Sunlight rose over the horizon, cutting through a cold morning breeze that swept across the land. The silence was broken only by the heavy rumble of a bus engine.
Thick black smoke poured from the back of the bus as passengers boarded with their luggage.
Among them, Boris appeared, carrying oversized bags as he moved forward. Behind him came Simon, then his sister Hanna. Each of them carried a backpack.
At the rear, Connor climbed aboard.
Simon stared at Boris with confusion as he loaded his bags.
"Isn't that way too much?!"
"I only brought what I need," Boris replied.
"WHAT YOU NEED?!" Simon pointed at the luggage, his voice sharp with shock. "Dude, it looks like you're moving in!"
He added with a smirk.
Connor chuckled from the back. "Hahaha… looks like he brought the whole village's stuff too."
All three laughed.
"Hahaha!"
The bus rolled forward, cutting through the countryside toward the shining city ahead.
Boris used the time to study, flipping through books as he prepared for an upcoming exam. Next to him, Simon wore headphones, scrolling through his phone.
Behind them, Connor was fast asleep. Hanna sat by the window, watching the passing fields and the moving road.
Simon scrolled through social media, music playing in his ears.
His feed was full of videos—people filming Robot 103 units moving through cities alongside security forces.
He flicked through them quickly, his face twisting in disgust.
He turned toward Boris.
"These robots are everywhere… ugh. Isn't there anything new?!"
"They're trending," Boris said, eyes still on his book.
"Yeah, but still. Every time something new shows up, everyone just obsesses over it until it gets boring."
"Too much exposure and even your dreams start showing them," Boris said lightly.
"Yeah," Simon laughed. "Or they just stay stuck in your head all day."
More videos flashed by—robots emerging from large security trucks on highways, music clips mixed with surveillance footage.
Simon scoffed again.
"The worst part is… they're basically aimed at us. When I see people praising those robots like heroes, I feel like I'm the criminal or something."
"Same here," Boris muttered, still reading.
The bus reached a crossroads.
Hanna leaned toward the window and saw a road sign.
"Manara City — 3 km"
The bus moved forward… then slowed.
Ahead, a security checkpoint blocked the road.
Hanna's relaxed expression instantly shifted.
"Oh no…!"
A checkpoint. Two gendarmerie vehicles. A transport truck carrying robots. Four robotic units standing outside with armed officers, sealing the road.
The bus stopped.
Boris looked up.
"Did we arrive?"
"No. Traffic jam," Simon replied.
Connor kept snoring loudly behind them.
Simon suddenly noticed Hanna again.
"Hanna… Hanna! Are you okay?"
She stared at him, wide-eyed, then quickly typed a message on her phone.
"We're at a checkpoint. Four robots with them."
Simon read it.
"Oh, damn…" he muttered.
"What is it?" Boris asked.
"Checkpoint," Simon said.
"Alright, don't panic. Just act normal," Boris replied calmly. Then he looked toward Hanna. "Tell your sister to relax. They won't search the bus. They'll just glance inside. That's usually how it goes."
"They've got four robots outside though… let's hope so," Simon said.
He leaned forward to peek through the window.
The bus crawled ahead as officers checked the driver's papers.
"They're only checking documents," Simon whispered.
"Thank God," Boris exhaled.
Then Simon saw something else.
Officers raised a scanning device toward passengers' heads.
"Oh no!" Simon tensed.
"What now?!" Boris asked.
"They've got a radiation scanner."
Silence fell instantly.
Inside the bus, everything felt frozen except Connor's loud snoring. Hanna's hands trembled.
Stay calm… don't look suspicious…
The bus reached the checkpoint.
It stopped again.
An officer approached the driver.
"Hello sir. How's your day?"
"Good day," the driver replied, handing over documents.
Boris and Simon watched closely. Connor snored behind them like nothing mattered.
"Please don't come in… please don't come in…" Simon whispered.
The officer returned the papers, then raised the scanner toward the driver.
A beep sounded.
CLEAR — green light.
"Alright, everything is fine," the officer said. "May we board for a quick inspection?"
"Of course," the driver answered, pressing a button to open the door.
"Oh no…" Hanna thought.
Boris leaned toward Simon.
"We're done."
"Connor is still asleep," Simon replied.
