"What do you mean the item was taken?"

  The voice of a large man sitting in a black leather chair, staring at the window revealing the azure midday sky, rang out as he turned around.

  He was met with a young woman in a black suit, currently standing with her head bowed in front of his desk, while behind her stood a man in a cloak and skull mask, leaning against the wall beside the door.

  Prompting the woman to speak up.

  "An intruder broke in last night. They took out four of our men and grabbed the hidden item. Even though our soldiers managed to surround them, they still escaped."

  "Escaped, you say?"

  "Yes, they managed to escape."

  The desk slammed into the floor, a deafening crash echoing throughout the room, while the woman stopped breathing for a moment as she stared at the wooden desk lying broken in half on the ground.

  But even so, she still didn't dare to look up. That was when she heard him take a deep breath.

  "This is the first time I've heard of someone entering my territory and leaving alive. Tell me, who is it?"

  She took a breath and spoke.

  "We presume the target is male. From the descriptions of the pursuing soldiers, he has black hair and golden eyes. He appears to be a mutant, and we suspect he's a physical-type superhuman, which is why the bullets couldn't pierce his skin."

  "A physical-type superhuman?"

  The man frowned before turning to the man standing by the door, which prompted the cloaked man to speak up.

  "He was shot by an assault rifle from six meters away, and the bullet seemed to hit the back of his left arm, but the enemy was completely unfazed aside from a slight flinch. After that, he could still run away and even jump across buildings."

  "How sure are you that he's a superhuman?"

  "Almost 100%."

  "Almost, you say?"

  The cloaked man nodded.

  "If he isn't a superhuman, he must be a regular guy who ate monster meat until his body became nearly as tough as a monster's, allowing him to resist bullets and be that durable. But if you ask me, I think he's a superhuman."

  He actually smiled upon hearing that, before using his left hand to pull a white towel from his left breast pocket and wiping his right hand with it.

  "Since you're so confident he's a superhuman, then you should be able to tell me why I still haven't received the item, even though it was supposed to arrive yesterday."

  The cloaked man pushed himself off the wall as he spoke.

  "It won't be past today, boss. I have a rough idea of where he is. Just give the order, and I'm ready to bring it back to you by the end of the day, guaranteed."

  He frowned slightly upon hearing that before speaking.

  "If you can really bring it to me like you say, a high-tier fruit is yours immediately."

  "Two of them."

  He paused for a moment upon hearing the man in front of him say that, before nodding.

  "Fine. But if you don't bring it back, I'm sure you know what will happen."

  "Of course. I won't let you down, boss."

  Finishing his sentence, the cloaked man turned toward the door, opened it, and walked out.

  Watching the cloaked man leave the room, he turned back to the young woman standing with her head bowed in front of him.

  Seeing this, he walked past her without saying a word, leaving her standing there staring at the floor until she heard the sound of the door opening behind her.

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  That made her let out a heavy sigh before looking up at the window; the sight of the cloudless sky prompted her to turn around and leave the room.

  A sharp intake of breath, accompanied by golden eyes glowing in the dark, caused Ark, who was lying on the ground, to cough violently as he raised his left hand to cover his mouth.

  But he only coughed briefly before stopping and pulling his left hand back slightly, revealing a piece of white paper meant for wrapping meat bars.

  That made him frown slightly. Not long after, he looked around, revealing concrete walls to his left, his right, and even above his head, all clearly showing cracks and covered in a thick layer of dust.

  Even the floor he was lying on right now was covered in dirt, without a single drop of water to be seen, causing him to turn his attention to a small beam of light hitting the ground about ten meters away.

  Seeing that, Ark shifted his focus back to his own body and found a black box sitting beside his abdomen. Spotting it, he used his left hand to grab the box.

  Before turning toward the light and using his right arm to push himself toward it, sending up small clouds of dust every time he moved forward.

  It didn't take long for him to close the few meters of distance, sticking his head into the small beam of light and looking up.

  It revealed light seeping through the small gaps of a circular iron cover. Seeing this, Ark slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position before standing and using both hands to slightly push up the iron cover above him.

