Screeech—!
Pressing on the brakes of the car, the car stopped and a familiar building appeared in the distance.
"Alright, we're here."
Twisting the keys of the car, Smallsnake hopped off the car.
"Huaam"
Yawning out loud and stretching my arms, I opened the door of the car and got off as well. Then, turning my head I looked towards the familiar building in the distance.
"It's been a while..."
I muttered underneath my breath.
Eight months.
Perhaps it was even longer, but I couldn't remember anymore. All of my recent memories have made everything around me feel unfamiliar.
It was an odd sensation.
Similar to when I had just reincarnated into this world.
"Follow me, a lot of things have changed since you left."
"Changed?"
Twirling the car keys on his index finger, Smallsnake locked the car and made his way towards the warehouse in the distance.
"Mhm, rather than telling you it's better if I show you."
"...okay"
Following Smallsnake from behind, we soon arrived before the entrance of the warehouse. Stopping before the entrance, turning my head towards Smallsnake, I asked.
"By the way, how are the others doing?"
Been a while since I last saw them. Did they improve whilst I was gone?
Unlocking the doors of the warehouse, Smallsnake casually replied.
"Everyone is doing fine. Not much really happened during your absence."
"That so?...Then did you manage to recruit her?"
Halting mid-key turn, Smallsnake raised his brow and looked at me.
"Are you referring to the one you told me to recruit before abruptly disappearing?"
Awkwardly scratching my nose, I replied.
"...yeah."
"If your talking about that Ava girl, she's agreed to join."
"Really?"
A surprised look appeared on my face.
Last I remembered, during the tournament, she contacted me regarding my previous offer. From there I put her in contact with Smallsnake. Who would've thought that she had agreed to join despite my absence?
"Is she in?"
I asked whilst pointing at the warehouse. In turn, Smallsnake shook his head and unlocked the door.
"No, she's at the Lock."
"Right. I forgot about that."
She was still a student, so she couldn't technically be here full time. Just like me before.
"Alright, follow me in."
"You do know that I've been here before, right?"
Rolling my eyes, I followed Smallsnake in.
Entering the warehouse with Smallsnake, once we walked past the entrance of the warehouse, arriving before a certain room, I spotted a woman with two horns on her head sitting crossed-legged in the middle of the room.
Angelica.
I could feel powerful demonic energy emanating from her body. The aura on her body was much stronger compared to when I had last seen her. I suspected that she had broken through <B> to <B+> rank. She was now a fullfledged Viscount ranked demon.
Staring at her, I walked up to her.
Angelica suddenly opened her mouth.
"You're here, human. Took you a while."
"Things happened."
I shrugged. Then, looking at her, I asked.
"You've been doing well I presume?"
"...mhm."
Along with a casual nod, the demonic energy that was lingering in the air shrunk rapidly and entered her body. Standing up, she scanned me from top to bottom.
"What happened to your face?"
She questioned with an odd look on her face.
"Always straight to the point."
At her question, a helpless sigh escaped from my mouth.
Before even greeting me properly, she already jumped straight to what happened to my face. Talk about straightforward.
"Well—"
"Hmm..this energy?"
However, right as I was about to respond, her brows suddenly knit. Lifting her head, a shocked expression appeared on her face.
"Your rank..."
"Finally noticed?"
A smile appeared on my face.
Was hoping she'd notice.
Since I wasn't suppressing my rank, it was easy for her to tell that my rank was currently at <D+> borderline <C->.
"You are one interesting human."
"...Come again?"
What kind of statement was that?
"Throughout my life, I have seen many humans, I've even contracted with some..."
Pausing, a meaningful glare appeared on her face. Turning my head, I scratched the side of my nose.
Almost forgot about the fact that I had killed one of the people she had contracted with.
"...and out of all the humans that I had seen, you're the first one that has truly shocked me. Your talent is quite frightening."
"That so."
