The next day, the eastern sky turned pale, and the snow that had fallen all night finally stopped.
Yoren opened his eyes and rubbed his sore shoulders. Though it was technically a new day, only four hours had passed since they arrived in City E.
Feeling his movement, Guigui stirred beside him, poking her small head out from under his coat.
"Brother Yoren, is it morning?"
"Not quite, but it's time to start moving."
"Oh."
The fire in the room had long since burned out. Yoren shook his kettle—thankfully, the water inside hadn't frozen. He took a deep drink, the cold liquid jolting him awake.
Vina appeared at the top of the stairs, looking as sharp as ever. "Yoren, get up. Time to work."
"Got it."
As Vina left, Yoren took a deep breath and finally let his gaze drift to the cigarette butt in the corner.
His box of Red Plum cigarettes was still sealed. He had been the first to reach the second floor last night, and none of the Glasgow gang members smoked anymore.
That meant one thing—someone else had been here.
Yoren hadn't told Vina about the cigarette butt. Why?
Simple.
He'd been too damn tired.
Maybe that sounded irresponsible, but it was the truth. They had all been exhausted after running around all day. If he had woken everyone up to investigate, they would have spent the night chasing shadows. And with ACE and his squad on watch, Yoren didn't want to add unnecessary tension.
Maybe it was selfish, but more than that, it was about control. If Vina had known, she might have changed their entire plan overnight, shifting history onto an entirely different and unpredictable path.
He understood his place. He was just an ordinary person, but his existence was anything but ordinary. His choices—no matter how small—had the power to disrupt the course of history.
With or without him, Terra would have marched toward its destined future. Without him, the people he cared about wouldn't meet their end until the Chernobog riots three years from now.
His presence had already changed everything.
And yet, no matter which choice he made, the future remained uncertain.
So he had made his decision.
And judging by the results, it hadn't been the wrong one. Everyone had slept peacefully until dawn. That peace, however brief, was precious.
The heavy snowfall had blanketed the streets of City E in white. As the team suited up, they began their search for Originium clusters.
Before long, one of the Glasgow members brushed aside the snow and uncovered a patch of the precious mineral.
He pulled on thick isolation gloves and took a specialized hammer from his satchel. Despite its crystalline appearance, Originium was incredibly tough. Most of the mineral extended deep underground, its roots embedded in layers of hardened rock.
The trick was to separate the exposed cluster from its base without shattering it. If broken incorrectly, the cluster would become worthless—unusable for high-grade processing.
Without proper mechanical tools, the work required a strong grip and precise control.
Thirty minutes later, Yoren collapsed onto the ground, hands aching.
Half an hour of hammering, and not a single piece had broken free.
"Nope. This job's not for me."
Vina waved him over from the entrance of their shelter.
Dragging himself to his feet, Yoren trudged toward her.
"Yoren, leave the collection to the others."
"Yeah, yeah…" He crouched beside her, sighing. "Vina, we should be safe now, right?"
"Yes. Indra just checked in. She hasn't seen any other forces enter Mandel City, so we're in the clear."
Yoren rested his forehead against his knees.
"Vina… if I told you that someone might be watching us, would you be surprised?"
Vina blinked but didn't look alarmed. "Honestly? Not really. I can feel it too—something's lurking in this city. But as long as it stays out of our way, I don't care. I'd rather pretend to be blind and deaf."
Yoren studied her expression.
So she knew. Maybe she had seen something last night too—something like the cigarette butt—but chose to ignore it.
Vina acted like an impulsive young leader, but in reality, she was more calculating than she let on.
Yoren straightened up. "Vina, if this job goes well, we can head back to Victoria."
A small smile crossed her lips. "Of course. Didn't we agree on a party at my place? I'll even cook my best dish—"
A sudden sense of dread gripped Yoren. Another damn flag?!
Before she could finish, he cut in quickly. "Heh, who knows what'll happen in the future? Let's not think too far ahead. First, we need to get out of Mandel City in one piece. Right? Heh."
"Yeah… that's right."
A deep, unfamiliar voice cut through the morning air.
"Mandel City isn't a place where rats like you can come and go as you please."
Yoren and Vina froze.
That voice…
Neither of them recognized it.
Whoever it belonged to wasn't from the Glasgow gang.
A stranger.
Time seemed to slow. Yoren's worst fear had just come true.
Without hesitation, Vina's hammer swung through the air, aimed directly at the source of the voice.
Life isn't a movie. There's no dramatic build-up, no time to prepare for unexpected disasters. The most shocking moments often arrive in the middle of ordinary days, slipping in quietly before turning your world upside down.
Like spending days grinding for the last materials to E2 your favorite operator, only to have your phone confiscated by a teacher the moment you're about to see the new portrait. After a quick call home, the verdict is in—you'll get your phone back in a month.
That's exactly how Yoren felt when he heard the unfamiliar voice cut through the cold morning air.
"Mandel City isn't a place you can just come and go as you please, you greedy little rats."
He had known something was wrong. The sight of those frozen infected bodies had set off every alarm in his mind. But he hadn't expected the danger to arrive so suddenly.
