DING!

~----~

[You have received a new Mission: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing]

>Joe Curry is one of the most popular and diplomatic Earls in Neo Solace, a true noble of high standing. To the public, media, and the outside world, he’s one of the best thriving Geneforms in all ramifications in Neo Solace, but hidden beneath that Sheep’s clothing is a Wolf.

>You and your team have taken it upon yourself to unmask and kill the Wolf and have your vengeance while at it.

[Mission Reward: ???]

~----~

At an altitude of over 10,000 feet inside the Zerphyr-7, Leon stared at the virtual interface floating in front of him, at the new mission that he received from the ChronoSystem.

Staring at the mission reward, he chuckled. ’You’re taking the mysterious route again, huh? I hope it’s worth it’.

Most times that the system have taken the ’???’ route with its mission rewards, it was always something that surprised him.

He wondered what it was going to be this time.

Besides, a ChronoSystem mission was exactly what he needed at the moment.

This was because though he tried to trivialize the danger level of the mission that he intended to embark on, at the back of his mind, Leon knew that if things go wrong he was likely going to be thrown right in the Lion’s den.

To him, Omnicore territory was the Lion’s den.

The Federation was not just his enemy, they were his archenemy after what he did 131 years ago.

Some of their strongest leaders either had interest in him or had strong beef with him. Due to all these reasons and more, if for some reason he botched the mission, his life was 100% going to be threatened.

"A life and death mission huh?" Leon chuckled. "But when have I ever been scared of placing my life on the line?"

Leon didn’t like being the hero. In fact, he hated it, but after the events of the Extremist Movement in Leviathan Quay, he found his orientation changing.

He may not want to be a hero, but the current circumstances of the world just didn’t let him. The Omnicore Federation did a great job at ensuring this.

Besides, if he wanted to reach his goal of getting access back to his memories, he needed to become a C Rank Ascended before aiming higher. And since the Federation were blocking this route, he was destined to clash with them.

Also, hunting another C Rank Ascended would give him more Ascended Essence. And considering that Joe Curry was tied to the Omnicore Federation as a honorary Earl, killing him was likely going to give him even more Ascended Essence than when he killed Dhruv Laden.

All these reasons and more were why Leon no longer trembled at the prospect of going head-on in a clash against the Omnicore Federation.

’Bring it on!’ He thought with a grin.

’Hopefully, it works out,’ he thought again, then his ADE erupted, wrapping around the stealth aircraft as he used Enhance and made it accelerate.

Less than 20 minutes later, Leon arrived in Canyon Hub.

By the time he returned to the city, it was already dark. He first linked up with Tyla in his hotel room, then together they left to their agreed meet-up spot- a concealed military base of the Freegrid Collective.

...

Canyon Hub, Red District.

Within the city in one of the few ghetto districts in Canyon Hub, hiding in plain sight underground beside a popular market is the entrance to a concealed military base of the Freegrid Collective.

Attached within the scrapyard area of the market, the entrance didn’t look like anything special, just a rusted maintenance hatch that was tucked behind a dead generator block, half-buried in grime and forgotten cables.

But three levels down, past reinforced blast doors and a biometric lock, the real space opened up.

The basement was a relic of old military engineering with low ceilings, thick concrete walls, and exposed steel beams that were scarred by time.

Rows of outdated terminals lined one side, their screens flickering with mismatched data streams that were patched together from the modern grid, while a heavy metal central table dominated the room.

The central table was covered in projected maps, shifting schematics, and handwritten notes that were layered over digital precision.

Dim strip lights buzzed overhead, casting a cold uneven glow on the room.

The air smelled faintly of oil, dust, and recycled oxygen.

Compared to the rest of the beautiful and upscale city, this may look rundown, but this is one of the most secure strategic military meeting spots in Canyon Hub with absolute secrecy.

It was hidden, hardened, and completely off the grid, wired by Ren Nora himself and unknown to even certain Lt. Colonels of the Freegrid Collective.

According to Ren Nora, even he couldn’t hack to spy on conversations ongoing in this basement with the way he designed it.

Colonel Alphonse and only a few high-ranking military figures in the city knew about this strategy meeting room.

Creak!

The door creaked slightly as Leon finally entered with Tyla, they were the last to arrive to the meeting.

Around the heavy central table were 6 chairs, and 4 of them were already occupied by Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq, Brick, Daren, and Talia. With Leon and Tyla, the team for the secret mission was complete.

Ghostwire was not part of the team, this was because he was in the final stage of his preparations to attempt his first Trial.

He intended to attempt the Trial in the next few days, maybe even today.

Leon already secured a spot for him with his connections to the leader of the city in one of the biggest Data Centers to protect Trial candidates in Canyon Hub.

The moment Leon and Tyla sat down, everyone looked at the both of them, and Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq broke the silence.

"Where did you go to? Any update?"

"I went to meet the General".

"..." There was a brief pause.

"General Ren Nora?" Umar and everyone sat straighter immediately.

Interacting with him sometimes, it was easy to forget that he actually had connections to the leader of the Freegrid Collective.

Leon nodded in response to Umar’s question. "For such an important mission, I thought to seek his advice".

The Lt. Colonel’s brown eyes gleamed.

"What did he say?" He asked immediately.

"Just the normal advice," Leon shrugged. "But he did give me this". He pushed his hand into his pockets and brought out certain things, placing them on the table before them.

They all looked at the table and saw 6 slightly transparent gray masks.

"Masks?"

Leon nodded. "The General created them himself. They’re called CH Masks, Chameleon Masks, and they’re capable of giving each one of us the perfect disguise in our quest to infiltrate Omnicore territory".

Curious, Daren moved first to pick a mask and everyone did as they quickly familiarized themselves with the masks.

What they didn’t realize was that they were holding items rated C Rank.

Within just a few seconds of acquainting themselves with the masks, they realized just how ridiculous they were.

Talia was not stingy with her praise. Afterall, these were from her mentor, and besides they deserved the praise.

They didn’t discuss much. Within the past few days, by communicating through a secure network and updating each other on any progress and changes to the mission, they already finalized all the details of the mission.

Meeting like this was their final preparation to confirm that everyone knew their role in the mission.

As for the token that was also given to him by the General, Leon deliberately decided not to tell them about it. He felt that telling them about something that game changing would affect their performance during the mission.