Angel Monarch

A tall, muscular man with an above average, somewhat handsome face walked out of the cave's subsection.

Each step seemed a bit awkward, and he kept straightening his pants. He walked like there was something uncomfortable near his nether region.

"You'll pay for this Bea! I swear to the Goddess I'll make you suffer!"

The tall man walking, dressed as an Asian soldier, was none other than Kathy. She shapeshifted into the man who found her and Bea. She also wore his clothes, which at least didn't smell like Chang's.

After knocking him out, Bea healed him, and Kathy had a small chat before knocking him out again.

The man's name was Zhen, a 34-year-old Ascended, who helped with the base's logistics. He's strangely cooperative, and answered all of Kathy's questions without hesitation.

She promised not to kill him, if he helped, and who was Zhen to refuse such a beautiful woman's order!

After getting every useful information out of him, she knocked him out once more, then left, leaving Bea with their captive.

Kathy impersonated men in the past. However, previously, she didn't shapeshift everything.

The pants Zhen wore were quite tight-fitting, so it would've been obvious if she hadn't changed her reproductive organ.

While the change was simple, adjusting to the extra pressure in her underwear made her extremely uncomfortable. Especially considering she was technically in constant contact with a man's genitalia.

A shiver went down along Kathy's broad back, and she gently shook her head, banishing any unclean thoughts.

Instead of thinking about the average length weapon between her legs, she focused her mind on the mission.

The plan she and Bea discussed was simple, yet difficult.

Kathy would impersonate Zhen and get access to the communications building near the base's headquarters. From there, she could easily send a message to Vicky, and request immediate EVAC.

Zhen wasn't famous or well-liked, so getting recognized wasn't an actual issue. He barely had a few acquaintances, but they were all supposedly out on patrol.

The only real problem came from the headquarters building. Xinya wasn't the only one Kathy needed to watch out for. There was also the leader of the science and communication departments, an insectoid man named Tai.

By Zhen's account, the man's basically useless in a fight, but he can easily recognize the slightest discrepancies. He also knew everyone by name, so getting past him wasn't possible.

Slowly, Kathy reached the end of the subsection and spotted the first tent's light.

The cavern was eerily quiet. Even the falling water droplets echoed in the silence.

She stopped near the subsection's exit and collected her thoughts. She took a few deep breaths, then recalled everything about Zhen's character. His speech patterns, his walking habits, his hand and leg movements, his gaze.

Shapeshifting into another person was easy, but adopting their body language and personality wasn't.

Kathy stood in the cave entrance, moving back and forth, memorizing Zhen's movements. After about ten minutes, her imitation finally reached perfection.

Sadly, she couldn't test out her speech without drawing unwanted attention, so she'll need to improvise. There was also a slim chance nobody would say a word to her, but that would require tremendous luck.

She took a deep breath, then left the cave's semi-darkness. The map Zhen drew wasn't the best, but learned it either way.

Worst-case scenario, she would ask for directions. Zhen said it happens, since the cavern's layout is quite complex, and not many people memorized everything.

The road's side slowly became more populated, with tents and shacks as Kathy got closer to the headquarters.

Nobody saw her yet, since everyone seemed busy slacking off. She seriously couldn't understand how this invading force was supposed to threaten anything in Antarctica.

Kathy saw this continent's power first-hand. Normal Evolved wouldn't compare to the battle-hardened pale natives of these harsh plains.

She couldn't help but shake her head while walking past a couple who aggressively made out in a darkened crevice.

These Asians either severely underestimated Antarctica's strength, or they had some hidden power, which Kathy hadn't seen yet.

More thoughts circled around her mind, but she continued keeping her face cool and collected.

The closer she came to the headquarters, the better the buildings became. Soon, there were no tents and shacks, only structures carved into the stone.

"At least I'm definitely heading the right way!" Said Kathy in a whisper, not expecting anyone else to hear her.

Suddenly, she felt a tap on her waist. She yelped in her masculine voice, while quickly turning around and raising her hands.

Her dark yellow eyes glanced around frantically, but she couldn't see anyone.

"Uh, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!… You just seemed lost, and I thought you need some help with directions!"

