Target A: Finally Rewarded

"*Sigh...* That's one problem down." 

Duke sighed shortly after unloading a magazine to the bastard that brought him a lot of trouble. He slowly placed Dobermann back in its holster under his trench coat and coolly turned his gaze towards the Sentinels beside him. 

With the variable gone, the cleansing operation of Target A should proceed without a problem. Though, it wasn't without a cost. Casualties hit the Cerberus for the first time, and he wasn't over it. 

"Tell the others about the mission's success. Let them start the finale of the cleansing operation. I want the southern shelter free of aberrants in two to three hours." After uttering such words, he steadily went ahead, planning to return to the Cerberus FOB.

'I'm tired...' Duke wearily thought since numerous things had happened after the beginning of the cleansing operation. He was somewhat exhausted. The battle they had faced made him a bit mentally drained. Though it wasn't hard to handle, he wanted to relax. 

But before Duke could continue walking away from the Sentinels, Aleph gravely questioned. "Director, what should we do with the corpse?" Hearing Aleph's words, Duke halted from his tracks. He looked at Aleph for a second and then raised his eyebrow.

"Do whatever you want with it. Whether you take it as a trophy or contain some of its organs. I don't care. Perhaps you can burn it to a crisp or something." Duke responded and waved his hands thoughtlessly while the Sentinels found themselves under the veil of silence.

"What should we do with it, Aleph?" Bet wanted to know their following actions regarding the corpse of the variable. Aleph thought about it for a moment and realized something inside his mind. 'Is this a test? A test for squad leaders and platoon leaders?'

With this realization, Aleph felt as if he had received enlightenment. As expected, there was a reason why their Director threw the responsibility of the corpse towards them. It was merely a test of their capabilities to think of Cerberus's future. 

"Chopped off some of its body and salvaged all of its organs. Order some of our personal squads to carry a container towards this location. We must preserve some evidence of our enemy for future research." Aleph uttered with confidence, which made Bet instinctively nod.

The Sentinels swiftly began working with the variable's corpse disposal. Some Sentinels carefully extracted the internal organs and other body parts of the abomination, while others prepared for the container. It only took ten minutes for the corpse to be entirely ransacked.

During the ten minutes, Aleph had already reported the news to the remaining Sentinels. They began dividing through several squads and started the last part of the cleansing operation. On the other hand, the first ordinance squad had just concluded the corpse disposal.

Bet stood in front of the plundered and defiled corpse of the supposedly dreadful aberrant. What remained of its body appeared pitiful. However, Bet didn't feel a tinge of empathy inside his heart. For him, it was natural for the Cerberus to plunder the opponents it overcame.

So, without further ado, Bet threw a frag towards the corpse. 

The Bravo Platoon Leader walked away from the corpse before a lustrous light gleamed from it, followed by a near-instantaneous reverberating shockwave. It was moderately deafening. 

*BOOM!!!*

Aleph, who was waiting for him, furrowed his eyebrows as if he had seen something embarrassing. After a second, he shook his head and decided against contemplating shameful and pitiful acts. 

"But did you really have to do that?" Aleph couldn't help but ask since he wondered what had gone through the mind of his fellow platoon leader. Bet glanced at him and decided to ignore the question. The Bravo Platoon Leader continued on his way while Aleph was left behind. 

'So you aren't gonna answer, huh?'

Meanwhile, in the southern shelter's entrance was the Cerberus FOB. Inside the main tent was the Director of Cerberus, who was taking a short nap. He sat on a luxurious chair from god knows where. His eyelids were closed as he took calm breaths.

But his sleep was interrupted when a Sentinel entered the main tent. He furrowed his eyebrows and yawned. Duke wanted to continue sleeping, but there was his responsibility as the Director. Besides, he wasn't in the confines of the Cerberus headquarters. There were limits to how much he would lower his guard down. 

"Did something happen?" Duke calmly questioned while staring at the Sentinel with his sapphire-like gaze. The Sentinel stepped forward and saluted at the Director. He then reported the findings of the Sentinels. "We have discovered a devastated command base in the center of the settlement."

"We believe it might contain important information that the Director might need. Such a command base should have some knowledge despite its current state." 

'A command base, huh? A leftover from the southern shelter?' Duke was deep in thought while thinking about the discovered command base. The information inside it might be crucial, so there was no need to hesitate about salvaging it. So, with this in mind, he immediately responded.

"I see... I'll have to head out and investigate the command base with you. I might discover some things there." He stood up from his luxurious chair and began stretching his body. The Sentinel couldn't deny the desires of his Director and just nodded in understanding.

The two left the main tent and walked through the Cerberus FOB, where some Sentinels arranged and managed the supplies. As they passed through H10s, Duke couldn't help but release a sigh. He glances at the two covered bodies and the severely injured Sentinels.

The casualties still weighed heavily in his mind. But he understood that there was no use in moping around. Instead, he should move his body and manage the Cerberus FOB. He must make sure the cleansing operation where sacrifices were made. Becomes a success. 

The Sentinel and Duke exited the Cerberus FOB and met with two squads of Sentinels. Without waiting for them, Duke casually shrugged and explained. "I'll be investigating the command base with you. Who knows what we might discover there."

