laughed again.

“Was it that obvious? Ah, whatever—soon we’ll be far from here. Want me to ask Minho to bring your things, or do you want to get them yourselves?”

“Inspector Calisto!”

The four teens turned around at the same time and saw a girl with iridescent blonde hair and heterochromia approaching. She was hard to ignore.

“Ah, guys. This is Nova. Nova is...”

“An operational assistant from central. I’ll be guiding you on your missions—I’ll be your eyes! I’m a Codeon version 3. I love apples and pastel colors. Do you like pastel colors? If I could, I’d always wear pink and sky blue and... lime green!”

She made circles with her thumb and index fingers, placing them over her eyes like glasses:

“I collect and process the data Minho gathers. He’s a Codeon like me—but he doesn’t talk much. There he is! Hi Minho!”

Minho walked silently toward them, hands in his pockets. He seemed recharged, but not completely. He just waved with a faint smile as Nova shook the three recruits’ hands enthusiastically.

“Minho...” Calisto tried to speak, but Nova interrupted him again, leaving him speechless.

“Minho is super nice! Don’t be nervous because of his tough-guy look—he’s really calm. He likes cats, plants... he’s like a cool grandma.”

Minho gave a thumbs-up, then undid it and crossed his arms with a slightly annoyed expression, looking away.

“He’s the lead Codeon on the Galahad. He’ll guide you alongside Inspector Calisto. If you need anything, ask the inspector, me, Minho—whoever. Take good care of him! I’ll be watching and I can’t wait to be part of your team. At first, we’ll barely see each other, but with time, we’ll become inseparable colleagues. Don’t you think?”

Calisto seemed to be losing patience, trying to speak.

“Thanks, Nova, but I think the deputy director was calling you a while ago.”

Nova’s eyes widened.

“Really? I didn’t hear her—thanks, Inspector! See you, everyone! Great meeting you!”

She turned around and ran off to find Vikta. Minho and Calisto picked up the pace, prompting the teens to follow.

“Let’s go to the ship quickly—you’ll get your things, and we’ll do a tour. We’ll be living there during the missions,” Calisto said irritably.

They exited central. At that moment, they got a better view of their surroundings. Although Puerto Coronel was more of a military base than a city, it didn’t feel threatening or severe. It looked like a decent place to live if it had a few nearby houses. They started heading toward a hangar with glass walls, a massive structure that let in plenty of light. As they approached, they realized it wasn’t the only hangar in the area.