With the red card's membership buff and the Spirit Energy Crystal, Ethan's 800 Psionic could stretch as far as 1,600.
Jake's Sir Ashford had mediocre combat power for this situation — no point deploying him. So Jake summoned Sideswipe and the Tier 3 Digivice instead, saving his Psionic for support.
After waiting for Jake to recover some energy, it was 4 PM.
Ethan didn't want to wait any longer. Time to push.
The four of them climbed into Sideswipe and headed for the Rift's interior. Behind them, Big Big Wolf followed in a thirty-foot mech, every step sending tremors through the earth.
Every Rift's BOSS occupied the core area. They were currently on the eastern edge — just needed to head toward the center.
They'd already eliminated over a dozen Tier 3 monsters earlier, but the exact remaining count was unclear. Didn't matter. As long as they reached and killed the final BOSS, the Rift would break.
With WarGreymon in his pocket, Ethan liked their odds.
Meanwhile, on the periphery.
Officer Hayes's group had been holding steady. The outskirts were relatively calm — only the occasional Tier 2 monster on patrol.
Their own summons were mostly support types with limited offensive power. But the Hyperforce trio was a different story.
Hayes had marveled more than once at the creativity of today's youth.
Three robot monkeys — small, colorful, with distinct personalities — each piloting a section of mech armor. The red one talked nonstop and seemed to think every fight was a performance. The yellow one was more focused. The blue one kept analyzing attack patterns mid-combat.
Together, they could take down a Tier 2 monster in minutes. Three at once? Handled in five.
They couldn't beat Tier 3s. But at the Tier 2 level, they were dominant.
After comforting the civilians and standing guard for a while, Hayes spotted Blurr approaching with four college students — the wounded ones Ethan had sent back.
He asked what had happened. After hearing the story, he felt genuine admiration for Ethan. Not many people ran toward danger to help strangers.
Shortly after, the Response Team arrived back — along with Ethan's friends. Hayes heard the full battle report from the soldiers.
No wonder the kid said he was strong. He actually was.
After a rest period and some MRE distribution, new arrivals came through the Rift entrance.
Reinforcements. A fresh Response Team squad.
Standard Rift deployment was about a dozen soldiers. Normally that was more than enough — you just chipped away at monsters over a week.
But this Rift's difficulty had spiked. The situation had been flagged, and backup was dispatched.
The combined Response Team now numbered 28.
For Rift clearance, this was a luxury lineup. But given fifty Epic-grade Tier 3 monsters and a Legendary BOSS, "luxury" might not be enough.
Everyone knew what a Rift BOSS could do. One casual hit could obliterate a Tier 3 card. And once a card was destroyed inside a Rift, it was gone forever.
But this was the job. You signed up knowing the risks.
"By our count, all civilians drawn into the Rift should be accounted for — except for those young students," said the Response Team captain. Even with the reinforcements, he remained in command.
Let's give him a name: Captain Torres.
He'd checked nearby surveillance before entering and scouted the environment afterward. That was how they'd located Jake's group so quickly. As for the other student team — they'd spotted them from a distance, noted they had several Tier 3 cards, and decided not to intervene. College Combat Department students could handle themselves.
They just hadn't expected them to be reckless enough to try clearing the Rift on their own.
Fortunately, they'd had the sense to pull back.
"Officer Hayes — we're heading in. I'll leave the perimeter to you." Captain Torres prepared to move out.
"Aren't you staying longer? Your Psionic can't be fully recovered."
Torres's recovery rate was around 200 per hour. He'd been back for about five hours — that was maybe 1,000 recovered out of his nearly 3,000 max.
"The new squad's fresh. And those kids don't look like the type to sit still." Torres glanced toward the interior. "We need to go back them up."
Hayes considered this and nodded. "Then I wish you a safe return."
Torres laughed, then looked at the three Hyperforce monkeys chatting nearby. "Need us to leave you some Tier 3 cards for defense?"
"Probably not necessary. That kid's cards are surprisingly strong." During their rest, a monster had wandered into the perimeter. The Hyperforce trio had dismantled it before the Response Team even moved.
"Alright. We're out." Torres gave a final nod and led the full squad into the jungle.
Officer Hayes watched them go, then turned back to the civilians.
"Officer Hayes — how long do we have to stay here?" someone asked.
Many of these people had stumbled in by accident. They had jobs. Families. Responsibilities outside.
"Should be soon..." Hayes couldn't guarantee it. Five days would be fast. With the difficulty spike, even with reinforcements, he honestly wasn't sure.
"We're not trying to rush you," the person added quickly. "Just asking. I don't want my family to worry."
"Yeah — can't do anything about the Rift expanding. We just want to get out safe."
"I was in the Combat Department in college. My Psionic's pretty high. If you need any extra cards activated, just ask."
Several more voices chimed in. Each one offering help or expressing patience.
Hayes stood there, slightly stunned.
It wasn't that he'd never encountered people like this. But usually, in a crisis, selfishness crept in. People got anxious, demanded answers, blamed whoever was in charge.
He hadn't expected this many to be... genuinely kind about it.
"Thank you — all of you." He bowed. Deep, formal, sincere. "I believe the Response Team will handle this quickly. We'll do everything we can to get everyone home."
He straightened up.
It's because of people like this that I became a cop.
To protect these lovely people.