“We-ell, you see,” I started, drawing out my words by putting on my battle robes, waiting for Samantha’s justification about why, exactly, I had to fight the Greater Water Elemental without any equipped items. “The Greater Water Elemental sees through mana sensing,” I continued. “I concealed 90% of my mana and drew the F-ranked sword, and it thought I was a weakling. Then I pretended to die so I could catch it unawares.”

Alex looked intrigued. “I thought it was your control over your aura that made you seem so weak,” she said. “How are you concealing your mana?”

Yeah, how am I concealing my mana? I asked Samantha.

Samantha said.

“Let’s mark that down as my little secret,” I told Alex. “Should we get out of here and kill some more water elementals?” I still felt distinctly uncomfortable in Dawnbreaker’s home. As though she would suddenly appear and blame me for breaking and entering.

“No. The City Guards have the situation under control. Next, you’re coming with me to Mexico.”

Alex reset the house’s mana shields, and then we left together.

“What do you know about Mexico’s situation?” Alex asked, as we walked towards the Daybreak Teleportation Circle.

The moment she asked the question, I felt like I had already messed up.

I had seen Mexico City and Tijuana on the list of Regions on the Teleportation Circle list earlier. Everything had been so busy, I hadn’t stopped to think much about it.

Mexico probably was broken into more than two Regions, but only two had appeared on the teleportation list. And I had no idea who was in charge.

“Next to nothing,” I added.

“I see,” Alex said, crisply. “So, you were unaware that the US Armed Forces used your Region as a launching pad to claim Tijuana and the whole Northern Region of Mexico?”

“What?” I said, incredulously.

“Well, consider this a diplomatic mission,” Alex said. “I am representing Daybreak, and you are my security. Just don’t do anything stupid. I heard you have an item that can hide your name and level. You should equip that, and if you can set your fake level, let’s say, 22.”

Alex was striding ahead of me through Daybreak City, talking crisply but not looking directly at me.

“I’m not your bodyguard,” I said, indignantly. “There are hundreds of towns falling as we speak. This wasn’t in my deal with Dawnbreaker, and I have better things to do.”

Alex stopped in the middle of the street, and stared intently at me.

I couldn’t help but flinch at the intensity of her brown eyes.

“Do you think they don’t weigh on my conscience, too?” she asked, sharply. “You know the rumors that the Crucible had infiltrated the US Armed Forces? And you know that the US Armed Forces controls almost as many Regions as Daybreak? Well, we are going into a meeting with a representative of the US Armed Forces, as well as one of the Hell Mode Challengers from the South American Zone.”

I froze, completely stunned.

I wasn’t that surprised that the US Army controlled so many Regions. I knew that Petra’s kidnapper had ties to the Armed Forces, but still, I felt completely blindsided. There was a military base just a few hour’s walk away from Reed City, and they could all be compromised?

“How do you know the Crucible had ties to the Armed Forces?” I demanded.

“There’s no proof,” Alex said. “Just think about it though. There is absolutely no indication of the Crucible ever interfering with the Armed Forces. But there were several spies the Crucible planted in Daybreak. The two most likely scenarios are that the Mentalist Cooperative already had their fingers in the upper echelons of the Armed Forces, or some other force has already taken control of the Armed Forces.

“And just think about it. What kind of evil faction relies solely on people reading postapocalyptic online fiction in order to gain traction? If that is indicative of the strategies of the other sentient invaders as well, then maybe we stand a chance after all.”

I felt my head start whirling. This was too much information to take in at one time. The Mentalist Cooperative backing the Armed Forces.

No, that wasn’t the half of it. What had Alex said? One of the Hell Mode Challengers from the South American Zone?

“How many Hell Mode Challengers does South America have?” I asked.

Alex smiled and resumed walking through the streets of Daybreak. “Now you’re asking the right questions. Definitely one. Probably two.”

It seemed vaguely unfair, that South America probably had twice the Hell Mode Challengers that North America had. But of course, the Atropos Schema never claimed to be fair.

“Here we are,” Alex said, leading me into a large building that had a long line of people waiting outside the building.

The guards at the building let Alex and me through immediately.

As Alex spoke to the guards, I equipped some armor and weaponry that I had in my Interdimensional Pouch.

I chose to wear an E-rank helmet, breastplate, and boots, with an E-rank sword as well.

Then I changed my name to Jay Renson, level 22.

