The System Hunter

Chapter 31: Twelve Names on the Board

Director Severin Kade's authorization appeared on a public printer that Merrow could no longer reach.

Elias held the page beneath the balcony light while contestants crowded around the qualification board. Their faces were gray with exhaustion. Forty minutes earlier they had nearly detained June for a bounty. Now some of the same people were asking whether their own identities could be copied without consent.

"We release this immediately," Rafi said.

"Not yet," Tessa replied. "It proves Kade's authority signed the batch. It doesn't prove he personally ordered Mara's disposal. If we overclaim, they'll dismiss the evidence as a false accusation."

Elias hated the patience required. He could hear Mara below the floor, answering Dr. Orin's questions while her custody band ticked through another appeal cycle. But Tessa was right: the evidence had survived because every step could be independently checked. Rage would not make a weaker claim stronger.

The qualification board sounded a two-minute warning. Twelve extraction permits would be issued according to current score. June remained just outside the cutoff despite her verified pump repair. Anika was listed as an unqualified witness. Both would stay inside the district, where their clocks continued falling.

"We could leave with our permits and fight from outside," Tessa said.

Elias studied the scoring categories. The regulations rewarded individual mission completion, but the final allocation included a separate objective: RESTORE DISTRICT EMERGENCY EGRESS. It had been unavailable while the gate's safety fault remained unverified.

Rafi's team returned from the southern gate with photos, sensor readings, and a broken emergency-release spring sealed in an evidence bag. Nolan looked worse than when he left, but his countdown had increased by thirty-five minutes. For the first time since meeting Elias, he seemed to have options.

"Gate's broken," Rafi said. "It can be opened safely from the service panel, but the latch won't stay released. We logged the defect."

"That's our objective," Elias said. "The repair can qualify the group as an emergency restoration team."

Tessa checked the conditions. Twelve permit places, one per qualified applicant. The System would not grant an extra place merely because a mission was cooperative. But legitimate contributors to a districtwide repair could be individually scored. That would force the board to count June's pump work and Anika's medical evidence work if both were tied to the egress certificate.

The board placed a yellow warning against the proposed repair: THE EMERGENCY EGRESS MISSION DOES NOT OVERRIDE INDIVIDUAL EXTRACTION RULES. Elias read it aloud so nobody would mistake the plan for a guaranteed loophole. The team could earn fresh scores by doing verified work; they could not manufacture thirteen permits out of twelve. Anika considered leaving her place to someone whose clock was lower, but Mara reminded her over the speaker that a free witness with authentic identity records might be more useful than a prisoner with good intentions.

The repair required two people inside the gate housing, a technician at the control panel, and an independent inspector. Elias volunteered for the housing. June took the panel; Nolan joined him with the replacement spring. Rafi documented the work, while Anika checked that the people waiting beyond the gate were registered for medical exit rather than punishment.

A maintenance countdown started at eight minutes. There was no simulated monster to defeat. A heavy steel gate stood inches above Elias's head, supported by a mechanical lock that could crush him if he mistimed the release. June called each step through the speaker. He repeated her instructions before moving his hands.

Nolan slipped while lifting the spring assembly. The gate shifted with a grinding sound. Elias braced the service lever long enough for Nolan to recover, feeling the strain travel through his shoulder. He could have activated Trajectory Assist, but there was no angle to predict: the danger was weight and bad maintenance, both plain to see.

They set the latch, isolated the motor, and tested the release twice. The gate opened without an alarm. Every contributor's identity appeared on the work certificate. The System awarded time and XP according to verified roles, then recalculated the extraction board.

June entered the top twelve. Anika followed in the final place. Elias was ninth. Rafi shouted so loudly that Mara heard him through the floor.

A permit issued in Elias's name carried a special note.

WITNESS ACCESS ELIGIBLE.

CONDITION: CLAIMANT MUST SURRENDER EXTRACTION PERMIT.

He had earned a way out or a way back to his sister. Not both.