Being complimented by Angelica, I rubbed my nose slightly.
Glad she knows.
"Ren."
Smallsnake called out from behind.
Turning my head, I found a middle-aged man standing next to him. I was able to instantly recognize him.
"Leopold."
"Hmmm..."
With his hand on his chin, Leopold's brows knit.
"Is there something wrong?"
I asked in confusion.
Suddenly, raising his thumb up, Leopold repeatedly nodded his head.
"Boss, I like your makeover. Very badass!"
"..."
My mouth twitched.
"Oh god."
Standing by next to him, Smallsnake covered his face. From how unsurprised he was, it looked as though he had somewhat expected this.
"Mhm, I'm digging the scar and that bald look. Very nice."
"...haha, thanks."
I replied with a forced laugh.
From how serious his face was, I wondered if he was joking or being serious. Was slowly starting to regret my decision in bringing him in.
"By the way Smallsnake, where is Ryan?"
So far there were Smallsnake, Angelica, and Leopold in the room. There should still be Ryan.
"Ryan?"
At the mention of Ryan's name, Smallsnake's eyelids twitched slightly.
This did not go unnoticed to me as my eyes squinted.
"Is he not here?"
"No, no, he's here, it's just that..."
"Just that?"
Scratching the side of his neck, a helpless expression appeared on Smallsnake's face. Then, he suddenly sighed before turning around.
"Rather than telling you, it's better if you look for yourself. Follow me."
"...okay?"
Though I found the situation odd, I decided to follow Smallsnake from behind. Walking through the warehouse, we soon stopped in front of another room.
Halting his steps in front of the room, Smallsnake put his hand on the doorknob and twisted it lightly.
"What the."
Upon twisting the knob and opening the door, the first thing I saw was an endless amount of monitors attached to the side of the wall. Below them was a massive black wooden desk.
"This isn't it...no, not this one...nope."
Sitting on a large leather chair that was twice his size, was Ryan whose eyes darted all over the monitors like a maniac.
Entering the room, Smallsnake had an annoyed look on his face as he walked up to Ryan and removed the headset that was resting on his head.
"Maybe this one could—ah?!"
"Ryan, how many times do I have to tell you that you to take a break? Your eyes need to rest!"
Smallsnake reprimanded.
"S-smallsnake, what are you doing here?"
"Can't I be here?"
"No, no, no, you can, you can..."
A horrified look appeared on Ryan's face as he replied to Smallsnake.
"You see...I was in the middle of something im—"
"What does that matter? You want me to tell your mother about how much time you're spending on the computer?"
"No, no that. Anything but that."
Looking at the duo, an amused smile appeared on my face as I thought. 'Looks like Smallsnake has fully adapted to his babysitter role.'
Ever since returning to this place, Smallsnake's role as a babysitter became more and more apparent to me. From how he redecorated the whole facility, to how he handled Leopold.
Smallsnake truly became a dependable person.
"Pushov..keumm, keumm, I mean Smallsnake, it's okay, leave Ryan alone."
For a second, my tongue almost slipped.
"Boss!"
Turning his head, and spotting me, Ryan called out in excitement as he rushed towards me.
"hmmm?"
An odd look appeared on my face. Pointing at myself, I asked.
"Do you recognize me?"
"Of course I do."
Ryan replied without any hesitation causing me to be even more confused.
"But didn't you see me only once before?"
"That's right."
"...so how were you able to identify me?"
I curiously asked. Other than the time I rescued him from his mom, this was the second time I was meeting him. For him to have been able to recognize me this quickly despite the current state of my face, I was quite perplexed.
Blinking his eyes a couple of times, Ryan innocently tilted his head. Then, opening his mouth, he started speaking extremely fast.
"The color of your eyes, your physique, your voice, and the fact that Smallsnake brought you here. With his personality, there's no way he'd bring a stranger here. If you add all those factors together, it wouldn't be strange for me to come up with such a conclusion...oh, and what happened to your face?"
