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“Is this the right way?” asked Masashi, scratching his head, lost by the abundance of structures surrounding him. Compared to villages, where the nation doesn't allocate enough funds, cities were stacked with establishments. You could find buildings focused on producing weapons, robots, vehicles, and greenhouses where food was grown by redirecting a tiny amount of sunlight through the bubble. Most importantly, synthetic water facilities could be found everywhere, since it's difficult for rain to reach the bubble before it dissipates, so we have nothing to let through anymore.

“I don’t know. Every street looks exactly the same, I swear,” I replied, even more confused than him.

“Is your guys’ brain transforming into a peanut every time there’s no fighting?” said Riko, as vicious as ever.

“It’s not my fault the city lacks simplicity.”

“Exactly! It’s impossible to find anything here because of all the inventions everywhere,” continued Masashi, unimpressed by the city.

“Oh, don’t give me that crap about it being impossible again, Masashi,” said Riko, the only one glad we got lost, as it gave her more time to look at every factory and laboratory we passed. You could guess how cheerful Riko was seeing them up close.

“I think this is it, guys,” I said, looking through my glasses, which highlighted the place.

We finally arrived at our barrack, number 33, after a long journey of getting lost in the city’s infrastructure. However, there was one huge problem.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” said Riko, in disbelief at what she saw. The place looked like it could fall at any moment, especially the “33” sign.

“I’m sure they have an innovative interior full of crazy advanced stuff!” said Riko, probably coping with the disastrous exterior . This time, her ideal city didn’t look so ideal.

“Are we being sent to the worst place in town?” I said, kicking one of the barrack’s brick walls, which dropped a few bricks like it was nothing.

“Yeah, Riko, I’d rather go back to my destroyed village. This isn’t even optimal for living,” said Masashi, picking up a brick from the ground.

“Oh, but this is definitely suited for living. The army built it, after all!” said an unfamiliar voice.

“Where is that voice coming from?” said Riko, turning her whole body in every direction.

“What does the army have to do with anything?” I said, trying to get him to speak again and locate his position.

“If our army creates something, then it’s gotta be perfect.”

“How can we not see you?” asked Masashi, reaching for his pocket.

“Chameleon suits. They perfectly match the color of whatever you stay close to, via sensors that adapt the suit to the environment,” he said, slowly deactivating his suit. He was standing glued to a nearby tree. “You guys would’ve been dead already—”

“We apologize. He really likes the army. I'm Daichi and he is Tsubasa. Please, enter and make yourself at home,” said another guy, pushing the previous guy’s head as if to bow.

“Ouch, as if I’d apologize to people who are late.”

We introduced ourselves and entered the barrack, though still skeptical. I knew the deal about being provided a home and whatever I wanted seemed idealistic, but I can't do anything but hope it's true.

“All right, now that everyone is in the communication room, we can start!” said Misato through a huge screen attached to the wall.

“You think this is about another mission, Daichi?”

“Probably. You know the army doesn’t let us rest for a second.”

“Our intelligence agency reported a group of terrorists planning to launch an attack in three days on a solar absorption factory. I’ve sent you their location on the table’s holographic map. We’ll split into two groups  and attack both buildings,” 

The map highlighted two buildings close to each other, both with multiple floors. Red figures indicated the enemy, but the section on information was empty, meaning we didn’t know why they were doing this or who they were.

“Daichi,Tsubasa,Ryo,Masashi,Riko—you guys will be Team A and attack Building 1, while Shiori, Mei, and Haruki, will be Team B and attack Building 2. Good luck, everyone!”

“Great, we’re teaming up with them,” sighed Tsubasa, covering his face with his hand.

“Hey, what are you trying to say with that?” shouted Riko, confronting him without hesitation.

“Just take these detection rings. You can see where other ring users are in case you get lost,” he said, tossing us the rings.

“Listen here, you little prick, we—”

“That’s enough, Riko. I’m sure he didn’t mean anything bad,” I said, looking straight at him angrily to send a message.

“Sure, its however you say, let’s go and prepare for the mission, Daichi.”

“We’ll catch up later, guys,” said Daichi, waving at us.

“Don’t tell me you agree with him,” said Riko, seeing Masashi putting on the ring.

“I mean, we spent hours finding this place, right?”

“I’m not putting on anything from that guy,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Masashi, Riko, Ryo, you can go upstairs to your room. Prepare and wait. We’ll attack tonight,” said Misato, seeing us through the screen.

“Got it, ma’am,” I said, unenthusiastically, moving to the top floor. 

“Masashi... Riko... Ryo... could it be them?” uttered a girl from Team B that was still standing in the communication room , unable to build the courage to approach us.

“You’re telling me those capsules are our beds?” said Riko, examining the strange-looking room we were sent to.

“They monitor your vital signs and facilitate a perfect environment for recovery,” said a girl passing by our room, carrying some boxes.

“Boosting our recovery? Oh wait—” said Riko, extending her hand to her. However, she was already gone before we could ask her anything else.

“I’ll just go to sleep. See ya tonight,” said Masashi, entering the capsule without any question.

“I’ll probably read more about these things,” continued Riko, kicking the capsule with her feet.

“I’ll be going for a little bit.” I said, having a lot on my mind. I decided to go downstairs to ease my worries about the next mission. Reviewing Building 1’s structure seemed like the perfect thing to do right now. I sat at the table and opened the map, planning my next moves.

“Will I find something useful here ? Or do I have to wait until I climb the ranks and ask the government directly about a cure?” I uttered to myself, navigating the map.

“You can’t sleep too?” asked Daichi, who just came from his room and sat at the table with me.

“Yeah, I’m usually thinking a lot  before any important event, though recently every event is important, so I thought getting out of my room would help.”

“You care a lot about your goal. That’s why you’d be this nervous.”

“What makes you believe that?”

“It’s just how you behave, willing to speak up and move forward for some reason, probably that reason being your main goal.”

“Oh, you mean the incident earlier today when I confronted your friend?”

“Maybe, but I also get the feeling you’ve always been like this.”

“I also get the feeling you’re the leader in this barrack”

“You could say so. I didn’t want to be a leader, but they pretty much forced me to become one.”

“That’s surprising. You defended Tsubasa quite seriously, I thought you made yourself the leader.”

“I hesitated to accept their request not because I don’t care about them, but because I didn’t want to get my hands on power at all.”

“Why not?” I said, thinking of my journey and the end goal of it.

“Power corrupts people from the inside. I’ve struggled to be fair and centered so far. You shouldn’t let it control you, but aim to control it instead.”

“This squad should be glad they have a good-hearted leader.” I said, deflecting his words, probably because he was so spot-on that I didn't want to keep the topic going.

“S-Sorry to interrupt... You’re Ryo, right?” said a shy girl who had just mustered the courage to interrupt us, holding her hands together close to her chest.

“Yeah, you’re right. Do I know you?”

“I’m so glad! So that must mean the other two are Masashi and Riko. You guys saved my home village, Cuprite. If it wasn’t for you, my parents would be dead now,” she said, with sparks in her eyes.

“You guys are the famous recruits that saved that village!? That’s surprising. I didn’t recognize you at all,” said Daichi, completely shocked about who we were.

“Well, we just followed the orders... It’s good that we had the strength to carry them out in the first place.”

“Anyways... see you guys later,” she said, vanishing in an instant.

“She’s always been this timid... though her skills in battle are quite the opposite. Her name is Mei.”

“We should also go. Tonight’s battle will put a strain on us.”

“You’re right. It will be a long night.”

We both got up and went to our capsules, ready to help the military get rid of its enemies, for our own personal reasons.