The truck rumbled over the cracked asphalt like an old man choking on phlegm.
It was an ugly beast—rusted over, patched with scrap metal, its tailgate hanging on by duct tape and prayers. The front grill was half-missing, and the muffler coughed every few seconds like it had asthma. But it ran.
Barely.
Lin sat in the middle row of the cab, wedged between Sierra—who had her boots up on the dash and a toothpick in her mouth—and Yuzuki, who kept fidgeting and accidentally brushing his thigh every five goddamn seconds.
In the back, Yue and Celestine sat with Dilo, the former bandit "scout." A lanky guy with sun-damaged skin, wild hair, and a nervous twitch whenever Yue glanced his way.
He had good reason.
The sun was a brutal fucker today. Orange and harsh, like it was trying to boil the ground. The sky above was gray-yellow, more dust than cloud, and every so often a gust of wind blew hot sand through the broken window slats like invisible razors. The scenery was nothing but skeletal trees, burnt-out billboards, and twisted wrecks of ancient cars stripped for parts long ago.
"This place is fucking depressing," Sierra muttered, tapping ash from her cig out the window. "I swear if I see one more dead bush, I'm gonna shoot it just for variety."
"I-it's kinda beautiful, in a way," Lin offered weakly. "Like... p-post-apocalyptic aesthetic."
Sierra snorted. "That's some Tumblr-core bullshit, pretty boy."
Yuzuki giggled beside him. "I think it's like, sooo~ cool~! Like those end-of-the-world idol music videos~! Desu~!"
Lin winced. "Y-yeah… sure…"
They passed the rusted remains of a convenience store. Its sign dangled by one screw, flapping in the wind. A faded mural of a smiling cartoon bear holding a soda was half-burned off the brick wall.
Yue's voice crackled through the walkie-talkie from the truck bed: "We're entering mutant territory. Dilo says the last wolf sighting was around the gulch up ahead."
"W-wolf territory?" Lin stammered. "A-are we ready for that?"
"Ready or not," Sierra said, patting her rifle, "it's huntin' time."
Dilo tapped the side of the cab. "Gulch comes up in 'bout ten minutes. Just past the wreck pile with the pink flamingo."
"The what?" Lin blinked.
"You'll see it."
They drove in silence for a bit longer, the only sound being the wheeze of the engine and Yuzuki humming some post-apocalyptic idol anthem under her breath.
And then, sure enough, it appeared.
A massive pile of scrap and wreckage: cars stacked like bones, rebar poking out like ribs. And right at the top, skewered on a pole, was a cracked plastic lawn flamingo, sun-bleached and mocking.
"Well, fuck me," Sierra muttered. "He wasn't kidding."
"Gulch is just past that ridge," Dilo said. "Lots of caves. That's where the big muties like to hide."
Celestine's voice floated from the back: "I hear the growls beneath the surface. The wolf stirs."
"Cool," Lin muttered, gulping. "Y-yeah, real comforting, thanks."
"Should we stop here?" Yue asked, voice calm and sharp as ever.
Lin hesitated. Then nodded. "Y-yeah. Pull over. We go on foot from here."
The truck screeched as they pulled over beside a twisted fence. Dust clouded the air as they piled out.
Lin stretched his legs and tried to breathe in the hot, gritty air without coughing. Didn't work.
Sierra patted him on the back. "You good, Cap?"
"Y-yeah, totally. Just... choking on the apocalypse a little."
Yuzuki leaned in. "Producer-sama~ You want me to give you a lil' idol CPR~?"
"I-I'm fine!"
She pouted dramatically.
Yue climbed to the top of a rusted car, scanning the distance. "Northwest slope leads to the gulch entrance. Tracks suggest movement. Possibly the target."
Lin looked at her boots on the hood and didn't even have the nerve to ask how she saw tracks from up there.
Celestine was already barefoot on the dust, murmuring to herself and scattering bone dice on a cloth strip. "Blood and fang… the omen bites deep."
"Dilo," Lin turned to the ex-bandit, "y-you sure about this place?"
Dilo nodded quickly, eyes darting between Yue and Celestine like a guy watching a shark tank. "S-seen it myself, boss. Big fuckin' thing. Taller than a man, bone armor, glowing eyes. Took two of our guys clean off the ridge."
Lin's face went pale. "Cool. Awesome. F-fucking great."
"Plan?" Yue asked simply.
Lin exhaled, trying to not look like a panicked virgin in front of four gorgeous death machines. "W-we move up the ridge. Quietly. No firing unless necessary. If it's just one wolf, we handle it. If it's more… w-we run."
"Now that's a plan I can get behind," Sierra grinned.
"Shall we dance with the beast?" Celestine asked, arms raised like a priestess in front of a shrine.
"I—I guess… yeah," Lin said, voice cracking.
They began walking toward the gulch, dust swirling around their boots, weapons checked, eyes sharp.
Lin followed close, gripping the rusted pistol like it was a security blanket.
"F-fuck this place," he muttered under his breath.
The wasteland didn't answer.
But something, far off in the gulch, let out a low, rumbling howl.