The sound came from much lower than Kathy expected. The teenage boy's head barely reached Kathy's waist, and he looked awfully cute. It took all of Kathy's willpower not to hug the scrawny kid.

His dark, nearly black blue eyes gazed up at Kathy with a bit of awe. With one hand, he reached up and pushed his unruly white hair with tinges of black out of his face, so he could see better.

He was smiling widely, which further charmed Kathy. However, when she continued staying silent, the boy's expression turned worried.

"There's nothing to be sorry about! I'm not actually lost. I was just admiring the cavern while walking to the headquarters… But thank you for the offer!"

Kathy prepared to step away, but she couldn't help noticing the change in the boy. All the worry and joy left him, leaving only melancholy behind.

"Oh, I understand… Nobody ever needs my help, since I'm too young… Even my mom sends me away, trying to lock me inside the house… Maybe I should just stay there since I'm so useless…"

Tears welled in the boy's eyes, and no matter how good Kathy's acting was, her heart broke from the sad sight.

"Hmm… You know what? I might need your help. I forgot where the headquarters are located. I just pretended to remember, because it's kind of embarrassing… If you would kindly show me the way, I would greatly appreciate it!"

The boy's face instantly brightened. A wide smiled spread across his face, and he began jumping up and down with excitement.

Quickly, he grabbed onto Kathy's hand and began pulling the tall man in a seemingly random direction. They went silently through the cave for a few minutes, but eventually the boy found his voice.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Lin, I'm fourteen-years-old, and my favorite food is Monster Noodles!… What's your name, mister?"

Kathy didn't answer immediately. The shock of the small kid's actual age overwhelmed her. He looked barely ten-years-old, for the Goddess's sake!

"Uh… My name is Ka–… I mean Zhen. I'm thirty-four years old, and my favorite food is any well-cooked and seasoned monster meat…"

She still couldn't believe that this kid named Lin was so old, but as she began thinking, another question rose in Kathy's mind… Why is there a small teenager living in a base, deep within their enemy's territory!

"I'm not trying to be rude, Lin, but… What exactly are you doing here? This place isn't safe for someone young like you."

Lin just shrugged while continuing to pull Kathy along. His smile remained unbothered as he glanced up at the man.

"I might be young, but that doesn't mean I can't help my mom! She works hard, you know, and lately she has been especially stressed… I haven't seen her smile in weeks…"

"I don't like seeing her sad, so I came to help… However, it seems she would rather have me stay at home…"

The boy became silent, his smile slowly waning. Kathy gave a gentle squeeze to his hand, which brought Lin's attention back to Kathy.

"If your mom works hard, then you shouldn't disobey her. She wants you home, not because you're useless, but because this place is dangerous for kids like you. She really loves you and wants you to stay out of harm's way!"

He pursed his lips, while listening to Kathy's words, and eventually, he sighed and nodded, agreeing with her words.

"You're probably right, I selflessly wanted to help her, but it's true this place isn't safe for even a Transcended like me. I don't have any actual fighting experience, and there are lots of monsters above ground…"

"The explorers always talk about them… 'The barbarians are looking near the decoy corpses again!'… I don't know what they mean, but it seems the monsters are getting more restless, since everyone's on edge!"

They continued moving along the ever brightening road. The larger structures produced more light and soon Kathy didn't need to use her nightvision to see.

However, she could barely focus on anything, as her mind spiralled.

This boy wasn't just a simple teenager. He was a Transcended, which meant his mother must've been someone important, to have him as a child…

Kathy stared at the child, pulling her along. That white hair and dark blue eyes reminded her of someone. She just couldn't remember exactly who.

A few seconds later, she gave up on recalling the person's name or face, and instead, Kathy thought more about Lin's words.

It seemed he wasn't aware of this base's real purpose. He believed they were only explorers fighting monsters while discovering new lands.

She felt kind of thankful that they spared the kid's conscience by omitting the truth.

Lin happily dragged Kathy until they eventually reached a visibly larger structure, which was obviously the headquarters.

"Oh, Zhen! There's my mother! Come on, I'll introduce you!"

Kathy stumbled in her steps, as she glanced towards the headquarters' doorway. When her eyes saw the woman standing there, she finally remembered who Lin's appearance reminded her of…