"I see."
Taken aback by how fast he was speaking, I nodded my head slightly. Either way, I pretty much got the gist of what he was saying.
If he put it like that, then it made sense.
Well, not that anyone else could've done it since they wouldn't have been able to memorize so many things at once.
Ryan was the only exception.
Once he finished speaking, Ryan's innocent eyes looked towards me as he asked.
"So what brings you here boss? Are you here to just greet me?"
"Ah right, thanks for reminding me."
Moving towards a gray sofa by the side of the room, I sat down. Propping my elbow on the armrest of the sofa, and resting my cheek on my arm, I opened my mouth.
"Ryan, I need your help with something."
"My help?"
"Mhm, it's a pretty big task, and even if you can't do it, I won't hold it against you."
What I was about to ask of him was going to be a difficult task. With him only being thirteen years old, there was a chance that his skills weren't developed enough to help me.
Patting his chest, Ryan confidently exclaimed.
"Don't worry boss, I'll make sure to complete it."
Listening to Ryan's words, a gratified smile appeared on my face. Then, pointing towards my head, I looked at Ryan and said.
"I want you to hack the chip that is stuck inside of my head."
"Hu? A chip?"
Listening to the side, a confused look appeared on Smallsnake's face.
"Ren, what are you talking about?"
Lightly glancing at Smallsnake, I casually shrugged my shoulders before giving them a brief recount of what had happened in the Monolith. Although I omitted a few things, I pretty much told them about the experiments and how a chip was installed inside of my brain.
"...such thing happened. I'm sorry, I didn't know."
Listening to the story, Smallsnake's face became gloomy.
The Monolith wasn't just a sensitive topic for me. It was also one for Smallsnake who was also forced to be a fugitive because of them.
Clenching his fists, Smallsnake lowered his head.
"I'm sorry, even though you spent so much money on us, we were completely useless when you were suffering so much."
"It's okay."
Seeing the state Smallsnake was in, the edges of my lips curved upwards. Patting my body, I reassured.
"I'm free, aren't I? Isn't that all that matters? The past is the past, now let's focus on the future and make it so a similar situation never happens again, okay?"
"Okay."
"Good."
After consoling Smallsnake, I turned my head towards Ryan's direction.
"So, Ryan? About the thing that I just asked, can you do it?"
Sitting back on his chair, Ryan's brows were tightly furrowed together. After a while, looking back at me he nodded his head.
"I can try..."
A smile appeared on my face.
"That's all I'm asking for."
At the moment, Ryan was the best bet I had for helping me with the chip problem.
Having destroyed a major part of the Monolith, I wasn't necessarily worried about them getting the chip tracking device functioning fast, but it was better to get it solved as soon as possible, given the fact that by now I should be one of the most wanted people by them.
"Okay, let me see what I can do."
Twisting the chair around, Ryan's finger danced all over the keyboard, as the sound of keys being clicked rang out in the room.
Ta.Ta.Ta.
"Hmmm..."
Frowning, Ryan's eyes darted all over the monitor screens in front of him. Staring at the codes in front of him, Ryan started asking questions.
"So, boss, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to directly disable the chip?"
I patiently responded to all of his questions.
"No, I want you to disable the tracking function."
The chip was quite useful to me. If possible, I didn't want to disable it. Apart from the improvement in my analytical abilities, the chip also helped me during fights.
For it to be disabled, I felt that it was a waste.
"So you just want me to disable the tracking function?...Okay, that doesn't sound too hard."
Ta.Ta.Ta.
Plucking his lips together, Ryan's fingers moved across the keyboard at lightning-fast speeds. Many different codes and numbers appeared in the monitors in front of him as Ryan's brows progressively knit with every passing minute.
This continued for ten more minutes before he suddenly let out a strange sound.
"Eh...?"
"What's going on, you found something?"
Sitting up straight, I worriedly asked.