And it was coming closer.
***
They reached the gulch just past noon, the sun hanging like a furnace overhead. It wasn't a valley so much as a torn gash in the earth—an open wound carved by nature and war alike. Jagged ridges framed the sides, and dry wind howled through the rocky slit like the land itself was groaning.
"This is it," Dilo said, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Wolf territory. They come out when the sun starts to dip, lookin' for meat, water, maybe a good fuck."
"Charming," Yue muttered coldly.
Lin glanced around nervously, his eyes wide behind fogged glasses. "S-so… um… a-are you sure about this bait idea?"
Dilo smirked. "It's how we did it before. They smell meat, they come sniffin'. They don't think twice."
"Okay but… what kind of meat?" Lin asked, voice already shrinking.
"Raw meat. Bandit rations. And, uh…" He looked around awkwardly, then pointed to Yuzuki. "That one's perfume."
Yuzuki gasped. "EHHHH~!? Are you saying I smell tasty~!?"
"Yeah," Sierra snorted. "Tasty like bubblegum and poor decisions."
"I-it's idol-scented body spray, okay!? I-it's signature fragrance!" Yuzuki clutched her cheeks in flustered defense.
"Which mutant predators love, apparently," Celestine added with an eerie little grin.
"F-fuck me," Lin mumbled. "We're gonna get eaten because of shampoo."
"Just trust the setup, boss," Dilo said, already squatting near the mouth of the gulch. He pulled a dented tin out of his backpack and popped the lid, the stench of preserved mutant jerky wafting out like a fart in a sauna. "We lay this near the rocks, smear a little on the trees—boom, dinner bell."
Lin coughed. "What the hell—what is that?"
"Leftover leg meat," Dilo said casually. "Possibly human."
"FUCKING WHAT!?"
Sierra laughed her ass off.
Yue stepped forward then—calm, ice-cold, her frosted aura flickering faintly around her. "Dilo."
The bandit straightened up fast, suddenly aware of just how close she was standing.
"If you run," she said, voice quiet, "I will find you. I will freeze your arms, then your legs, then your cock, and then… I'll make you watch as I shatter each one into dust. Do you understand?"
Dilo paled, his neck bobbing with a nervous swallow. "Y-yep. Crystal fuckin' clear."
"Good." She turned and walked back to the others without another word.
Lin leaned over to him. "S-she's not kidding, by the way."
"Didn't think she was," Dilo whispered back.
They finished spreading the bait, smearing it along a few jagged boulders and placing the rest in a shallow metal bowl near a small outcropping—just beneath a crag that gave good cover.
"Alright," Lin said, glancing around. "We, uh… take positions now, right?"
"Ding ding," Sierra said, already crouching behind a fallen pillar with her rifle primed.
Yuzuki hid behind a smaller boulder, humming some sort of idol warm-up routine under her breath. Celestine knelt beside her, fingers resting lightly on her bone dice, eyes half-closed in trance.
Yue stood at the highest ridge, icy eyes scanning the distance.
And Lin?
Lin ducked behind a semi-buried scrap of car hood, crouched low, legs trembling slightly.
"S-should've picked the f-fucking food perk again," he muttered. "O-or a tank. O-or a giant anime robot waifu…"
He peeked over the ridge and looked back at the girls.
Sierra looked relaxed—dangerously so. Her smirk hadn't left since they got here. Yuzuki was vibrating with nervous excitement, while Celestine looked like she was meditating through a cosmic fever dream. And Yue… she hadn't blinked once in five minutes.
They were all so… composed.
Meanwhile, Lin was sweating through his hoodie, his glasses fogged, and he was 90% sure there was a mutant spider crawling up his pant leg.
"Fuck me sideways…"
A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder. He nearly screamed.
It was Yuzuki, crouching beside him now. "Producer-sama~ You look super tense~ Want me to give you a massage~?"
Lin blushed hard. "W-WHAT!? N-no! W-we're doing serious things right now!"
She giggled. "You're so easy to tease~! Neh~ Don't worry~ I'll protect you if anything scary jumps out~!"
"I—I-I'm the one who's supposed to protect y-you!"
"Awww~ So manly~!"
Sierra called over from her perch. "Hey virgin boy, less whispering, more watching. If that mutt shows up, we'll need your scrawny ass to not piss himself."
"R-right!"
Then the air grew still.
Everything got quiet.
The wind stopped.
Even the dust held its breath.
Celestine opened her eyes. "It comes."
A howl echoed through the canyon.
Low.
Vibrating.
Predatory.
Lin felt it in his ribs. His whole body clenched.
Yue's voice cut in through the wind. "Get ready."
From the shadows at the gulch's edge… movement.
A hunched form.
Something massive—at least two meters tall—lurking just outside the sun-bleached edge of the rocks.
Lin swallowed.
"...Fuck."
The shadows moved like liquid hate.
At first it was one—just a single hulking figure slinking into view—but then the rest followed. Twelve... no, maybe fourteen. They stalked low to the ground, yellow eyes glowing like dying lanterns in the dust haze. Their bodies were malformed: skeletal but muscular, like they'd been built from scraps of leftover nightmares.
