My Scumbag System-Chapter 337: Team Alpha Goes to the Murder Garden

The bus rattled through the city streets, windows tinted dark enough to shield us from the curious stares of civilians who gathered whenever a Hunter transport rolled by. I claimed the back row, Natalia pressed against my right side like she was afraid I’d evaporate if she let go. Emi took the seat directly in front of us, turning around every thirty seconds to offer snacks or check my vitals or ask if the temperature was okay.

Jacob had commandeered an entire row for his equipment, three datapads running simultaneously while he muttered about spawn patterns and environmental variables. Monica sat alone near the middle, her fern balanced on her lap, staring out the window at nothing. Skylar had positioned herself at the front, as far from me as physically possible, though I caught her eyes in the rearview mirror more than once. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"First real mission," Emi said, practically vibrating with excitement. "Can you believe it? I mean, the Necropolis was technically a mission, but that was supposed to be training, and then everything went wrong, and there was that horrible monster, and you almost died, and I couldn’t do anything except heal, and—"

"Breathe," I said.

She sucked in air like she’d forgotten how. "Right. Breathing. I practiced that."

Natalia’s hand found my thigh under the seat, squeezing with possessive pressure. "You need to eat more," she murmured, low enough that only I could hear. "You’ve lost weight since the hospital."

"I’ve been busy."

"Busy doing what?" Her purple eyes narrowed. "Besides exhausting yourself with extracurricular activities?"

I had the good sense not to answer that question.

The transport lurched as we hit the highway, acceleration pressing us back into our seats. Through the tinted windows, I watched New Vein City blur past. Glass towers reflecting sunlight. Maglev trains threading between buildings like silver serpents. Holographic billboards advertising everything from energy drinks to S-Rank Hunter merchandise.

Twenty-five years since the Rupture. Twenty-five years of monsters and magic and humanity clawing its way back from the brink. The old world existed only in history books and grainy photographs. This was reality now. Gates and Hunters and the constant, grinding threat of annihilation.

And somehow, in the middle of all that chaos, I’d managed to acquire a System, a harem, and enough enemies to fill a phone book.

Life was weird that way.

"Approaching the Gate site," the driver announced over the intercom. "ETA five minutes. All personnel prepare for deployment."

Jacob stuffed his datapads into his bag with frantic energy. Emi began triple-checking her medical supplies. Monica clutched her fern tighter. Skylar crushed her cigarette against the bus floor and stood, rolling her shoulders.

Natalia leaned close, her lips brushing my ear. "Don’t do anything stupid in there."

"Define stupid."

"Anything that makes me have to save you again."

I turned my head, meeting her gaze. Her purple eyes burned with intensity that had nothing to do with combat readiness. "No promises."

She kissed me. Hard. Brief. A claiming rather than a comfort.

When she pulled back, Emi was staring at us with an expression caught somewhere between confusion and longing. Skylar had suddenly become very interested in the ceiling.

The bus slowed.

Stopped.

The doors hissed open, letting in the smell of ozone and something else. Something that made the hair on my arms stand up.

Gate energy.

We filed out into a cleared staging area. VHC personnel had established a perimeter around the Gate itself, yellow tape and armed guards keeping the gathering crowd of civilians at bay. The Gate floated about ten feet off the ground, a vertical tear in reality that looked like someone had taken a knife to the fabric of existence and peeled back the skin.

The Clockwork Arboretum.

Through the shimmering surface, I caught glimpses of what waited inside. Massive trees with leaves that gleamed like copper. Vines wrapped around rusted gears the size of houses. Brass flowers that pulsed with inner light.

Beautiful.

Deadly.

A VHC official approached us, tablet in hand. She had the tired eyes of someone who’d been processing Hunter teams all day. "Team Onyx Alpha?"

"That’s us."

She scanned our ID chips one by one, barely looking at our faces. "Gate has been stable for six hours. Estimated difficulty is standard C-Rank, with a 7% variance for mechanical-botanical hybrid spawns. Clear time for similar Gates averages between four and eight hours depending on team composition." She finally looked up, frowning at Monica’s fern. "You’re bringing a plant into a botanical dungeon?"

Monica hugged it tighter. "She helps me focus."

The official stared for a long moment, then shrugged. "Whatever works. Sign here, here, and here. Initial here. Date at the bottom."

I scrawled my signature across the liability waivers. Standard stuff. The VHC wasn’t responsible if we died horribly. Our estates would receive any posthumous earnings. Our remains would be retrieved if feasible.

"You have eight hours before metaphysical pressure reaches critical threshold," the official continued. "If you’re not out by then, we send in the extraction team. Extraction team fees come out of your Guild’s operating budget."

"Understood."

She handed me a small device. "Emergency beacon. Activate it only if you’re facing a Gate Break scenario. Good luck in there."

I clipped the beacon to my belt and turned to face my team.

They stood in a rough semicircle, watching me with varying degrees of nervousness, anticipation, and in Skylar’s case, carefully maintained indifference. Six people. Six different personalities. Six different sets of baggage.

My responsibility.

"Alright," I said. "You all know the plan. Jacob runs tactical from the rear, calling out threats and optimal pathing. Emi stays in the middle, ready to deploy healing as needed. Skylar scouts ahead, maintaining visual contact at all times. Monica..." I looked at her. Really looked at her. "Monica controls the terrain. The plants in there belong to you. Make them understand that."

She swallowed hard. Nodded once.

"Natalia and I take point." I rolled my shoulders, feeling the familiar weight of my reinforced baseball bat against my back. "Standard formation until we locate the boss chamber. Questions?"

Silence.

"Good." I turned toward the Gate, its surface rippling like oil on water. "Stay close. Stay alert. And remember: everything in there wants to kill us. Let’s return the favor."

I stepped through.