Transmigrated as The Forgotten Extra-Chapter 134 Raid.
People gathered together, secretly discussing something. Chloe had already had more than enough of things like this, far more, in fact.
And every time it happened, her expression inevitably twisted in disgust, especially when those gatherings were filled with people who never held her in good regard.
"Alright, next we will..."
Adler, who was leading the discussion, continued speaking. His voice was gentle, yet to Chloe, it felt like a knife scraping against her ears.
Chloe moved closer, hoping to catch more of what Adler was saying. But the moment she took another step forward, her vision suddenly flickered, like a short-circuiting neon light.
Black. Then, blinding white. Her expression froze.
A moment later, the blue-haired girl lifted her gaze, realizing she had stopped moving. All eyes were on her.
And those eyes were not filled with curiosity.
They carried a faint aura of hostility, something ordinary people would never notice.
But Chloe was different.
As a descendant of one of Babylon City’s prestigious families, she had lived with those looks her entire life. From a young age, she had learned what negative emotions were, especially those born from humans.
"Oh, haha, sorry, Vice-Leader. I didn’t notice you there. Are you resting too?"
A man from Luna’s group spoke as he approached, resting a hand on his helmet.
"Good work out there, Vice-Leader."
A woman, a sniper from Chloe’s own group, greeted her. The other woman, a shield user, nodded, her face bright with a wide smile.
Even though the cadets staring at her tried to mask their emotions behind exaggerated smiles and light laughter, they were drenched in fake flattery.
None of it escaped Chloe’s eyes.
Especially now.
After awakening her power of ’Intuition’ during her first awakening, she could feel things like this far too clearly.
’Something’s strange.’ Chloe murmured inwardly, frowning.
No matter how bad their inter-group relationship was, Chloe knew her teammates well, even if they only worked together formally.
They would never casually greet their superior unless it was during a mission or unless something urgent had happened.
’Something definitely happened.’ Chloe pressed her lips together in frustration. ’But what is it? I can’t grasp it.’
Her sharp instincts as a scout screamed warnings at her, telling her to get away immediately.
But it was already too late.
A shadow fell over her.
"Are you alone, Chloe?" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Adler’s gentle yet razor-sharp voice sliced straight through the barrier in her mind.
The moment he spoke, cold sweat drenched her back. The blue-haired girl nodded, whether by her own will or because her body moved on its own, she didn’t know.
She truly didn’t know.
’What is this? Why won’t my body move properly?!’
Her clear vision blurred.
Thick, black fog welled up in her mind, nearly swallowing her consciousness whole.
"Good. We’re planning to have a meal together right now. Would you like to join us?"
The senior’s invitation sounded unnaturally sweet, like sugar melting on her tongue, threatening to drown Chloe in false pleasure.
"F-Fine..."
Her mind screamed in protest, yet her lips betrayed her.
Her voice was faint, almost inaudible, causing Adler to lean closer.
"Hm? What did you just say?"
The closer he came, paired with that syrupy voice, the more lethal the combination became for the blue-haired girl, who still didn’t realize something was terribly wrong with every word he spoke.
Chloe’s body trembled beneath her armour.
Bulging blue veins surfaced on her hands and temples as she resisted with everything she had left.
Her trained body reacted on instinct. She bit down hard on her lower lip until the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.
The sharp agony shot through her nervous system, snapping her out of the trance.
She shot a glare at the senior before her.
In full view of everyone, Chloe took a deep breath, then released it all at once, forcibly expelling the dark cloud suffocating her heart.
"Chloe, what’s wrong?"
The senior tilted his head.
The gentle tone he always used now reeked of something foul, something rotten.
That alone made Chloe raise her lips into a faint smile. Casually, she lifted both hands and shook her head.
"Sorry, but I still have something I need to take care of. See you."
For a brief moment, through Adler’s visor, Chloe saw his black pupils shrink, clearly startled by something.
But staying there would only make things worse.
So she immediately turned away, walking past Adler, who stood stiff and unmoving like a statue.
Chloe didn’t dare glance back. The reaction she had seen in that final moment was more than enough to brand the man as dangerous.