SNORE—
A faint smile appeared on both their faces—half panic, half disbelief.
Outside, the officer signaled his team. Two of them moved toward the bus while he moved to the next vehicle to speed things up.
Two officers entered the bus. One quickly checked luggage. The other asked passengers for ID cards.
"Good… they're only checking IDs," Boris whispered.
The officer moved row by row.
Simon and Boris stayed calm.
He checked their IDs from a distance and moved on.
Then he reached Hanna.
She started searching her bag, hands shaking.
The officer noticed.
"Is there a problem, ma'am?"
"No… I just forgot my ID at home," she said quickly, then pulled out her student card. "I only have this."
"That's fine," he replied, scanning it briefly before moving on.
A few moments passed.
He handed it back.
Then continued.
Connor still slept.
Loud snoring filled the bus.
The officer gave a small laugh.
"Sir… sir!"
Simon and Boris turned quickly.
"He's our friend," Simon said.
Boris tried to wake Connor, shaking him lightly.
"Connor!! Wake up!"
Then he looked at the officer awkwardly.
"He's a heavy sleeper… sorry about that."
"No need to wake him," the officer said with a chuckle as he walked away.
The doors closed.
The bus moved forward slowly, passing through the checkpoint.
Gray-and-blue Robot 103 units stood along the road, red sensors scanning every vehicle with silent vigilance.
The driver raised a hand in farewell.
"Have a nice day, officer."
"You too," the officer replied.
As the bus continued toward Manara City, Simon and Boris suddenly burst into laughter.
"I didn't know he sleeps that deeply!" Simon laughed.
"Me neither. Thank God they didn't bring that scanner on board… we would've been screwed," Boris said.
"We would've ended up fighting… while Connor is still snoring," Simon added.
"Hahaha! Connor is in another world right now," Simon laughed.
Far away…
Inside a mutant village.
Daisy checked the pulse of an elderly man in a small clinic.
She pumped a blood pressure device.
"You're in good condition," she said, writing in her notebook.
"Thank you, my daughter," the old man replied.
"Try to reduce sugar in your diet as much as you can."
The old man left.
Daisy finished her shift, removed her white coat, hung it up, and locked her office.
As she closed the outer door—
"Oh? You're done?" Almy asked.
Daisy turned in surprise.
"Oh… it's you. Yes, I just finished."
"I just came out of the operations room… I haven't eaten anything," Almy said, glancing toward the green fields.
"Let's go eat at the village restaurant," Daisy suggested.
They walked along the dirt road.
Small wooden houses lined both sides.
"How's the team?" Daisy asked. Then she continued, more serious. "How is Khaled planning to handle things with Connor missing? If missions happen while half the team is away… Boris, Simon, and Hanna are all at university."
Almy scoffed.
"The team is better now. He was just holding us back. A smaller, more focused team works better. Khaled said he can move with just Ethan and Maru."
Silence.
Daisy glanced at her.
"Not to be intrusive… but why don't you want Connor with us?"
Almy's expression hardened.
"What? You really need to ask? Look at the trouble he caused. Khaled himself said he's a danger to civilians. Even being near him puts villagers at risk. I don't trust him since day one."
Daisy stayed silent, thinking.
Their footsteps echoed on the road.
"We're here," Almy said.
Before they entered, they heard hammering above a house roof.
They looked up.
Ethan was repairing his roof, hammering wood into place.
"Ethan!" Almy called warmly.
He looked down.
"Oh! Almy, Daisy. How are you?"
"We're fine. What are you doing?" Daisy asked.
"Fixing gaps. Rain was coming in at night. Almost done," Ethan said.
Daisy nudged Almy.
"Invite him."
Almy smiled.
"Want to eat with us?"
Ethan glanced at the roof.
"I'm not finished yet… maybe if I have time I'll join you."
"Good luck!" Daisy said.
"Take your time!" Almy added warmly.
"Thanks," Ethan replied, returning to work.
They entered a small restaurant and sat down.
Daisy smiled slightly.
"He didn't refuse… he just said he's busy."
"What?" Almy replied.
"I'm talking about Ethan."
Almy laughed.
"I know! I know! He was working. Anyway, I'm starving. What are we eating?"
They ate a full meal and walked out afterward.
"Ohhh I can't even breathe anymore!" Almy groaned, belching loudly.
