Leo sprinted through the slum streets, weaving between stacks of rusted metal and broken vending machines, until finally— he spotted the border patrol post. Two guards in dull gray uniforms stood lazily by the gate, bored out of their minds, tapping on their terminals.
"Monster!" Leo gasped, hands on his knees. "There's a monster near the wasteland!"
Both guards froze.
They looked at each other, then at Leo's dirt-covered face, then at the dents and dust on his clothes.
"…You serious?"
"Completely serious."
Within minutes, emergency signals were sent, and the sky above the slum darkened as a hovering vehicle descended. The craft was large, white, sleek, and marked with the unmistakable logo of the Pentagon Corporation. Its turbines hummed like a deep echo, sending ripples through the air as it landed beside the ruined building Leo had climbed earlier.
A man in a long black coat stepped out first. His suit underneath was crisp, expensive, and absolutely out of place in the dusty wasteland.
He flashed a practiced corporate smile. "You're the one who reported the creature?"
Leo nodded.
"Well done." The man clapped him on the shoulder. "Very well done. A biological monster so close to the city border… If you hadn't warned us, it might have wandered inside." He paused, took a tissue from his pocket, and wiped his hand as if touching Leo contaminated him. "Congratulations on your first hunt, Ranger."
Leo tried to smile back, but everything felt surreal.
Hazmat-suited specialists poured out of the van, each carrying strange scanning equipment. Their suits hissed softly as they adjusted their visors, then moved toward the collapsed building where Leo had trapped the creature.
One of them called out through a muffled speaker, "Found it! Creature is partially crushed but still intact!"
Several members hurried over to inspect it. The man in the black coat followed them.
"This thing must have wandered from another region," he said while carefully avoiding the rubble. "These types usually move in packs, though. Lucky or unlucky —who knows?"
Leo shivered at that thought.
As the team worked, a woman walked briskly toward them. Her protective gear gleamed under the sunlight, but her most striking feature wasn't her face.
It was her arm.
From her shoulder downward, her entire left arm was fully mechanical— smooth metal plates shifting softly as she moved. Her mechanical palm unfolded like a blooming flower, revealing a radar-like device that projected a holographic map of the area.
Leo felt his breath catch.
He'd seen cybernetics before… but not one this refined.
"I scanned the entire perimeter," she said coldly. "There's no Alt-Zone nearby."
Leo stiffened. "No, I really saw something—over there!"
She turned her head slowly, her gaze heavy with irritation. "Are you on drugs? My scanner reads at a thousand times your ability."
Leo's hands curled into fists. She didn't see it. He wasn't crazy—he saw it. Twice.
The man in the black coat stepped in.
"Easy, easy," he said, raising his hands. "He's scared. Adrenaline makes the mind imagine all sorts of things. Heat distortions are common."
The woman didn't seem convinced, but she nodded once and signaled two Hazmat workers.
"You two," she ordered. "Climb to the vantage point he used."
Leo's eyes widened. Good. If they looked from the same height, they'd see it for sure. But Leo didn't know that her scanners already covered those areas.
The two Hazmat officers climbed the broken staircase carefully, their boots crunching on gravel and loose metal. They reached the top—exactly where Leo had stood earlier.
One pulled out high-tech binoculars. The lenses adjusted automatically, zooming toward the distant ruins.
They scanned slowly. Carefully. Debris. Ruins. Heat shimmer.
Then one radioed down:
"Nothing visible. Just dead structures."
The second officer adjusted his scope. "No anomalies. No distortions. No Glitch signatures."
Leo's heart dropped.
"…Nothing? You're sure?" he shouted from below.
"Positive. If something was there, it's gone."
Leo's jaw tightened. The woman gave him a smug, knowing look, as if confirming her earlier judgment.
She turned to him. "Show me your Ranger license."
Leo handed it over reluctantly.
She stared at it with a mixture of confusion and disgust.
"…What kind of trash is this? Was this printed by a toaster?" She squinted. "Leak?"
Leo gave a strained smile. "It's Leo. The staff was… not exactly sober."
She muttered something about "incompetent worms" under her breath. "I've already reported that office. Someone will go deal with the staff."
Leo blinked. He hadn't seen her talk to anyone. And she didn't have comms gear on her ear. Who did she inform?
Her scanner-arm folded back into its normal shape as she handed him the certificate.
"You can get a proper ID at the main Ranger Office," she said. "Also, I've sent your information there. They'll give you your reward."
She didn't wait for his reply —just walked away, her metal arm gleaming in the sun like a threat.
The man in the black coat patted Leo lightly on the shoulder again.
"You did good," he said. "Even if it turned out to be a false alarm, it's helpful."
He leaned closer, lowering his voice.
"But with that tiny gun? You'll die if you try to fight in the wasteland. Get better gear. And if you really want to make money…"
He gestured grandly toward the horizon.
"Go somewhere else. There's nothing here."
He wiped his hand again— twice this time —before returning to the van.
The Penta Corps team slowly collected their equipment, loading body parts, scanning samples, and recording data. One last time, the Hazmat binocular-users radioed in:
"Confirmed again. Nothing above ground. No other Monsters found. No Glitch found."
Leo watched them leave.
The moment they were gone, he ran back toward the ruined building.
He climbed the collapsing staircase, boots scraping on crumbling concrete. His breath was fast, partly from the climb, partly from stress.
Finally he reached the top.
The wasteland stretched before him…
dead and silent.
Then—
There it was.
The distortion in the distance.
A small ripple.
A glitch in reality— soft, shimmering, wrong.
An Alt-Zone.
Leo stared.
"…You've got to be kidding me," he whispered.
"If no one else can see you… then what the hell are you?"
The Alt-Zone pulsed faintly.
---
Leo headed back toward their hideout.
But the moment he turned the corner, he stopped.
A sleek bike and a rugged jeep were parked right outside their building — vehicles far too expensive for anyone in the slums to own.
His heartbeat tightened.
Silently, he reached for his gun, gripping it firmly.
Instead of entering through the front, Leo slipped into the alley beside the building and took the alternate path they used for emergencies. He moved quietly, every sense heightened, ready for whatever he might find inside.