After last night's food party, everyone had crashed all over the place. Some fell asleep in the kitchen, others on the couch. Ren woke up a bit earlier than the rest, stretching as he looked around the messy room full of snoring teammates.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't punch me like that, Seth!" Miko mumbled in his sleep.
Ren chuckled to himself. "Not very gangster-like now, are you guys?"
He scanned the room again. Something felt off.
Sora's not here... he thought. Maybe she went back to her room?
Still feeling a bit sleepy, Ren decided to find a bathroom to wash his face. He wandered through the first floor, checking around until he spotted a door tucked away in the far corner of the kitchen.
"Ah, maybe this is it."
He opened it only to find an empty, silent room. He stepped inside curiously and brushed his hand against the wall.
Suddenly, a glowing symbol lit up, ZEAL's white wings emblem pulsed with soft light.
Whirr…
The floor beneath him shook slightly as the entire room began to descend.
"Wait… is this… an elevator?!"
As the strange elevator came to a stop, the door slid open with a soft hiss. Ren stepped out cautiously, his eyes widening at the sight before him.
It was a massive underground chamber, almost as big as the ZEAL HQ's main hall. The walls were pure white, glowing faintly under the soft ceiling lights. The floor was filled with obstacle courses, barricades, walls, narrow paths, and even stairways, all designed like a clean two-storey training arena.
Ren slowly stepped forward, taking it all in.
This place… it's a hidden training facility?
Then, he spotted her.
Sora.
She dashed through the course with inhuman precision, her pony-tailed flaxen hair bouncing with each movement. In both hands were twin daggers, blades flashing red as she sliced through moving targets and leapt over barriers with quiet, deadly grace.
Ren couldn't help but stare.
She's fast... and those movements, so sharp and clean. She's skilled.
Just as he was admiring her from afar—
Shing!
A dagger came flying toward him like a blur, its blade glowing a dangerous molten red.
Heated dagger?! Is that her drive ability?
Without thinking, Ren drew his katana in a flash, lightning sparking violently as he deflected the blade midair.
The dagger spun once in the air then zipped back into Sora's hand like it was magnetized.
She slowly walked toward him, her gaze cold and unreadable.
"You're not half bad," she said, her voice as calm as ice. "But how did you find this place?"
"I was looking for the toilet… but ended up stumbling in here," Ren said, scratching the back of his head.
Sora narrowed her eyes, clearly suspicious, but after a brief moment, she silently twirled her daggers and slid them back into their sheaths on the back of her waist.
"Well… you're right on time. Training starts in five minutes, so you might as well stretch."
Ren blinked. That's it? She's not going to interrogate me?
He shrugged and started stretching, still glancing around the facility in amazement.
Not long after, the elevator door opened again with a chime.
"Oh! You guys are early today!" Miko chimed cheerfully, jogging in with his usual goofy smile. Seth and Kaela followed behind, both of them stretching as they walked.
Seth raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Ren and Sora standing together. "So… you brought him here early, huh, Sora?"
His tone was flat, but Ren could sense the teasing underneath that stoic face.
"That's unlike you," Seth continued. "Didn't think you'd show interest in anyone other than Warden Kaien."
Sora shot him a cold glare. "I didn't bring him. He stumbled in here while looking for the toilet. Or so he says."
Ren held up both hands. "I really was just looking for the toilet."
Kaela, cheeks slightly red, stepped forward and timidly raised her hand.
"I-I-I think he's telling the truth…"
Ren blinked in surprise. "Gee, thanks," he muttered, unsure if he should be grateful or offended by how uncertain she still sounded.
Seth gave a small chuckle and waved his hand. "Don't worry, Kaela. We're just messing with him. He'll get used to our squad's nonsense soon enough."
Kaela quickly nodded and retreated back beside Sora, trying to hide the nervous smile forming on her lips.
"Yeah," Miko added with a grin, "Welcome to the most chaotic squad in ZEAL. Training starts with teasing then the real pain comes later!"
Despite the teasing, the atmosphere was light. This might've been an underground training space, but for the first time in a while, Ren felt something close to belonging.
A few minutes later, the elevator doors slid open and Aeri stepped out with her usual confident stride.
"Okay! Looks like you guys are having too much fun again," she said, hands on her hips. "Now it's time for training!"
In an instant, the atmosphere shifted.