Vina reacted before anyone else.
Without hesitation, she swung her hammer behind her with a force like a thunderclap.
"Bang!"
The entire wall behind her exploded into rubble.
But the owner of the voice had already leapt back, landing several meters away, untouched.
Yoren turned, finally getting a clear look at him.
A man, wrapped in a black cloth that concealed his hair, leaving only a gaunt, ominous face exposed. He wore a tattered brown cloak, his arms wrapped in cloth strips, his entire appearance exuding a strange, unsettling aura.
But none of that mattered as much as what Yoren saw on his neck.
Black crystals embedded in his skin.
He was infected.
Vina tightened her grip on her war hammer, her face dark with focus. There were other forces in Mandel City. She had suspected it, but she hadn't expected an enemy to get this close without her noticing.
A scream rang out in the distance.
"Enemies! Ahh!"
A split second later, a Glasgow gang member came hurtling through a wall like a cannonball, Originium shards scattering across the ground where he landed.
There was more than one enemy.
Vina gritted her teeth. "Kate! Get everyone to fall back, now!"
But Kate didn't answer.
Yoren turned to see him locked in combat, his battle axe clashing against a stranger's longsword.
Then, ACE's voice burst through Vina's communicator.
"Vina, this is ACE. We've got a large number of infected closing in."
Vina pressed the device to her ear. "We're under attack too. Fall back, fast!"
"Negative. My team is already engaged. We can't pull out right now. Hold your ground—I'll handle this as quickly as possible."
"Damn it!" Vina swore, switching channels. "Indra, get back here, now!"
Silence.
The sky had brightened fully now, the eerie quiet of last night replaced by the chaos of battle. The empty streets of City E were alive with the clash of weapons and the shouts of combat.
The mysterious man smirked. "Trying to call for help? Or do you really think you can protect them all yourself? It's pointless. You ordinary people are no match for the infected."
Vina's expression darkened.
Yoren could feel the shift in the air before he saw it. An invisible force, an overwhelming pressure radiating from her.
Snowflakes swirled away from her body, blown back by the sheer fury radiating from her stance. Her yellow pupils contracted to razor-thin slits.
Then she moved.
Yoren barely had time to process what was happening before Vina launched herself into the air with a deafening roar.
"Ahhh!!!"
Like a meteor crashing down, she swung her war hammer with all her strength.
"BOOM!"
The impact shattered the ground, sending a shockwave rippling through the street. Debris and dust exploded outward as Vina's hammer struck the earth, carving out a crater two meters deep.
Yoren squinted through the dust cloud, shouting, "Vina! Are you okay?!"
A gust of wind blasted the debris away, revealing Vina standing alone in the pit.
No enemy in sight.
"That was close," a voice chuckled.
Yoren's eyes snapped up to see the infected man standing casually on a nearby rooftop, smirking down at them. He had dodged at the last moment.
Leaping lightly to the ground, he brushed dust from his cloak. "I'll admit, you're strong—stronger than most. But it doesn't change anything. You have only two choices: die here or become one of us."
Across the street, the battle raged on. Kate led the Glasgow gang against the attacking infected, but the odds weren't in their favor.
In another situation, they would have dominated any fight. But this was Mandel City. A disaster zone where Originium was everywhere—on the ground, in the air, saturating every breath.
Infected thrived in this environment, their strength amplified by the Originium that surrounded them.
The mysterious man sneered. "See? This is the power of the infected. You self-righteous 'ordinary' people will be swallowed by despair."
Vina's grip on her war hammer tightened. "Shut up."
Their side was losing ground fast. If she didn't change the tide, they wouldn't last much longer.
There was no time to wonder who these infected belonged to or why they were attacking. The only thing that mattered was stopping them.
And judging by his presence, this man was their leader. If she could just land one solid hit—just one—she was confident she could break every bone in his body.
She glanced at Yoren.
Yoren understood instantly.
The others were fighting their own battles. It was just him and Vina here. And if they wanted to win, he had to help her create an opening.
No more hesitation.
If the odds were slim, then he'd throw logic out the window. If his allies were fighting desperately, then he'd do the same. There was no time for fear.
Think. Fast.
Then, it hit him.
Yoren took a deep breath, straightened up, and shouted at the top of his lungs,
"Hey, you pathetic excuse for a stray dog! You're all bark and no bite! I've seen fish with more backbone than you!"
The insult echoed through the street, bouncing off the ruined buildings.
The infected man froze, his expression flickering from surprise to pure, simmering rage. His eye twitched.
"Say that again," he growled, his voice a low, dangerous threat. "I dare you."
Yoren smirked, planting his hands on his hips like an old lady bickering with a street vendor.
"What's the matter? You hard of hearing? You act like a big shot, but you're just some bald loser with a superiority complex! If you think you're so tough, come fight me! I've got a whole army waiting for you at Rhodes Island!"
Then, before he could think better of it, he bent down, grabbed a rock, and chucked it straight at the man's face.
"I'm gonna kick your ass!"