Chapter 46: The King of the Rust Tide

The news that three of the Defense Bureau’s supply stations had fallen and been looted spread swiftly through every level of the organization.

According to statistics, the Defense Bureau had lost a total of sixty energy crystals, nine gene enhancement injectors, countless pieces of equipment and prosthetic bodies, as well as an entire supply station building. The total value approached one hundred million credits. Even more grievous was the loss of human resources—three C-class espers from an armed squad had disappeared.

The entire Bureau was shaken to its core.

At headquarters, the emergency conference room was thick with silence.

Marcus stood before the projection screen, his complexion ashen, cold sweat beading on his brow. His commission badge had already been removed, and the epaulets on his uniform had been ripped off, leaving behind two ugly threads.

“Because of your gross negligence, we’ve lost nearly a hundred million in vital supplies!” The deputy director, a man with a face full of jowls, slammed the table with such force that the teacups jumped. “From this moment on, you are stripped of all duties!”

Marcus opened his mouth to protest, but the surveillance footage looping on the projection screen left him speechless—the black metal monster was raising its middle finger at the camera, then swaggering off to ransack the safe.

The deputy director drew a slow, furious breath, shooting Marcus a venomous look. “You had better find this creature, by any means necessary. If the director learns of this, you may as well prepare for the end.”

Fear flickered instantly over Marcus’ face.

Before he could utter a word, the conference room door was flung open and a tall, slender woman in a white lab coat strode in, clutching a stack of documents.

“Dr. Ian, you’re finally here.”

The deputy director’s tone eased a fraction as he addressed her. “Take a look at this.”

The projection displayed the segment where the supply station was looted by the creature, followed by the final battle scene.

Ian frowned, watching every second of the footage with utmost care. Her expression grew grave. “It’s... Rust Tide.”

She moved quickly to the control panel, pulling up several comparison videos—on the left, archive footage of Rust Tide monsters; on the right, the black humanoid that had ransacked the supply station.

“Metal body, devouring capability, humanoid outline, displays intelligence...” Ian’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “Apart from lacking rust stains, the characteristics are a perfect match. Preliminary assessment: at least C+ class power.”

A collective gasp echoed through the room.

The representative from the Exploration Division, exuding a harsh, battle-worn aura, furrowed his brow. As leader of the combat forces, he knew Rust Tide’s nature better than anyone outside the monster research department.

He hesitated, but couldn’t help asking, “But aren’t Rust Tide creatures social? Why is this one...”

“That’s precisely what’s most terrifying—and what puzzles me,” Ian replied, bringing up footage of the creature expertly sabotaging the main power grid. “It demonstrates clear purpose and planning. Its intelligence may approach human level. It came straight for the supply station—this wasn’t a mindless hunt.”

---

“And furthermore,” Ian continued, adjusting the footage to the scene where the creature fought the three C-class espers and zooming in on its masked face, “this mask... it seems to possess mental control abilities. It could be an evolved form. I suggest we temporarily refer to it as ‘Rust Tide King.’”

Her expression was extremely grave, yet deep in her eyes there gleamed a hint of excitement.

After all, the Rust Tide specimen delivered previously had already been thoroughly studied by her.

But this new specimen stirred her profound curiosity.

How had the Rust Tide King evolved to this stage?

How advanced was its intelligence?

How did it learn that human supply stations held so many resources?

What was the nature of the mask on its face?

Of course, Ian was unaware that if the Exploration Division’s 09 and 21 Squads in Sector Two were to see that mask, they would immediately recognize the source of the familiar bronze visage.

But information transfer within the Luminous Ruins was subject to delays; ordinary communications could not pierce the dense energies of the Ruins, so the Bureau’s grasp of clues was always a step behind.

By the time they realized that the Rust Tide King was connected to the alien relics, Ye Mi would have vanished without a trace.

The debate in the emergency meeting room yielded no consensus. Finally, the deputy director rose, his face thunderous. “Initiate the emergency protocols at once. Lock down the entire sector. Notify all patrol units: report immediately if the target is sighted—do not take any rash action.”

Orders rippled outward with speed and force.

Within Sector One, armored vehicles and drones began patrolling the awakening ruins of the city with increasing frequency.

Metal detectors were added at every intersection, and warning broadcasts echoed endlessly.

Yet none of them knew that, less than ten meters below their feet, a shadow sped through the tangled labyrinth of the city’s underground drainage system.

“Rust Tide King? Not a bad name.”

Ye Mi leaned against the wall, arms folded, a slight smile playing at her lips.

She had seen it all through Ian’s eyes.

The realization that the Bureau’s attention was now wholly fixated on this so-called ‘Rust Tide King’ filled Ye Mi with an amused, almost exhilarating sense of anticipation.

If Ian knew that the one the Bureau would soon be hunting was none other than the experimental subject they had once considered so easy to manipulate, what expression would she wear?

At the thought, Ye Mi’s blood seemed to slow in her veins.

---

It was sheer excitement.

She was going to throw the Defense Bureau into utter chaos!

To achieve all this, to bring her grand design to fruition, Ian would be an indispensable piece.

“Dr. Ian, don’t let my double distract you from the real me.”

.

Late at night in the laboratory, only the cold light of the computer screen illuminated Ian’s weary face.

The display was crowded with footage and data on the Rust Tide King.

She rubbed her aching eyes and froze the video on the moment the creature donned its eerie mask.

“How strange...”

She murmured to herself, pulling up the original Rust Tide files for comparison.

On the surveillance footage, its movements were too smooth—almost human.

The primitive bestial ferocity of ordinary Rust Tide monsters was entirely absent.

There was something different about this one—Ian could feel it. It could run, leap, even wield weapons like a human.

Was it really just a monster?

Ian narrowed her eyes, catching a detail: during the looting of the supply station, it had taken some survival supplies.

Would Rust Tide creatures need those? Nutrient packs? Medical kits, even?

A hypothesis took rapid shape in Ian’s mind: perhaps this wasn’t a Rust Tide at all—but a human esper imitating one?

Biting the end of her pen, Ian scribbled furiously in her notebook, recording every observation by hand, as she still preferred in this age where technology had replaced almost everything else.

Just then, the AI’s voice chimed in: “Dr. Ian, Subject 06 requests communication.”