Kill to evolve: A system that demands blood-Chapter 24: First mission

Chapter 24

Ronan barely had time to dry off before the dorms erupted into organized chaos. Footsteps thundered through the halls, lockers slammed shut, and voices called out as everyone scrambled to finish whatever they were doing and assemble in the briefing hall.

When Ronan arrived, the room was already buzzing. Squad 4 members were lined up in semi-formation, all eyes drawn to the front where Sienna stood. Her face was blank—calm, unreadable—but something in her stance felt heavier than usual. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest, and her gaze was fixed on the floor for a moment before she looked up.

"We've just received intel," she began, her voice clipped and firm. "There's a rogue group of system users—underground, working outside the rules. They've been targeting specific districts with system-warped monsters. These things... aren't natural. Someone's been tampering with them. Enhancing them. Twisting them into something else."

A ripple of murmurs spread through the room. Even the most hardened members shifted uneasily. Monsters were one thing. But monsters altered by the system? That was a whole new level of dangerous.

"They're not like the low-level trash we sometimes clean up," Sienna continued, cutting through the murmurs. "They're powerful. Unpredictable. We don't know their motive yet, but make no mistake—they're after something."

Ronan's jaw clenched. His gut twisted. This had to be connected to that man. He was the only one who could be responsible for creating systems monsters like that. He wondered, where these ones going to be as strong as the one that had killed him? if they were, then this mission was far from easy.

Sienna's voice cut back in. "We've been ordered to neutralize the threat. That means track them down, figure out what we're dealing with, and if possible—eliminate them. But listen closely: we don't know where exactly they are, we are only aware of the district they were last seen. This is search and destroy, with emphasis on search. And we're not getting backup."

The tension in the room thickened.

"If things go south," she added, voice sharper now, "we fall back. We are not dying for this mission. Understood?"

A quiet silence followed. No one raised a hand. No one dared ask anything.

"Good. Two hours. Be ready."

As the squad started breaking formation and moving out, Ronan turned to leave, only to hear a familiar voice behind him.

"Yo, you good?" Felix jogged up beside him. "You look tense, is it because of the mission?"

Ronan hesitated, then nodded once. "First time."

Felix grinned and nudged his elbow. "Don't worry, man. We've all been there. You'll be fine. We got your back, remember? That's what a squad's for."

He gave Ronan's shoulder a firm pat, then peeled off to gear up. Ronan stood there for a second, caught off guard by the warmth behind the words. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. It was nice—having teammates who cared.

He made his way back to the dorm, got dressed in the standard mission gear—black lightweight armor reinforced at the chest and joints, system-synced gloves, and a earpiece that linked directly to his ear meant for communicating with team members incase they got separated. Helmet clipped to his side, he slid the sidearm into place last.

Two hours passed in a blur, and soon...they set off.

—

The van ride out to the target zone was anything but tense—at first. It was a tight fit, with nearly a dozen of them packed in the armored transport, but the atmosphere buzzed with the familiar energy of a team that had been through enough together to joke before shit hit the fan.

Hugo sat at the far back, arms crossed and eyes half-closed, while Mila messed with her system interface, scrolling through settings and muttering complaints, though only she could see whatever she was working on. Felix sat across from Ronan and immediately started grinning.

"So, rookie," he said, loud enough for half the van to hear, "you gonna puke before we get there or after?"

Someone snorted.

"Leave the poor guy alone," Mila said without looking up. "You're just salty he almost knocked you out in that last drill."

"Almost," Felix emphasized. "Key word."

"Still closer than you ever got in your first week," Hugo muttered from the back, eyes still shut.

"Ouch!" Mila laughed. "That sounded personal."

"It was," Hugo said, not even bothering to look up.

Felix leaned toward Ronan and dropped his voice a little. "Okay, but seriously, what is your secret, bro? Do you actually sleep with the combat manual under your pillow or what?"

Ronan shook his head, fighting a smirk. "Can't tell you. It's classified."

"Oooh, listen to him!" someone said from the front. "Mr. Mysterious now?"

"Yeah, yeah," another added. "Bet he moonlights as a vigilante when we're all asleep."

"Right," Mila added dryly. "And I'm secretly a system dragon in disguise."

They all cracked up. Even Ronan let out a quiet laugh. It felt...good. Real. The way the team teased now didn't sting. It wasn't clear they didn't judge him anymore and had finally accepted him as a qualified teammate.

The banter continued until the van suddenly slowed. The lighthearted chatter died off as the vehicle rumbled to a halt.

The driver's voice crackled through the intercom. "We've arrived."

Silence.

Everyone shifted in their seats. Systems synced. Gear checked. Armor adjusted.

Ronan's heart picked up pace, but not from fear. It was something else. Something wired into his bones now. He was both excited and annoyed...he badly wanted to meet the boss at the top of all these insane experiments, what exactly was he after? And would he stop if he surrendered himself, afterall...he had made it clear that he wanted Ronan.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

The door hissed open, and the cool evening air rushed in, mixed with the faint scent of ozone and scorched metal. The street outside looked quiet. Completely quiet. Broken lampposts. A couple of scorched craters. Shattered glass.

And not a single soul in sight.

Sienna's voice cut in through comms.

"Eyes open. Stay sharp. Let's move."

And just like that, the mission had begun.