I didn’t have to wait long before the Teleportation Circle was ready for us, and we traveled to Tapachula, Mexico.

My welcome to Tapachula reminded me of my arrival in Montreal.

In fact, there were so many weapons pointed at us the moment we arrived, I almost thought they were already going to backstab us.

But nobody attacked, and a guard came up and said—in Spanish, “Alejandra Martín, come with me. Everyone is waiting.”

I trailed behind Alex, and the dozens of guards followed us.

If this was intended as a show of strength, then it was working. The guards around us were all over level 20, and many of them held D-rank weapons.

Walking through the streets of Tapachula City, I couldn’t help but feel how… homogenizing the Atropos Schema was. The city’s houses, streets, and buildings looked almost exactly like the ones in every Region that I had visited.

Of course, it was possible to buy buildings from the Schema that were a bit more unique than the prefab houses and storefronts. Dawnbreaker’s villa was one such creation.

The building we were entering was different, as well. It seemed like a cross between a church and a courthouse, with grand stained-glass windows and high arches.

We soon found ourselves inside a large room with ornate pillars and a high ceiling.

In the middle of the room was a table, where I could see a large white man in full plate-armor except for a helmet and gauntlets, and a smaller, skinny Hispanic man who wore a magician’s battle robes. The skinny man had a dark, suntanned appearance, with chiseled features and a somewhat weathered look.

Alex took a seat at the table, and she shot a glance at me, and then towards the various guards standing around the table.

Taking the hint, I stood behind Alex’s chair, about 10 feet away—the same distance that the other guards were standing at.

The skinny, Hispanic man spoke the moment Alex sat down. He spoke in English, with a thick Hispanic accent. “We are here to talk about the US forces into Mexico. I, Abelino Torres, represent the People’s Unity Government. We demand that US forces withdraw from the Tijuana Region.”

The other man at the table immediately protested. “We can’t just leave the Region. Millions of people would die!” The man spoke with a southern accent. I took a moment to Identify him.

John Scott, level 25

Abelino Torres scoffed. “Do not pretend to be our White Savior, General. The People’s Unity Government is even more capable than you, when it comes to protecting towns and cities.”

“I will not apologize for my calling to serve my country and defend the weak,” General Scott said, between gritted teeth.

Abelino Torres just smiled sadly. “As you say, your control of Tijuana serves your country first, not the people of Mexico.”

“And what interest do you have in Tijuana?” General Scott argued. “Your People’s Unity Government is expanding into our Zone in the first place.”

“The plight of our brothers and sisters must not be ignored,” Abelino responded. “We have liberated every Region of the South American Zone, and you have not. Our Mexican brothers and sisters have called for our aid, and we have answered.”

“So you can play hero, but the US Armed Forces can’t?” General Scott said. “Just listen to yourself.”

“The era of American Imperialism is over,” Abelino Torres said, emphatically. “You are holding Tijuana for the Picacho Mines. You have shown no interest in defending the other towns of the Region, and you are forcing Mexican Citizens in Tijuana to live in squalor.”

General Scott placed both hands on the table. “There it is,” he said, nodding. “I was wondering how long this farce would continue. You are here to claim the Picacho Mines, which we have shed our blood to claim and defend. You have no right to the mines.”

It was at this point that Alex spoke up. “Daybreak stands with the People’s Unity Government and demands that the US Armed Forces retreat out of Tijuana.”

Abelino Torres cast a grateful look towards Alex.

General Scott fidgeted for a second, looking uncertain. Then he stood up, a sour look on his face. “After further consideration, the Armed Forces will evacuate Northern Mexico by the end of the day. I pray for the sake of the Mexican people that you can defend the Region as well as you say you can.”

Alex and Abelino Torres rose, and General Scott offered his hand towards Abelino.

Samantha asked me.

I noticed a thin sheen of sweat on General Scott’s hand, and, under Mana Sensing, a bright light at General Scott’s fingertips.

General Scott was standing stiffly, almost nervously.

Samantha said.

“STOP!” I shouted, stepping forward and pouring mana into Agility.

The guards all glanced towards me. So did Alex, and Abelino Torres. But not General Scott.

He reached out and lightly brushed Abelino’s hand. At the same moment, General Scott’s two body guards drew their swords in a flash and blocked my advance.

Everything happened in a split second.

I ducked under the blades, rushing up to General Scott, but Abelino called to me, “Stand down!”