Plaleview City. Three hours later.

The command centre lay beneath City Hall, once a crown jewel of Paleview's emergency infrastructure—marble steps, polished obsidian floors, even a chandelier that still hung above, cracked and dangling by a single chain.

The space had been built with grandeur in mind, a mix of authority and elegance designed for high-level officials to coordinate during citywide emergencies.

Now, that elegance was fractured.

Wall panels meant to showcase real-time logistics were shattered, flickering between static and error codes.

The gold trim on the ceiling was scorched black in places. A mural of Paleview's founding fathers was slashed down the middle, claw marks cutting through stone like it was paper.

Crushed consoles and scattered debris lined the perimeter where a scuffle had taken place.

Still, much of the centre remained intact. The large central table—once used for zoning plans and election maps—was now updated with a hardlight topographical map of the city. It glowed faint blue, casting lines and red zones across the room.

Around it stood the remnants of Paleview's chain of command.

The Mayor sat to the side, pale and alert, clearly demoted to an advisor. Logistics officers, engineers, and militia commanders were present—some with fresh bandages, others still in formal uniforms that hadn't been washed in two days. Genesis Squad stood near the back wall, silent and fully geared.

Their presence alone grounded the room in a different kind of seriousness.

Derek was at the head of the table.

He hadn't planned on this.

And yet, there he was—leading a meeting with the very people he'd only ever seen on public broadcasts, city announcements, or news streams before the Fall.

The same suited officials and military professionals who once made decisions far above his level were now looking at him like he was the plan.

And he was.

The map hovered over the table. Sector overlays, infrastructure lines, and thermal movement from monsters marked in pulsing red.

Derek pointed to the southern quadrant—Zone 17. A flattened residential district, once upscale, now rubble with a few buildings still standing.

"We start there."

The room stayed quiet. The Mayor leaned forward, voice cautious.

"That's where the Nest spillage was worst. Civilian recovery teams—"

"Already cleared by me this morning," Derek cut in.

A soft ping sounded from the system console nearby, verifying the scan. Monster density was down by 82%.

One of the militia captains—Brenner, older, with ash in his beard—crossed his arms.

"You're saying you cleared a whole hot zone alone?"

Derek didn't bother answering. He tapped the table again, bringing up resource nodes, abandoned depots, and remaining energy sources. Then, he finally spoke.

"I'm not here to argue. I'm here to build a functioning base that will last longer than three hours. If anyone has a better plan, I'll step aside."

Silence.

He let it sit for a few seconds.

Then he leaned forward.

"I'll be acting as the Overlord of Paleview City until this apocalypse is over. The Genesis Squad is supposed to be in charge here, and since I am their leader, I have control, plus I am the strongest person here. " Derek said aloofly.

Genesis Squad didn't argue. Andrew just nodded once, the kind of nod soldiers give when something makes tactical sense. Evelyn studied Derek, then looked back at the map.

Someone finally cleared their throat. A logistics officer, sitting two seats down.

"What exactly are your priorities?"

Derek zoomed into the zone. Then listed off, voice steady.

"Resource collection. Clean power relay. Automated defences. Civilian shelters. Surveillance grid. In that order. You'll get mission directives every morning. Follow them or don't. But I'm not slowing down for votes."

Another silence.

Then the Mayor, finally speaking again, softer this time. Less pushback. More like someone adapting to new air.

"And if the government re-establishes control?"

Derek looked at him.

"They won't."

No one laughed. No one argued.

The truth was heavy in the room. Government forces were scattered. Communications with other cities were erratic.

Derek leaned back slightly, scanning the map again.

" We have no arguments, but have you thought about what resources are needed to finalise your plans? " One of the commanders sneered.

" That would be for me to handle ", Derek replied, finding resources to make this plan feasible would stump them, but not him.

He had a system.

The technology the system could provide was hundreds of times better than what anyone could provide.

"Anyone who wants out, say so now. You're not prisoners. But if you stay, you follow my system protocols. No exceptions."

One by one, they nodded.

Even the Mayor.

Derek said nothing else. Just tapped one final command, and the map expanded, sector by sector, showing the updated base design—a sprawling multi-tier layout with living zones, defence walls, drone towers, and resource pipelines.

The meeting finally came to an end, the representatives from the mayor's office left to carry out orders along with the military leaders, leaving behind Derek and the twenty members of the Genesis Unit.

" Are you the only guys sent here from whichever facility deployed you? " Derek asked Andrew.

" No, they were about to send someone, but since you are already here, they decided against it "

" I see," the Government was already considering him as free labour.

" So in your organisation, what rank are you guys ?" Derek asked.

" I am a B rank, the rest are C-ranks, the guy they were sending over was an S-Rank, S rankers are the highest tier in the organisation, by the way"

" Where would I fall in your organisation? "

" You would be among the most powerful of the A- ranks, add that mecha and you would be the most powerful in the S-rank "

" I see " Derek nodded, not denying the fact that he was the mysterious pilot of the meha, anyway they could not ask him too many questions, plus he was not obliged to answer if they did.

Andrew and the squad hissed in surprise, Derek's image grew more mysterious in their minds.

They wondered what origins this high schooler turned Apocalypse Saviour had. Derek stood contemplating for a while.

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