Transcendent Gene
Chapter 60: First Mission [2]

Chapter 60: First Mission [2]

Even though he said that, Raymond wasn’t cruel enough to interrupt their eating time.

Only after everyone had wrapped up and returned to their vehicles did he start the brief.

"Naturally, we don’t need an entourage this big right now, so the rest will continue on the tasks they’ve been assigned. In the meantime, we’ll take the zephyr out to the Wilds and hunt some beasts."

The whole team was there, including the woman named Amaya who Raymond mentioned earlier. She had dark brown skin like Jax, but they didn’t look anything alike. Still, considering the way they acted together, it was hard to think they weren’t siblings.

Gio didn’t have much of a chance to interact with her before Raymond started talking. She also seemed to have a more jovial attitude, which truly did balance out the personality dynamics of the team.

Including her, the seven he’d met were the main squad who’d be on the ground actually performing missions.

However, the crew of the zephyr didn’t end with just them.

There were ten security officers who stayed on the ship at all times, along with other personnel who’d be moved on and off the ship as they were required.

There were another twenty people in charge of both manning the ship and commanding its operation center, through which the team received all of the information it needed while performing operations.

"We won’t do anything that’ll take too long, but the purpose of these next few days will really be to acclimate Gio to the operation center. With that in mind, we’ll be doing mock subjugations."

"You want to start with mock subjugations?" Jason interjected.

"The kid is from here, you know. You sure he’s ready to start there?"

"What do you mean?" Raymond asked in a purposefully clueless tone.

"Boss, don’t be like that. This is why people were against it in the first place. You know as well as the rest of us how much time it takes to learn the ropes. This isn’t a job you can do just by watching and learning."

Jason was kind to Gio and seemed to support him, so those words weren’t spoken with any hostile intent.

In fact, everyone in the room, including Natalia, who approved of him only days prior, was in agreement with what was said.

"How about we have him shadow the operation center for now and have them teach him some of the basics? We can save mock subjugations for when he’s ready."

Raymond raised a brow.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the doubts of his subordinates, but...

"What do you think, Gio?"

He didn’t think he’d be put on the spot like that.

"Well..." he muttered almost to himself.

’This isn’t new to me.’

His past life on the backline took him to all kinds of places. He had personally led the operations centers of several generations of zephyrs.

The real question was if he wanted to stand out here or not.

’If I show my skills, it’ll be hard to move on without stating my connections with someone from the Upper Strata.’

If left with its source unknown, his knowledge would become a liability rather than a skill.

’But if I don’t show my skills, I’ll be forced in front of books for at least a couple months. In that scenario, it’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever see the field.’

Gio only had to think about it for a moment.

’At times like these, it’s better to show off.’

He had a million ways to justify himself. He’d thought up a million excuses, so what was the point of storing them away?

He looked at the faces of those standing around him. The height difference was still hard to get used to, but that wasn’t stopping him from opening his mouth.

When his eyes returned to Raymond, he spoke.

"Let me try the first time. I think I’ll be fine."

He didn’t say anymore, but he’d basically confirmed Raymond’s suspicions with that single sentence.

"Great. I’ll explain a mock subjugation to you before anything else in case you aren’t already aware."

Raymond ignored the questioning glares of his subordinates and continued on without a worry.

"Mock subjugations are a way to train new operators. The premise is actually relatively simple."

Operators had several jobs. They would tell the teams on the ground the weaknesses they needed to aim for, they would take the role of a commander and give out orders if necessary, and they would monitor the battle situation and make sure that calls were always properly communicated.

There was a reason why they operated in teams. Each station in the operation center tracked different data and each operator was in charge of a different task.

Mock subjugations allowed them to get used to such tasks.

A briefing would be held so the operators could understand the ground team’s abilities and synergy. Afterward, the team would go on a mission to subjugate a predetermined monster or beast.

During the subjugation, none of them would act without orders. They would be like puppets to be controlled by the operators, only moving on their own if it was absolutely necessary.

Naturally, the moment they did so, the training would be considered a failure.

It was the job of those new recruits to guide them to a successful subjugation. Once they could do so without the ground team’s intervention, they could start learning how to adapt to a battlefield where humans fought instead of puppets.

"In most cases, we’d have an entire team working together so they can learn how to communicate, but I want to test your skills first. We’ll use a special method for that."

Raymond raised a brow, giving Gio a look of provocation.

"I plan to have you take it all on by yourself. Are you willing?"

"Captain!"

The interjection didn’t come from just one person. Just what kind of nonsense was Raymond suggesting?!

Regardless, Gio answered as if their cries meant nothing.

"Try me. Whatever role you give me, I’ll play it."

"That’s what I wanted to hear."

Raymond clapped his hands with a grin.

"Great!"

His voice resounded with an unexpected bang, bringing an abrupt silence into the room.

"Gio, you know where the operation center is. Head there for now and get yourself situated."

He didn’t need to be told twice. Gio could see several members of the team holding in their complaints because he was present. It was better for him to vacate so they could air out their issues.

’Still, is he that sure that I’m hiding my identity?’

It was as if Raymond was giving him an ultimatum.

"Show me the extent of your skills if you want to gain anything here. Otherwise, you’re going to be sidelined."

"Either way, it isn’t a problem."

It was impractical to expect Gio to do everything on its own. It was physically impossible for a human to monitor all those screens, interpret all their data, and communicate it fast enough to maintain any kind of efficiency.

When he entered the operation center, there were already operators seated at every station.

The only position left open was the one in the center of the room, created for the person in charge of taking information from the operators and deciding how to convey it to the team.

’My role will be even more than that, though.’

Any calls other operators would make in usual cases were his to make this time. He would have to keep track of a lot of data even if he didn’t have to interpret it himself.

’But that’s why everyone tried so hard to push me towards a job like this.’

[Memory Book] alone made him the best possible talent for the job.

He cracked his knuckles and stretched his back.

"Now then..."

He smiled as he looked at the doubting faces around the room.

’...shall we get used to these outdated systems?’