Adhi swiftly convened with Team 2 upon his arrival near the swamp, where they diligently patrolled to safeguard Iritty from mutant creatures. Assisting them in this mission were police officers, scientists from the research facility, and the support team from intelligence agencies, all operating under the guardians. 

Upon identifying a mutant creature, the teams would work together to promptly eliminate it, with the support team taking charge of handling the carcass and delivering it to the nearby research facility.

As Adhi approached Team 2, they were in the midst of hunting a mutant python attempting to infiltrate the outskirts of the swamp and breach the city's periphery. During their patrol, the support team had detected the python's presence when it crossed a road, swiftly taking action.

Suppressed gunfire sounded as bullets rained on the mutant python's body. Team 2 was trying their best to minimise stamina loss by killing the mutant creatures with the available weapons. 

Adhi approached them once the mutant python was dead.

"YAWN!" Rock yawned while approaching the mutant python.

The mutant python was larger than all the baby pythons Adhi fought. It was girthy and long, almost fifteen meters in length. It was clearly a class two mutant. 

'It seems like the python babies had a growth spurt, and almost all had grown bigger.' 

"It's dead. You can take it away." After examining the condition of the mutant snake and confirming it was dead, Rock called out to the support team to remove the carcass.

"Leader, these things are getting smarter. We were able to attract them by laying carcasses near the outskirts of the swamp like usual. Now, they are avoiding our traps and are directly going towards the city. I think it will get more challenging for us to lock down the perimeter.

"Hm…" Mr Crow, the leader of team 2, nodded, hearing Rock's opinion. 

"Maybe we should go back in and hunt it," Rock suggested. 

"That's not an option. Pythons are skilled at camouflaging themselves. It would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Even if it was right next to us, we might miss it. Going into the swamp to hunt would only dilute our manpower." 

"Then, what should we do? Patrolling the perimeter wouldn't work in the long term. Fortunately, we were able to place traps by using the carcasses of the dead mutant creatures till now. But now, that's also not working. They seemed to have learned to avoid traps. We need some other method immediately. YAWN." Rock yawned again as he spoke. 

The tireless work that spanned day and night was slowly getting to him. They were beyond exhausted.

Unlike Adhi and Vik, the superhumans created by the government didn't have ether in their system to support their intense work. That was why they were getting exhausted faster. 

Mr Crow could see the exhaustion in his teammate's faces. He knew their body was crumbling from the inside, just like him. Still, he didn't have any other option but to force them to work. As members of the guardians, it was their duty to protect the public from extra-terrestrial threats. And killing mutant creatures that could cause harm to the public was right within their scope of work. It was a better and more honourable job than guarding some VIPs. 

"Bear with it, guys. And Rock, wake up Paper and switch with him. You can sleep for an hour." Mr Crow commanded. 

That was when Adhi approached him from the side. Hearing their conversation, Adhi now had a general understanding of the current situation. So, he wanted to be helpful. 

"Mr Crow. How can I help?" 

Mr Crow immediately noticed Adhi's presence. Adhi was calmly walking towards him while carrying a knife. 

"Do you want a gun?" He asked back. 

"Can I have one? But I don't know how to use one."

"That doesn't seem to be stopping you. I saw the wounds on the mutant baby pythons you killed. You killed them with an ordinary kitchen knife like that, right?" He asked while pointing at the knife Adhi was holding. 

"It was surprising to know that a kitchen knife could be used like that. With your strength and physical ability, using a gun would be much easier than using a kitchen knife. I can ask someone to teach you how to use a gun. Be careful not to injure people with that." 

"If you say so, I am willing to learn." 

"Okay. I will ask Rock to teach you." 

Mr Crow went back to call Rock and ask him to teach Adhi. 

Time went by as Adhi learned how to use a gun from a sleepy and disgruntled Rock. Adhi checked on the time again. 

"Four hours remaining." 

"For what?" Rock asked, hearing his mumble. 

"Nothing. I was speaking to myself. 

"Ah…" Rock scratched his head, annoyed. 

"If you don't have any questions, help the support team to patrol the area. I have taught you all that you need to know about using a gun safely. And be careful when using it while people are around." This time, Rock warned sincerely. 

He didn't show his usual disapproving look when he talked to Adhi. 

—---------

Meanwhile, In a different location, Vasu anxiously awaited a call from Trinity Tech. Having already communicated his predicament to them. So, he was hoping to get their help and avoid being taken into police custody. He knew that if Trinity Tech wished, they could certainly help him. 

"Rrrng…Rrrng…" Suddenly, a phone rang. 

It was Vasu's phone. 

An unknown number was calling him. 

He looked at it in apprehension. Still, he decided to pick it up. 

Only a few knew his number. So, he knew that it would be someone important. 

"Hello." 

"Hello." A familiar voice greeted him back. It was someone from Trinity Tech. 

"Sir. What decision did you make?" Vaus asked, anticipating a positive outcome. 

"We can help. Before that, hand over the phone to Dimitri." 

"Yes, sir." A smile bloomed on Vasu's face upon hearing the reply. His situation was not hopeless anymore. Promptly, he handed the phone to Dimitri.

Dimitri held the phone and listened to the voice coming from it. He nodded calmly, hearing the orders he had to follow. He, too, began to smile once he completely heard the order. 

Vasu, seeing it, smiled back without knowing what he was talking about with the person from Trinity Tech's management. 

"Yes, Sir," Dimitri said before ending the call. He handed over the phone to Vasu without batting an eyelid. 

"What did he say? Does he have a plan to help me leave the country? I can help if you plan to use the sea route, just like before." Vasu eagerly said. 

"I doubt you'll be departing with us, Vasu. The death is awaiting your arrival. I was supposed to send you away later. But they seemed to have changed the plan." Dimitri declared, his smile growing even brighter. He calmly gave the death sentence to Vasu. 

"What do you mean?" 

"It means that you are going to die today. Before that, you have to do something for me." 

Vasu felt his world turning dark. A chill went down his spine, hearing Dimitri's voice. 

"After all that I had done for you…" He spoke coldly at Dimitri. Although fear overwhelmed him for a moment, he quickly regained his bearing. After all, he was the CEO of VSB, a billion-dollar company. His composure was frightening. 

When the situation actually turned for the worse, he began to reveal his true self in front of Trinity Tech and its people. His cold and arrogant self began to return. 

"What did you do for us? You should have thought about it before you decided to betray us." 

"I didn't betray you. What are you talking about?" 

"I don't have time to play games with you. Quickly say where it is before you anger me."

"I…" Vasu knew he had no way out. "It seems like this is the end of our partnership." All the emotions drained from Vasu's face as soon as he said that. 

Scoff, "Partner?" Dimitri knew that Vasu was never even considered a partner by Trinity Tech. They were just using him.

"Bye then." Vasu turned to leave the hall they were sitting in. 

The mercenaries all stood up, seeing his movement. As if they were going to let him leave like that. 

"Vasu, do you really think you could leave this place?" Dimitri mocked Vasu for his stupidity. 

"We shall see," Vasu responded, pressing a button on his phone. Resigned to his fate, he understood that there was no turning back his relationship with Trinity Tech. As the button was pushed, something activated, marking a point of no return.

"Bye-bye. Let's meet again if…" 'If you are alive.' He waved his hand at Dimitri and was about to complete his sentence. 

Suddenly, a bright light flashed inside the hall. Everything turned white and then soon into red. 

"BOOOOM!" The sound came later. 

The entire mansion lit up in fire as an explosion swallowed it. The raging fire and the thunderous shockwave spread outward from the place where the mansion once stood. 

Within a second, everything turned to dust.