Chapter 38: Chapter 9: Recovery and Reckoning The absence of pain was the first thing Jin noticed, whether it was the warm amber lighting or the gentle hum of recycled air. The sharp, burning pain from his injuries had subsided to a dull throb, but his muscles still hurt as if he had been sleeping on concrete for days.
"Subject Jin. Neural stability: 82%. Status: Convalescent. Time elapsed: 3 days, 14 hours, 26 minutes."
"Three days?" Jin croaked, his throat dry as sandpaper. He tried to sit up, but his body protested with a wave of dizziness.
"You were drooling. Rosa took pictures. You’ve lost approximately 1.2 dignity points."
"Asha..." Jin groaned, dragging a hand over his face. He could almost hear her digital smirk.
Jin moaned and rubbed his temples once more, then blinked as his HUD flickered again, this time displaying a glowing status screen that was dimly visible in his field of vision.
---
[STATUS SCREEN – UPDATE COMPLETE]
[Jin - Subject-01]
Level: 6
EXP: 250 / 1000
HP: 392 / 392 Stamina: 392 / 392
Core Attributes:
STR (Strength): 16.00
DEX (Dexterity): 4.00
AGI (Agility): 11.50
END (Endurance): 14.00
RES (Resilience): 12.00
PER (Perception): 14.00
Skills:
Night Vision (Passive Lv. 1)
Stealth (Passive Lv. 1)
Tsundere Radar (Passive Lv. 1)
Basic First Aid (Active Lv. 2 → 15%)
Melee Weapon Mastery (Improvised) (Lv. 5 → 25%)
Athletics – Basic Strength Feats (Lv. 1 → 5%)
Mutated Fauna Combat Basics (Lv. 1 → 5%)
Combat Art: Desperate Strike (Cooldown: 01:00)
Instinct Surge (Active Lv. 1)
Accidental Harem Magnet (Passive – Max Lv. 5)
Natural Leader (Passive)
Predator Instinct (Passive Lv. 1 – 5%)
Group Affinities:
Seraphina Valerius: 40 / 100
Clara Vance: 45 / 100
Rosalie Thorne: 38 / 100
Morale: 90%
---
Jin blinked at the screen, his mind struggling to process the information.
"I’m fully healed?" he muttered, flexing his fingers and then his shoulders. He anticipated pain, tightness, and resistance. However, it was gone. Nothing more severe than training fatigue, just a slight soreness.
"Correction," Asha replied in her usual dry tone. "You healed 2.3 times faster than expected based on standard human physiology. Either you’re secretly a half-lizard... Your blood contains microscopic nanomachines. They’re dormant most of the time, but trauma seems to trigger a partial activation cycle."
Jin stared at his arms, half-wondering if scales would start growing. "Please don’t joke about that..."
"It wasn’t a joke." He gulped.
Jin gasped and tried to sit up when he saw that he was wearing something that was definitely not his torn vault suit. The fabric was smooth against his skin, flexible but form-fitting, with a subtle golden trim that caught the light. He looked down at himself, bewildered.
"What the—"
"About time, Sleeping Beauty."
He looked up at Rosa’s voice. Wearing an identical navy-blue uniform that gave her the appearance of an elite soldier, she was leaning against the doorframe while holding a ration bar. On her shoulder, the golden Phoenix Corps insignia shone.
"We were starting to wonder if you’d slipped into a coma just to avoid bath duty," she continued with a grin, then called over her shoulder. "Hey! The patient’s finally awake!"
Clara practically skidded into the room as the sound of hurried footsteps reverberated through the hallway, her face flushed with embarrassment and relief.
"Y-You’re awake!? I mean, yes! You’re okay! W-we thought you were—um—" Clara’s words tumbled over each other as she fidgeted with something in her hands, a pair of sleek glasses with faintly glowing blue-tinted lenses.
Sera emerged in the doorway behind her, her shoulders clearly loosening but her expression carefully controlled. Despite wearing the same navy-blue uniform, she somehow gave the impression that she was born to command.
"Hmmp.. you’re finally awake idiot" Sera said coolly, though Jin caught the way her eyes quickly scanned him for signs of injury. "We’ve been waiting for you."
"Translation: Sera has checked on you every four hours for the past three days," Asha’s voice whispered in his mind. "She also folded her jacket as a pillow for you. Twice."
Jin noticed the jacket neatly placed on a nearby chair and felt warmth spread through his chest that had nothing to do with the uniform.
"These clothes..." he started, looking down at himself again.
𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚 "Advanced Adaptive Environment Combat Uniforms," Rosa said cheerfully. "Designation: A.A.E.C.U. Mark III. Found them in a restricted locker down the hall. Clara worked her magic on the security."
"I-It wasn’t magic," Clara stammered, adjusting her new glasses. "J-Just basic bypass protocols. The security system was already compromised from power fluctuations."
"These are military-grade tactical uniforms originally designed for Project Phoenix Field Agents," Asha explained. "Bullet-resistant, slash-resistant, climate-controlled, and—thankfully for your fashion-challenged squad—shockingly stylish."
"You dressed me while I was unconscious?" Jin asked, his face reddening.
Rosa’s grin widened. "Oh, we drew straws for that honor."
"Rosa!" Clara squeaked, her face turning crimson.
"It was standard medical procedure," Sera said firmly, though her cheeks had a faint pink tinge. "You needed proper treatment, and your vault suit was torn to shreds."
"I recorded everything for medical documentation purposes," Asha added helpfully. "Would you like me to compile a highlight reel?"
"No!" Jin said out loud, then caught the others’ confused expressions. "I mean, uh... thank you. For taking care of me."
He pushed himself up slowly, testing his balance. The room spun for a moment before settling. The uniform felt surprisingly natural, adapting to his movements as if it had been tailored specifically for him.
"Speaking of taking care," Rosa said, tossing him the ration bar, "you need to eat. And then we have a lot to show you."
As Jin ate, the girls told him what they had discovered while he was unconscious. They had mapped out three levels of offices and dormitories, explored the majority of the Command Wing, and discovered enough supplies to last them months if properly rationed.
"T-The really interesting part," Clara said, her voice gaining confidence as she talked about tech, "is what we found in the Engineering section." She gestured to her glasses. "These are Vault Engineering Recon Glasses—Mk-VIS-RG. No AI integration, but they have circuit overlay functions, heat tracking, and diagnostic tools."
She demonstrated by looking at a wall panel, her glasses highlighting power flow patterns invisible to the naked eye. "I can see where systems are damaged, identify power bottlenecks, even predict component failures before they happen."
"Great," Sera said with approval.