On the northern side of the city, a part overlooking the sea… ships and vessels could be seen hurriedly leaving the area.
Not far from there lies the poor districts and the Technology Graveyard—
a vast area where all destroyed electronic parts in need of recycling are dumped.
The massive size of this graveyard, which spans 20 kilometers north of the city, is the result of accumulating electronic and metallic waste from this city and a large number of surrounding towns and villages.
The port, some of the poor districts, and the Tech Graveyard are all bordering areas, and are notoriously known for having the highest crime rates in the region.
The sounds of explosions heard by Zeus and all the city's inhabitants came from a battle taking place in the Tech Graveyard near the port.
The combatants were the assault forces of Unit 293 and a branch of one of the country's infamous criminal organizations, specialized in the production and sale of drugs.
This organization also manufactures certain gene serums with severe negative side effects that led to them being banned, due to a 5% mortality rate among users.
Naturally, these serums were still being secretly sold in large quantities due to their extremely low price—less than 1% of the official serum price.
Many poor individuals who couldn't afford the legal gene serums risked buying these faulty, dangerous alternatives in hopes of changing their lives, living conditions, and social status.
The presence of enemy mechas in this organization's possession was the reason the police commander requested the assistance of a Special Task Unit.
Special Task Units are divided into two main categories:
Public Division: The official assault forces.
Secret Division: An elite group of gene-fighters who handle the majority of the Unit's missions.
Zeus used to be one of these elite members in the secret division. Well—he was the weakest among them. If he remained powerless, he would be dismissed and left with two options:
1. Stay in Unit 293:
Either by transferring to the official assault division, becoming a soldier who uses standard weapons (without advanced mecha suits that harness blue energy).
Or by controlling remote fighter drones or fully metallic combat mechas.
Or by moving to the administrative section, which handles tasks such as intelligence gathering, battle coordination, and communication.
Other options include joining the medical team, engineering division, or repair workshop.
2. Or leave the unit entirely and seek another job—a choice Zeus had been seriously considering.
---
"Damn it. Something's definitely wrong."
Five minutes ago, Zeus had left the control room and climbed the giant Ferris wheel. Now standing at the top, he looked toward the north side.
Aside from the faint, distant flashes from explosions, he couldn't see anything.
He tried calling his brother Zack—but got no answer.
"I hope this isn't a dark beast surge… Last time those creatures invaded a human city, casualties exceeded five million… Was I really a gene-fighter? I think I'll just focus on finding the girl… I can't get involved in something this massive."
---
[Ten minutes later]
The distant explosions were still audible. Zeus was leaving the park on his bike, having finally decided to give up the search.
He figured the girl's mother and her guards had probably already found her.
But just before merging onto the main road, Zeus received a call from his brother Zack.
"Finally!" Zeus tapped the light-screen projected from his ring.
"Zack, why didn't you— wait, is that gunfire I hear?! Where are you?!"
"Zeus, focus. Where's the woman and the girl?"
"I don't know where the girl is, but her mother was waiting in a black car near the main road."
"Was there a truck near them?"
"I think there was one parked nearby… What's going on?"
"Find them immediately! That woman is a wanted criminal involved in organ trafficking, and that truck is carrying no less than 100—damn it!! Angie, detonate the charges!"
"You're joking!!"
"Zeus, that truck is full of children. Once you locate it, contact police headquarters. One of the officers will be waiting for your call."
Zack ended the call.
"Shit! Shit!" Zeus cursed in panic, then sped off quickly. "I hope they haven't left yet."
---
[Two minutes later]
Zeus's bike flew off a nearby cliff edge. Children playing on the path below cheered and clapped at his reckless driving.
A few seconds later, Zeus reached the main road—and what he feared had happened.
The truck and the black car were gone.
However, he noticed burn marks on the road—signs of a car launching forward using full engine thrust.
From the pattern and shape of the burn, and using his knowledge of high-end vehicles, Zeus was certain that a car similar to the one in question had sped off toward the left—
Opposite the usual traffic flow.
Another realization struck him: That road led out of the city, heading east. It was also the same road Zeus had come from, and it passed near his family's mountain (Mount Raktas).
Zeus wasted no time and called one of his relatives who was in charge of the mountain's private surveillance system.
"Hey Zeus, I haven't heard from you—"
(Zeus interrupted) "Urgent request. Check the cameras watching the main road. Tell me if a black car and a transport truck passed through recently."
"Can you give me more details?"
"Both vehicles should be speeding. Likely, the car is far ahead of the truck."
"Alright, give me a sec… … Here's the car… No matching truck—wait! The truck just passed! Man, these guys are in a rush… but oddly enough, they're not exceeding the speed limit."
Zeus felt a bit of relief and thought:
"Well, the police allow me to break the speed limit. I'll catch up soon."
Zeus asked his cousin to contact police HQ and inform them to issue a memo to traffic police to ignore Zeus's speeding.
He then ended the call and zoomed off at top speed down the highway.
---
Elsewhere, in the mountain's monitoring room, a young man looked at the screen in front of him and spoke in disbelief:
"Wait a minute… My uncle told me to keep an eye on Zeus and stop him from leaving… Damn it! I'm screwed! Curse you, Red Phantom, I should never have watched that movie…"
As one of the main screens was still playing a film about a criminal and a detective.
---
After Zeus left the city, about 30 police vehicles set off from the headquarters via the main road heading east.
One of the human-type flying mechas—robots designed in humanoid form, unlike the beast-shaped ones—also left the battlefield at the Tech Graveyard after defeating its opponent, which was a swift bird-type mecha shaped like a beautiful white-winged creature…
Now, it was nothing more than a charred, black wreck.
This humanoid mecha had received orders from unit command to track Zeus's signal.