Each one had patchy fur, twisted limbs, and long jagged teeth protruding from jaws that looked too wide for their skulls. Some dragged tails made of bone and cartilage. Others had second sets of jaws splitting their necks, or back legs that bent the wrong way, like broken dogs still trying to run.
Lin's whole body seized.
"O-o-oh fuck. F-fuck me sideways."
Dilo, crouched next to him, whispered, "That's… uh. Yeah. That's more than one."
The largest of them stepped forward—clearly the alpha. It stood upright like a bear, but its canine features were exaggerated, grotesque. Two meters tall. Sloping shoulders covered in bone plates. Its left eye was missing, and in its place was a glowing red orb fused directly into its skull—mechanical, twitching, scanning.
Its maw unhinged, letting out a shriek-howl so guttural the rocks themselves seemed to vibrate.
Sierra immediately snapped up her rifle. "I got it—!"
But Yue was already moving.
She stepped out from the ridge, frost swirling at her feet like morning mist. Her silver-blue hair danced in the updraft, her eyes glowing with a frigid brilliance.
She didn't speak. She didn't flinch.
She raised one hand—and the air cracked.
Seven icicles shimmered into existence in a wide arc behind her. Pure, crystalline. Deadly.
Before the alpha could even finish its second howl, the spears fired.
Whhh-THMP!
The first shattered its left knee. The second pierced straight through its chest. The third embedded into its skull with a sickening crack. The rest followed, hitting heart, spine, throat.
It didn't even get the chance to drop—just collapsed in a heap of twitching, frozen meat.
The rest of the pack yelped and scattered like rats doused in fire. Some bounded over the ridge, others melted into the gulch shadows, tails between their legs. A few tripped over themselves, snarling in pain, but none dared stay.
Lin's jaw dropped.
"Sh-she just… s-she just fucking deleted it…"
"Holy shit," Dilo muttered.
Sierra lowered her rifle, blinking. "Goddamn, Frosty. Let a bitch have some fun once in a while."
Yue exhaled slowly, letting the ice around her feet settle into frost-coated dust. "Objective complete."
Yuzuki jumped out from behind the rock, squealing with stars in her eyes. "Yue-senpai's soooo cool~! That was like, one-hit KO~! Like—bam bam bam bam! Waaaa~!"
Lin stumbled toward the alpha's corpse, half in awe, half in horror.
The body looked like someone tried to taxidermy a nightmare using broken ice picks. Limbs sprawled in unnatural directions, steam rising off its flesh from the sudden temperature shock. Blood pooled beneath it, thick and dark like oil.
"Sh-she killed it… just like that…" Lin whispered. "Like it was nothing."
"You alright, Cap?" Sierra asked, walking over. "You look like you just came in your pants."
"I—I didn't!" he squeaked. "I-it's just… I mean, fuck! That was a two-meter tall wolf from hell! W-we're supposed to struggle with those in these kinds of stories!"
"This ain't a story," Sierra said, nudging the corpse with her boot. "It's the apocalypse. Ain't no narrator gonna save your ass."
Celestine knelt by the fallen alpha, her hand gliding over its forehead with reverence. "This one's mind was cracked… fractured memories echo in its brain stem. It suffered."
Lin shivered. "O-okay. Now it's worse. Thank you, creepy choir girl."
Yue stepped past him and gave the wolf's corpse one final glance before turning to Lin. "I will log the kill in the system menu. We should collect the remains. It may yield material bonuses."
"R-right," Lin nodded quickly. "Y-yeah, yeah. W-we should salvage. Gotta… g-gotta maximize gains."
He crouched near the body, trying not to retch as he reached out to feel the fur. It was like touching a wet towel soaked in ice and blood.
"I, uh… I-I think it's leaking something," he muttered.
Yuzuki peeked over his shoulder, holding her nose. "Ewww~ It smells like spoiled tofu~!"
Sierra bent down next to them. "That ain't tofu. That's pure mutant organ goo. Delicious."
"I'm gonna be sick."
Dilo didn't come near, still hiding behind a boulder like the wolves were gonna respawn. "You guys done playing with mutant roadkill yet?"
Yue turned to Lin. "Orders, Captain?"
Lin froze. They all looked at him now—blood, guts, mutant parts, glowing eyes.
And him. The sweaty, shaking, semi-boner'd virgin still in his anime hoodie.
He straightened up awkwardly.
"Uh… d-dismember it. Bring back what we can. We'll store the parts in the truck. Then head back to camp before sundown."
Celestine smiled faintly. "The Catalyst speaks."
Sierra snorted. "See? Told ya the nerd had it in him."
Yuzuki gave a wink. "You're like, super brave right now~!"
Lin's cheeks burned.
He turned away and muttered under his breath, "Fucking hell, what the fuck is my life…"
But nobody heard him over the crunch of Yue driving her frost blade into the mutant wolf's ribcage with surgical precision.
Quest: Complete.
Q: Would you panic in this situation?