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‎The mechanical hum of various machinery echoed through the large truck's interior, accompanied by rhythmic beeping sounds from different workstations within the mobile fortress.

‎At the centre of the frantic hive of activity, a large man stood quietly observing the progression of the situation.

‎Jason Stoutsfield, the chief of the Ekla City Fire Department, had seen several bizarre things in his life.

‎At 6 feet 4 inches, with a sizeable build from years of firefighting drills, Jason was built like a tank. His muscular arms bulged through the long sleeves of his get-up, straining the sleek fabric of his uniform.

‎Born and raised in Ekla, he knew the whole city like the palm of his hand.

‎Ekla city was just a few kilometres outside of Juborg city, and at times, the two branches would cooperate despite the different sectors they worked in.

‎Naturally, it came with the job; after all, being a firefighter in this day and age wasn't exactly a glorified profession.

‎But for Jason, firefighting wasn't simply a job; he came from a bona fide line of firefighters.

‎His father had been a firefighter, his grandfather before him and get was sure even his great-grandfather had been in the same line of work.

‎With the new automated technologies, there was rarely a reason for human personnel to personally get involved.

‎But it was better to be safe than sorry when it came to these things...

‎"There's no need for us to be here in person, chief. The drones and the heat lancers can handle everything.

‎Jason turned to the blue-haired young woman beside him, staring at her for a few moments with a cold, stern expression.

‎The woman was dressed in a similar garb to his with a badge that marked her rank as his second in command.

‎" The heat lancers have clearly gotten this situation under control..."

‎" Enough, Nancy..."

‎Jason spoke in a tone that brooked no further discussion, watching the automated robots doing their best to contain the blazing inferno.

‎Nancy saluted him, plopping down into a comfy seat beside him.

‎The Heat lancers were artificial intelligence robots that had been specifically designed to engage dangerous situations in the stead of the firefighters. With the Advent of the heat Lancers, the firefighting profession had become exponentially less popular, with the machine doing most of the heavy lifting.

‎The robots had been specially coded and encrypted with a code that could evolve and adapt depending on the severity of the situation.

‎Compared to their human counterparts, the robots were more efficient and less likely to buckle under pressure.

‎And as a result, the mortality rate and damage were significantly reduced with the passage.

‎A moment later, an explosion ripped through the top floor of the hotel.

‎Nancy snarled, raking her hand through her hair.

‎"What the hell?!"

‎Jason stared at the screen in front of him with a stern expression.

‎" Status report on the Heat lancers' progress," he asked, turning to a green-haired young man seated in front of him.

‎Ray Coren, the team's tech specialist, clicked and swiped a few times on the screen in front of him before responding.

‎"The Lancers have currently sealed off the affected area of the building and are steadily putting out the blaze, but there appears to be some sort of disturbance that's impeding their progress."

‎Jason raised an eyebrow in question.

‎"What is that hat supposed to mean?"

‎"I'm not exactly sure, sir, but the Lancers can't move forward. There seems to be something blocking their movement forward.

‎Jason frowned, staring at the young man.

‎He calmly scratched in chin in contemplation.

‎"Bring up the feed."

‎Just then, the lenses on the lead Lancer's chest zoomed out.

‎"Advance!" Jason commanded.

‎The lead robot moved forward, then abruptly came to a stop.

‎Jason's eyes narrowed at the phenomenon.

‎"What readings readiWhatshow? What the hell is that supposed to be?"

‎Ray adjusts his glasses, inhaling slightly.

‎" That's t, he thing sirThere's's nothing coming up on our scanners, at least nothing that we can see."

‎Just then, a third explosion rocked the building.

‎Large chunks of debris fell from the wrecked glow, slamming into the deserted plaza outside the hotel with horrifying force.

Right now, we don't have time to force our way through whatever this is, and I'm not going to risk the lives of my men on an anomaly I'm not certain about."

‎" So what, should we doChieff? Nancy asked in puzzlement.

‎"The more this goes on, there's a chance the fire could actually spread."

‎After a long silence, Jason eventually spoke.