The lighthearted smiles vanished. Miko stood straighter. Kaela gulped and adjusted her stance. Even Seth's usual poker face turned sharper. Sora, as usual, was already composed.
Ren blinked at the sudden change.
That's when he understood. Training should be taken very seriously.
"Well, since we've got a newbie here," Aeri began, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention, "let me run through how this squad works."
Slowly, everyone moved and stood in a semicircle.
"We're Squad 4. Short-handed, yeah, but that's how we operate. ZEAL has seven squads total, each led by a warden. Out of the seven, five have at least twenty members. Those squads usually get assigned the hardcore, all out war missions. Brute force gang type stuff."
She pointed at their small group.
"We, on the other hand, handle the silent ones. Infiltrations. Recon. Extraction. Covert ops. Silent, but crucial. But don't get me wrong, we're still part of the fight when things go loud. ZEAL's not a massive gang in terms of numbers. We take all the help we can get."
Ren raised a hand. "Wait, you said five squads are large. What about the other one besides us?"
Aeri smirked. "That one's… special. It only has one member."
"Huh?" Ren blinked. "A squad with one guy?"
She nodded. "Yup. Just the warden. No teammates. No backup."
"He's that strong?"
"He's a warden, isn't he?" she replied with a smile. "And yeah, he can roll solo just fine. That's how my brother operates."
Ren thought back to Kaien and gave a faint chuckle.
Figures. I can totally see that in him.
"For Ren to get a feel for how the squad operates," Aeri began, tightening her gloves, "we're running a live simulation, hostage retrieval scenario."
She pointed toward the white, two-storey structure within the underground training zone.
"I'll be the perpetrator. Your objective, rescue the dummy unit acting as the hostage. I'll be hiding somewhere inside, and the area will be guarded by 15 active combat bots. Your job is to work together, neutralize the threats, infiltrate the building, and extract the target. Ren, you're on the frontlines with Sora."
"Roger that," Ren responded without hesitation.
Aeri disappeared into the building. Moments later, whirring sounds echoed as multiple bots powered up and spread throughout the grounds, each mimicking a real enemy's movement, frame, and aggression. The tension instantly rose.
The squad huddled up in a semicircle to form a strategy.
"Here," Miko said, tossing Ren a slim earpiece. "I'll scan for traps and alternate paths using my drone. I'll be your eyes in the sky. Just listen to my callouts and keep moving."
"I'll take the high ground," Seth added, calmly loading his sniper rifle. "I'll cover your blind spots and thin out the numbers from above. If anyone tries to flank, they won't make it far."
"I-I'll support from the back," Kaela said, fidgeting with the strap of her gear.
Then Sora stepped forward and locked eyes with Ren. Her gaze was cold but focused.
"Newbie, I'll take point. Watch my back. " she said flatly.
Ren blinked in surprise. Sora, cold, "the" unreadable Sora, entrusting him to cover her blind spot.
For a moment, he was stunned. She trusts me already?
But he quickly shook the thought away and gave a nod. "Got it."
As they moved into formation, Miko's voice came into Ren's earpiece, whispering like he was letting him in on a secret.
"Oh! By the way… kinda forgot to mention earlier, but Sora's our vice captain."
Ren's eyes widened slightly. Vice captain? That explained the natural authority in her presence.
Sora glanced at him over her shoulder. "Something wrong?"
"Nah. Just didn't realize I was partnered with the vice captain."
She turned away without another word, but for the briefest second, Ren swore he saw the corners of her lips twitch, almost like a smile.
"Focus up," she said, voice cool again. "The first drones will be deployed at any second."
The squad split, swiftly taking their positions. Ren's heart was racing, not from fear, but from pure adrenaline. This wasn't just some mock exercise. This was his first real test as a ZEAL member. He wants to see how good this squad is and how they operate.
Though I have to say… They're more like agents than gangsters. Ren thought with a smile.
His eyes scanned the squad, Sora moving with silent precision, Miko tapping commands into his drone controller with laser focus, Seth adjusting his scope with calm expression, and Kaela quietly prepping for support in the rear.
I don't hate it though, Ren admitted to himself, a faint smirk forming on his lips. Yeah… not at all.
"Kids! Give it your all!" Aeri's voice echoed throughout the training grounds with authority.
"Let's move," Sora ordered.
Then the simulation began....