Dawn of the 13th Era

Galaxy Research Institute

"The panel's decision isn't left to you alone, everyone here has a hand in it." Another member said with a stern face.

"Launching nukes on an area so close to human cities might have severe consequences in the long term, it will end up doing more harm than good."

Aeric slammed a fist on the council table, veins popping on his forehead, he looked like a raging lion about to pounce right on the council members voicing out their objections.

"The Silvermist mountains right now is more than just a red zone, the outer zones have tier 2 beasts roaming about, the inner zone has numerous tier 3 and even I, Vincent and Damion couldn't make it past without triggering a commotion that would bury us there, the core area would be even more dangerous, I suspect the Silvermist mountains has something making the animals mutate at a faster rate than normal cities."

"I believe in the firepower of the US army, they can definitely suppress the beasts in the Silvermist mountains with time." A council member said, obviously trying to give Aeric a hard time and oppose the nuke operation.

The Silvermist Mountains was a natural mining spot for the country and it generated a lot for revenue for the country, losing it would mean the officials present would be losing out on a lot of income.

'Those greedy bastards!' Aeric said internally with gritted teeth, he turned his head to look at Magnus who sat at the head of the meeting silently with a contemplative look on his face.

After a few minutes of silence Magnus called out "Aeric, what are your reasons for the suggestions?"

"The beasts in the Silvermist Mountains are mutating and with time they will surely run out of control, according to research those who can survive a surge and mutate once won't be killed by another surge but they would mutate even further and ascend a tier." Aeric said with a resignated look on his face, he seemed to know what the decision of the congress would result into after he saw the look on Magnus's face.

"This means if the fourth surge hits the beasts on Silvermist mountains will run wild beyond our control and if they invade the neighbouring cities we would have a very hard time dealing with them." Aeric added.

"Is the surge the only way for mutants to increase their tier?"

"The surge is the most obvious way to increase tiers but other methods were discovered that could aid the process, the result however wasn't as satisfactory as a mutant that actually passed through the surge."

"How long do we have left before the fourth surge?" Magnus asked with a calm look on his face.

Aeric gritted his teeth and replied "The exact time hasn't been determined but we have at least a few months to prepare."

"Alright then, the beasts are the reason you suggested nuclear warheads should be used on the mountains right? We'll just have to deal with the beasts and the threat is over, the US army and the special force units will join forces to deal with it as soon as possible and mark it as a safe zone before the fourth surge hits." He said making the nearby officials gloat at Aeric who sat back on his seat with a ugly look on his face.

"This will cost the life of a lot of soldiers, this is a full blown war and it will weaken the country drastically, you're throwing the soldiers into a pointless war, I've fought the tier 3 beasts before a single one of them can effortlessly take down a company of soldiers, if they go berserk taking down a battalion isn't impossible." Aeric said with a shred of hope at stopping the impending war.

Magnus raised an eyebrow and sat up straight, staring at Aeric "You might be the leader of the special unit but I still hold power here, you are to cooperate with the armed forces to wipe out all the beasts in the Silvermist Mountains before the fourth surge, the importance of the mountains is way too much to launch nuclear warheads on it, meeting dismissed."

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Aeric left the meeting room with a cold look on his face, he walked towards a building situated nearby, written boldly on the building were the words {Galaxy Research Institute}

Aeric walked into the building ignoring the guards nearby who bowed towards him.

"I've never seen him look so angry before, it seems something happened."

"Who knows? the peaceful times are over a war might break out soon for all we know." His colleague nearby replied with a sigh.

Aeric passed through the nearby laboratories where different experiments were being carried out and walked towards the door at the end of the long corridor then pulled it open.

A middle aged man in white laboratory coat could be seen standing in front of a pod with a note in his hand while checking the readings on the pod.

The pod was filled with a dark red vicious liquid making Aeric unable to see what was sealed inside.

"Doctor Isaac."

The man turned his head with a start almost dropping the note in his hand when he saw Aeric standing there with a slight smile on his face.

"Aeric, you're back, it took y'all a long while this time huh?"

"Yeah a lot of things happened and now we're going to war." Aeric said with his face turning cold when he remembered the meeting conclusion.

"War? Why? What's going on now?" Isaac asked with a perturbed look on his face.

"Forget that for now, I came here for a favor." Aeric said trying to brush aside the topic.

"A favor? You rarely ask for that no matter how much I try to help." Isaac said then walked over to the stand nearby and placed his note on it.

"Spill it out, what's wrong?"

Aeric took out a small tube filled with blood from his chest pocket and handed it over to Isaac.

"I got this from a mutant we met on our way back, he looks a bit special I want you to conduct a test on it."

"That's pretty easy to ask for, give me a minute." He said then walked over to the Hematology Analyzer placed on a stand nearby.

After a few minutes Isaac returned to Aeric with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Where did you get this blood and how long has it been?"

"A random mutant I met on the way back, I don't even know where he is right now. I got it from him just yesterday, what are the results?"

"I don't quite get the results but the cells mutate and split at a very rapid pace blending with the environment around it, it's like the cells are still alive which doesn't make any sense since the blood was taken for at least 24 hours."

"It's still alive? You mean the blood is still alive?"

"Yes, they act like they have an independent mind of their own and that's not the crazy part Aeric, they seem to be mutating, they're evolving on their own Aeric! And it's at a very rapid pace."