Hearing his reasoning, the two squads of Sentinel couldn't deny their Director's entry. The only thing they needed to do now was ensure his safety. 

The group traversed through the desolated southern shelter where thousands of bodies lay waste. They met some Sentinel squads cleaning the area while others inspected the surrounding perimeters. Duke smiled at the hard-working Sentinels and continued on with his walk.

It didn't take too long before they arrived at the command base's entrance. The base welled near the wall made out of vehicles. The wall was a peculiar sight, though it was already known there was nothing on the other side. Perhaps it was the second line of defense for the settlement. 

Duke noticed a couple of a squad guarding the command base. It seems they haven't entered yet and guarded the place before the reinforcements arrived. Upon seeing Duke, the guarding squad saluted and reported the situation. "Director, aberrants have been confirmed on the inside."

"Their numbers are unknown, so we called for reinforcements." 

Duke raised an eyebrow and immediately understood that the Sentinels wanted to raid the command base. But there was a good strategy that rivaled the efficiency of a raid. 

"There's no need to enter a dangerous building with unknown abominations. We can decide where the battlefield resides and drag them there." Duke took out Dobermann and shot through the door, bringing about an echoing thunderous roar.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* 

"While some aberrants are more clever than usual, most react based on their instincts. There's no need to stoop on their level." He calmly explained as footsteps escaped the hallway where the front door dwelled. A couple of aberrants charged forward as Duke swiftly shot them in the head.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

The stampeding group of aberrants fell to the ground with holes in their heads. The monstrous abominations of the Dark Cataclysmic Era were swiftly defeated as if they were mere animals. The Sentinels couldn't help but feel reverence towards their Director.

It was as if these monsters were nothing to him, just some annoying bastards that were the obstacle in his path to glory. 

"The command base should be more or less empty, but don't lower your guards. Maintain your cautiousness until the very end of the cleansing operation. Otherwise, you will die." Duke reminded his fellow Sentinels before they entered the command base while he followed from behind.

There were dozens of rooms inside the command base, and most of them were bloodied beyond relief. It was like a slaughterhouse. Quite a horrifying sight, but Duke didn't feel anything upon perceiving them. He continued on his way with the same aloof expression as before.

The group arrived at the end of the command base, where a large and desolated room resided. It had a large, broken round table at its center with numerous radios scattered throughout the room. Several bodies lay across the floor with holes in their heads. But there was one crushed aberrant.

The aberrant's lower body was squashed by rubble, but it kept moving and roaring at him. Duke squinted his eyes and pointed at the aberrant. He noticed its clothes, and it reminded him of the army. 

'A leftover from the military? I guess there's a reason why this place was considered the southern shelter.' 

Duke quietly thought before shaking his head. Talented individuals scattered throughout the land were meeting their deaths one after another. If this continues, it might not take a decade for humanity to be wholly extinct.

"May you rest in peace," Duke muttered and pulled the trigger of Dobermann. A flash of light lustered over his face as a deafening blast echoed in his ears. 

*Bang!*

The immobile aberrant became limp, and several rings resounded inside Duke's head. He understood what these echoing rings were. They were the emergence of digital notifications. This might imply that mission completion would only be applied when Duke was utterly out of danger.

| Congratulations! The Director has terminated 1,000 aberrants in the surroundings of the Cerberus Headquarters while preserving more than 50% of his Sentinels! |

| Termination Mission Complet-! |

| ERROR! |

Duke instinctively furrowed his eyebrows upon noticing the error notification. But before he could utter a single word, several digital notifications followed.

| Congratulations! You have terminated an Aberrant Tyrant(Level 0) |

| Total Termination Time Reached: 1 Hour 24 Minutes 37 Seconds|

| Rounds Fired: 7,238 Rounds |

| Subordinates Lost: 2 |

| Aberrants Eliminated: 2,432 Aberrants |

| Termination Grade: A-(Good, but not good enough!) |

| You have been rewarded 4,864 Source Points |

The additional digital notifications were the record of the termination mission. It displayed the variable, which was called the aberrant tyrant. And according to it, the bastard was merely a level 0. The remaining information was intriguing. But what engrossed Duke the most was the reward. 

"4,864 Source Points... I'm practically ric-" The bombardment of notifications didn't even end there. A couple more emerged out of nowhere. 

| The Director has achieved a 243% success rate! |

| Additional proportionate rewards will be given... |

| The Director has been rewarded 1x Hero Unit Capsule, an Extra 2,500 Source Points, 1x Vulture Gunship, and 1x Doomsday Base Upgrade Slip! |

"Goddamn! I have become a sugar dad-" 

| Hero Unit Capsule detected! |

| Opening Capsule! |

| Rolling for hero units... |

| Congratulations, you have rolled for the Administrator! |

| Immediate summoning initiated! |

Duke didn't dare to utter a word anymore, afraid of being thwarted by the digital notifications. He quietly looked at the final notification as a silver light glowed beside him. He glanced at it curiously, wondering who or what the Administrator was.

A few seconds later, the silver lustrous light faded and was replaced by a gorgeous lady with a voluptuous body clad under a jet-black suit. The lady bowed as her golden eyes gazed through the silver-rimmed of her glasses. The corners of her supple lips rose before she introduced herself.

"I am the Administrator, Director."

"I am pleased to be in your service."