Chapter 453:Mission gone wrong.

Chapter 453: 453:Mission gone wrong.

Helena looked toward the map.

The loading station was nearly a kilometer away. To make matters worse, their extraction point was in the opposite direction.

Caleb frowned.

"That’s annoying," he mumbled.

Silver nodded.

"Very."

Helena considered.

"We take him with us."

Mina looked toward the narrow corridors.

"That’ll slow us down."

"I know."

Silver glanced toward the injured man’s identification tag, then toward the map.

"We can use the clinic’s emergency transport chair."

Everyone looked at him.

Silver pointed toward the hallway.

"There’s one in the storage room."

Helena frowned.

"How do you know?" She asked while looking around.

"My super senses," he replied.

Caleb shook his head.

"That ability is ridiculous."

Silver smiled.

"Occasionally."

They retrieved the chair.

Rowan reinforced its damaged frame, Caleb volunteered to push, Helena reorganized their formation, and the squad moved again.

They had completed one-third of the personnel search. They still needed two people... And the case.

Silver checked the timer.

One hour and thirty-eight minutes remaining. It was plenty of time, probably.

The second problem was considerably worse. They reached the eastern loading station with just over an hour remaining.

The building was large, constructed from reinforced concrete and surrounded by loading bays. Several abandoned trucks blocked the entrance, while broken cargo containers formed narrow corridors between the structures.

Silver stopped before they entered. His Spatial Sense had detected something very large and moving slowly.

Helena noticed.

"What?"

He didn’t answer immediately since he was concentrating. The signature was inside the warehouse, its body occupying a surprising amount of space. It had dense muscles, heavy limbs and an unusually powerful energy concentration.

Silver’s expression changed.

"There’s a Tier Three inside."

Caleb lifted his hammer.

"Another boar?"

"No." He looked toward the warehouse. "Something stronger."

Mina crouched, her fingers touching the ground. She immediately lifted them immediately after.

"That’s not normal."

Helena looked toward her.

"What?"

"The vibrations." She swallowed. "Every step is shaking the foundation."

Silver moved closer to a broken window, looked inside and finally saw it. A massive beast stood near the center of the warehouse.

It resembled a gigantic black-furred bear with thick gray armor growing along its spine and shoulders. Its forelimbs were disproportionately large, and long claws scraped the concrete whenever it moved.

Its eyes glowed faintly red.

Silver activated Insight.

[Insight Lv2 Activated.]

[Beast: Dreadclaw Iron Bear]

[Tier: 3 - Peak]

[Evolution Status: Approaching Tier 4]

[Primary Traits: Extreme Physical Strength, Reinforced Skeletal Structure, Impact Shockwaves]

[Secondary Trait: Accelerated Energy Recovery]

[Weaknesses: Lower Neck, Rear Joint Connections, Exposed Abdominal Tissue]

[Warning: Physical capabilities significantly exceed standard Tier 3 parameters.]

Silver exhaled slowly.

That explained the energy concentration. It was at peak Tier Three, almost Tier Four. A creature like that would be a serious opponent even for several experienced Contractors.

Caleb looked through the window, his smile disappearing.

"That’s a big bear."

Helena studied the building.

"Can we avoid it?"

Silver expanded Spatial Sense, then his expression tightened.

"No."

"Why?"

"Two human signatures inside. One near the upper office. Another behind the loading containers."

Helena closed her eyes briefly.

"Of course, they’re trapped right there."

Silver continued.

"And there’s a rectangular reinforced object near the second human."

The military case.

Helena looked toward him.

"You’re sure?"

"Not completely, but it matches the dimensions."

Caleb sighed.

"So everything we need is inside with the giant bear."

"Apparently."

Helena looked toward the others.

"We don’t have enough time to wait for it to leave."

Silver nodded.

The beast wasn’t moving toward any exit, it was patrolling, possibly guarding. Or perhaps the academy had deliberately placed it there... Probably the last one.

Helena began planning.

"Silver, can you reach the upper office without entering the main floor?"

"Yes."

"Can you retrieve the personnel?"

"Depends on their condition."

"Mina, can you detect whether the bear reacts to movement or sound?"

Mina thought for a moment before responding.

"I can monitor its footsteps, but I can’t guarantee what it’ll notice."

Helena nodded.

"Then we divide responsibilities, not the squad."

Silver looked toward her his eyebrow raised.

She continued.

"Silver retrieves the upper personnel. Elias covers the entrance. Rowan stays with Caleb and our injured man. Mina monitors the bear. I’ll maintain defensive support."

Caleb frowned.

"What about the case?"

"After we know where the second person is."

Silver nodded.

It was a good plan, although not perfect.

He activated Short-Step.

[Short-Step Lv3 Activated.]

He vanished and feappeared on a narrow ledge beside the upper office. The movement consumed far less energy than it would have several weeks ago.

Silver crouched and checked the interior. There was onle one person, thankfully conscious but with an injured arm. He entered through the broken window.

The man immediately raised his head.

"Contractor?"

Silver nodded.

"Academy extraction squad. Can you walk?"

"Yes."

"Good. We’re leaving."

The man looked toward the warehouse floor.

"That thing..."

"I saw it."

"It killed our escort," he said, his voice shaking.

Silver glanced toward the identification tag.

Simulated casualty.

He nodded.

"Where’s the case?"

"Below. My partner has it."

"Can they move?"

The man hesitated before answering.

"Not easily."

Silver sighed.

Of course.

He guided the injured man toward the window, then activated Short-Step again. The movement was slightly more difficult with another person, but the distance was short enough.

They appeared behind a cargo container near Helena’s position. The man stumbled but Silver steadied him.

Helena immediately approached.

"Condition?" She asked.

"Arm injury. Can walk."

The man’s identification activated.

[MISSING PERSONNEL LOCATED: 2/3]

Helena nodded.

"Good. One more."

Suddenly, the bear roared. The sound shook the warehouse.

Silver turned.

Mina’s voice came through the communicator.

"It noticed something!"

A heavy crash followed.

The metal shrieked as the bear slammed one enormous forelimb into a stack of cargo containers. Several containers toppled, and beneath them, a human figure appeared.

The third personnel. He was dragging the military case as he tried to hide.

The bear turned toward him.

Silver’s expression sharpened.

"Helena!"

She saw it.

"Move!"

The bear charged at the personnel.

Silver activated Short-Step.

[Short-Step Lv3 Activated.]

He appeared between the beast and the injured man. The bear’s forelimb came down and Silver raised his left hand to counter.

A compact spatial barrier appeared at an angle.

[Spatial Distortion Lv2 Activated.]

The impact struck hard enough that the barrier twisted. It was not enough to stop the entire attack but enough to redirect it. The bear’s claws slammed into the concrete beside Silver and the floor exploded.

Silver felt the shockwave travel through his legs. He gritted his teeth.

Too much force.

He couldn’t hold that repeatedly.

Caleb charged from the side, stone Skin covered his body. His hammer struck the bear’s shoulder but the beast barely moved.

It swung towards his direction.