‎" Use the drones."

‎The young man's eyes narrowed, then widened in realisation.

‎Jason grinned, smiling faintly.

‎" If we can't see what's going on from the inside, we'll just approach the building from the outside. Use the emergency drones, circle around and then get access to the inside of the building."

‎After a while, the drones' live video feed appeared on the monitor in front of him.

‎A heartbeat later, his eyes widened in surprise.

‎"What the hell?!"

‎Amidst the fierce conflagration of flames, a lone figure stood, her grey braids swirling in the eerily in a ghostly wind around despite the unfolding chaos woman stoodstillll staring at something in the rubble.

‎Jason stared at her in silent disbelief.

‎" Who the hell is that?"

‎Nanc shot to her feet next to him, staring at the same image in surprise.

‎"Why is she just standing there? We have to help her!"

‎Just then, a second figure hurtled through the air, then abruptly came to a stop mid-air.

‎" Am I seeing things? What the hell is going on?" Nancy murmured, rubbing her eyes in a daze.

‎The figure in question, a man, screamed, his eyes blazing with unnatural ethereal light. In the next moment, the flames around them increased in size, exploding through the building.

‎" You're not dreaming," Jason replied.

‎" Bloody hell," Nancy whispered.

‎Just then, the large trucks' double doors flew open, and several men in suits barged in, confidently striding towards Jason.

‎The man at the lead gazed at him with a knowing smile, offering him his hand.

‎Jason ignored the gesture, coldly staring at the man with an I'll concealed disklike.

‎" And who are you supposed to be?"

‎The man smiled in amusement at the question.

‎" I don't really have a name, but for this meeting, call me Jack. What you need to know is that I work with the prime minister's office. After here, you can get in touch with him and verify this information. You could even do so right now.

‎ Jason silently stared at him in disbelief.

‎"What is that supposed to mean?"

‎The man simply smiled.

‎" It means exactly what I just said."

‎With a slight gesture, the man sat down in Jason's chair, making himself comfortable. Nancy nervously glanced at Jason.

‎Without questioning the man's peculiar behaviour, Jason folded his arms across his chest, staring at him intently.

‎" Why are you here?"

‎With a smile, the man spread his arms, staring at Jason calmly.

‎" I think you know the answer to that, Chief."

‎Jason's eyes bore into the man's eyes for a while, the two men locking gazes for a brief moment.

‎The tension in the room spiked noticeably.

‎"But if you want me to go ahead and spell it out for you, everything that you've witnessed here, today, in this truck, should be kept confidential.

‎"You and your men should take everything that you've seen to yourselves. I'm going to have you sign these confidentiality forms."

Jason stared at him in silence for a few moments in silence.

" And why should we do that? As far as I'm concerned, there's no reason why I should believe anything that you're saying. And you are forgetting something very important."

The man smiled, his grin growing wider in seeming amusement.

"And why is that?"

"As things stand right now, you're operating on my turf, which means my rules."

The man in the suit laughed politely, getting on his feet.

"I don't even know why I tried to do this the hard way."

In the next moment, the man took off his glasses, coldly staring at Jason. In the next moment, his eyes lit up with a menacing green light.

Every onee of you, stop moving now."

Suddenly, Jason's entire body stiffened, going rigid.

" What the hell is going on? I can't move my body.... Move, damn it. What the hell?"

" Let's try something else. All of you stop thinking."

In the next moment, the eyes of the entire firefighting department turned glassy.

The man smiled, walking around the large truck.

" That's much better."

With almost obsessive meticulousness, he smoothed out his tie and casually slicked back his hair.

" Let me see...Jason, you tell me, who's in charge of your gizmos, I mean, the footage, robots, and cameras...?"

In an eerie robotic voice, Jason replied.

" Ray... he's our tech specialist."

The mysterious man clapped cheerfully, turning to Ray.

"Come here, Ray."

His smile widened eerily, his glowing eyes boring into Ray's glassy ones.

"Be a dear and wipe everything off the footage. If anyone asks, the robots malfunctioned. The malfunction destroyed all the footage."

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