She clenched her fists tightly and shifted her gaze to the smartwatch on her right wrist.
’I need to tell Luna.’
After walking a fair distance, Chloe hid herself in the shadow of an empty tent. Her sharp blue eyes glinted as she focused on the small screen in her hand.
Her fingers tapped lightly, carefully composing a warning message for her friend, who was now far away, in some unknown place.
Even if the message got delayed, as long as it reached her, Chloe would be satisfied.
This was for Luna’s sake.
Lowering her smartwatch, Chloe exhaled slowly and looked up at the dark clouds blanketing the sky as far as the eye could see.
Occasional silver flashes tore through the heavens, followed by rolling thunder, shaking not only her ears but also her unsettled heart after her encounter with Adler.
Inside her chest, behind the hard armour, her racing heartbeat and pulsing veins slowly synchronized, granting her a sense of calm.
She was safe.
For now.
’No, no, get it together, me!’
The blue-haired girl tapped her helmet visor several times, resisting the urge to slap her own cheeks to snap herself out of the lingering darkness threatening to drag her into despair.
Suddenly, as if sent by the heavens. Her body flinched when her smartwatch vibrated.
Chloe raised her wrist and stared at the screen.
A message from someone in her family.
She tapped it open, revealing several video files, data her family had successfully hacked from the training facility.
In an instant, her calm expression lit up.
A sparkle danced in her eyes.
Her lips curled into a wide grin, eyes narrowing, mischief and a hint of something sinister radiating from her face.
’Finally, I can use this to get back at him earlier.’
Apparently, Chloe still harboured resentment over the strange incident with Adler.
She played one of the videos, and before she realized it, she was completely absorbed. It was showing the senior defeat toward the first-year cadet, against Cain’s team.
The atmosphere suddenly turned eerily silent.
Even the wind whistled louder, carrying icy whispers that pierced straight into her spine, making her shudder.
Chloe glanced around calmly.
’What was that?’
Unaware of what had just occurred, she lowered her gaze back to her smartwatch and continued watching.
...
Far from the excavation zone, a horde of intermediate-rank virus beasts marched across the blackened land.
Their steps were steady. Rhythmic.
A march that carried the song of death for anyone foolish enough to stand in their way.
Crimson cores burned brightly in their chests, stretching behind them like rivers of blood, ready to flood human settlements.
All of them moved under a single command. They moved under the little monster command as he floated in the air.
His red eyes paused, locking onto a towering rocky hill, where the humans, or rather, his prey, were still hiding at this moment for hours.
At first, the little monster intended to raid the ruins. But the thick walls and reinforced steel protecting the area were far sturdier than he expected.
He calculated that a direct assault possibly would take several days to break through. Worse still, a human settlement lay nearby.
With the distance between the settlement and the cliff, the prey could easily send out a distress signal, turning what should have been an invasion into a siege led by humans.
In that scenario, the beasts under its command would likely be wiped out.
’I’ll deal with you later, humans.’
The little monster turned away, ascending higher into the sky as it headed toward the nearest human camp to ambush them instead.
’Let’s see what kind of choice those humans will make.’
Brimming with curiosity and cruelty embedded deep within its core, the creature pulled its hood forward, concealing the grin curling on its lips.
’I can’t wait.’
***
Protected behind the massive fortress walls, Cain stood before a giant monitor after resting through the calm night.
His gaze was fixed on the floor. Arms crossed over his chest, lost in thought.
Behind him, torrents of water roared powerfully, welcoming the new day with boundless vitality.
The massive screen before him churned endlessly with data and calculations, assisted by an artificial intelligence perched in the corner, occasionally peeking at Cain.
The boy, seemingly detached from the world, blinked as he stared at a blue panel hovering before him.
Silence ruled the space around him. Seconds passed in the real world.
But for Cain, time flowed backwards until his eyebrows lifted.
[Limit Break Skill Cooldown: 00:00:00]
[Limit Break can be used again!]
[Corruption: 100%]
[Dantian: 37%]
’Sweet!’ Cain pumped his fist, cheering silently within his mind.
Without the little monster noticing, the grey-haired boy began to move. It opened the first stage of their collision.
