Chapter 10: Bioform Storage

The system panel flickered before Gio’s eyes as the truck rumbled on. His gaze lingered on the Bioenergy percentage still climbing, but far too slowly. He needed more. More cores. More creatures.

Then a new notification surfaced.

[Bioform Storage unlocked.]

Gio blinked. The text hovered in his vision, pulsing faintly. He focused on it, and the panel expanded, revealing a new section of the interface.

[Bioform Storage]

[Bioform Storage Capacity: 1/3 slots]

[Creatures available for replication:]

1. [F-Rank Mutagenic Wasp]

· Traits: Flight, Venomous Stinger, Swarm Instinct

· Combat Capability: Low

· Bioenergy Cost: 5% per manifestation

· Upkeep: 1% per reconstruction after destruction

He stared at the panel, his mind working through the implications. So this was how his ability functioned behind the scenes. Every creature he absorbed a core from was permanently stored in this Bioform Storage. Their traits were catalogued. Their costs were calculated. And he could summon them at will as long as he had enough Bioenergy to pay the price.

Only one bioform so far, he thought. But that will change.

The realization settled in. His ability wasn’t just about commanding monsters. It was about building an arsenal. A collection of creatures, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The more he absorbed, the more options he would have.

And out here, in the apocalypse, options meant survival.

[Note: Bioforms can be deleted from the Bioform Storage to make space for new Bioform data.]

[Tip: Bioform Storage capacity can be expanded as your Mutagenic Core grows stronger and evolves.]

Gio let out a slow breath. His ability was more complex than he had realized. But the path forward was clear.

Absorb. Store. Command. Survive.

His eyes drifted back to the storage capacity. Three slots. One was already filled. That meant he had two left, two chances to add new creatures to his arsenal. He needed to be smart about this. Picky, even.

The wasp was useful. It was fast, agile, and deadly in the right situation. Good for scouting ahead, harassing enemies, and executing pincer attacks from unexpected angles. But it wasn’t a heavy hitter. It couldn’t take a hit, and its damage output was limited.

I need something stronger, he thought. Something that can hold the line. A tank. aA bruiser. Something that can go toe-to-toe with the bigger monsters out there.

He thought about the creatures he had seen so far. The wasps were dangerous in numbers, but individually weak. The mutated landscape beyond the walls probably held far worse, things with claws like scythes and skin like armor. If he could absorb the core of one of those, his options would change dramatically.

The system panel flickered, as if acknowledging his resolve.

He closed the interface and stared out the slitted windows of the truck, at the wasteland beyond. Somewhere out there, more creatures were waiting. More bioforms to add to his collection.

And he would find them.

The heavy silence in the truck was broken by a sudden yelp of surprise.

"What the...?!"

Gio turned. Reuben had jumped to his feet, his mace half-raised, staring at the empty space beside him. Tabitha flickered into visibility on the other side of the truck, her eyes wide.

"He was just there! I swear he was just there!"

"Who was just where?" Melody asked, her cat ears twitching with confusion and alert.

A low chuckle echoed from the corner of the truck. Everyone turned.

Kojiro was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, a lazy grin spreading across his face. But something was different. Purple veins streaked across his left cheek, spider-webbing up toward his eye. His left eye had turned completely black, the pupil now a stark, glowing white.

"Miss me?" he asked.

Tabitha’s jaw dropped. "You.. how did you..."

Kojiro vanished.

Reuben spun, swinging his mace at empty air. "Stop doing that!"

Another chuckle, this time from behind them. Kojiro reappeared near the truck doors, leaning casually as if he had been there all along. His left arm dissolved into swirling purple smoke before reforming, the veins on his face pulsing faintly.

"Teleportation," he said, wiggling his fingers. "Short range, but effective. Plus a little smoke trick. Makes it hard to hit me."

"You finally unlocked your ability?" Gio asked, surprised.

"Looks that way, kid." Kojiro’s grin widened. "Guess all that fighting shook something loose."

Tabitha flickered invisible and reappeared right in front of him, poking his chest. "No fair! You’re supposed to be the normal one! Now you’re teleporting around like some kind of ghost?"

"Jealous?" Kojiro teased.

"Absolutely not! My invisibility is way better!"

"Can you teleport behind someone and poke them in the back of the head before they even blink?" Kojiro asked innocently.

"Can you turn invisible and steal someone’s snacks without them noticing?" Tabitha shot back.

"Can you..." Kojiro vanished again.

Tabitha spun around. "Where did he..."

A gentle tap on her shoulder. She whirled. No one there.

"Kojiro!"

His laughter echoed from the other side of the truck. He was sitting beside Reuben now, one arm draped over the stone-skinned boy’s shoulder.

"You kids are too easy to mess with," he said.

Reuben sighed heavily, but there was no real anger in it. " And You’re insufferable."

"Thank you. I try."

Melody covered her mouth, stifling a laugh. Even Gio found himself smiling. It was the first moment of lightness since the battle, a small reprieve from the weight of the wasteland.

"Can you take us with you?" Tabitha asked, suddenly excited. "When you teleport, I mean?"

Kojiro shook his head. "Nah. Just me. But I can turn parts of my body into smoke. Look."

He held up his hand, and it dissolved into a swirling cloud of purple vapor. The cloud reformed into his fingers a second later.

"That’s so creepy," Reuben muttered.

"That’s so cool!" Tabitha corrected, her eyes sparkling. "Do it again!"

Kojiro obliged, this time dissolving his entire arm up to the elbow. The purple veins on his face pulsed brighter as he did. "Neat trick, right? Makes it hard for anything to grab me. Or hit me. Or..."

The truck lurched over a bump, and Kojiro’s concentration broke. His arm snapped back to solid form, and he winced.

"Still getting used to it," he admitted, rubbing his shoulder. "It takes a lot out of me."

"Everything has a cost," Gio said quietly.

Kojiro met his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. I’m learning that too."

Blaze, who had been listening from across the truck, snorted. "Great. Now there’s two of you with weird powers. One makes pets, the other plays ghost. What’s next? The cat girl starts purring?"

Commander Darwin had thought that the best way to get a better synergy out of the recruits, was to mix them up across the three trucks.

Melody shot him a death glare. "Say one more word and you’ll find out what these claws can do."

Blaze raised his hands in mock surrender. "Easy, kitty. Just making conversation."

"Don’t call me kitty."

"Whatever you say, kitty."

Melody’s tail lashed, and Kojiro burst out laughing. Reuben shook his head. Tabitha flickered invisible, and a moment later, Blaze yelped as something unseen pinched his ear.

"Who did that?! Show yourself!"

The truck erupted into chaotic laughter, the tension of the battle finally breaking. For a few precious moments, they weren’t recruits on a doomed expedition. They weren’t survivors of a nightmare. They were just people, teasing, bickering, and finding warmth in each other’s company.

Gio leaned back against the cold metal wall, a small smile lingering on his face.

Maybe, he thought, surviving out here won’t just be about hunting and killing. Maybe it’s about this too.

The wasteland stretched on beyond the window, vast and merciless.

But inside the truck, for the first time, it felt a little less lonely.