Godfire: The Split Soul-Chapter 167: Hell in Robes

As the early morning sun’s glow lanced through the transparent glass of the sliding window, Kai’s eyes cracked open.

’Is it yet morning?’ His arms flew to his face, covering the yawn as his throat burned with dryness.

"Hey, kid." The corporal gestured toward Kai. "Are you the Yung Chin K?" He stood there, pulling on his black uniform, the fabric whispering against his skin.

"Yeah..." Kai gave a subtle snore, then shoved himself from the bed, his feet touching the cold floor.

"Buckle up, it’s time to go for your first mission."

From the bed at the left side of Leon’s, Rockson’s eyes snapped open. ’First mission? Already?!’ He looked at Kai with wide eyes, then shifted his gaze to the corporal, his fingers gripping the edge of his blanket.

"Hello, sir." He waved stiffly. "When am I also going for mine?"

"When you’re ready to die." The corporal gave a subtle laugh, low and humorless, then walked to the black drawer. "You guys don’t know what you’ve signed up for, right?"

"We do," Rockson responded, then stood up from the bed. He yawned heavily, stretching his arms and neck until they cracked.

"So, Yung Chin K, do you know the group you’re moving with?" The corporal turned, holding an M16A4 assault rifle, its dark body gleaming under the pale light.

"Nah, all I know is I’m part of the morning operation," Kai answered, staring at the man with a straight face.

"Really?" The corporal’s head dipped low. He looked at the boy with a shocked expression, then shifted his gaze to the drawer. "Who told you that?"

"Lieutenant Wang."

"Lieutenant Wang? Huh!" The corporal gave a dissatisfied sigh, then moved toward the room’s entrance door. "Alright, then let’s get going."

"Right now?" Kai’s brows drew together.

"Do you think we play here?" He pushed the door open, exiting without giving Kai or Rockson a second glance.

"Safe operation, then," Rockson waved at Kai, watching him run after the corporal, then threw himself back on the bed.

"Since I still have some time, let me enjoy my sleep before I also get appointed to an operation." He crossed his legs, inhaled deeply, then closed his eyes, though his fingers twitched against the mattress.

The moment Kai stepped outside, it felt like tearing a veil separating heaven from hell.

Men dressed in full combat outfits moved in rigid patterns. Vehicles with tires that looked like they could blast mountains stood in the large open field, engines rumbling low like restrained beasts. The air smelled of fuel, metal, and dust.

"Sir, please, what is your name?" Kai asked, closing in with the corporal as boots thudded around them.

"My name?" The corporal turned a stiff gaze at the boy, then gave him a wink. "We don’t use names here. But you can refer to me as MJ."

’MJ. This will stick fast.’ Kai smiled back faintly, then shifted his gaze forward, jaw tightening.

After five minutes of joining the grouped men, Lieutenant Wang and other soldiers who looked like hell hounds stepped before the seventy-man squad.

"Good day, soldiers."

All the soldiers, including MJ, stood at attention, greeted Wang back, then slammed their boots on the ground in unison. The sound cracked through the open space.

The soldiers beside Wang walked through the ten formed queues.

"Hey! Stand properly."

They disciplined all those who stood as if they were in their homes, adjusting shoulders, forcing chins up, pressing spines straight.

At Kai’s side, when one man with white hair and white eyes stopped, Kai squeezed his eyes slightly under the intensity of his stare.

"What are you doing here?" the man asked, voice cold.

"I’m part of those joining the morning operation."

The man whipped his head in Wang’s direction, then raised a hand over Kai’s head as if measuring him.

Wang smiled, then nodded.

"Oh, I see..." The man gave Kai a thorough scan, then folded his arms on his chest. "So you’re that boy?"

’What boy? Did Wang tell them?’ Kai blinked, trying to process the unfinished sentence.

"Wish to see how you survive this." The man laughed quietly, then continued to the last post behind Kai.

After ten minutes, once they were scheduled in groups, Kai neared MJ.

"Who is the man with white eyes?"

MJ sighed heavily, then turned his gaze to the direction Wang and the men were standing. "He’s someone you wouldn’t want to mess with."

’I see.’ A restrained smile lanced across Kai’s face as he looked at the man’s broad back. Even in uniform, all the man’s muscles were showing vividly, like metal restrained for years. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Since we are in the same group, make sure you don’t leave my sight, you hear me?" MJ gave Kai a tense look, then shifted it back to his assault rifle.

Ten minutes passed, and the siren never came.

The waiting pressed against their lungs.

Then, when it finally blew after forty-five minutes, all the groups—Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, and Golf—dashed toward their appointed transport vehicles.

Unluckily, Kai happened to be part of Team Alpha. And among the ten men, only he was the one without a gun.

"Don’t you know how to use a gun?" MJ asked, staring at the sword in Kai’s hands. "What you’re holding will just increase your death rate."

Kai stared at the silver sword, then glanced at MJ. "This is all that I know how to use."

"Weren’t you taught how to use a gun in your college?"

’Do they teach how to use guns in college?’ Kai kept a confused gaze on MJ, then shook his head.

"Do you even attend college? You literally look like someone who would drop out from school." MJ gave a short laugh, then shook Kai on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry. I will train you on how to use it once we return."

If we return.

The world outside their MRAP was like hell in robes.

Collapsed buildings reeled past the three MRAPs containing the ten members of Team Alpha. The tires crushed over broken asphalt with bone-deep thuds. Each rotation jarred Kai’s spine against the metal bench, but he braced a hand on the wall as the low engine growl vibrated through his ribs.

Gray air hung outside, dust suspended as if time itself had reversed. The morning sunlight filtered through fractured buildings, turning every ground, wall, and roof a lifeless grey.

"Focus," MJ muttered, tightening his grip around the rifle, eyes fixed ahead.

They moved past an open plaza where the ground looked carved inward, forming massive sinkholes that swallowed cars whole.

As the MRAP halted, one of the three soldiers moved to the door and swung it open. His Benelli M4 shotgun clicked against the metal shades hanging freely on his waist.

"This place wasn’t like this one month ago," he brushed his palms across his face, shaking his head.

Kai stepped down from the MRAP, boots crunching against debris. Rows of collapsed buildings caught his eyes as he followed MJ.

"Remember, don’t go far from me." MJ turned, gave Kai a firm tap on the shoulder, then shifted his gaze forward.

Heavy rocks began falling from the towering building to their left as they advanced toward it, four squads at the front and the rest of Team Alpha behind.

A skittering sound echoed from inside the collapsed building the moment MJ’s right foot stepped at its front.

Every breath stalled.

"Red alert!" MJ raised his rifle, tapped Leon’s shoulder, then rushed into the building, his eyes fixed on the scope.