"Come on, Neo 7... You were a fool to come here. If you were some kind of spy or something, it clearly didn't end well for you."E7 stared at him coldly, his eyes sharp like blades.Jasper was on his knees, panting. His body wasn't responding properly—he felt like he was breaking apart from the inside out.("It's like I've got several tons crushing me… like my body's being torn apart.")Blood poured from his nose, his eyes, and his mouth, pooling into a dark puddle at his feet. He could barely stay upright."Honestly, you almost had me fooled, kid. I'll admit it. I don't even remember when you showed up... Maybe you were the one Agent 6790 dragged in. Either way, I'll let you explain. I'm not that heartless."E7 smiled faintly and snapped his fingers.Instantly, all the blood that had spilled surged back into Jasper's body, as if time had been rewound. The pain vanished. The pressure in his chest lifted. But just as he tried to sit up, an invisible force slammed him back to his knees.

The mission cards left everyone silent. No one said a word for several seconds. The shock was obvious."Wait a second… That mission was scheduled for next week. What happened?" Suse asked, breaking the silence with a frown."Yeah, cutie, it was. But it looks like Agent R9's research team was wiped out," Slavik replied, his tone now more serious."That can't be. If something like that had happened, we would've been notified. What exactly did you do?" Suse said, visibly annoyed."I did what any responsible leader would do: I accepted the mission on the spot. Any problem with that?" Slavik shot back without hesitation.His cocky grin was starting to make everyone uncomfortable. That's when Jasper spoke up."What kind of leader puts his team at risk without thinking? To me, you're just a show-off. I didn't know Neo X had someone like you in charge."Jasper stepped forward, standing firm."Wow, the newbie's got some guts. You're Neo 7, right? I heard you showed up four days ago. Well, sorr