The Hunter's Odyssey-Chapter 77: We Are the Government Now.

The mist clung to the streets of Singapore like a second skin.

Jagger had barely disappeared into the darkness when, far beneath the city, something else came alive.

Lights flickered.

Then held.

"We are back online!" a man shouted, his voice cracking with disbelief and relief. "Power grid stabilized at 78% and rising! Communication systems are being rebooted and reconnected across the board now!"

The words rippled through the Mission Control room like a shockwave.

Cheers erupted.

The room itself was vast, carved deep beneath layers of reinforced concrete and steel. Cold white lights hummed overhead, casting sharp reflections across a massive rectangular glass table at the center. Beneath its surface, holographic projections flickered to life, unstable at first, then gradually stabilizing into layered maps of Singapore. Sections of the city pulsed in warning reds and amber flashes, entire districts blinking as if the system itself struggled to keep up with the scale of destruction.

Rows of desks curved around the central table in tight formation. Each station was cluttered with monitors, cables, and half-functional systems dragged back from the brink of collapse. Some screens still spat static, white noise crawling across their surfaces. Others now displayed live feeds. Streets in ruins. Fires are still burning. Buildings split open like broken bones. Moving heat signatures that did not belong to humans.

The air smelled faintly of ozone and overheated circuitry. Somewhere, a fan rattled unevenly, struggling to cool systems pushed beyond their limits.

At the front of the room, Lieutenant-General Adriana Tan did not move.

She stood with both hands resting on the glass surface of the central table, fingers splayed slightly against its cold, polished finish. The faint glow of the holographic display illuminated her face from below, carving harsh shadows across sharp features. Her iron-grey hair was cut short, practical, and severe. Three scars ran in a clean horizontal line from her left temple toward the back of her head, pale against her skin, a quiet record of battles long before this one.

Around her, the room surged with movement.

Officers leaned over consoles, voices overlapping in urgent bursts. Fingers danced across holographic keyboards, data streams snapping into place. The celebration had not died, but it had sharpened into something more focused. Controlled. Disciplined.

Adriana's eyes moved.

Tracking.

Calculating.

She watched everything.

"Patch me through to the Prime Minister's Office," Adriana said.

Her voice cut through the noise instantly.

The room snapped tighter.

"And get me a secure line to the remaining military command posts that established a connection. I need updates on all Heralds of Chaos. Tracking and movement patterns."

"Ma'am!" a younger officer responded immediately, his hands already moving, sweat beading along his temples despite the cold air. "We have multiple high-priority alerts coming in from civilian sectors. Mass monster sightings confirmed in Bedok, Tampines, and Jurong. The situation on the ground is still chaotic."

On one of the central displays, the map pulsed violently. Entire districts lit up with red markers, spreading like an infection.

Adriana did not turn.

"Prioritize the military comms," she said. Calm. Absolute. "The civilians are beyond our reach for now. The only way we help them is by re-establishing order at the top and starting a proper coordinated response."

Another officer leaned forward from a neighboring station, his voice tight with urgency.

"Ma'am, we've got something… strange. Multiple civilian networks were trying to hack into these systems during the blackout. Most likely, people are trying to establish some form of communication."

Adriana's gaze shifted slightly, catching the reflection of data streams flickering across the glass.

"Ping those hackers and connect with them." She turned her head, eyes locking onto another officer across the room. "Pull out the old radio systems from the archives. Many people will try to contact us for help. Let's give them a frequency to tune into."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Chairs scraped. Footsteps echoed. Orders spread outward in controlled bursts.

An aide rushed toward her, boots striking the polished floor with sharp, hurried steps. He held out a datapad, his hand trembling just slightly.

"General, it's the PM's office."

Adriana took the datapad without hesitation. The screen flickered faintly, connection unstable.

"This is Lieutenant-General Tan," she said. Her tone remained steady, but something harder settled beneath it. "The situation is not stable. I need to declare a city-wide state of emergency. All remaining military and police forces are to be consolidated under my direct command. No questions. Tell the PM I need that authority now."

She waited.

The room seemed to be quiet around her.

Static crackled through the speaker. Faint voices bled through the connection. Not composed. Not official.

Disorganized.

"What should I say?" a man's voice whispered.

"Why are you asking me, leh? You fucking pick the call yourself!" another voice whispered back, sharp and panicked.

Adriana's eyes hardened.

"Hello? Who am I talking to?" she asked.

Silence.

Then fumbling.

"Errmm… It's Markus... Eh... I mean… this is Mr. Markus."

The voice strained, trying to deepen and sound authoritative. It failed.

There was a muffled scuffle.

"Give me, you stupid fuck!" another voice snapped. Breathing heavy. Shaky. "Ahem... They are all dead lah! PM, president... all... gone... we came to the PM office to get help, but everyone dead or gone."

The words landed like a detonation.

Around the room, movement slowed.

No one spoke.

The hum of the machines suddenly felt louder.

Adriana said nothing.

For one second.

Then she cut the connection.

The datapad hit the table with a sharp, deliberate click.

The sound echoed.

Every eye in the room turned toward her.

The weight of it pressed down hard.

Adriana lifted her head.

Her gaze moved across the room slowly, deliberately. Each officer. Each technician. Faces pale under artificial light. Sweat. Exhaustion. Fear is carefully buried beneath discipline.

They were waiting.

She straightened.

"Alright, listen up," she said.

Her voice dropped.

Low.

Controlled.

Final.

"The chain of command is fractured. Possibly broken at the top." She paused, letting the truth settle into the bones of everyone present. "That means we are the highest functioning authority left in this city."

No one moved.

No one breathed too loudly.

"Therefore," she continued, "I am assuming emergency command authority."

The words were not loud.

They did not need to be.

"As of this moment, this facility, 'The Bunker', is the provisional government for Singapore."

The holographic map behind her flickered, red zones spreading across the island.

"Our mandate is simple." Her eyes sharpened. "Survive. Restore order. Reclaim our city."

She let the silence stretch.

"If anyone has an objection, speak now. You'll be escorted to a holding cell. We don't have time for democracy."

No one spoke.

No one dared.

"Good," Adriana said.

The word cut clean.

"Let's get this country back on track."

For a fraction of a second, the room held still.

Then it exploded.

"YES, MA'AM!"