Chapter 650: Chapter 650: What’s The Situation? (Part 5)

Don didn’t answer immediately.

The voicemail had already ended, yet Ash’s unsteady breathing still lingered faintly inside his head beneath the low hum of the helicopter engines.

Outside the reinforced windows, Santos City continued passing beneath them in massive stretches of darkness broken only by fire, emergency lights and scattered gunfire flashing between ruined streets.

The city looked worse from above now.

More dead.

Entire intersections had become blackened piles of wreckage while smoke drifted between buildings thick enough to partially swallow entire districts beneath the night sky.

Every now and then, isolated tracer fire still streaked upward somewhere below before disappearing again beneath the shadows.

Don leaned his head slightly back against the seat while weighing the situation carefully.

Ashlynn was useful.

More than useful.

Reliable.

And despite her personality, she had handled herself well repeatedly under pressure.

But usefulness alone wasn’t enough anymore.

Not after tonight.

Not after the rooftop.

His body still carried the aftermath of that fight beneath the temporary relief provided by the medication.

Muscles remained strained beneath his attire despite the cooling sensation moving through him while dried blood still coated portions of his arms and collar.

Even now, he could feel small bursts of soreness shifting through his ribs every time the helicopter adjusted course.

And there was another problem.

The situation outside had changed.

Whatever control existed inside Santos City was rapidly collapsing.

That meant unpredictability.

The kind that got people killed.

Don’s eyes lowered slightly while he considered everything in silence.

Then—

A familiar translucent screen appeared directly across his vision.

[Side Quest Completed: Test of Strength]

Objective: Survive the Horde

Status: COMPLETE

Rewards:

- x1 Random Passive Ability

- 2000 Idol Points

- 500 Idol Reputation

- 2000 Aura

- Bonus Rewards Granted Based On Performance

[Passive Ability Acquired: Keen Eye]

Description: Heightened situational awareness allows identification of subtle abnormalities, hidden details, behavioral inconsistencies and environmental irregularities.

Effects:

- Enhanced recognition of important visual details

- Temporary retention of observed details for up to 30 minutes

- Improved environmental scanning capability

Caveats:

- Cannot stack with itself

- Increased mental fatigue during prolonged use

- Does not enhance intelligence or predictive capability

Don read the screen quietly.

Relief came first.

Not excitement.

Just relief.

The quest was finally over.

The rooftop.

The horde.

The pressure pressing against his thoughts since the system issued the objective.

Gone.

Though honestly, he couldn’t focus much on the rewards themselves right now. His mind remained too occupied with everything still unfolding around him.

Still—

Any improvement mattered.

And while the translucent display remained active, Don spoke internally again.

"Upgrade Advanced Regeneration."

The screen shifted immediately.

[Advanced Regeneration — Upgrade Available]

Current Level: 4 (CAPPED)

Cost: 500 Idol Points

Effect Improvement:

- Increased tissue reconstruction speed

- Improved sensory organ recovery

- Reduced recovery strain during moderate injuries

- Enhanced stamina retention during healing

Warning: Severe trauma remains fatal.

[Proceed?]

"Yes."

The confirmation appeared instantly.

[Upgrade Successful]

[Advanced Regeneration — Level 5]

The system screen flickered once afterward.

Don immediately attempted again.

"Open system store."

Nothing happened.

The interface vanished entirely instead.

That caused a faint frown to cross his face.

Then the changes started.

Subtle at first.

Warmth spread through his chest before quickly shifting colder beneath his skin, moving across damaged muscles and bruised tissue throughout his body in uneven waves.

The soreness buried deep inside his shoulders eased slightly while the lingering pressure behind his ears changed again.

The tingling returned harder this time.

Not painful.

Just strange.

His hearing sharpened rapidly afterward.

Rotor vibrations separated cleaner. Fabric movement inside the cabin became clearer.

At the same time, his body suddenly felt lighter.

Not stronger.

Just... less burdened.

The exhaustion remained, but portions of the heaviness dragging at his muscles earlier had lessened noticeably.

It almost felt like his body had begun redistributing energy differently beneath the surface. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Don let out a slow breath.

Then raised his head slightly.

"Winter," he said. "Do you have a location?"

"Yes," Winter replied casually through the comms.

Don turned toward one of the nearby officers.

"Do you have something I can write on?"

The woman tending to Charles looked mildly curious at the request but still reached toward one of the side compartments without argument.

She pulled out a slim black tablet with a magnetic pen attached along the side before handing it over.

Don accepted it and immediately typed something out.

The glow from the screen reflected faintly across his face while the helicopter continued forward through the night sky outside.

Once finished, he handed the tablet toward Charles.

Charles received it casually with one hand while another operative adjusted monitoring equipment near his shoulder.

His eyes moved across the message briefly before he returned the device to the officer.

Then he spoke without hesitation.

"Drop him off by the location he gives you."

No objections came.

Though Don noticed brief glances exchanged between two of the officers near the front section of the cabin.

"Winter—"

"I’ve already sent the location to the Monclaire network," she interrupted smoothly.

One of the pilots spoke from the cockpit almost immediately afterward.

"Location received. ETA two minutes."

Don leaned back slightly after hearing that.

Outside the window, the helicopter banked lower across another section of Santos City while fires continued burning below in scattered orange clusters between apartment blocks and ruined streets.

Far in the distance, the last remains of sunset had finally disappeared completely.

Night had taken over the city now.

Only floodlights, burning structures and moving aircraft still illuminated the skyline beneath the drifting smoke.

Winter spoke again after several seconds passed.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked. "You’ve already exerted yourself."

It was a fair question.

Without the quest forcing his hand anymore, there wasn’t really a reason to keep pushing himself into danger.

The original objective from stepping outside G-Tech had already collapsed completely into chaos.

The city itself was becoming harder to predict by the hour.

And yet—

Don already knew his answer.

"I’m sure."

A faint pause followed.

Then Winter replied again.

"I’ve pinpointed the last known signal from her cellphone. Analyzing building plans now to create an optimal route. I’ll upload it to your augmented system once complete."

"Thanks."

After that, Don went quiet again.

The helicopter continued moving steadily through the night while the cabin lights reflected dimly across the reinforced windows.

Behind him, one of the operatives continued monitoring Olynk’s condition while another replaced fluid injectors connected near Charles’ arm.

K-4 remained seated nearby the entire time.

Alert as ever.

Even now, his eyes occasionally shifted toward Don before moving back toward the cabin entrance or windows like he was unconsciously mapping exits despite being inside an armored aircraft thousands of feet above a dying city.

Outside, another distant explosion briefly lit the streets below.

Then darkness swallowed it again.