"Good thing Ethan didn't come," Daisy laughed. "He would've run away after seeing you eat like that."
Suddenly, noise echoed from an armory building nearby.
Inside, Khaled and Maru were cutting metal through a machine, producing ammunition parts. Sparks flew everywhere.
Both wore protective goggles.
Maru stopped and looked up.
"Hey, there's Almy."
Khaled looked up too.
"Oh, yeah."
He walked over.
"Hey. How are you?"
"We're fine, Khaled," Daisy replied.
" We're good "Almy replied.
Then he turned to Almy.
"I went by the operations room earlier today, but I didn't see you there."
"Yeah, I finished work in the afternoon. Do you need anything?" Almy asked.
"Nothing. Just checking for updates," Khaled said.
Almy pulled out her phone.
"Nothing except government and political movements… but I just saw this. Look."
Daisy leaned in.
"What are you guys doing in there? It's so loud."
"Machine cutting metal. We're making ammunition," Khaled said.
Almy opened a video.
Soyo!!!.....
is seen storming a central police headquarters in the capital.
Khaled watched silently.
"This was pulled from government archives based on surveillance timestamps from yesterday," Almy said.
The video showed Soyo taking down officers one after another with terrifying speed.
"He fights like a trained martial artist… like Maru," Khaled said.
"But what's his story?"
"No one knows," Almy replied. "He broke into the central police station. Even the government has no information on him. Some reports say he stole files related to the attack you carried out in the basketball hall."
"That's strange," Khaled said.
In the video, Soyo stood calmly as officers lay on the ground. Then he walked down a hallway, stopped under a camera… and stared at it coldly for a few seconds.
"This guy isn't normal," Khaled said.
The video ended.
He handed the phone back.
"Maybe he's a mutant."
"I doubt it. No normal human moves like that," Khaled said.
"Exactly. He fought like it was nothing… wiped them all out and left like it was a walk in the park," Daisy added.
"We should be careful , Especially since he stole those files " khalad.
"If I get more info, I'll tell you," Almy said.
"Without any doubt, he's looking for us… or for Victor."Daisy.
"You're right," Khaled said, thinking.
"Oh, I forgot. The government says they're surrounding a mutant in Zefar City. Should we intervene?" Almy asked.
Khaled paused. thinking.
Somewhere else.
Noralyn City.
Inside a rented apartment, Diego stared at a security camera feed showing Soyo's attack on the police HQ.
"Oh my god… he actually did it," he whispered.
He was stunned.
Just then, the door opened.
Soyo walked in.
He placed a stack of files on the table.
"That's everything I found."
Then he went straight to the fridge and opened it.
Diego slowly approached, still shocked.
"You saw what you just did, right? That was insane…"
Soyo glanced at him.
"Why are you surprised?"
"You broke into the central station, beat everyone, took the files, and walked out like nothing happened. You humiliated the government hhhhhh."
Soyo shrugged and opened an instant noodles cup.
"How did you see it?"
"Security footage spread through government channels," Diego said.
"Don't tell me you walked there openly and just strolled out afterward like it was nothing… that would be the biggest insult in history, hhhhh." Diego added.
Soyo chuckled.
"No. I stole a neighbor's car, used it, and returned it after."
"You stole a car too? Man… you really don't act like the other mutant. You're like you're playing a video game."
Soyo sat down and started eating.
"So. Victor owns a cement factory and hotels. That's how we find him."
"The factory… I've been there before," Diego said. "He kept you underground at first… then changed his prison system after I hacked it."
"You told me that," Soyo replied.
"I know its layout," Diego said. "But he must have changed the security system after that."
"That won't stop us," Soyo said.
"You? After what you did at the police HQ, you'll walk in and out like nothing happened, hhhh." Diego laughed. "Oh—wait. I forgot something important."
"What?" Soyo asked.
"There's news about a mutant the government is trapping in Zefar City. What do you think about helping them? Maybe it's Kaz… I don't know. Something tells me it could be him."
Soyo stopped eating.
He thought for a moment.
Then said—
"Of course."
Diego stood there, thinking.
"Alright… but you'll need a disguise. What you did at the HQ was a mistake—you went in with your face exposed."
"And what do you want me to do?" Soyo asked.
"I've got an idea," Diego said.