  Allowing him the chance to poke his head out and look outside. After glancing around, he pushed the iron cover aside.

  Before climbing up to the surface and pulling the iron cover back into place.

  After staring at the manhole cover for a moment, I looked up.

  And found myself currently crouching by the roadside. To my left, I could see multi-story buildings that had collapsed onto other buildings, making them practically indistinguishable from rubble.

  Turning to my right, I saw buildings on the other side, some still in perfect condition, while others had been reduced to piles of debris on the ground.

  And of course, the ruined buildings were visibly far more numerous. I stood up and looked around.

  Right then, the sound of metal hitting the floor from behind made me freeze instantly, before I turned around and looked down.

  I frowned and bent over, using my right hand to pick up the object on the ground. The midday sunlight caught the bullet, which appeared to still have bloodstains on it.

  I had to raise it slightly above my head, staring at it for a moment before looking down and lifting my left hand, which was still holding the paper.

  I stayed quiet for a moment before quickly pulling my leather jacket open a bit with my left hand and looking inside. The sight of only two meat bars left inside the inner pocket...

  ...made me let out a heavy sigh, my head dropping immediately. But not long after, I stood up and looked at the bullet in my right hand.

  I pocketed it in my pants before turning around and looking at a building that had collapsed onto the one next to it, which wasn't too far away, about twenty meters.

  I immediately started walking toward that building, but after taking just three steps, the shirt used to tie the box tore, and the box crashed to the ground as I took a few more steps forward and stopped.

  I turned back to look at the box on the ground, standing still for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. I walked back, picked the box up, and hugged it to my chest before continuing toward the collapsed building leaning on the one beside it.

  Reaching it, I tried to find a way up, turning to my right and spotting the base of the first floor that was still standing upright.

  Walking inside, I found that the ceiling—the floor of the second story—had caved in onto the ground floor, creating a ramp leading upstairs.

  I walked up the incline, making it to the second floor, and looked at the building on the left that had collapsed onto the adjacent structure.

  Its condition still looked somewhat decent, even though it had toppled over so much that it practically formed a walkable bridge.

  But overall, it still looked solid despite the clear cracks. So, I stepped onto the fallen building in front of me and slowly climbed, using my right hand to grip the wall and steadily pull myself up.

  After climbing for a bit, my foot slipped, causing my body to slam into the surface before sliding right back down the path I had just ascended.

  Looking back down, I let my feet skid against the surface while pressing my left arm flat against the floor above me, slowing my momentum until I finally touched back down at my starting point gently.

  I let out a small sigh and looked back up the path leading to the opposite building. After staring at it for a moment, I got up and made my way back up.

  But slower this time, pressing my body against the wall on my right and gradually inching my way to the top.

  Finally, after ten whole minutes, I managed to reach the top, tossing the box up first before climbing up after it.

  Once I was securely standing on the building's rooftop, I straightened up and patted the dust off my clothes before looking at the box sitting in the middle of the roof, completely surrounded by rubble.

  I walked over and picked it up with my right hand, looking out over the edge to reveal countless buildings, large and small, sitting lower than my current vantage point, stretching as far as the eye could see.

  Seeing that, I tilted my head up at the sun, squinting slightly, and raised my left fingers to gauge its position for a moment before dropping my hand and turning around.

  "That way, huh."

  I stood looking in that direction for a while, my eyes shifting slightly, then turned back to the path I had just climbed. A sigh—I lost track of how many times today—escaped me once again.

  Before sliding back down. Making it to the bottom in under a minute, I got up, walked to my left, exited the building, and immediately pressed on.

  But as I was walking down a narrow alleyway between the buildings, I spotted a knocked-over trash can on the ground to my right, next to a two-story structure.

  I walked over and used my right foot to nudge the pile of garbage, finding a water bottle inside, so I crouched down to pick it up and inspect it.

  I found a small amount of clear liquid at the bottom. Seeing that, I unscrewed the cap, took a sniff, and then downed it in one gulp.

  I stuck my tongue out slightly before looking at the bottle and immediately tossing it to the side. With that, I turned back and kept walking, my left arm still hugging the box tight, not letting it leave my side for a second.