"Hold on."
Ryan's eyes darted all over the monitor screens. Scratching the side of his head, Ryan repeatedly tilted his head from left to right, as the frown on his face deepened.
After a while, Ryan bit his lips. Turning his head, he looked towards me and apologized.
"I'm sorry, but it looks like I can't do it."
My heart sank.
"What's wrong? Why can't you do it?"
Instead of answering me, Ryan asked a question.
"Boss, you know how GPS trackers work, right?"
"GPS trackers?"
"Mhm, yeah. Do you?"
Pondering, I carefully replied.
"Sort of, ehmmm, from what I remember, GPS trackers use multiple satellites to determine the location of the device connected to it, or something along those lines."
"Mhm, sounds about right."
"So what's the problem?"
I wondered.
Looking up at the ceiling, Ryan thought for a bit before replying.
"...The problem is that the chip inside of your head is not connected to any satellite."
"Not connected to any satellite? Then how does it track me?"
"..."
A brief moment of silence ensued.
Tapping on the table, Ryan once again looked at the monitors in front of him, before replying.
"Mhm, I'm not entirely sure. But from what I've gathered through entering the database of the chip, there seems to be a special artifact installed? Material? Chrystal? Can't really tell. Either way, somehow, thanks to that, they are able to track you."
"Then, what do I do? Can I disable the chip in my head?"
Ryan shook his head.
"Unfortunately that is also not possible?"
"What? Why?"
"That's because the chip in your head has a self-destruction function. If you try to remove it, or I directly hack it, it'll automatically detonate."
"Ah..."
Listening to Ryan speak, my mind blanked.
If I couldn't remove the chip that I was inside of my head, then what was I supposed to do? Let the Monolith hunt me down?
Just as I was despairing over my situation, Ryan once again called out for me.
"...boss, actually, not all hope is lost."
Lifting my head, I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well...you see, the only reason why I can't help you right now is because my skills are inadequate. If you give me time, I can do it."
"Time? How much time do you need?"
"From one month to a couple of years. I don't know."
"...is that so."
That was so too long. By the time he was skilled enough, I would have long been killed by the Monolith.
"Then what do I—"
"Wait, what's going on?"
Cutting me off was Ryan who suddenly turned around and looked towards his monitors.
"What happened?"
I asked in confusion.
"Look"
Nudging me with his head, Ryan pointed towards his monitors. Looking up, I saw that half of them had the same channel turned on.
"An emergency broadcast?"
"Looks like it."
Ryan turned the volume up.
[Breaking news — We're coming at you live with an emergency broadcast that will be shared throughout every television screen in the human domain. We're here to relay to you an important piece of information...]
Suddenly the screen split in half, on one side was the hostess and on the other were multiple images of an individual with a face riddled with scars.
"What the."
Staring at the image on the screen, my body froze and my pupils shrank. Ryan who was next to me opened his mouth widely.
[A bounty of over ten billion U has been set on this person. Said person is extremely dangerous and has been deemed by the Union as the number one most wanted person in the human domain. If anyone finds out information regarding the said individual, please contact XXX-XXXX-XXX.]
Crack—!
Unbeknownst to me, the armrest of the sofa next to me broke apart. I was clenching my fists so tightly that blood started seeping down towards the ground.
Dully staring at the monitor screen for a couple of seconds, my body started to tremble.
"Hey, Ren are you okay?"
Approaching me was Smallsnake. He too had seen the news as he was in the same room throughout the whole discussion I had with Ryan.
"kh..."
Lifting my head up, I suddenly flew into a fit of mad laughter.
"Hahahahah, I see, I see...so this is how you want to repay me...I see, hahahahah"
Though I was laughing, an unimaginable amount of rage was masked inside of that laugh. Smallsnake and Ryan who were next to me visibly shivered at the sound of my laugh.
But I didn't care.
That was because the Union had just sold me out.
